Let me start with a long, rambling story, that will probably just annoy you and make you seriously consider taking a floppy disk and attempt to stuff it into your brain stem through your ear, if that’s even possible.
When I was in high school, I spent an entire Sunday afternoon hard at work in my room. I had a tape measure, some three by five cards and some masking tape. My mom and dad were so proud that there I was on an off day, no doubt working on a school project. At one point I even asked mom if we had any more masking tape, and she drove to the grocery store and picked some up.
So it was to her horror when at about 7 p.m. that night she found me standing on my bed, holding an NCAA Tournament bracket in one hand and taping cards with the names of each of the 64 teams to my ceiling, where I had put up a 10 feet by eight feet NCAA Tournament bracket.
It was a thing of beauty. Later, when I finally moved out of the house, my mom tore all the tape down, only to see that there was still a bracket on the ceiling laid out in tape residue. She has since painted over it.
So, as a joke a couple of birthdays later she bought me a big, dry-erase board NCAA Tournament bracket. It sits right next to my TV during the tournament and as the games end, I update it. Sure, it’s incredibly loserly, but I don’t care, it’s nice to see who’s left and who’s playing who.
I can’t tell you how many times late Saturday night and all day yesterday I caught myself glancing at that board just to make sure that Illinois really, honestly, and for true, beat Arizona. I’m not sure I really believe it just yet.
And if you look at it, the first two L’s in ILLINOIS are a little shaky. My hand was actually shaking as I wrote it just seconds after Hasaan Adams dribbled away Arizona’s season before trying to break an Allstate Arena backboard in half with his “jump” shot.
By in large, most of the readers here are Cubs’ fans, so you all suffer from the same kind of hopeful delusions that I do. You can convince yourself that a team that you know is flawed can pull something off even when they can’t. But I dare anyone to say that they really didn’t think Illinois had ended their season Saturday night with an uncharacteristically bad performance against Arizona. With four minutes left they were 15 points down and you figured they were going to soil the memory of a 35-2 season with a 20 point blowout loss in the tournament.
It was over. They were dead. They were buried. An empty hearse was leaving the cemetary.
And they won?
They were still down eight points with 1:11 to play.
And they won?
That really happened? We didn’t just all have a collective hallucination? Somewhere in Tucson they’re partying and enjoying their trip to the Final Four, and we just refuse to admit it, right?
Apparently, our memories and my board are right. Illinois pulled off what has to be the most unlikely late game comeback in NCAA history.
Duke coming back from 22 down to stun Maryland a couple years ago was huge. So was Louisville doing it to West Virginia yesterday. But at least Duke and Louisville had the good sense to not wait until the final four minutes to attempt their comeback.
For me, the defining moment of the night…and the season for Illinois was what happened right after Jack Ingram stole the inbounds pass with Arizona still up 80-77. He tapped the ball to Luther Head who had already made two threes in the previous minute and Luther was alone, with his feet set, right behind the three point line. And what did Luther do? He passed the ball to Dee Brown and the Illini RAN A PLAY!
How many teams would have done that? How many teams would have had the composure, the brains and the faith in each other to take a turnover in a mad scramble of a comeback and do what they do best–run their offense?
If you ever doubted Bruce Weber’s coaching ability, or the lessons he’s hammered into this team, that one simple move erased them forever. The Illini ran a play, Ingram set a pick at the top of the key, Deron Williams took a pass from Dee and hit the three to tie the game.
They ran a play?
It had been an oddly efficient season for the Illini. How many teams get to 35-1 without a signature win? Sure, the win at Wisconsin was a great achievement, but you’d figure after all those games one would immediately stand out.
I think the 37th game of the season will be remembered for a while.
How long?
Well, forever seems about right.
From now on whenever we hear the names Deron Williams, Luther Head, or Dee Brown, we’ll think of Illinois 90, Arizona 89. Jack Ingram just achived folk hero status forever. We’ll hear the name Roger Powell and get the image of that dunk that almost wasn’t, and then of him standing on the court pointing to the sky with both hands as the game ended. James Augustine has had finer hours than Saturday, (like the rest of the tournament), but this one’s his, too.
In what was a great moment in sideline reporting, in the second half, as things were slipping away, Armen Keteyian said that Augustine had hurt his knee and CBS showed what we would find out was videotape of a trainer working on Augustine’s knee. Then, Keteyian finished his report with, “it’s doubtful that Augustine will return—oh, wait, he’s on the court right now.”
Nick Smith should send thank you cards to his teammates, because I’m not the only one who would have taken the image of him pouting on the bench in the second half as my lasting memory of the game before the furious comeback. The optimist says Nick was pouting because his career was ending before his eyes, but the realist knew he was pouting because he hadn’t played. Instead, now he’s got a Final Four hat with a piece of the net tied around the size adjustor on the back. Nice save.
After the game, the story of the last Arizona possession was debated in detail. They ended up with Hasaan Adams, who had played a great game, dribbling the ball and looking lost before launching that ill-fated brick. Why didn’t Salim Stoudamire touch the ball? Why didn’t Channing Frye for chrissakes? Frye had kicked Illinois’ butt for 44 minutes.
Because Lute Olson outsmarted himself.
Salim was tired, was ineffective and was wearing Deron Williams like a shirt, so Lute decided to go with the two guys who were playing great. Adams and Frye. Lute says the play was for Adams to get the ball at the top of the key, face up and either drive or hit Frye as he flashed to the middle.
One problem. When Adams got the ball, who was on him, but Deron Williams! Adams, apparently confusing Williams for the 1991 version of Stacey Augmon, was frozen in his tracks. He started to panic and looked not for Frye, but for Salim.
Remember that Norman Dale orginally wanted to use Jimmy Chitwood as a decoy in the South Bend Central game, before the team pouted and Jimmy said, “I’ll make it.”
Even at 2-13 on the night, I’m glad Salim didn’t say, “I’ll make it.”
The irony, which is delicious by the way, is that Williams was on Adams instead of Stoudamire because his calves cramped up during the timeout and he told Bruce he couldn’t stay with Salim. So Bruce put one-legged Luther Head on him, and all Luther had to do was stand in one spot and watch Hasaan have a seizure. Good stuff.
By the way, how amazing was Luther Head’s weekend? He played almost 80 minutes on one leg and made huge plays in both games. I am without speech for Luther’s effort. Amazing.
Now seems like a sensible time to look ahead to the Final Four and Saturday’s date with Louisville. But I’m not ready to look ahead just yet. I’m still having too much fun with the immediate past.
I saw the game. I’ve read the accounts. I’ve listened to the audio.
And I STILL can’t believe it…
Regarding the “…if that’s even possible” at the end of the first paragraph, are you wondering about the possibility of jamming said floppy disk through the brainstem or if it is still possible to even find a floppy disk?
Tsunami!!!
I know this is off the subject but now Prior is going to miss two starts and probably going to the DL. Wood is pushed back one game because their playing the Brewers. Who believes that these two will even pitch in April. Is it that hard to be honest and just say that they are hurt…..again!!! I think they could have arm surgery and the Cubs would still say they should only miss one start.
GO ILLINI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Illini fans, you have to take the bitter with the sweet. You now have to listen to me broadcast on Saturday (and hopefully Monday). Did everyone love how I had my lips firmly planted to the rear end of one Tubby Smith, where every good play was ‘brilliant coaching’ but every bad play was ‘poor execution’?
My brother did the same thing you did on his bedroom wall, but, of course, he is autistic. Sorry, I just HAD to share
We were driving back from Michigan Sat. night. and listened to the game on the radio. At halftime Loren Tate interviewed Bill Murray. Now, we all know that Murray’s first love is the Cubs and that he’s really come off as a frontrunning bandwagoneer but, he’s Bill Murray, sI’ll give him a pass.
Anyway, toward the end of the interview, Tate asked Murray if he’ll watch the Illini in St. Louis if they made it.
Murray: Loren, I want you to re-phrase that question.
Tate: Laughs.
Murray: There’s no “if”. The Illini are GOING to win and, IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT IT’LL BE IN MISSOURI, I’ll be there.
Nice.
Postscript–The game had just ended as we got on Lake Shore Drive northbound from the Stevenson Expy. As we made the turn around the Field Museum, I looked ahead–beyond the northern point of Grant Park– to see the Blue Cross Blue Shield building. They had left various lights on, which formed the following pattern:
ILLINI
I daresay it gave me a goosebumps.
The end of regulation brought me up to an even baker’s dozen on heart attacks. Dee Brown got that rebound, Luther was calling for a timeout to no avail, and suddenly the ball’s in Stoudamire’s hands for another shot? What the …. Oh Noooooooo!
I’ll never forget the instant when Luther snapped out of the failed timeout signal and said, fine, then I’ll just slap this crap back into Stoudamire’s face and we’ll go to OT instead.
Andy,
You haven’t said a word about Eric Young–yes THE Eric Young–playing alongside his SON, Eric Young Jr.
What the?? Looks like our leadoff hitter from 2000/2001 shot a silver bullet when he was, like what, twelve????
Hey Mark, remember me?
dh…I’m right there with you. Of everything that happened in those last 4 minutes, that blocked shot will stand out to me as the defining moment of that game…
It wasn’t even a cheapo comeback with lots of fouls sending AZ to the line, just to make desperation 3s on the other end. They played amazing defense, and their shots on offense seemed to be taken within the offense…amazing. Absolutely amazing.
I had a rought weekend, I was sucking off Coach K for two hours and he lost, then I went down on Tubby for like three hours and he lost. I’ll get my Louisville knee pads out of the closet.
How often did we get the Koach K Kommercial for the Chevy Sales Eventâ„¢? What is most aggravating is the notion that the bouncing basketball in the kommercial is inspiring people to drop what they are doing and run (not walk) to the Chevy dealership. OK, but what is a little girl jumping rope doing running to a Chevy dealership? She can’t buy the car, and it didn’t look like she was bothering to make sure Dad was in tow on her frenzied run to the Chevy Sales Eventâ„¢. And what is with the dog that is ambling around the Chevy car lot? Who the hell took their dog to go car shopping? You see Rover trotting among the throngs of people as they oogle the eye-popping deals Koach K has shilled. Bless you, Koach K, for being a leader and preparing your players to face the world as men and run up a sizeable AmEx card bill tricking out their SSRs.
Potter, I blame you for this deification and oversaturation.
Honestly, how can Duke and Coach K get away with those recruiting videos disguised as AmEx commercials anyway?
I smell probation! Whoo hoo! No scholarships for ten years! They can go from loading up on McDonald’s All-Americans to a bunch of guys who gave a finger to make Wendy’s chili!
Dolan,
I am a University of Louisville grad from 1999 and was exhausted as well from our dramatic game. I think we will match up with the Illini. Along with it being a physical game, it could be another 3-point barrage type of game like West Virginia. It should be a good one, but I’d bet on red instead of orange. Bruce Weber is a great coach, put Ricky P. has been there and done it before.
GO CARDS!
By the way, does anybody have such a thing as a reasonable lead on descent tickets? I hate to have to go to the bank to take out a lone on this. Especially to go to a town that has the Big Urinal Cake.
One more thing, my UofL Cardinals making this run has got me to forget about how pathetic these injuries are starting to mount up on the Cubs. Maybe Dusty needs to take some pointers from these successful NCAA tourney coaches too.
Baker Basher
Descent tickets? First you must make it to my summit.
Baker Basher, Pitino is a good coach, but I’m not buying into this “been there, done that” crap. Lute Olson had been there and done that too, and he’ll be watching the finals at home.
Andy, I want you to develop as a player, I want you to develop as a student, and I want you to develop as a human being…. What’s so wrong about that?
Go easy on the cries for NCAA violations — I’m pretty sure Weber’s shooting a Quizno’s commercial on April 3…
Well, if the ad copy for Weber’s sub commercial sounds like a recruiting pitch, then we can call it even.
Hey, wait a second, loverboy. If he shoots a commercial on the 3rd, he’ll be doing it BETWEEN practices, Mister Man.
Jake,
You’re going to be just as big an Illini fan as the rest of us on April 4.
Unless of course, UNC plays on Saturday like they did last weekend and then I’m sure you’ll be rooting for Tom and Lupe Izzo.
From the January 2001 NFL playoffs:
“He’s limping to the locker room now, as you can see, with the injury is obviously to his leg…the lower leg…most likely the ff-ff-fibia. Back up to you in the booth!”
Andy — whoever wins the Illinois/Louisville game will have my full support…
Loverboy?…. Brilliant!
Baker Basher,
I believe the Final Four is now sold out. I tried to get nosebleeds earlier today. Couldn’t get ’em.
I too will decend to my bank to take out a lone. WTF…..anyway, just wanted to thank everyone for the support…..Louisville has some tall assed guards but they arent as quick as we are. They also are coached by a little Jimmy V wannabe….Lets go grillin with Coach Weber time for some bbq Cardinal
Baker Basher,
With grammar skills like that, you are truly a credit to our university!
Mike North and I would even call you one of our guys!
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