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No Bones About It, Memphis Choked

BY JIM ARMSTRONG,
AOL
Posted: 2008-04-08 18:48:19
Sports Commentary

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, meet Brick Choke Tiger.


That’s the only way to say it. Memphis choked. Gagged. The Wheeze Kids ran out of breath, not gas.

Dorothy had surrendered and the Tigers had their first national championship tucked away in the trophy case. And then, as so often happens under the bright lights of the ultimate stage, the ghosts of Bill Buckner and Chris Webber came calling.

If only Dr. Heimlich had joined them. If so, maybe Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose wouldn’t have clanked those four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds.

You hate to say it, what with Memphis in mourning, but there’s no getting around it. The Tigers didn’t just lose, didn’t just let a lead slip away at the most inopportune time. They choked. When the going got tough, the Jayhawks got going. The Tigers? Elvis is dead and so is their dream season.

Just when you assumed Bob Knight’s pink sweater would be our ugliest memory of the NCAA Tournament, Memphis blew a nine-point lead in the final 2 minutes, 12 seconds. Nine points in barely two minutes. Jean Van de Velde couldn’t have done it any better himself.

It wasn’t just the missed free throws. Anybody remember that bungled inbounds pass down the stretch? Or that unforgivable foul that landed Memphis’ Joey Dorsey on the bench?

‘‘It’s one thing to win, but another to win the way we won,’’ said Kansas coach Bill Self. ‘‘There’s just no quit in these guys.’’

And no air in Douglas-Roberts’ lungs. The kid is no doubt headed off for a solid career in the NBA. But when he arrives, he’ll be carrying a lot of baggage. Not once, not twice, but three times he bricked free throws that could have clinched the biggest win in school history.

Rose? He’ll probably be rich by the time you read this. As the projected second pick in the draft, right behind Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, he’s no doubt on Nike’s radar. But he, too, must bear the burden of hoops history. There he stood, on the free-throw line with 10.8 seconds left, with Kansas down and virtually out.


Make them both and Beale Street starts a-rockin’.

Clang!

It wasn’t your imagination. By CBS color man Billy Packer’s estimation, Rose’s feet were at the line when he shot the ball and 18 inches behind it as it caromed off the rim. That’s commonly known as willing the ball into the hoop, as opposed to guiding it with your hands.

Gulp!

Rose made the second free throw, but, as things turned out, it proved to be the cruelest twist of all. Because it set the stage for Mario Chalmers’ trey, the greatest clutch shot in the tournament since Christian Laettner’s turnaround jumper beat Kentucky.

I would tell you what went down in overtime, but Memphis has suffered enough. If only the Tigers and their fans could make the nightmare go away. But no. Time won’t heal this wound. It will make it hurt even more. That’s the drill when your team chokes away the national championship or the World Series or the Super Bowl.

In sports, winning and losing aren’t everything. Style points count, too. How you win and lose are just as much a part of the equation. It doesn’t get any better than rallying to win. You’re known for the ages as destiny’s darlings, as clutch performers, prime time players, money in the bank.

Twenty-plus years later, they’re still showing Jim Valvano running around the court. Almost 40 years later, there’s Lew Alcindor cutting down the nets. Oh, and look over there. Seems the light always has been out in coach Knight’s closet. Long before the pink sweater, he wore a plaid sportscoat and had a perfect team.

That’s when you win. And when you blow a nine-point lead in the final 2 minutes of the national-championship game? Then, 20 years later, the tears still are flowing down the cheerleaders’ faces. You become a verb, a catch phrase. Did you see that guy Buckner that groundball? Or how about the dude who was leading Tiger last Sunday? He pulled a Greg Norman.

It’s not fair, not when you’re the first college hoops team ever to win 38 games, but it is Memphis’ fate. You don’t live with this kind of loss, you wear it. It stays with you, labels you, defines you. The Tigers will go down in infamy with all the others who had the ultimate prize in their grasp, only to fumble it away.

Rank them where you want, somewhere behind Buckner and the ’64 Phillies and ahead of Van de Velde and Webber, but just make sure you put them on the list.

Jim Armstrong is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. Feel free to e-mail him at dontmissjim@aol.com.

2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
2008-04-08 14:58:11


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53 comments

bruinsrbest 03:10:23 PM Apr 21 2008

Exactly right when we talk about these guys who write the Articles trashing the Tigers when they have never stood on the biggest stage shooting free throws. Congrats to all teams that made the final four. You all had great years.
Go Bruins

dlpeters430 07:18:42 AM Apr 16 2008

So Jim: you have done what in your life exactly?.

johnr75 06:25:52 PM Apr 15 2008

Could be worse - you could be from cleveland....lol.....or buffalo, or miami, or new orleans, or detroit, or ......at least they played a hell of a game except for 2 minutes.

brettmusic31 04:22:34 AM Apr 15 2008

Lol thats funny here kansas couldn't whip my dead grandmother!!!!!!! they are boring and who knows any of their names outside of Kansas??? They lost more games than Kansas. Em Davadson beat Georgetown and give Kansas all they could handle Lol Memphis beat these wimps up and down the court with less players. Actually minus 1. Someone give that center for Kansas a wet-willy hehehe. Hit your free throws memphis and beat a team that didn't belong in the finaly four period!! now thats the facts of life. I never scene a worse game officated by the refs. IT was well known that if Memphis had won they was (NCAA) going to strip the title for some reason I guess cause it wasent UCLA and North Corlina in the finals they could live with Kansas havng more players and helping them out through the course of the game. I could go to the local YMCA and find 4 other guys and whip Kasas any way you want to start them coach lets get it on Lol
What a great year now go Red Socks!!! what happened to the Atla

rsan714 12:18:09 PM Apr 11 2008

All this BS about how they choked on the line No He missed 3 out of 9 for the night not a bad record really and then Rose missed hey he is a freshman give the guy a break I love to see this writer try to make one out of nine in that mass of fans!
Maybe you should home and garden instead of sports Armstrong

brettmusic31 02:41:27 AM Apr 11 2008

Get off your high horses. Kansas is a average tam barley beat a poor Davidson team that got hot at the right time. Many coaches had tried this same thing all year long at the end of games and they showed Memphis practicing their free-throws in time with the team during the tourment. At some point its gonna work it just happened to work in the final game. Kansas's coach did a great job coaching and has good players. memphis not having their back up guard with them to give Rose a break was a mistake since he played all 40 minutes in their win over UCLA. Memphis was why I watched basketball again they were a dream team not the best ever but played great together and made for highlight real. I am glad I watched this past season and will never forget it. Its not the end of the world some will move on to the NBA and others will get an education and we will do it again next year. I would have to say personally the biggest let down in the tournment was North Corlina now how Kansas whiped them

ddobson706 08:53:57 PM Apr 10 2008

great

sergeantruss 04:40:43 PM Apr 10 2008

Who are these non athletic, never played a sport in their lives idiots to write this garbage. No team, coach or player is a loser unless they cheat or don't give their all to play at the top of their game. But since everone involved is human and subject to making mistakes, there will be those idiots who point their fingers and make stupid remarks from their chairs while doing Monday mornig quarterbacking. The sports writers and columnists talk their crap and would not know how to play or coach in any sport. It seems when a team is winning or a player is having a banner year, the writers are all so praising of them. But let a team, coach or player have an off night or make a mistake, they turn on them and make it sound like they could do a better job. I can guarantee you that if Memphis would have won, these same jerks would be attacking Kansas. Writers just talk the talk and never walk the walk. What a bunch of wimps. And Armstrong is the biggest wimp of all. What a wuss.

wnypd 04:26:02 PM Apr 10 2008

I mean choke

wnypd 04:25:04 PM Apr 10 2008

A team does not choak... They are just outplayed at that moment of time. The only REAL choak was the 2004 Yankees who was one out from a worlds championship which they wont see in the next 10 years

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