Adem Bona, Andre Drummond, VJ Edgecombe among Sixers to watch UCLA-UConn

Adem Bona was immediately excited on Selection Sunday last week. His alma mater, UCLA, was playing in the Philadelphia region in the first two rounds.

Until he realized the game time. With the Sixers on the road in Utah on Saturday, all Bona could do was hope (and make a few phone calls to provide some light motivation) that the Bruins would win their first game against UCF on Friday so he could be in the building in the second round.

“I’m already making calls … like, “You better win the first game! I’m not [expletive] with you. Win it!” Bona joked.

He got his wish with UCLA topping UCF 75-71 to set up a matchup with No. 2 seed Connecticut on Sunday.

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And he wasn’t the only Sixer at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday. Bona and Tyrese Martin, who played at UConn under Dan Hurley from 2020-22, had a bet going on the game, and proud Connecticut native and former UConn star Andre Drummond also made sure to make it to the game.

From 2022-24, Bona played for Mick Cronin and the Bruins, making one NCAA Tournament appearance in the Round of 32 against Northwestern in 2023. Drummond, who played for UConn for one season from 2011-2012, played in one NCAA Tournament game against Iowa State.

Bona sat two rows back from the court, stopped to take photos with every fan who asked, UCLA and Sixer faithful alike. If Bona wasn’t 6-foot-10, he’d have blended right in with UCLA’s most passionate fans, cheering loudly for every basket, screaming at the officials, hyping up the crowd, and even chirping with Drummond, who journeyed down courtside to press row in the second half.

Before the game, Bona greeted Cronin and the UCLA players, and even after the disappointing 73-57 loss, he was in the locker room providing support. As one of his old teammates, reserve Jack Seidler, got into the game in the final seconds, Bona had his phone out, loudly cheering for his every opportunity.

“It’s been great being here,” Cronin said postgame. “I got to see Adem Bona before the game. They got back from the road trip. I got to see some of my guys that work for the Eagles, Connor Barwin and Joe Pannunzio, people I love dearly. It’s been a good trip.”

Barwin played basketball for Cronin at Cincinnati, and Pannunzio, who is a special teams coach with the Eagles and was the head football coach at Murray State while Cronin coached basketball there. Cronin also shouted out the Sixers’ team dentist, Jeff Goldfine, who fixed guard Skyy Clark’s tooth after it got knocked out in the first round.

But ultimately, Martin is the one walking home with the money from the bet, after UConn advanced to the Sweet 16. Drummond, who proudly caught a T-shirt in the T-shirt toss, took his victory lap with Bona as the game ended.

Postgame with the victorious Huskies, VJ Edgecombe might’ve been the most popular guy in the room, chatting with, among others, former Long Island Lutheran teammates Jayden and Jacob Ross — if not for senior guard Alex Karaban, who scored a career-high 27 points to extend his college career a little while longer.

Karaban is a unicorn in today’s college basketball landscape, a five-year player who’s been with UConn since 2022, winning two national titles in 2023 and 2024. Karaban said the history and pride of the program, built through the championship legacy of former coach Jim Calhoun and now Hurley, is part of why the alumni network is so strong.

“I’ve had a long alum tree, I guess really a teammate tree,” Karaban said. “I was a redshirt when Tyrese Martin was here, and seeing him in the family section was awesome. During the game, that just brought a smile to my face … Andre Drummond, I spent the summer with him, helping him work his basketball camp. There really is a true brotherhood, and it always puts a smile on my face seeing old teammates come back and support us.”