INDIANAPOLIS—Solo Ball has done this long enough to know the moment and the stage were his. He’s nowhere near naive enough to believe otherwise, clearly.
Ball had just landed from a heroic ascension into college basketball immortalization and wasn’t going to let a chance to embrace the stage in which he had just conquered pass him by. When he realized the magnitude of what he had just done, he turned to the UConn student section and let out a scream as if to assure that the moment will be on posters around the UConn facility for years to come.
The UConn guard was the beneficiary of momentary chaos that led to every Illinois defender trailing him by at least a few feet as he caught Alex Karaban’s outlet pass and took advantage. Ball caught it and catapulted the ball from his knee to the peak of his jump before shaking the rim—and this building in the process.
“I felt like that basket was more like four or six points than two,” UConn assistant Kimani Young told Basket Under Review. “We need more of that from him. We talk about that all the time, him diversifying his game and not just being so one dimensional with the shooting. It was great to see him get out in transition that way.”
Ball has been at the forefront of a number of career-altering moments as a member of this UConn program—which is approaching college basketball dynasty status after reaching its third national championship game in four seasons—but this may have been his best to date.
The UConn guard has been a part of a national championship winning season, but he played sparingly throughout its title run as a freshman. This run hinges largely on him, though. Ball is one of the old guys. He’s one of the guys that it needs to perform if it’s going to win.
Ball was that a season ago, but UConn fell below expectations and didn’t make it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. This moment represented heroism and movie-like redemption. It was significant enough to measure up with anything that Ball experienced throughout UConn’s national title run.
“That’s definitely one I’m going to remember for a while,” Ball said in regard to the dunk. “Shoutout to [Karaban] because he saw me and threw it up. I'm happy we got some momentum off of that.”
Illinois was threatening in the moments prior to that dunk and while it wasn’t quite the dagger, it had that feel while the contingent of UConn fans in Lucas Oil Stadium erupted.
Perhaps the eruption was significantly louder because of who authored it.
Ball is on track to be the rare four-year player at a power-five program and has a development story that UConn coach Dan Hurley and company can advertise for years to come. The UConn guard averaged 3.3 points as a freshman role player, stayed for a sophomore season in which he was a tenth of a point away from being UConn’s leading scorer. Ball’s 2025-26 season has seen his counting stats regress, but he has no regrets.
How could he after that showing, in which he went for 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting, shot 3-for-7 from 3-point range and celebrated the third win at a Final Four site in his career?
“This program means everything to me,” Ball said. “Every time I put on a UConn uniform, practice uniform, it means the world to me. And every time I walk around that campus, I feel like that's my home.”
In a way, this stage has become another home for Ball—who says he’s stayed at UConn longer than any school he’s ever attended. At the very least, he’s more familiar with it than just about anyone in the country. It was only fitting that this type of performance would manifest itself in a place like this.
Prior to Saturday, Ball’s NCAA Tournament run included him averaging just 7.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The UConn guard bottomed out with a scoreless performance against UCLA in the Round of 32.
On the stage that overlooks the cavernous stadium seating at Lucas Oil Stadium, though, none of that mattered.
“When Solo is aggressive like that, I love it,” UConn wing Jaylin Stewart said. “He's been amazing, man. His shotmaking ability, the things that he's been able to do with the ball, off the ball, come off screens, find the open man, off the screens, it's amazing to watch.”
Ball has something to clarify after UConn’s Saturday Final Four win. The last time this program met Illinois in the NCAA Tournament—you know, when he had two points and played four minutes—was an entirely different circumstance for him.
That game—in which UConn surged to a 30-0 run—featured the rookie version of Ball. These days, Ball is a grown man tasked with leading this program to another national title.
Saturday indicates that he can do it, that all he’s poured into this program is paying off. Perhaps he’ll be celebrating again—this time, as a go-to guy—in this place on Monday night.
“When he’s hitting, I think we’re a scary team,” UConn guard Malachi Smith said. “We’re gonna need that on Monday, for sure.”
