The Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team had one of their disappointing losses this season when they were thrashed by the Maryland Terrapins on Wednesday. The defeat came with its own implications and their star player Payton Sandfort came to the fore to take the blame on himself.

Other than the loss in the game, Sandfort had suffered another setback when his grandmother passed away on Wednesday morning on the day of the contest. But that did not deter him from getting out on the field. However, the beloved’s departure did stop him from giving his best.

What did Sandfort say?

After the defeat, Sandfort with all his maturity admitted to having been shaken by the loss in the post-game press conference. As per the Des Moines Register, he overtly enumerated that he “Kinda tried to play for her but wasn’t there mentally. And I think you kinda saw that down the stretch. Just made some plays I don’t normally make. And that was devastating because it felt like I let my guys down.”

The baller also went on to state that “Her(grandmother) getting the opportunity to watch Wednesday, watch today from Heaven with my Granpa has been a really special thing,” Sandfort said as per journalist Tyler Tachman. “I think I have peace in knowing that. It gives me joy that she was watching today.” 

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For his honesty Sandfort got much applause on the social media networking platform X. Basketball analyst Raphael Davis opined: “This is what good leadership looks like. This is how you need your leader to respond after a tough loss.”

Sandfort tried his level best in the game but could only pot 6 points in the game during the 30 minutes he plied his trade. As for the defense end, it was so much better than his offensive skills since he nabbed 7 rebounds in the process. He could only basket 3 of the field goals out of the 9 opportunities he got. Another stat that displayed his poor shooting skills was that he throttled none of the 4 three-pointer chances he got. He also only provided a solitary assist and 2 blocks.

Notably as per Sports Journalist Tyler Tachman, Sandfort’s grandmother was battling dementia and wasn’t able to see her grandson playing on the court during towards the end of her life. The junior forward’s response showed the maturity with which he handled the game’s loss as well as how much he must have grieved for his grandmother.

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Nonetheless, he found solace in the fact that his grandmother “was watching today.” And instead of sitting out for the game decided to play. Meanwhile, Sandfort improved his performance which was visible in their next against Juwan Howard‘s Michigan Wolverines.

How did Sandfort perform in his next?

Sandfort basketed an exceptional 26 points and helped his win the game by an 88-78 margin. He should be given credit for it and his teammate Tony Perkins too deserves it. For the record, Perkins’s grandmother had passed away before the game against the North Florida. And Perkins revealed that he “talked (to Sandfort) after the press conference we had (on Wednesday).” He motivated Sandfort by telling him that he is “a good player” and “I told him just keep shooting. Like if you miss some shots, keep shooting.”

Payton demonstrated some exceptional wisdom while handling both the losses and with Perkins on his side both Sandford and the team can only think of going up from here. Hopefully, the Hawkeyes will continue their on-song performance in the upcoming games.

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