"I might have fouled out," J.P. Macura said, his long legs angling out from one of the courtside seats in Cintas Center as he recalled his final home game at Xavier.
He did foul out.
Macura's last home game was on Feb. 28, 2018, an 84-74 win over Providence that clinched Xavier's first-ever Big East Conference regular-season championship.
"Leaving the court, it was honestly pretty sad," Macura said Thursday. "The fans were so good and it was such a great four years here."
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But now he's back, about to do something he never thought he'd get to do again – play in front of Xavier fans in Cintas Center.
Macura will play Saturday night in the Crosstown Shootout alumni game and he'll play next week with Zip 'Em Up, Xavier's alumni team, in The Basketball Tournament at Cintas Center.
"I was honestly very happy for the fans too," Macura said of the opportunity to return and play at Xavier. "I know a lot of those guys, it's hard for them to follow our careers overseas . . . but now we're coming back and it's just super exciting."
For all the excitement that comes with returning, Macura's life is a lot different today than it was when he left four years ago.
He's a father now.
Macura and his longtime girlfriend, Simone Kolander, recently welcomed their first child, Stella.
"Life-changing in a positive way," Macura smiled. "You got to solely focus your life on keeping the baby alive and giving them your attention. It's pretty cool to see her growing up so fast. She's already about 14 pounds. It's going quick. It's been two and a half months and it's just awesome."
It's been a big change, one that Macura appreciates and cherishes.
"Every day is something new," he said. "Just the way you look at things, it's a little different for me now with a daughter. Like everything I do, I'm thinking about her. I didn't have really any responsibilities and now I have huge responsibilities."
His post-workout routine now involves feeding his daughter. His nights are filled with checking to see if Stella's sleeping peacefully.
"Always something you gotta do, which is fun," Macura said. "It's also tiring, but it's rewarding."
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Macura's smallest fan made the trip to Cincinnati with her mother to watch her dad play again in Cintas Center.
"With headphones on," Macura said, grinning.
Macura plays professionally in Italy now. It's the off-season. He'll head back in mid-August for training camp ahead of another season.
But the farther he gets away from Xavier, the things he misses stay with him. The people scatter apart, the places change, but the memories last.
"As time goes on, you get distant with some people, you know, haven't seen them in years, you talk to them every once in a while, but it's never that feeling of being together," said Macura. "That's why I'm excited about this because we're back together in a way."
Sometimes he thinks about what his life might look like if he didn't choose Xavier.
"It would be a totally different story," he said. "It was the best experience of my life . .. I'm just thankful I went here."
Xavier fans are thankful, too.
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