Flashback Friday: 'The Shot' Featuring Mario Chalmers and The Kansas Jayhawks

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Back in 2008' the Memphis Tigers landed Derrick Rose. Coming out of high school, Rose was considered to be one of the best athletes in his recruiting class. Once he landed in Memphis, people foresaw a huge turnaround in for the program.

With Rose, Memphis climbed to the No. 1 overall ranking that year. Along with Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier, the Tigers were poised to win the National Championship.

In fact, once Selection Sunday came around, the Memphis Tigers were slapped with a No. 1 seed.

A few weeks later, they were in the National Championship game facing off against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Kansas Jayhawks impressed a lot of people with their play that season. They came in with 30-plus wins and a blowout win against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the game before.

It almost seemed like their depth and talent would come away with the win. But Memphis and their talented athletes thought otherwise.

Once the game started, Memphis jumped out to an early (3-9) lead. But Kansas quickly matched that and knotted the score up.

From then on, the Tigers would get down and claw back into the lead; same with the Jayhawks.

This was exactly the game we wanted to see in the National Championship.

At the half, the Jayhawks held a slight five point advantage over the Tigers. Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush found there sweet spots in the first half. 

However, coming out in the second, Douglas-Roberts limited the production of Rush.

That allowed the Tigers room for error. Once they took Rush out the game, the other players were forced to step up. But that also helped Memphis because they took the lead late in the second half.

With the score (47-46) Rose scored five straight points to push the lead out to (47-51). Soon after that, Memphis had the momentum and it looked like the Jayhawks were ready to give up. 


The lead was as high as (51-60) before the Jayhawks finally made plays.

With 1:39 seconds left on the clock, Douglas-Roberts nailed a free-throw that put the Tigers up by six.

However, Dorsey fouled Chalmers and he nailed the free-throws that brought the lead to four. 


Soon after, Chalmers sent Douglas-Roberts to the line where he missed the front-in of the one-and-one.

Then Kansas' Darrell Arthur came down and hit a jumper to pull within two.

That's when free-throws started to become crucial for the Tigers. With 16 seconds left on the clock and a chance to ice the game, Douglas-Roberts missed both free-throws.

However, Memphis gathered the offensive rebound and sent freshman Rose to the line. He missed the first one but made the second.

The first one would have put him in good company and gave the Tigers a four-point lead—the company that leads their teams to National Championship victories as a true freshman.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

However, his miss would be Chalmers gain. With the clock ticking down, the Jayhawks ran a play; got Chalmers the ball and he nailed the three-point shot.

It wasn't a great look but it was decent; a very tough shot but Chalmers nailed it.

With no answer, the game went into overtime. 


Now, before we get into the overtime period its beneficial to know that Dorsey fouled out in the second period. He displayed good defense against Darnell Jackson.

Following the shot by Chalmers, Memphis reached overtime holding on by a strand. They weren't able to hold the league or knock down free-throws.

Now with the Jayhawks having the momentum heading into overtime, the game was over.

The Jayhawks scored, grabbed almost every rebound and didn't need a miracle to sink the Tigers in overtime. In fact, the Jayhawks grabbed seven rebounds versus the two acquired by the Tigers—one of which came from the possession arrow.

Overall, the Tigers couldn't capitalize at the line, on defense or secure the lead—that all spelled defeat and the Jayhawks marched home as the winner.

As for Chalmers shot that sent the game into overtime; classic. "It'll probably be the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I had a good look at it," Chalmers said. "When it left my hands it felt like it was good, and it just went in."

(Flashback Friday is a segment CoHoops does every week. If you missed last weeks segment of Flashback Friday, click here to read. To review the series click here)


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Flashback Friday: George Mason's Run To The Final Four

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Sikids.com Photo

Back in 2006, the College Basketball world was shocked. George Mason made a run to the Final Four before being defeated by the Florida Gators, who were then-National Championships.

But before anything like that happened, the Patriots made a magical run.

After or even before losing in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament to Hofstra, the Patriots were never considered to win any games after that.

But on Selection Sunday, the Patriots were granted a No. 11 seed and had the right to play the Michigan State Spartans. Now if you were following the year the Spartans had, it was average, but they still should have beaten the Patriots.

But that didn't happen. With balanced scoring throughout the starting line-up and great frontcourt play, the Patriots were able to take down the Spartans early and went on to win the game by ten.

They were on their way to playing the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round. 

North Carolina was a better squad. They were (12-4) in the ACC, while acquiring a No. 3 seed in the tournament. Not to mention, they were the defending National Champions.

The Patriots frontcourt once again, locked down in the post. The Tar Heel great Tyler Hansbrough was limited to a ten point performance. The double-team worked and the Patriots moved on to the winners circle.

With Wichita State, the Patriots were looked to win this game. They're magical run was going to continue passed the Shockers.

But once they reached the UConn Huskies' everyone thought the dream run could be over. The Huskies were a No. 1 seed and with the Rudy Gay at the helm. So did you really think the Patriots could overcome the experience and talent on the Huskies roster?

At least I didn't. But they surely proved me wrong.

After one half of play, the Patriots season looked over. It was 43-34 and UConn was all over George Mason in attempt to stop an upset-bid.

However, after resurgence in the second half the Patriots took a two-point lead and the game looked like it was headed towards an upset. But that all changed when Denham Brown hit the game-tying layup as time expired.

Heading into overtime, George Mason had the momentum on their side. Once it was time to play in overtime, you could tell this was the Patriots game to win. They held the UConn Huskies scoreless during the right stretch and pulled away.

The George Mason Patriots from the Colonial Conference made a magical run to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.

"I think it's been working for us, calling us Cinderella," Skinn said. "We were not supposed to get into the tournament, we got into it. We were not supposed to beat Michigan State and we beat them. Weren't supposed to beat North Carolina and we beat them. We definitely weren't supposed to be UConn. I think we'll stick to the script going into whoever we play. We don't mind being the Cinderella."

Now after the win over the No. 1 seed, the Patriots advanced to play the Florida Gators.

Now with the way George Mason had played throughout the tournament, they could have brought the Gators down--right.

But in reality, we all wanted to see them play longer. But the big-three of Florida, which presented Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer, was just too much for the Patriots.

In the first half, the game was real tight. Going into the half, the Patriots were down just five to the No. 1 seeded Florida Gators.

However, in the second half, the Gators took over. Lee Humphrey collectively took the game over in the second half. He came out and hit three straight three-balls, and a free-throw that pushed the lead to 41-28.

After that, the game was already in the books. The Gators never let them get back in the game, and marched on to victory.

There frontcourt couldn't do the things they were accustom to because of the frontier force of Noah and Horford.

They ended with 25 compared to the 36 the Gators were able to pull down.

So with that said, the magical run was over and the Patriots sent home.

But it was a different approach for the program. They were the first team out of the CAA to make the Final Four; the second team to reach the Final Four as a double-digit seed; they were ranked No. 8 when the final poll came out, which happens to be the best ranking in school history; and made one of the best runs by a mid-major in tournament history.

George Mason run to the Final Four will always be compared with other mid-major programs. They defeated the tough opponents on their way to the Final Four.

If they could have stopped Humphrey's three-balls I think they would have had the chance to take down the eventual National Champion Florida Gators.

(Flashback Friday is a segment CoHoops does every week. If you missed last weeks segment of Flashback Friday, click here to read. To review the series click here)

Flashback Friday: Carmelo Anthony + Syracuse = National Champions

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Carmelo Anthony came out of high school, tabbed as the No. 1 overall small forward in the nation. 

When he signed his letter of intent to play with Syracuse, you knew that Anthony and Hakim Warrick would make this team a title contender.

In his first game as a freshman, Anthony scored 27 points and grabbed 11 boards in a loss to Memphis. This was one of the best freshmen debuts in the history of the NCAA.

After the loss to Memphis, the Orangemen followed up with ten straight wins before losing to Pittsburgh by 13.

However, after that, Syracuse didn't lose too many more. They had a great revenge game against Pitt where they rallied back to win by two. 

It not only kept them undefeated at the Carrier Dome, but it also kept Pitt from being the No. 1 overall team in the nation.

Jeremy McNeil was the unsung hero that day after hitting clutch free-throws and a lay-up to win the game. 

When the season ended, Syracuse was (23-4) overall and (13-3) in the Big East. 

In the regular season, UConn's Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon posed a problem for the Orange. Everything was the same in the Big East tournament, as the Huskies blew Syracuse out of the waters again.

However, once the NCAA tournament started, Syracuse was doing the blowing out. Before being tested by Auburn, Syracuse beat their first two opponents by ten points or more.

But once they got to Auburn that was the scare of the tournament. Anthony or Warrick didn't play particularly well but they did come out with the win.

With less than 30 seconds, Syracuse was up by three until Kueth Duany pushed the lead out to five. With two seconds left, Auburn's Nathan Watson hit a three to pull within one, but the game was already over.

Syracuse steamrolled past Oklahoma, before Anthony's managed a historic performance against Texas. 

In their first Final Four match-up, Syracuse faced Texas. In the first half, Anthony led Syracuse to a three-point lead with 16-points to his name.

But coming out the second, Anthony was on fire. He hit the first lay-up of the second half for the Orange. Soon after, he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored again.

He went on to score 17-points in the second half while leading Syracuse to their first ever National Championship. In that game, Anthony set a record for the most points scored by a freshman in the Final Four with 33 points. 

Now that Syracuse advanced they had the right to play the Kansas Jayhawks for the National title.

This by-far, was the most difficult challenge they faced throughout the tournament.

The Jayhawks early on looked like they were going to fold against Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse.

At the half, Anthony had 13-points and the Orange has a 53-42 lead.

However, the second half Kansas came out with a different mindset. The Jayhawks would get as close as three before Syracuse would answer to conserve the lead.

There was a point where Kansas didn't score for almost four minutes and Syracuse pushed the lead out to ten. But after a burst of scoring, the Jayhawks got the game to three with under a minute left.

After Michael Lee hit a lay-up, Nick Collison committed a foul on Anthony. Remember, the game was under a minute and Syracuse desperately needed this free-throw.

However, Anthony missed it and the Jayhawks had a chance to knot things up. Aaron Miles tried a three-point attempt first but it went off rim. 

Jeff Graves grabbed the rebound, missed the put-back, grabbed another board, and finally was fouled by Warrick with about 40 seconds left in the game.

Graves hit the first one at the line; however, after the timeout by Jim Boehim, he missed the second. Anthony grabbed the rebound and got the ball up court.

With less than 30 seconds, Collison fouled Kueth Duany; he would miss the first, but then made the second. 

Syracuse had many chances to put this game away. Warrick missed two late game free-throws that would have put the game away, but did come up with the biggest play of the game.

With just under five-seconds, the Jayhawks had the ball and was thinking three. With Anthony harassing Hinrich, he passed it off to Michael Lee for the three.

Lee was 1-for-5 from three but Syracuse still wanted a hand in his face. Lee pulled up what he thought was a decent shot before having it blocked by the lengthy Warrick to seal the victory.

Anthony as a true-freshman delivered the city of Syracuse, New York their first ever National Championship. 

He finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assist. He was named the 'Most Outstanding Player' in the tournament, and on top of that, his Coach Jim Boehim claimed he was the best college basketball player in the game.

Anthony led Syracuse in almost every statistical category you could think of. 

After cutting down the nets as the leading scorer and rebounder, his college career was over and a new era was beginning.

Since leaving Syracuse, Anthony has been in the NBA playoffs all seven-years of his NBA career. He has eclipsed 10,000 points and is the go-to-guy for the Denver Nuggets.

Anthony will forever be remembered for what he achieved as a freshman at Syracuse. He is the only player to win a National Championship as a true freshman in the past 20-years.

(Flashback Friday is a segment CoHoops does every week. If you missed last weeks segment of Flashback Friday, click here to read. To review the series click here)

Flashback Friday: Syracuse vs. UConn - The Tale of Six Overtimes

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Coming in this was a match-up of strength. Whichever team came out and flexed their muscle would come away with the win.


In a game of powerhouses, they left us all on the edge of our seats. 


This game was very surprising for several of reasons.


UConn came in the game as the fourth best team in the nation. They were coming off a No. 1 ranking before and looked to get back there with a win over Syracuse.

Flashback Friday: Arguably The Biggest Upset In NCAA Tournament History

On March 20, 2010 the Kansas Jayhawks and Northern Iowa Panthers were set to play around 5:45 PM ET.

Coming into the game, nobody gave the Panthers a chance.

They were of course a No. 9 seed, playing a No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Who would give them a chance? Faith!

With one of the most unknown mid-major teams, I doubt the Jayhawks actually competed, and watched game film over the Panthers.

That is most definitely one of the reasons why they came away as the biggest loser in the 2010 NCAA tournament.

Kansas started off this game with a Cole Aldrich basket. That was going to be the last time they lead throughout the rest of the game.

Ali Farokhmanesh and the Panthers started the game off better than anticipated. They were up 10-2 before anybody could say Farokhmanesh.

Because of that, the Jayhawks were forced to call a time-out and regroup.

Coming out of the time out, everything seemed to be all good for the Jayhawks. They had cut the lead to three, but the Panthers never let them regain the lead.

Going into halftime, the Panther had a 36-28 advantage over the heavily favorite Jayhawks. 

Most people couldn't believe that the Panthers were ahead of the Jayhawks at intermission. They couldn't believe that the Jayhawks were in a game with Northern Iowa.

So once intermission was over, the Jayhawks started the second half like the first; with a Cole Aldrich lay-up. 

However, before you know it Northern Iowa pushed the league out to ten and put a lot of pressure on the No. 1 overall seed.

Once the game got under ten minutes in the second half the Jayhawks started pushing the ball. They found out the Panther folded when pressure was brought upon them.

But unfortunately for the Jayhawks, it was too late. The Panthers had a 63-56 advantage with 1:07 left and still nobody gave the Panthers a chance to win this game.

Everybody that Kansas was going to make a miracle comeback and win the game.

However, after a Sherron Collins lay-up that pulled the Jayhawks within one, Kansas Head Coach Bill Self called a time out.

After that, the Panthers took the ball out. They escaped the pressure of the Jayhawks and threw the ball up to Farokhmanesh. 

Now there he is on the wing with the opportunity to pull the ball back and waste clock or become an instant legend by hitting one of the most clutch shots in NCAA tournament history.

He chose instant fame and nailed the three-point jumper with just about 35 seconds left on the clock.

Soon after, Tyrel Reed committed an offensive foul, which gave the ball back to the Panthers with momentum. 

Once this happened, everybody in the stadium was in shock.

They could not believe their own eyes. 

Sherron Collins fouled, Kwadzo Ahelegbe hit a crucial free-throw and the rest is history.

The Northern Iowa Panthers were able to beat the No. 1 overall Jayhawks 69-67.

In just about every bracket across the internet, Kansas was there front-runner to win the National Championship. 

So after this lost, everybody was calling Farokhmanesh the 'bracket buster'. 

This became an instant classic and morale lesson to everybody in the tournament.

Rankings show how well your team performed in the regular season. However, once March hits, rankings don't matter.

Whoever wants it more, will get it.

Northern Iowa wanted it more and that's why they came away with the victory.

This was arguably the worst turning point for the Jayhawks. This loss resulted in three of their top contributors leaving and nobody to show for except Josh Selby.

Written by DeAnte Mitchell

(Flashback Friday is a new segment started by DeAnte Mitchell for the purpose of revisiting the great things in the past. The series will carry over to every friday, so be on the lookout for the next article.)