In the aftermath of last night’s delightfully entertaining championship game, some people would prefer to point the most obvious shortcoming on the losing team’s squad and hold that flaw up as the only reason they lost the game.
That would be too easy and wouldn’t be the reason you read these here articles. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that free throws don’t matter in close games (yikes, sorry Ken) or that Memphis shouldn’t have fouled on that last play as instructed by John Calipari.
Instead, why don’t we dig a little deeper into the Memphis meltdown? C'mon everybody, put on your Monday morning quarterbacking helmet!
For starters, let’s eschew any journalistic pretense and pursue this via bullet point format (I’ll number them too!).
Second, how about we assume that even if Memphis missed all of their free throws, they would probably win the game if they avoided the following three plays?
Third, we'll begin with a Kansas timeout with 1:54 to go. Memphis is up 60-53...
1. Derrick Rose doesn’t cough up the ball on the inbounds (1:53 left).
Kansas had just called a timeout, allowing them to set up a full-court trap. Memphis had the same amount of time to set up their press break. It didn't appear that it was run, because Rose ran directly to the corner a press-breaking no-no.
There was a fumbled exchange between the inbounder (Chris Douglas-Roberts) and Rose. It seemed to catch Memphis by surprise when it shouldn’t have. The broken play leads to a wide open Sherrod Collins three.
2. Joey Dorsey doesn’t foul Mario Chalmers 25 feet from the basket (1:23).
Look, I know there was a screen and you’re supposed to switch, but was this foul necessary? Even if Chalmers gets by Dorsey, there’s still a whole host of defenders that he’d have to get by and maybe he does score, which is not necessarily a given with the length of the Memphis players.
This play resulted in (a) Chalmers scoring two freebies with the clock off and (b) Dorsey’s disqualification.
Dorsey probably would have fouled out at some point as Kansas kept going down low, but still, you’d rather have him hack the snot out of a big man (I bet Sasha Kaun blows a mean rocket—sorry, couldn’t help myself) than a bump so far away from the basket.
3. CDR doesn’t drive straight into Darrell Arthur on a two-on-one break (16 seconds).
To me, this was the most egregious of the three plays. Antonio Anderson has just made a huge, HUGE block on Collins jumper. His block could have easily been the play of the game if not for CDR’s boneheaded play, which is a shame because on the whole CDR played brilliantly.
There are 16 ticks left on the clock, no clear lane to the basket, and Memphis is up by two points. Kansas is going to have to foul at some point. Why initiate contact by going to the basket? Why not run an extra three or four seconds off the clock, maybe more, with some additional passes?
Perhaps CDR thought he could put the game away with a nifty layup and avoid the possibility of returning to the heinous charity stripe. I’m not sure.
However, the extra seconds would have forced Kansas to rush just a little more with the final shot. I’m not saying they couldn’t have gotten it off or they couldn’t have made it from further back, but maybe it turns out differently.
In a championship game like this, it’s all too easy for this observer to call attention to the foibles of a game I watched from the comfort of my own home. That is to say, I wasn’t playing, how do I know what could’ve happened?
We ought to celebrate both participants in an outstanding game, but when your favorite hobby is nitpicking, what can I say?
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3 months ago
I am from memphis, and we are SICK. a foul in regulation would have stopped the three point hail mary and we wouldn't be having this conversation. the entire city is in mourning.
from 3 months ago
I'm not going to say I understand your pain, because I don't. The team I pull for, Virginia, hasn't sniffed the Final Four in a while (Elite 8 in 1995 - I think).
The Memphis Tigers had an outstanding season and they have no reason to hang their heads. I hope the city of Memphis can do the same.
3 months ago
you do have a point. That's (UVA) my dad's alma mater and he would agree with you!
3 months ago
We were just sooooo close...
3 months ago
It still hurts.
3 months ago
i wouldnt blame CDR's drive to the basket. I mean how much more would he have wasted- 2 seconds
stilll enough time for the game-winner
agree with dorsey's foul and the collins steal but not the CDR drive
from 3 months ago
Well, it was a two-on-one break. Kansas would've taken at least a second and a half to get back and you figure maybe they waste at least two more seconds zipping the ball around the court, perhaps more. Granted, that still gives Kansas all of 7 seconds or so to get off a shot, which is still ample time. However, it makes it a lot more difficult to get off a good shot.
3 months ago
I completely agree with your points. Those points in the game I screamed at the television and asked what Memphis was thinking. That inbounds pass was such a mental lapse, it gave Kansas a lot of momentum that carried over into overtime
from 3 months ago
As outstanding as Rose played in the second half (he appeared to be coasting a little in the first), I was shocked at how easily he had the ball ripped from him. He's a big strong kid, how could he have treated the ball so casually at such a critical juncture?
3 months ago
If they weren't so bad from the line we wouldn't be having this discussion. All they had to do was hit one more free throw in that last stretch and it would have been over
from 3 months ago
True and valid, certainly, but the point of the article was to examine parts of the game other than free throw shooting and fouling Chalmers at the end that could've saved the game for Memphis.
3 months ago
I feel you on everything you said. In my point of view, I think that in the last possesion Kansas had in the 4th, someone from Memphis could have easily fould a Jayhawk and never let Mario Chalmers even touch the ball. This would obviously lead to two free throws for Kansas, even if they were made, Memphis would still be up by one. This would give Memphis a trip to the stripe and be able to put the game away.
from 3 months ago
Completely agree - fouling is always the best strategy in this scenario as much as it might despised by the fans. The fine gentleman on PTI pointed out that Calipari should've called time out after Rose's free throw in order to reaffirm the decision to foul. I hadn't considered that when constructing the article, but I think it's a worthwhile note.
3 months ago
**fouled**
3 months ago
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3 months ago
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3 months ago
Yes, my 50 dollar payment is on the way, dj. Now please make your way to every other column and post the same thing. Oh wait, you already did that.
Ben, good stuff.
Calipari has been dogged by the media, but he can't control his bonehead center from fouling or any of the other dumb moves his kids made.
3 months ago
Ben,
I feel completely left out. dj wasn't kind enough to share his ad on any of my articles. Yet again the Pac-10 is snubbed. Kind of getting a complex here.
Wacky things tend to happen in big-time close games. My view slips the three points you made into that category. Wacky. Who knows what really was going on between the ears of the players in your three well chosen plays. In the heat of battle, that stuff tends to happen.
The manner in which Kansas stole the game from Memphis just isn't complicated. It's very boring. It was the free throws missed.
Fundamentals are boring. They won't get you on the ESPN Top 10 Plays...unless you mess up fundamentals so badly they are a story. If you have a fundamental weakness, look for the opposition to exploit it.
Kansas did.
It still was a great way to end college basketball this season, wasn't it?
As always, great article Ben!
3 months ago
Memphis lost the game solely on free throws...it was like watching a full team of Shaquille O'neals...
3 months ago
It's obvious, Memphis wasn't "on" their game and they didn't play to their potential. They didn't do a good job as they normally do with transition and fast break points.
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