BOSTON — Daxter Miles emerged from the locker room with reddened eyes and a Sweet 16 towel around his neck. He exhaled deeply, and walked along the TD Garden corridor in his socks toward the postgame podium.
He thanked coach Bob Huggins for extending an opportunity to play at West Virginia, thanked fans who supported him through four NCAA appearances, thanked his teammates “for staying down and working hard.”
After a career-ending 90-78 loss to top-seeded Villanova, after 124 starts that rank as the second-most in WVU history, his closing credits were rolling too soon.
“It’s been fun,” Miles said. “I wish we could have kept going, but I enjoyed every moment.”
Miles and his decorated classmate Jevon Carter arrived in the summer of 2014, when “Press Virginia” was still a concept without a nickname. They left with three Sweet 16s, having turned the Mountaineers into top 25 mainstays. When the postseason AP poll is released, it will include WVU (26-11) for the 55th consecutive week, the second-longest streak since 1956-1960.
Huggins called Carter and Miles “the best four-year backcourt in the history of West Virginia basketball,” a tandem that exceeded 3,000 points and 500 steals.
“It’s really been an honor to play with them,” said forward Esa Ahmad. “They’re great seniors. I just hate that we had to go out like this.”
Ahmad faces an offseason decision whether to return for his senior season. He could enter the NBA draft or pursue an overseas contract like Devin Williams and Elijah Macon have done in recent years.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” he said.
After West Virginia gave up second-half leads during eight of its 11 losses, players clearly recognized the margin separating good from great. With three of their Big 12 counterparts reaching the Elite Eight, there’s even a stinging sense the Mountaineers underachieved, though more than anything, that reinforced the fickle leanings of March Madness.
For perspective purposes, assistant coach Larry Harrison reflected on the trans-Atlantic debacle that began the season.
“If you look at what happened in Germany vs. Texas A&M,” he said, “that team right there improved a ton to win 26 games.”