March Madness - And then there were Two

Icky Mettle said:
Interesting. Regardless of how the NBA defines “game-winning shot,” I think most people would define it as the last shot taken by the winning team that also gives that team the lead immediately after being down or tied.
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I don't think that's right. If a player makes a shot to put his team up 2 with 2 minutes left, and then neither team scores again, would anyone really call that "the winning shot"? That's just a shot, followed by two minutes of inept offense/great defense.

When we think of game winning shots, we usually require some proximity to the end of the game. Now maybe you can say that 16 seconds is close enough and that's fine. I probably would have done better to describe in terms of buzzer beaters. That's what the MJ shot lacked. There was still plenty of game action after.
 
Bigs23 said:
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Watching that is unreal. Guy dribbled like four times just to make it close to half court and then dribbled three or more times to get around the defender. He would have had his pocket picked three times in today's game.

That clip just reinforces how much harder the game is today, and how much more skilled the players are. They don't stand straight up when dribbling and take small steps.
 
Heelsandeers said:
Where does the Mullins shot rank among all time tournament shots?

When factoring in degree of difficulty and the comeback it’s hard to think of many that top it
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I think Kris Jenkins tops it simply because it was the final game. I’d probably put Lorenzo Charles dunk ahead of it for the same reason. But this tops all 1st and 2nd round games by default and is also ahead of Luke Maye and Christian Laetner.
 
Mullins shot was a singular great shot from a good distance. What makes the Laettner one still better (beyond the more favorable result) was the pass that led to it and the move. Plus the game was higher quality throughout. Sunday was between two teams that only showed up for a half each.

I think this one will be like the big shots from valpo, etc. Big and memorable no doubt
 
aGDevil2k said:
Mullins shot was a singular great shot from a good distance. What makes the Laettner one still better (beyond the more favorable result) was the pass that led to it and the move. Plus the game was higher quality throughout. Sunday was between two teams that only showed up for a half each.

I think this one will be like the big shots from valpo, etc. Big and memorable no doubt
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Nah, Mullins shot is better. The fact that it came on a frenzied, live ball turnover amped up the shock factor.
 
aGDevil2k said:
Mullins shot was a singular great shot from a good distance. What makes the Laettner one still better (beyond the more favorable result) was the pass that led to it and the move. Plus the game was higher quality throughout. Sunday was between two teams that only showed up for a half each.

I think this one will be like the big shots from valpo, etc. Big and memorable no doubt
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Oh no, it's WAY bigger than Valparaiso.

This was a shot vs the Evil Empire to get to the FF.

You're going to see it every March for decades to come.
 
aGDevil2k said:
Mullins shot was a singular great shot from a good distance. What makes the Laettner one still better (beyond the more favorable result) was the pass that led to it and the move. Plus the game was higher quality throughout. Sunday was between two teams that only showed up for a half each.

I think this one will be like the big shots from valpo, etc. Big and memorable no doubt
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But the casual fan who tunes into the NCAAT and doesn’t otherwise closely follow either of the two teams playing doesn’t remember the entire game (if they even watched the whole thing or watched it at all). They just react to the shot. A clip of a shot from that distance to win a game after being down 2 (and bonus excitement for doing that immediately after forcing a turnover) is a hell if a plug for most people tuning into the tourney in the coming years. Recency may have its advantage as well.
 
dukeman92 said:
By that rational, Kris Jenkins shot is the best shot in tournament history. Frenzied rush up court, stepped into a three that won the National Championship game.
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Don’t most people already consider the Kris Jenkins shot to be the best shot in tournament history? A hurried buzzer beater 3 to win the championship to cap a tense back and forth game. I think that has to be number one given the context.

I think the Mullins shot needs some time to breathe before you can definitively rank it. If UConn ends up winning it all it’s at least in the conversation with the Laettner shot.
 
Icky Mettle said:
But the casual fan who tunes into the NCAAT and doesn’t otherwise closely follow either of the two teams playing doesn’t remember the entire game (if they even watched the whole thing or watched it at all). They just react to the shot. A clip of a shot from that distance to win a game after being down 2 (and bonus excitement for doing that immediately after forcing a turnover) is a hell if a plug for most people tuning into the tourney in the coming years. Recency may have its advantage as well.
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Agreed.
 
Peppers49 said:
Don’t most people already consider the Kris Jenkins shot to be the best shot in tournament history? A hurried buzzer beater 3 to win the championship to cap a tense back and forth game. I think that has to be number one given the context.
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I didn't. But I also didn't really think about it... but it kinda has to be.
 
dukeman92 said:
By that rational, Kris Jenkins shot is the best shot in tournament history. Frenzied rush up court, stepped into a three that won the National Championship game.
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Disagree that the Jenkins shot was result of frenzied rush up court. There was a great article in the NYT a week or two after the game that talked about how Villanova practiced the play called "Nova" every single day of practice. And earlier this month, in the documentary 4.7 Seconds, Jay Wright discusses that play. It had three options, the last of which was the dish off to Jenkins.

If you can find a clip of the 2009 East Regional Final, you will see that Villanova ran the exact same play except on that one, the point guard, Scottie Reynolds, was able to drive to the basket [which was one of the other two options on "Nova"] for the game winning shot.

Heck the Jenkins shot was so UNfrenzied that Villanova's center took the "mop" from the ballboy to make sure the spot on the court extra clean and dry sicne that is where Archidiacano was going to be dribbling the ball.
 
Peppers49 said:
Don’t most people already consider the Kris Jenkins shot to be the best shot in tournament history? A hurried buzzer beater 3 to win the championship to cap a tense back and forth game. I think that has to be number one given the context.

I think the Mullins shot needs some time to breathe before you can definitively rank it. If UConn ends up winning it all it’s at least in the conversation with the Laettner shot.
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One difference, the Nova/UNC game was tied. Mullins shot flipped the outcome as did Laettner's.
 
dukeman92 said:
By that rational, Kris Jenkins shot is the best shot in tournament history. Frenzied rush up court, stepped into a three that won the National Championship game.
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uh, yeah. obviously.

lol at you trying to create some sort of gotcha moment for heels fans in here using something that is pretty widely accepted.
 
Peppers49 said:
Don’t most people already consider the Kris Jenkins shot to be the best shot in tournament history? A hurried buzzer beater 3 to win the championship to cap a tense back and forth game. I think that has to be number one given the context.

I think the Mullins shot needs some time to breathe before you can definitively rank it. If UConn ends up winning it all it’s at least in the conversation with the Laettner shot.
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Jenkin's shot also negated what most saw as a desperation dagger ensuring overtime, which also adds to Jenkin's mystique.
 
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