Tigers give away great opportunity
SAN ANTONIO — There is a slashing sign basketball players use when they have all but secured a victory in the waning seconds of a game, when there is no doubt as to which team will walk off a winner. They slide a finger across their throat.
This morning, Memphis coaches and players should be grabbing theirs with both hands.
Sometimes you get beat. Sometimes you lose. The Tigers on Monday evening at the Alamodome lost the national championship to Kansas in a most obvious and gagging manner.
Mario Chalmers raised his arms after his 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation dropped through the net, a shot that propelled Kansas into overtime and ultimately to a 75-68 win.
"I had an open look and a person in my face," Chalmers said. "I thought it was going in when it left my hands. It felt pretty good. It was just a lucky shot."
Chalmers deserved his Final Four Most Outstanding Player award, because he arguably made the biggest shot in Kansas history. That the junior guard had the poise to make such a dramatic jumper is testimony to his skill and apparently the heart rate of a 12-year-old Irish Setter.
That the Jayhawks were in position to tie is evidence to how Memphis handed them such opportunity.
This isn’t high school. It’s not even most of Division I. It’s the highest level of athlete and execution by many players who are pros in every way but the bling. Memphis choked. It’s just how it is.
If the rumors are true and Bill Self is seriously considering leaving Kansas and returning home to coach Oklahoma State for tens of millions of dollars, his team’s thrilling triumph at least means he did more than his part before possibly passing the storied program to another.
Kansas hadn’t won a national title since Danny Manning and his teammates pulled off their miracle 20 years ago. The Jayhawks were destined to win it all then. They were fortunate to have done so now.
"That was a game we should have won," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "I feel bad for my guys. I take full responsibility. You’re supposed to win that game. I’m disappointed in myself. Supposed to win that game. I thought we were national champions."
Bad coaching. Bad turnovers. Bad free-throw shooting when trying to close out a championship. Bad fouls 18 feet from the basket with his team up six that cost Memphis forward Joey Dorsey the final 1:23 of regulation and all of overtime. It’s a deadly combination to create in a game of this magnitude.
Up nine with 2:12 left. Up seven with 1:56 left. The team that couldn’t shoot free throws all season but whose coach consistently laughed off any insinuation it would cost it dearly in the end missed four of its last five attempts before overtime.
The final clank — by freshman guard Derrick Rose with Memphis up three and 10.8 seconds left — meant Kansas had a chance to tie. It never should have, because the Tigers should have fouled when the ball crossed midcourt and put the Jayhawks at the line with little chance to complete their comeback.
Calipari said his team was instructed to and that Rose made an attempt against Kansas guard Sherron Collins, but replays showed the coach’s memory to be more fantasy than factual.
Kansas ran a dribble-handoff to get Chalmers the ball and Rose got caught up in the play and contact was made. But if he tried to foul, it was officially the worst attempt in basketball history. Which is another way of saying he never tried.
Coaches are infuriating this way. They are so frightened of being second-guessed that they avoid the clear decision, or have you forgotten Rick Pitino and Kentucky choosing not to guard Grant Hill’s in-bounds pass against Duke in 1992?
Memphis has to foul and make it obvious. You can’t allow a 47.3 percent shooter on 3s such as Chalmers a look. It’s inexcusable.
"We got some breaks there in the end," Self said. "I know I’m not a better coach today than I was yesterday. You know, maybe just a little luckier today."
Chalmers’ shot wasn’t luck, no matter his claims afterward. Neither was the 3-pointer Collins made (off a Memphis out-of-bounds turnover) that brought Kansas within 60-56 with 1:46 left. Luck means a lack of big plays. Kansas made enough of those. But being fortunate is another matter.
Sometimes you get beat. Sometimes you lose. Memphis lost this title.
Let the throat grabbing commence.
Ed Graney can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.
