The buzzer echoed through the Alamodome, and just like that, Auburn’s Final Four dream was over. Florida celebrated. Auburn fans stood shocked. And in the quiet that followed, I sat frozen behind my laptop, staring at a blank page, trying to find the words for a season that would go down in Auburn history. It was a game that felt like it would never end — until it ended too soon.
As the season came to a sudden end, I took in the close of two things at once: Auburn basketball’s run and my time at The Plainsman.
I started this year knowing it would be my last: my last season with The Plainsman, and possibly my last with journalism. There were still stories I wanted to write, goals I hadn’t met and a sense of responsibility to finish this season with intention and purpose.
Auburn basketball entered its season with well-earned hype — a deep roster, veteran leadership from Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell and a hunger to return to college basketball’s promised land for the first time since 2019. Thanks to student media, I had a front-row seat to it all — the rare chance to follow a team from first tip to final buzzer. From the opening night in Neville Arena to the last seconds in the Alamodome, I was given an opportunity that few student journalists will ever experience.
It wasn’t just the games — it was the moments in between. The pregame tension. The quiet confidence in the locker room. The way the crowd swelled with every run. I got to see it all — the wins that made Toomer's look like it just snowed, the losses that left the team stunned and everything in between that made this season more than just historical. Covering this team wasn’t just a job. It was a front-row seat to watching what will likely be the greatest team in the history of Auburn basketball go down in history.
There are moments I will never forget — driving to Durham to cover Auburn at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a trip I had dreamed about since I first started watching college basketball. Standing on the court watching Auburn cut down the nets in Atlanta after beating Michigan State to make the Final Four, sneaking some confetti off the court as I took it all in. Riding in the car to Lexington, running on not enough sleep and more than enough caffeine, laughing with my fellow Plainsman reporters as we mapped out our coverage plans and tried to guess postgame quotes before they happened.
I’ve written from hotel lobbies, media rooms, empty arenas, cramped cars — even a Cookout at two in the morning. I’ve interviewed Bruce Pearl after thrilling wins and gutting losses. I’ve transcribed quotes at midnight and sprinted through arena tunnels to catch Dylan Cardwell in the locker room for the perfect quote. (“Shoutout breakfast.”)
Through it all, I’ve learned to type fast, think clearly, ask important questions and care deeply about telling the story of this team right. And what a story this team gave me to tell.
This Auburn team showed up — for each other, every game, every moment. Through injuries, off nights and the grind of conference play, they never backed down. They were SEC regular season champions amid arguably the toughest SEC in history. They finished the season 32-6 and made the Final Four for the second time in program history. They had National Player of the Year Finalist Johni Broome.
But it wasn’t just the wins and accomplishments. It was witnessing the formation of a family, because that’s what this Auburn team was to each other. That’s what made this team special. And that’s what made covering them feel like such a privilege.
Even in that final loss to Florida, they fought until the last second and huddled on the court after the final buzzer for one last team prayer. That’s how I’ll remember this team — as a culmination of what it means to be part of the Auburn family and as one of the best Auburn squads ever.
I’m grateful I had the chance to help tell their story.
There were weeks when the deadlines felt endless — when classes, law school applications and life pulled me in every direction. But I kept showing up. Rushing to make it from games to classes to dinner with my roommates. I traveled. I did the work because it mattered — because this team gave me something worth documenting. Their season deserved to be covered with care and attention, and I was lucky to be the one doing it.
My time with The Plainsman — in arenas, in interviews and in the quiet hours editing drafts — shaped the way I see stories and the responsibility that comes with telling them. This season will stay with me, not because of all the places I went and games I watched, but because it was honest, competitive and full of moments that mattered.
This team earned its place in Auburn history — through how they played, how they carried themselves and how they represented the Auburn family. I’m glad I had the chance to cover it before I graduate.
And like any great run, it ended too soon.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
