Saturday, April 12, 2008

A Poetic Finish

Every so often, we get reminded why some flaws are referred to as "fatal;" we get reminded that a critical weakness can rise up and snatch defeat from the claws of victory, leave us confused and despondent and wondering what went wrong, how we blew our chance at glory.

Last Monday night, the Memphis Tigers showed us all how fatal a single flaw can be.

Coming into the tournament, Memphis was widely considered one of the most talented teams in the country. They spent the season utterly dominating their opposition: UConn by 11, Arkansas State by 21, Marshall by 23, and on and on. Led by All-American Chris Douglas-Roberts, outstanding freshman Derrick Rose, and senior Joey Dorsey, the Memphis Tigers were the complete package both offensively and defensively. They could run the fast break, score in a half court set, shot the three well, could defend teams that scored from both the guard and post positions, and rarely made mistakes or turnovers that cost them games. On the eve of March Madness, the Tigers appeared to be an invincible juggernaut destined to make NCAA history as the winningest team of all time.

But...

During the season, Memphis had revealed a critical weakness: their ability to make free throws. In fact, Memphis ranked 329th out of 341 teams in their statistical ability to cash in at the charity stripe, converting only 61.3% of their attempts throughout the season. While it is not unusual to see players, especially more defensive minded centers and forwards, shoot this bad of an individual percentage, for a team of Memphis' stature to shoot this bad collectively is truly a staggering display of lapsed concentration. To put this in perspective, the Tigers shot less than 15% worse from the field, when the other team was allowed to play defense!

Many speculated that free throw shooting would be the undoing of the Memphis Tigers in the Tournament, but much to the critics chagrin, the team seemed to miraculously reverse course. 74% against Michigan State. 83% against Texas. 87% against UCLA. By all appearances, Memphis had found their stroke from the free-throw line at precisely the right time. Some said they had heard their critics and were rising to answer them, others that the magnitude of the event was causing the Memphis players to perform at a higher level. Regardless of the explanation, all considered the Tigers' free-throw dilemma solved and predicted a national championship and a place in the record books. But as Galadriel once said, they were all of them, deceived...

As the final game against the Jayhawks of Kansas stretched on, Memphis found themselves up by nine points with approximately 2 minutes to play, victory seemingly assured if they could hit their free-throws and crush any hope of a comeback left in the Kansas players. It was at this moment that the basketball gods turned their back on the Tigers, abandoned them to fend for themselves, and trip after trip to the line was met with a resounding *clank*. Taunted and tormented, the Memphis players looked around wildly for answers, but the truth was inescapable: it was time to pay the piper for their free-throw sins that had gathered and compounded throughout the year. Like a script from Hoosiers, the Jayhawks proceeded to make a stunning comeback, capped by Mario Chalmers incredible three-pointer with virtually no time remaining. Kansas would go on to clinch the title in overtime and Memphis would be left to wonder about what went wrong and what could have been.

In hindsight, it's almost poetic how the Tigers' free-throw collapse cost them a national title. Their one Achilles heel, their inability to stop, concentrate, and execute, rose up to bite them on the biggest of all possible stages. Almost like it was fate.

Anyway, there's tons of great analysis out there for this game so I won't continue further. Hope everybody enjoyed the wild finish to a great year of March Madness!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

ugh, more basketball :)

Unknown said...

GO KANSAS!!!!