Except there was suddenly a better shot available: Jenkins had trailed Arcidiacono the whole way. They weren’t able to reach the constellations and they didn’t have someone who shined brighter than everyone else.
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He could’ve stopped and popped, or bullied his way into the paint and taken the shot, but his pass to Jenkins, the trust in his teammate to hit the shot, is the flawless representation for his career: doing whatever it takes to win the game. In this game, the Cats shot 58.3 percent in the first half, 58.3 percent in the second half and 100 percent with the final buzzer sounding.
Wright says he wanted Britt more than he wanted Jenkins when he started recruiting the brothers from the Baltimore area.
That’s what happens when there are no great teams, like there were in 2015, and when there are no great players destined for National Basketball Association super-stardom. In the last five seconds, it was a high-stakes game of H-O-R-S-E, with only the E left to decide.
“As soon as he got it off, all you can do is pray when the ball is in the air”, Paige told reporters after the game, as poised and as confident as he’s ever been, the only sign that he had just suffered the most heart-breaking loss he’ll ever experience the redness still evident in his eyes.
After Memphis’ Derrick Rose went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation put the game in overtime.
Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield was the big scorer of the first four rounds with his 37-point effort against OR in the regional final his best performance. Daniel Ochefu set a screen. At the same time, NRG Stadium security was trying to get on the court to secure the perimeter and Rameses was totally in the way. They had gotten the big stops and they had made the big shots and with 13 seconds left, the Tar Heels had the ball, three points away from tying this thing up.
Kris Jenkins of Villanova wasn’t about to be outdone.
Just as he expected, the Tar Heels had all but forgotten about him. I knew I was going to have to shoot it. Jenkins was out of shape and Wright wasn’t sure he could put in the work needed to play Villanova basketball.
Arcidiacono: “All I heard was ‘Arch, Arch, Arch'”. I was like, ‘Ryan, Ryan!’ And like coach said, he made the ideal pass. Every time I one-two step it’s definitely going up.
Jenkins, Arch and the rest of the Wildcats had strands of net tied to their caps as they greeted fans.
Jenkins’ range is anywhere in the gym, as he showed earlier in the tournament by nonchalantly draining a shot from the edge of the midcourt logo.
“It’s a great honor to be in that class with the ’85 team”, said Arcidiacono, a Philly kid for whom Villanova’s history may as well be family lore.
Paige: “We knew we could fight back, and we did”.
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One game and one shot turned out to be the ideal snap shot of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
