A reflection on the NCAA tournament 25 years ago, while wondering whether Kansas State fans are rooting for Kansas or Wichita State today. I’m guessing Wichita State – or they just aren’t interested.
THE SHOT
UConn isn’t in the NCAA tournament this season, but today is a special anniversary in Huskies history. Scott Burrell made “The Pass” and Tate George hit “The Shot” on March 22, 1990. That’s 25 years ago now. Seems like yesterday. Still one of my favorite all-time memories from covering college basketball. The moment has gotten some attention in recent days, with a stories by FoxSports.com and the Hartford Courant. Burrell, now an assistant coach at Quinnipiac, has gotten most of the attention with George in prison. That’s the sad part of the story.
I’ll never forget sitting on press row in the Meadowlands that night. With deadlines approaching, I had to have a game story filed immediately after the game. UConn had a 19-point lead over Clemson with 12 minutes to go. I started writing my “running” story with play-by-play. I had a lead paragraph all set to go that said “The UConn Huskies are 40 minutes from Denver.” That was the site of the Final Four. The Dream Season was advancing to the regional final. One more win and UConn would have headed to its first Final Four.
But before George’s 17-foot jumper gave the Huskies a 71-70 win, Clemson went on a 30-10 run and led 70-69 with one second left. I deleted that lead paragraph and typed something about an awful way to end such a glorious season. I can’t remember the exact words. They never went into print.
Coach Jim Calhoun, not quite a Hall of Famer yet, went into the huddle and called the home-run play. Then he told the Huskies they were going to win.
“I don’t know if we believed him,” Burrell said after the game.
Burrell, a baseball pitcher and a football quarterback, was the only one who could throw that pass. I had once covered Burrell in a high school baseball game when there were more radar guns than a state police speed trap on a Thanksgiving weekend. I knew he could get it there. But could anyone catch and shoot in one second?
We all know Tate did it. It was late. And it was great. Remember Bob Heussler’s call?
Most of us on press row stood up just to see everything that was happening after the shot. Don’t remember that ever happening – before or after The Shot. Suddenly I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. The row of seats directly behind me was for officials, dignitaries and media who did not need a table to work.
I turned around and saw a man I had never seen before. “I’ve been reading your story over your shoulder,” he said. “You can tear up your lead again. Go back to the way it was the first time.”
I looked at the man’s game credential. I don’t remember his name. But he was from the Final Four organizing committee in Denver. I guess he liked having his city in the first paragraph.
Unfortunately, Christian Laettner and Duke returned the favor to the Huskies two days later. The Blue Devils won 79-78 and went to Denver and the Final Four instead of UConn.
There was a lot of crying in the UConn locker room after that Duke loss. One of the toughest scenes I’ve ever covered.
Calhoun told us that coaches who reach the Final Four consider it “pretty close to heaven. Maybe we won’t [ever] go. Maybe this is the closest I’ll ever get. But if you know me, you know I don’t believe that.”
UConn and Calhoun kept trying. They didn’t get there until 1999. But four national championships since then have made it all worthwhile for the Huskies and their fans.
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