No. 3 Illinois punched its ticket March 28 with a 71-59 win over Iowa in Houston and will face No. 2 UConn on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

For Leconte Nix, a Community teaching assistant and assistant boy’s basketball coach who has been watching Illinois basketball from the stands since he was 10 years old, the run has been decades in the making. Nix is a season ticket holder at State Farm Center—and at Memorial Stadium for football—and has built much of his identity, and his coaching philosophy, around the program.

The Inkspot sat down with Nix to talk about the tradition that keeps him in his seat, the coaching habits he’s picked up from watching the Illini up close and the memories that define his fandom.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Q: What made you become a season ticket holder?

A: My parents had season tickets when I was young, so I just carried on the tradition and have been going to games ever since I was 10 years old. Going to so many great games in State Farm Center and in Memorial Stadium—I’m a season ticket holder for football as well—I just want to keep the tradition.

Q: Where are your seats?

A: They’re 100-level seats. My parents had them for a long time, and they just donated them to me to keep it going. I’m right behind the backboard on the left. You can see everything. You can see Coach Underwood. They’re great seats.

Q: What makes it worth paying for season tickets?

A: I’m a basketball junkie. I gave a lot away this year to the teachers in our building, so they got to experience it too. I love seeing people have fun and enjoy themselves.

Q: You’ve had to miss some Illini games because they lined up with Ironmen games. Was there one you were bummed about missing?

A: Yes, I gave Coach Jason Drengwitz tickets to the Maryland game. I gave those tickets to Drengwitz because we had practice, and he had a blast. He sat behind Peja Stojakovic. He was on TV and everything. So he had a great time.

Q: How has Illinois basketball shaped you into the coach you are today?

A: I just like going in and learning the way they teach. Coach Dave Witzig teaches a lot of the same things—togetherness. I love going to see Illinois practice. That’s the beautiful thing about being a coach. You get all the access to U of I practice, and I go all the time. I’ve been doing it ever since I started coaching.

Q: What have you seen from this Illini team that makes them so special?

A: The camaraderie. They play well together. The European connection is funny. They play hard and play well together, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the Final Four.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite Illinois moment?

A: I’ve got a couple. The first one, when I was a kid, Nick Anderson hit a shot against Indiana at Indiana to beat them in overtime. It was simply amazing, but I wasn’t there. A game I was at is when they played Wake Forest, and they had the 2005 team with Deron Williams and those guys.

Wake Forest had Chris Paul and a really good team, and we ended up blowing them out. So that was a fun game for me. Probably most memorable.

Q: Who’s your favorite Illini player of all time?

A: I’ll say Frank Williams, for sure. He was there when I was there. And Nick Anderson—he was a stud. Nick is probably my favorite out of those two.

Q: How well did you think the Illini would do heading into the tournament?

A: They’ll go to the Final Four and do some damage.