Josh Mullins has spent years building a house divided, and Monday night it becomes national-title material. His son, UConn guard Braylon Mullins, will face Michigan in the championship game, putting a player raised in a Michigan-leaning home on the opposite side of the program his father once loved.
The matchup has already pulled the Mullins family into the spotlight in Indianapolis, where Josh attended Friday’s open practice with his wife and twin sons. UConn entered the title game with a 34-5 record, and the family will now watch its youngest high-profile member play for the championship against the team that first won over his father in Indiana.
Josh Mullins said he grew up in Indiana but became a dedicated Michigan fan anyway, thanks to the pull of the Fab Five and, later, Tom Brady. “When I was growing up, you know, the Fab Five,” he said. “I was a huge football fan, that’s why I like Brady.”
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That affection ran deep enough that he named his oldest son Braylon after former Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards. Josh said he had been trying to steer the whole family toward Michigan, only to see the basketball ties loosen over time. “I tried to get all of them to buy in on (Michigan),” he said, before adding the family’s new allegiance in plain terms: “It’s UConn all the way.”
The timing makes the story more than a sentimental footnote. Josh did a podcast this week with Edwards, a meeting that carried extra weight because he had never met Edwards in person before. He also said he was hopeful of meeting Jalen Rose, Chris Webber and the rest while they were in Indianapolis doing TV work over the weekend, a reminder that the old Michigan connection still has pull even as his son now wears UConn colors.
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For all the nostalgia, the hard edge of the game is simple: Braylon Mullins is playing for a UConn team that has spent the season winning, while his father’s old school stands between him and a title. The family history gives Monday night another layer, but the result will decide whether a Michigan fan from Indiana ends the week celebrating with the Huskies or watching his son beat the team that shaped his sports identity.
