Minnesota senior guard Dupree McBrayer was surrounded by family as he was honored at Senior Night before the Golden Gophers’ upset over No. 11 Purdue on Tuesday. But his mother, Tayra McFarlane, was missing.
She died in December after fighting cancer, and the team now wears “TM” decals on their uniforms to honor her.
Briefly with the microphone while the seniors were being celebrated, McBrayer emotionally thanked Minnesota’s fans for supporting him through his difficult season. He said he considered quitting the team and said they helped push him forward.
McBrayer said:
“I really wanna thank y’all from the bottom of my heart. When my mom died, I just felt like quitting basketball. Y’all helped me get through that. This is one big family, and I’m definitely gonna miss it. And I just want to say I love y’all.”
On what is often already an emotional night, McBrayer’s teammates were there to support him, along with the rest of the senior class, which includes forward Jordan Murphy. Via the Minneapolis Star Tribune ahead of Senior Night:
“Dupree’s pretty emotional with everything that he’s gone through,” Murphy said. “This was probably the hardest time he’s been through. Just being able to be there with him on his last night and being a brother to him is really important.”
After taking down Purdue, 73-69, Minnesota is now 19-11 on the season, and it put the Boilermakers’ hopes of a Big Ten title in jeopardy. The Golden Gophers finish the regular season Friday on the road against Maryland.
