Last shot by ISU

GoCubsGo

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2008
1,408
172
63
With only half a second left and the length of the court to go, it's unlikely ISU was going to get off a great shot in any event. But surely we could have come up with something better than a 70-foot (blocked) heave. Seems like you've got to take a chance inbounding the ball the length of the court to get a closer look, or perhaps even draw a foul.

Having said that, I couldn't be prouder of the team and the way they represented ISU. I've always loved Cyclone basketball, but this season was one of the funnest teams I've ever watched, night-in and night-out.
 
Time could have just as well ran out. It was definitely not ideal but I think pretty much everybody had checked out in disbelief by that point. Plenty of worse things happened in the final moments than that one..
 
With only half a second left and the length of the court to go, it's unlikely ISU was going to get off a great shot in any event. But surely we could have come up with something better than a 70-foot (blocked) heave. Seems like you've got to take a chance inbounding the ball the length of the court to get a closer look, or perhaps even draw a foul.

Having said that, I couldn't be prouder of the team and the way they represented ISU. I've always loved Cyclone basketball, but this season was one of the funnest teams I've ever watched, night-in and night-out.

A foul does you no good.
 
A foul does you no good.


How do you figure? If ISU is fouled before the ball is in play, they're shooting two free throws. Make the first, intentionally miss the second, and see what happens.

If ISU is fouled after someone catches the ball, it's a chance to be fouled in the act of shooting a three, or even pulling off a four-point play.

All I'm saying is that the chances of either of those situations occuring are much better than the odds of making a 70 footer.
 
With only half a second left and the length of the court to go, it's unlikely ISU was going to get off a great shot in any event. But surely we could have come up with something better than a 70-foot (blocked) heave. Seems like you've got to take a chance inbounding the ball the length of the court to get a closer look, or perhaps even draw a foul.

Having said that, I couldn't be prouder of the team and the way they represented ISU. I've always loved Cyclone basketball, but this season was one of the funnest teams I've ever watched, night-in and night-out.

Before someone comes in and says, "THERE'S ONLY A HALF SECOND LEFT, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?" let's stipulate that it's an enormously difficult situation, if not impossible. To hit a game-tying three when starting from the opposite end of the court with only a half-second remaining would have been borderline miraculous. We all know that.

But knowing that, you have to run a play that gives a guy a legitimate chance to get some kind of shot off. With only a half second remaining, you won't even have time to catch, wind up, and toss from 75 feet away. You have to find a guy who can shoot it rather than throw it, because that takes less time. So you're looking at getting the ball at least to half court. It just looked like a play that wasn't well designed or well executed.

I'm under no illusion that even the best executed play has an even 10% chance of working in that situation. It is, as I said, a near-impossible position to overcome. But we've had a few end of half or end of game situations this year where I've said to myself, "Really, that's the best shot we can get, or best play we can run?" Whether it's an execution issue or coaching issue, it is something worth examining.
 
Last edited:
Before someone comes in and says, "THERE'S ONLY A HALF SECOND LEFT, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?" let's stipulate that it's an enormously difficult situation, if not impossible. To hit a game-tying three when starting from the opposite end of the court with only a half-second remaining would have been borderline miraculous. We all know that.

But knowing that, you have to run a play that gives a guy a legitimate chance to get some kind of shot off. With only a half second remaining, you won't even have time to catch, wind up, and toss from 75 feet away. You have to find a guy who can shoot it rather than throw it, because that takes less time. So you're looking at getting the ball at least to half court. It just looked like a play that wasn't well designed or well executed.

I'm under no illusion that even the best executed play has an even 10% chance of working in that situation. It is, as I said, a near-impossible position to overcome. But we've had a few end of half or end of game situations this year where I've said to myself, "Really, that's the best shot we can get, or best play we can run?" Whether it's an execution issue or coaching issue, it is something worth examining.


Exactly. The odds were low in any case, but you want to give yourself the best opportunity you can.
 
How do you figure? If ISU is fouled before the ball is in play, they're shooting two free throws. Make the first, intentionally miss the second, and see what happens.

If ISU is fouled after someone catches the ball, it's a chance to be fouled in the act of shooting a three, or even pulling off a four-point play.

All I'm saying is that the chances of either of those situations occuring are much better than the odds of making a 70 footer.

I would call them a wash. Heaves to mid court are always tipped around and fouls are never called. That's not to mention the player has their back to the basket. I'll take the guy at 70 foot moving toward the basket over the guy at 50 with his back to it with .5 left.
 
Honestly, I think we got close to the best shot we were going to get. If you throw the baseball pass the length of the floor, the catch is going to be contested, and is going to be with your back to the basket. To expect someone to jump up, gather the ball, turn around and shoot in .5 seconds is unreasonable. No chance it could have happened.
 
Yeah, pratically no chance there (pretty much like winning Powerball), but that ball has to be thrown down the court for there to be any chance.

It is tough for players and coaches to recover from the dagger that Craft stuck in their hearts in that situation.
 
In situations like these, I like the NBA rule that you can take the ball at half-court assuming you have a timeout. Makes saving timeouts worth it.
 
I was hoping for a baseball throw to the groin of the guy guarding the inbound. Still a loss, but at least it may have helped all of our groin shots not hurt as much.
 

Help Support Us

Become a patron