Juan Cardona's phone started ringing early Tuesday morning.
The Golden Eagles' assistant coach expected it to be the typical morning phone call from head coach Jay Ladner before heading into work.
"Hey, Coach, what's up? I'm getting ready to go to the office," Cardona answered.
Instead, it was Ladner's wife, Jennifer, on the line.
"No, Juan, it's not Coach Ladner,'" she responded. 'It's Mrs. Jen. He had a situation."
It was a surreal moment for Cardona, who struggled to battle his emotions retelling the story after Southern Miss' 78-73 win against Old Dominion a day after Ladner's heart-related medical emergency.
"That man blessed my life, and it hit me," said Cardona, who was named the interim coach. "That guy has been a mentor to me...I went right away to see him in the hospital
"I had to make sure he was okay because my dad has had three of those," as Cardona pointed to his heart. "I'm very aware of the situation."
During Cardona's visit to Ladner, the Golden Eagle head coach grabbed Cardona's hand and said, "You saved my life," Cardona remembered. "That being career-wise, but I told him that he saved mine."
Cardona's circumstances are bittersweet since being a Division I head coach has been his dream. However, Cardona wanted to make the most of the situation not only for his mentor but also for his family. Just months before Ladner hired him in 2022, Cardona was living in his car in Miami with his family of five.
"I wouldn't be coaching Division I if it wasn't for that man," said Cardona as he fought back his tears. "It's a beautiful relationship that goes beyond basketball. That's how I treat the people in my circle. I don't have friends; I have family, and that's a brother to me."
The rest of Southern Miss' team was informed later that same evening.
"They brought us in and gave us the information," said senior guard Austin Crowley. "Everybody was down. We knew we had to pick it up for Coach Ladner. He would want us to go out and compete. We came together as a team, and everybody took a leadership role and stepped up."
Cardona's fiery energy on the sidelines helped rally the Golden Eagle team, which dressed just 10 players due to injuries on Wednesday night's game.
"Coach Juan is a big part of this team," said Donovan Ivory, who scored 16 points in the win over ODU. "He has energy the whole game and now he actually gets to stand up a little bit. There was nothing stopping him. It was exciting to see Coach Juan get up there and do what he is comfortable doing."
Against Old Dominion, Southern Miss managed to break the game open after playing a tight first half that had the Monarchs leading 34-33. Crowley's effort of 30 points and 11 rebounds propelled the Golden Eagles to put the Monarchs away in the second half, as they never relinquished the lead for the last 18 minutes of the game.
After the game, Crowley checked his phone and had a text from Ladner that read, 'Great job, AC. Love you. Way to step up.'
"We went out and competed the way Coach Ladner wanted us to," Crowley said. "He is one of those people that really cares about his players. As soon as I looked at my phone, I had a text from Coach Ladner, and he is in the hospital. That just shows he cares."
It's unknown when or if Ladner will return this season, but Cardona's approach moving forward is to put the team in its best position possible in anticipation of Ladner's return.
"We know the situation that we are in, but we are still the champs now," Cardona said. "Don't get it twisted. I think little by little you'll see that effort coming back, so when Coach Ladner gets here that, he gets a great situation to keep this thing going forward."
Southern Miss will host Western Michigan on Saturday, with tipoff set for 1 p.m.
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