2008 Woodie Awards
You had it Memphis and then you let it all slip away
By: Bill Bordewick
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Sports Commentary
Oh sweet little Memphis - look what you did.
You had the national championship in your grasps and you blew it.
Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts missing free throws down the stretch led to Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hitting one of the best clutch shots the national championship game has seen in a while.
Somewhere Bill Raftrey was annoyingly screaming "Onions" into his television set.
Up nine with just over 2 minutes to play in the championship game usually means start making those parade and banner-hanging ceremonies - unless your team is one of the worst three teams in the country at making free throws.
That team would be Memphis, which shot free throws at a chilly 58 percent clip on the season but that problem had not reared its ugly head in the Tigers' last three games.
In fact, in the Final Four game against UCLA, Douglas-Roberts and Rose combined to go 20-23 from the foul line as the Tigers easily dispatched the Bruins.
That 20-23 form was nowhere to be seen in the final seconds in the game against Kansas for CDR and Rose.
The two combined to miss three of their four free throw attempts down the stretch and that left the door open for Chalmers to slam it shut on the Tigers.
The Chalmers' three only put the game into overtime but the only thing it did was delay the championship celebration of the Jayhawks by five minutes.
Memphis' fate was sealed with each clang of the rim from a CDR or Rose missed free throw in regulation.
While Memphis was struggling worse than the veteran team on the Real World/Road Rules Gauntlet final challenge from the free throw line, Kansas was almost perfect.
The Rock-chalkers shot 14-15 from the charity stripe (93 percent) en route to securing their first national title since 1988.
The joy that KU nation is experiencing could have been yours Memphis but apparently you did not want it.
That will happen when you shoot 12-19 from the line. Yes, that 63 percent is better than what you shot during the season, but then again, it is hard to not shoot better than 58 percent.
You almost have to try on purpose to be that bad from the line.
I'm pretty positive CDR and Derrick Rose were not trying to miss those tosses at the end of the game, but when you shot them as bad as Memphis does, any misstep along the way can bring about that shred of doubt back into the minds.
Free throw shooting nearly cost the Tigers in the game against Mississippi State and it definitely cost them against the Jayhawks.
It's a shame too. This Memphis team was something special this season and it all unraveled for them in the national championship game on one of the easiest shots in the game - free throw shooting.
Although, I am sure the Jayhawks would love to offer free throw shooting clinics to you Memphis - its just probably going to have to wait until they are done with their championship parade and banner-hanging ceremony.
You had the national championship in your grasps and you blew it.
Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts missing free throws down the stretch led to Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hitting one of the best clutch shots the national championship game has seen in a while.
Somewhere Bill Raftrey was annoyingly screaming "Onions" into his television set.
Up nine with just over 2 minutes to play in the championship game usually means start making those parade and banner-hanging ceremonies - unless your team is one of the worst three teams in the country at making free throws.
That team would be Memphis, which shot free throws at a chilly 58 percent clip on the season but that problem had not reared its ugly head in the Tigers' last three games.
In fact, in the Final Four game against UCLA, Douglas-Roberts and Rose combined to go 20-23 from the foul line as the Tigers easily dispatched the Bruins.
That 20-23 form was nowhere to be seen in the final seconds in the game against Kansas for CDR and Rose.
The two combined to miss three of their four free throw attempts down the stretch and that left the door open for Chalmers to slam it shut on the Tigers.
The Chalmers' three only put the game into overtime but the only thing it did was delay the championship celebration of the Jayhawks by five minutes.
Memphis' fate was sealed with each clang of the rim from a CDR or Rose missed free throw in regulation.
While Memphis was struggling worse than the veteran team on the Real World/Road Rules Gauntlet final challenge from the free throw line, Kansas was almost perfect.
The Rock-chalkers shot 14-15 from the charity stripe (93 percent) en route to securing their first national title since 1988.
The joy that KU nation is experiencing could have been yours Memphis but apparently you did not want it.
That will happen when you shoot 12-19 from the line. Yes, that 63 percent is better than what you shot during the season, but then again, it is hard to not shoot better than 58 percent.
You almost have to try on purpose to be that bad from the line.
I'm pretty positive CDR and Derrick Rose were not trying to miss those tosses at the end of the game, but when you shot them as bad as Memphis does, any misstep along the way can bring about that shred of doubt back into the minds.
Free throw shooting nearly cost the Tigers in the game against Mississippi State and it definitely cost them against the Jayhawks.
It's a shame too. This Memphis team was something special this season and it all unraveled for them in the national championship game on one of the easiest shots in the game - free throw shooting.
Although, I am sure the Jayhawks would love to offer free throw shooting clinics to you Memphis - its just probably going to have to wait until they are done with their championship parade and banner-hanging ceremony.
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