Northwestern's magic spread far beyond locker room

The magic of the Northwestern men's basketball team this season was well-documented by local and national media.

It was Cinderella beaming in all of her glory as the Wildcats put together a school-record 24 wins and a historic run capped off by the program's first NCAA tournament bid.

"It was so, so special," Shawn Baldwin said. "I mean, I don't know if I can quite put into words just how special and emotional this season was. It was magical."

But for Baldwin, a former Northwestern volleyball player and wife of men's basketball assistant coach Pat Baldwin (a former NU basketball player), the magic she will likely remember most from this season happened off the court, away from the cameras.

The "suit and shoes" story is one of her favorites.

"What most people didn't see this season is what a great group of guys we have on this team … really nice guys who are just such special people," Baldwin said. "I would trust any of them with my own kids, that's how great they are."

The Baldwins have four children: 14-year-old Patrick, 12-year-old Tatum, 9-year-old Brooke and 6-year-old Claire.

Patrick is the ball boy for all home games and a faithful fan. He frequently stops by practices after school, joining the film sessions and hanging out in the locker room.

"The guys are so good with Patrick," Shawn Baldwin said. "And he admires them so much. He has no brother, so these are the guys he looks up to. He wants to be like them."

Young Patrick is getting there. And fast. He's a 6-foot-6 eighth grader and already one of the most highly touted players in the area for his age.

For his eighth grade graduation picture, Patrick needed a suit, and he no longer fits into any of his dad's suits. Coach Baldwin, now in his fourth year at Northwestern, is 6-foot-2, as is Shawn Baldwin, a former middle hitter. Both graduated from Northwestern in 1994, as did I, after playing for four years on the basketball team. (Full disclosure: I introduced Pat and Shawn after a study hall for athletes during exam week freshman year.)

So, in need of a suit, young Patrick got an assist from one of his older "brothers." Senior forward Nathan Taphorn, who is 6-foot-7, happily loaned Patrick one of his suits.

Patrick has also been having a difficult time finding basketball shoes for his growing feet, which now are size 15. Senior guard Sanjay Lumpkin gave Patrick a pair of his old shoes.

"I remember when Patrick put that suit on for his pictures. You could tell it was like he felt like a million bucks," Shawn Baldwin said. "He was happy to have a new suit (that fit), but the fact that it was Nathan's suit made it so much better for him. That meant so much to him. And Sanjay giving him those shoes, it was just so nice.

"That's the way all the guys on this team are. So nice, so generous. They're really funny too. They are always joking around, always having fun. They are just really fun guys to be around. Not all teams are like this."

And for Baldwin, that made a magical season more special.

"It was a great season, but it was with guys who are just such great people," Shawn Baldwin said. "They really are a big family."

Northwestern's extended family showed up nicely in Salt Lake City, scene of the Wildcats' first- and second-round NCAA games last week. Prominent alums such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the mother of sophomore walk-on Charlie Hall, got plenty of camera time. But regular alums, students and former athletes, also came out to support the Wildcats on their historic journey.

"I don't know if TV really (did the Northwestern crowd justice). There were fans all the way up in the upper levels. It was just so touching to see all those Northwestern fans in Salt Lake City," Shawn Baldwin said. "You definitely felt the love.

"I know that for (coach) Pat, this whole season was so important to be able to do all the things we did and get this done for all the players and alums who came before us. This has been the goal, to be able to get this program to the NCAA tournament. To help (head coach Chris Collins) get that done has been incredible."

Even before NU got to the NCAA tournament, there was plenty of magic to go around.

There was a win over No. 21 Texas in nonconference play, a 2-point win at Ohio State, a win over No. 5 Wisconsin on the road and, of course, the instant classic victory over Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The Wildcats pulled out a win against the Wolverines on a shot at the buzzer that came off an improbable full-court inbounds pass.

"That Michigan win was unbelievable," said Shawn Baldwin, who has missed only four games over her husband's 16-year coaching career. "It was at that point that we knew that it wasn't a question anymore of if we were going to get to go to the NCAA tournament. We knew that we were going after that win. It was so emotional. Everyone was crying. I was crying, Pat was crying, the kids were crying. It just meant so much to our entire family."

Ditto for a lot of families in purple that day.

Fun team to follow. Nice to know that the magic of the Wildcats didn't run only skin deep.

• Patricia Babcock McGraw also works as a basketball color analyst for games involving DePaul University, the Big Ten, the Big East, Northern Illinois University, Chicago Sky and the Illinois High School Association. Follow her on Twitter @BabcockMcGraw.