BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot stopped after leaving the podium after his postgame press conference Wednesday night at the Barclays Center to ask me about my Polish last name. His wife has a Polish last name, too. He wondered if I knew any Polish words. At that moment, I couldn’t think of one, though I know Jablon means apple.

My grandpa Jim Jablonski and great grandpa Casimir, who was born in Poland in 1894 and emigrated to the United States to avoid being drafted into the Russian Army, probably would have been a bit disappointed in me at that moment.

Dambrot was in a good mood after an 83-73 victory against No. 14 seed Saint Louis in the final game of the second round. His team, the No. 6 seed, will play No. 3 Dayton in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

The press conference that followed had a different tone but was a memorable one for me.

After the game, multiple reports broke on X (Twitter) that Saint Louis and coach Travis Ford would be “parting ways.” This was no surprise. The last time Saint Louis fired a coach, Jim Crews, it also happened at the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn, in 2016.

Ford gave a general statement about the game in his press conference. Then his players, Terrance Hargrove and Gibson Jimerson, answered questions. When they left, they started passing around the microphone to various media members in attendance.

I’m not the Saint Louis reporter — obviously — but I knew the St. Louis Post Dispatch did not send its beat writer to Brooklyn and there was no one else there specifically to cover the Billikens. When I looked around the room, I realized I was probably the most veteran reporter in the room and the right person to ask the tough question to Ford. My goal was to ask it respectfully and with empathy in my voice.

The moment was a bit surreal because I remember watching the famous Duke-Kentucky game in which Ford played in 1992. He’s been a part of college basketball a long time. This might have been one of his last moments on the stage.

“Coach, there were multiple reports out there after the game that you won’t be back at Saint Louis,” I said. “Do you want to comment on that? Or can you confirm that?”

Ford gave a long and classy response without confirming the news, which would be announced later that night by the university. This was the final game of an eight-year run for him at Saint Louis and — the way he talked — maybe the final game of his coaching career.

“I’m not gonna get into that right now,” Ford said, “but I will say I have loved my time in St. Louis. I absolutely loved it. My kids would call it home. It’s maybe where I call home. The fans have been tremendous. I love the fan base, absolutely just love the fan base. And obviously the critics are always the loudest. I’ve been doing this a long time. When you play at Kentucky and you’ve been through the career I’ve had for 27 years, you kind of get that and understand it a little bit.”

Ford said he hears the loud critics but tuned them out over the last two months. He received 350 text messages, many from former players, on Tuesday after a 74-71 first-round victory against Rhode Island. That deluge of support overshadowed the criticism for Ford.

Ford said he told his players in the locker room Wednesday, “wins and losses come and go, but the relationships you build are what sticks with you.”

“It seems like yesterday I was at Campbellsville University 27 years ago as a young head coach,” Ford said. “Boy does time fly. I’m enjoyed my career. Twenty seven years is a long time. I’m good with that. I’m good with those 27 years and with the relationships I’ve built and games we’ve won and programs I’ve taken over. I’m good. I’m good from that standpoint.”

Saint Louis officially announced the firing of Ford at 10:23 p.m. Wednesday. Ford, 54, was 146-109 in eight seasons with one A-10 tournament championship and NCAA tournament berth in 2019.

A photo of Ford celebrating with the Billikens as confetti falls after the 2019 championship game is framed on a wall not far from the room where Ford held his final press conference as Saint Louis coach.

“For eight years, Travis led our men’s basketball program with passion and dignity,” SLU Director of Athletics Chris May said in a press release. “This decision was not made lightly. It is our expectation to regularly compete for conference championships and play in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, we have not met these expectations the last several years. We thank Travis for his dedication to SLU and wish him the best in the future.”

6:17 p.m.

I visited the grave of Alexander Hamilton this morning at Trinity Church in Manhattan. Hamilton famously died in a duel with Aaron Burr. He was about the same age, 47, as I am now, and sometimes I feel like dueling — when conferences split the player of the year award between two players, for example.

Hamilton would probably be at the Big East tournament tonight if he were still around because that’s closer to home at Madison Square Garden. Over at the A-10 tournament, where I’m typing this right now, the biggest celebrity is probably DaRon Holmes II.

Holmes and the Flyers arrived at the Barclays Center a little while ago, getting off a bus in the bowels of the arena and walking to the locker room. They play Duquesne at 7:30 p.m. Dayton will be the last of the 15 A-10 teams to play in the tournament.

Earlier today, No. 9 seed Saint Joseph’s beat No. 1 Richmond 66-61 and No. 5 VCU beat No. 4 UMass 73-59 to set up a unexpected semifinal game at 1 p.m. Saturday. VCU beat Saint Joseph’s 73-69 in the regular season.

“A lot of respect for them,” VCU coach Ryan Odom said of Saint Joseph’s. “They can beat anybody. They have proven that all year, right? They’ve beaten Villanova. They beat a lot of teams that are really good. And they’ve got a dynamite player (Erik Reynolds III). He’s not the only one. They have size up front. They have mismatch opportunities for their team. They have a dynamite freshman point guard who doesn’t play like a freshman. They have a veteran guard in (Lynn) Greer. And you can keep going, right?”