AMHERST — Coming to UMass made T.J. Weeks Jr. nervous at first.

Not only was college a big thing, he was following in his father’s footsteps. Tyrone Weeks was an important part of the greatest stretch of UMass men’s basketball history from 1994-98.

“I feel like I had high expectation coming in because of what my dad accomplished,” T.J. Weeks said. “I shouldered those expectations, and that’s what fueled my nervousness.”

Saturday he’ll stand shoulder to shoulder with his father, mother Kim and other family members when he’s honored for senior day along with five other Minutemen ahead of UMass’ regular season finale against Saint Bonaventure (2:30 p.m. USA): John Kelly, Wildens Leveque, Brandon Martin, Noah Fernandes and Isaac Kante.

“It went by kind of fast. When I was younger people were like, college goes by like *snaps* and I didn’t really believe them,” T.J. Weeks said. “Now that I’m here, it went by in the blink of an eye.”

Weeks went from one of the nation’s oldest freshmen after he redshirted following a sports hernia that robbed him of all but 10 games his first season and receiving the NCAA’s blanket COVID waiver to one of its youngest “seniors.” He’s technically listed as a redshirt junior and has two more seasons of eligibility should he pursue them. That decision hasn’t been made yet, but Weeks stayed in Amherst for four seasons as his teammates and coaches shifted around him.

“It’s my home here. I wanted to stay here no matter what happened,” he said. “My parents met here. My dad went here. I went here. I want my brothers to come here. Being here is home. I come into these buildings, even around campus I’m at home.”

Weeks embraced his shifting cast of teammates and formed bonds with every permutation of the Minutemen.

“The camaraderie here with my teammates. Every year we had a different group of guys but they all felt like brothers to me. The first game we wouldn’t really speak to each other but as the year went on we talked more and grew to love each other,” Weeks said.

That includes this year’s crop, which has battled a rash of injuries. Fernandes has missed much of the season with an ankle injury and likely won’t return. The senior will still be recognized for his three seasons of dedication to the Minutemen.

“Even before I had an opportunity to see him play, his was the first name that came up talking to guys in the league. Special talent,” UMass associate head coach Allen Edwards said. “Then you get around him, and you see it.”

UMass coach Frank Martin wasn’t made available Friday after dealing with an illness that has worked its way around the program. He’s still expected to coach Saturday, especially since his son Brandon will be honored.

“This is why he hired who he hired. If he has to be away from us (Friday), the show still goes on,” Edwards said. “I would find it very hard for him not to be on the sideline, especially if it’s senior night.”

Brandon Martin is one of two South Carolina transfers that followed Frank Martin to Amherst along with Brockton native Wildens Leveque.

“This is pretty cool having my senior day in front of my family,” Leveque said. “My parents get to walk me here basically in my backyard.”

Kelly, the younger brother of former UMass guard Rich Kelly, has played sparingly in his two seasons as a Minuteman but was an important piece during the summer practice transition period while Martin was getting to know the team before some of the transfers had arrived.

“Big John is a great kid. He’s a worker,” Edwards said. “Obviously hasn’t gotten the playing time, but that hasn’t deterred him from coming in and getting extra work in. I always tell guys this basketball thing is a direct correlation to life.”

Kante followed Derek Kellogg from LIU and has been a consistent presence in the post for the Minutemen.

“Very mature as a kid,” Edwards said. “I knew a few people who knew who he was, so we were able to talk. What I love about Isaac is he understands who he is as a person. He could have easily walked away from this with the degrees and all of that stuff but wanted to give ball one more shot.”

It will be far from the traditional senior day with the new staff combined with few players that have spent their whole careers as Minutemen.

“Because of this transfer thing you’ve got guys how have only been in your program seven months and you’re going through a senior day. You’re missing being able to see a kid grow from a freshman to a senior,” Edwards said. “It’s still an appreciation thing, a recognition thing for the guys for committing to something. It still should be something that’s special and celebrated.”

Then there’s the basketball game that follows. Saint Bonaventure (14-16, 8-9 Atlantic 10) is eighth in the league standings and needs a win to secure that position. The Bonnies broke a five-game losing streak Sunday at Saint Joseph’s and haven’t played since. They bulldozed the Minutemen (14-15, 5-12) to open the league season on New Year’s Eve but haven’t found consistency since.

“We’ve shown growth, but we have to show it all 40 minutes. Saturday is a perfect time to show that we’ve grown and we can play for all 40 minutes,” Weeks said. “We’re going to need all 40 minutes in the [Atlantic 10] tournament. There’s no team that wins that plays 25 or 30 minutes.”

UMass is just 1-8 in its last nine games and is guaranteed to play on the A-10 tournament’s opening day for the first time since 2019. The Minutemen will either be the No. 13 seed with a win or a Rhode Island loss against Davidson, or the No. 14 if they lose and the Rams win. There are four teams with 10 losses, so their matchup will be determined by the final weekend’s results.

“When you’re talking about whether it be the last game or going into the tournament, when it clicks and we’re on it, defending, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, getting to the free throw line, there’s an opportunity to win,” Edwards said.

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.]]>