March Madness Legend Doug McDermott Goes Viral Reacting To His 2014 ‘Sports Illustrated’ Cover: “That Was A Long Night”

Taking a walk down memory lane.

The first round of March Madness officially kicks off on Thursday, and while we are all getting our brackets ready to roll, hoping that our beloved team makes it to the championship game and secures the massive trophy, other players from March Madness’ pasts are reliving memories.

One player who is taking a walk down memory lane to their time playing in the March Madness court is the famed former Creighton University player Doug McDermott.

McDermott, nicknamed Dougie McBuckets, was the star of Creighton’s team as he led the nation in scoring in the 2013–14  season. McBuckets was also a three-time consensus first-team All-American and the national player of the year as a senior in 2014. Most impressively, in his college career, he finished with the fifth-highest points in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.

After passing 3,000 collegiate career points, McDermott was asked to be the face of Sports Illustrated, posing in the same position as Larry Bird did for his cover, “College Basketball’s Secret Weapon,” from Nov. 28, 1977. The small forward stands tall in the center of the image, with two Creighton cheerleaders squatting on either side of him.

11 years ago today, the cover of Sports Illustrated. pic.twitter.com/BlP4vlYLXI

— TodayInSports (@TodayInSportsCo) March 17, 2025

On the 11th anniversary of the magazine cover, @TodayInSportsCo shared the image on Twitter (now X), noting it’s been over a decade since McDermott was on the NCAA Tournament court. While Creighton did not secure the championship win that year, there’s no doubt that McDermott was a significant reason his team made it as far as they did, and he was an MVP of that year’s tournament. 

After @TodayInSportsCo shared the image, McDermott quoted the post but threw fans a shot fake with this comment. Most fans expected him to reply, noting how special that shoot was or maybe making a joke about how long ago that was, leading him into his NBA career. But instead, he made a hilarious joke referencing the cheerleaders in the cover image. 

“That was a long night.”

That was a long night https://t.co/LLAMrIgiFU

— Doug McDermott (@DougMcDermott) March 18, 2025

McBuckets has jokes, eh? To say the internet was shocked with this hilariously clever response was an understatement. Quickly, many fans of the now Sacramento Kings replied to his post, feeding off his joke and continuing on with the subtle hint he had game back in 2014 or sharing their surprise at his reply. God bless March Madness.

Check out some of my favorite responses.

Doug talking bout the cheerleaders not march madness https://t.co/ujPnKvpgc0 pic.twitter.com/IbqAnLXzQb

— Jimmy Chestnut (@Aubfather) March 19, 2025

McBuckets wild for this https://t.co/ThqPQgOCJv

— (@ThatNiggaMando) March 19, 2025

Spurs legend https://t.co/NT3VaxoLh0

— FiddyshadesofTrey (@FiddyshadesofT) March 19, 2025

But where is she now, and what's her instagram? https://t.co/pclARv46ur pic.twitter.com/ZEjk9zeTJ2

— Kentavious Tripleflips (@GmingClipz) March 19, 2025

Dougie McBuckets Scores x2 https://t.co/Ut0KpIJgPs

— Bonesaw McGraw (@jackrabbit720) March 19, 2025

Hitting 3's on and off the court https://t.co/1hkQtYFlaL

— Al (@BoldAdvisor) March 19, 2025

https://t.co/Y0p4ImthXG pic.twitter.com/6QqQ3w7R2B

— IdentityTheftMAAC (@MaacTheft) March 19, 2025

Dougie McBuckets was a freak in the sheets??? https://t.co/N9UWkSZk2q

— Dean Reiber’s Jumper (Cody Gunderson Believer) (@Grim_Reiber) March 19, 2025

this is a willllld tweet https://t.co/kxLMvkoIkh

— Johnell (@johnellpannell) March 19, 2025

I see you playa https://t.co/CB1BRlGIQe

— Determined (@JwillProBound) March 19, 2025

https://t.co/kb5I1uljWg pic.twitter.com/AfEMDdS9h8

— ABDUL CARTER = COURTNEY BROWN (@cecilford20) March 19, 2025

Not what they said https://t.co/GAo3Jv8HDE

— Odie (@CodyMoyer113) March 19, 2025

https://t.co/rWKJon4kZh pic.twitter.com/nH2bBe8dcC

— Sweet Lou (@Louis_Ville) March 19, 2025