And just a few feet from the court, often leaning forward with intensity, clapping, shouting instructions and encouragement, stood a player who helped build a lot of it.
Miami junior point guard Evan Ipsaro — a Covington Catholic graduate who was once up for Kentucky player of the year — watched most of it unfold without him this season. He was forced to endure the experience as both participant and observer.
His role was reshaped after a devastating knee injury cut short his year. It was a moment that didn’t feel unusual — until it did.
Ipsaro had made the drive to the basket countless times. It was instinct, repetition and muscle memory built over years — the same kind of instinct that helped him become one of Miami’s most reliable backcourt pieces.
Before everything changed, Ipsaro was in the middle of a breakout season.
He averaged 13.9 points and ran Miami’s offense with pace and efficiency, controlling tempo and limiting mistakes. He had already landed on the early-season watch list for the Lou Henson Award, given annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball.
He wasn’t just producing — he was stabilizing.
Ipsaro was the type of steadying presence teams don’t replace with a single substitution.
A year earlier, Ipsaro had played in all 34 games, emerging as one of the most efficient guards in the Mid-American Conference. He led the team from the free throw line at 81.4%, finished second on the roster in assists (100) and assists per game (2.94), and posted the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the MAC.
That consistency had been building since his earlier seasons. In 2023-24, Ipsaro played 29 games with 11 starts, led Miami with 2.6 assists per game and again ranked atop the MAC in assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play.
His offensive game had taken another leap entering this season.
Ipsaro shot 57.3% from the field and 40.6% from 3-point range, pairing efficiency with a more aggressive scoring mindset. That growth showed in early December, when he scored 24 points against Maine — only to top it four days later with a career-high 27 in a win at UNC Asheville.
All of it shaped the player — and leader — Miami relied on.
Then, at Ball State — just 12 games in — everything changed.
“Yeah, it was a drive I had done a thousand times,” Ipsaro said. “Just got kind of nudged in the back. My leg was sideways and I tried to jump off — kind of a straight sideways leg.
“Then, yeah, I blew my ACL and meniscus.”
The injury came during Miami’s Mid-American Conference opener — and immediately cast a shadow over what had been a perfect start.
“Very, very, very unfortunate,” Miami coach Travis Steele said then. “Obviously you hate seeing a young man, especially of his character, go through an injury. He gives his heart and soul. He’s the best teammate.”
The weight of it lingered.
“It’s a gut punch,” Steele said. “Didn’t feel like we won at Ball State, I’ll be honest. It was kind of a somber feeling in the locker room afterwards.”
A season watched, not played
The reset came quickly.
Just hours after the injury, Miami returned home and turned Millett Hall into something of a reset button, rolling past Milligan 135-81 behind 32 assists, 20 made 3-pointers and 74 points from its bench.
It wasn’t just a win — it was a response.
“It’s a challenge to our team,” Steele said. “Our team’s gonna have to have different guys step up. It’s not gonna be just one guy.”
That identity — built on sharing the ball and collective responsibility — became essential.
“It was good for us to play a game in between these MAC games, you know, without Evan, just to get acclimated,” Steele said.
Miami didn’t slow down.
The RedHawks kept winning, extending the longest winning streak in Mid-American Conference history and remaining one of the last unbeaten teams in Division I deep into the season.
The response started in the backcourt.
Luke Skaljac stepped into the starting point guard role and steadied the offense, embracing responsibilities that once belonged to Ipsaro.
“Obviously, it was devastating to have Evan go down,” Skaljac said months ago. “He’s my best friend, big mentor. It shows what we are as a team, that next-man-up mentality.
“I think I’ve done a good job settling down, being able to run the offense, staying poised and calm throughout tough moments, especially on the road.”
A former Ohio Mr. Basketball finalist, Skaljac grew into the role quickly. He averaged 13.3 points in his first 11 starts after Ipsaro’s injury, scoring in double figures in nine of them while posting a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“Super proud of Luke,” Steele said. “Listen, I knew this was coming for him. When we recruited him, he was the best guard in the state of Ohio. It was a huge, huge get for us.”
Steele said Skaljac’s emergence reflected the program’s identity.
“Luke just steps up. That’s who he is,” Steele said. “He plays at his own pace, doesn’t get sped up, makes everybody around him better.
“He’s as good as an offensive guard as there is in our league.”
For Ipsaro, watching that growth was both gratifying and difficult.
“You almost feel like you’re doing them a disservice when you’re not there with them,” Ipsaro said. “Especially because I know how much they relied on me throughout the year.”
Pride and frustration existed side by side.
“I’d say I’m just incredibly proud of everybody on the team,” Ipsaro said. “I think stepping into your role was something that was really important at the beginning of the year.”
That buy-in mirrored the way Ipsaro had always played — controlled, unselfish and team-first.
It was also the same mentality that kept him in Oxford.
When Steele arrived, Ipsaro became his first offer — a point guard he viewed as an extension of the coaching staff on the floor.
Ipsaro never wavered.
“I just told him ‘no’ from the get-go,” Ipsaro said of entering the transfer portal. “I never really had any intention on leaving.”
That loyalty — and leadership — carried into his new role.
Ipsaro became a vocal presence on the bench, often described by Steele as an extension of the coaching staff — directing traffic, calling out coverages and helping maintain composure in high-pressure moments.
“Being voted a captain on the team, I think it’s my responsibility no matter what my role is,” Ipsaro said. “I still feel like it’s my role to have my voice and help the other guys out.
“They tell me all the time, like, we appreciate how much you talk to us.”
His teammates made sure of it.
“I think the main thing I’ll take away from being injured is just how much the team really cares about you,” he added.
Running without running
One moment captured the entire experience.
The game-winning shot Peter Suder made to beat Buffalo in Oxford sparked a rush of players onto the court. The bench emptied instantly.
Ipsaro tried to follow.
“I kind of figured he was going to bury that thing,” Ipsaro said. “The team took off and I was like, ‘I’m not fast enough to keep up with them.’ So I just kind of ditched the crutches and started hobbling.”
It wasn’t smooth. It wasn’t easy.
It felt necessary.
“Like, I needed to be there with them regardless of whether I was playing or not,” Ipsaro said.
That instinct — to remain part of the moment — defined his season.
A national spotlight followed Miami’s run.
“It’s awesome,” Ipsaro said. “The attention for the university itself is amazing.”
Steele even said Ipsaro’s journey — from starting guard to sidelined leader — embodied the culture Miami built throughout the season.
Resilience. Connectivity. Trust. But pride ultimately outweighed everything else.
“I really couldn’t be any more proud of this group,” Ipsaro said.
Miami’s season will be remembered for wins, milestones and a long-awaited return to national relevance — but Ipsaro’s story lives within it.
The huddles, the leadership, the unseen work and the voice that never left the floor, even when he had to.
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