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UC Riverside with the buzzer beater

1. Nobody ever said don’t take the last shot. Just take a better shot.

2. There is a reason these miraculous shots are celebrated. Because they are rare.
 
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This is why you take the LAST SHOT of regulation.

I watched the game live. It WAS unbelievable. UCR had played Arizona State tough all night and couldn't close the deal as time was running down. Arizona State hit a clutch basket (their first in like five minutes) leaving UCR with 1.7 seconds left. The player below the basket inbounds to Morgan (a transfer from Temple) who heaves a three quarter shot that swishes in. Unbelievable!
 
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1. Nobody ever said don’t take the last shot. Just take a better shot.

2. There is a reason these miraculous shots are celebrated. Because they are rare.
Geo with the iso is one of the safest plays. No moving parts or chances for a game losing turnover. If you’re confident about our chances in overtime, which I would have been, then that iso play is a very smart play
 
Geo with the iso is one of the safest plays. No moving parts or chances for a game losing turnover. If you’re confident about our chances in overtime, which I would have been, then that iso play is a very smart play
He turned it over against Houston.
 
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He turned it over against Houston.
True but didn’t we need to score at that point to avoid losing? That’s a little different. In this case if he doesn’t get a shot off at all, we go to OT. There’s no way he was getting stripped in that situation.
 
True but didn’t we need to score at that point to avoid losing? That’s a little different. In this case if he doesn’t get a shot off at all, we go to OT. There’s no way he was getting stripped in that situation.
Either way, sometimes your play doesn't work, even if it was the best play to call. If you get your best shooter an open shot, and he doesn't hit it, that doesn't mean it was a bad play and you shouldn't try it again next time.
 
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But was it the really best we could try ? Or was Geo more interested in me-me hero ball ? And maybe coaches simply appease players nowadays

That’s what this question is about.

If we lost in OT, nobody would be saying ‘I liked our chances in OT’ like they are saying now.
 
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Either way, sometimes your play doesn't work, even if it was the best play to call. If you get your best shooter an open shot, and he doesn't hit it, that doesn't mean it was a bad play and you shouldn't try it again next time.
Absolutely - the point I’m making is that because we were in the bonus, the decision we made (to avoid running offense until there wasn’t enough time remaining for Lehigh to take it the other way) eliminated any chance of Lehigh taking the ball away unless it just rolled off Geo’s foot. They were not going for a steal because it would risk putting us on the line. It was a risk averse decision - the right one IMO.
 
But was it the really best we could try ? Or was Geo more interested in me-me hero ball ? And maybe coaches simply appease players nowadays

That’s what this question is about.

If we lost in OT, nobody would be saying ‘I liked our chances in OT’ like they are saying now.
Come on. He wasn’t playing me ball. It was quite obvious that we deliberately ran the clock down. Geo didn’t do that on his own coming out of a time out. That’s how Pike wanted to play it. Virtually no chance of a turn over. Maybe Geo gets a clean look at the buzzer - maybe not. But totally risk averse.
 
Come on. He wasn’t playing me ball. It was quite obvious that we deliberately ran the clock down. Geo didn’t do that on his own coming out of a time out. That’s how Pike wanted to play it. Virtually no chance of a turn over. Maybe Geo gets a clean look at the buzzer - maybe not. But totally risk averse.
I’ve seen Geo drive to the hoop many times.
It should be a two man game with him and Harper.
Drive to the hoop make it
Drive to the hoop get fouled
Drive to the hoop kick it out to Harper
 
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It could also be said that playing for OT is even riskier.

I believe that lots of star athletes today, and probably Geo more than most (his media comments about NIL) have oversized egos, and coaches are almost afraid to get in the way.

He tells Pike (or doesn’t even need to) “I’m taking the last shot”.

I doubt that what we saw was Pike’s ‘best play’ if he were being honest
 
Like the iso play for Geo at the end, just don't like that last second shot being a step back 3 pointer. No reason for that. He is enamored with that shot and the kudo's he receives when he hits those. Drive into the lane and get toward the foul line and then do the step back. He hits those alot. That should be the last second iso shot.
 
Like the iso play for Geo at the end, just don't like that last second shot being a step back 3 pointer. No reason for that. He is enamored with that shot and the kudo's he receives when he hits those. Drive into the lane and get toward the foul line and then do the step back. He hits those alot. That should be the last second iso shot.
yeah, i liked everything, but how long he waited to start - and didn't have time to get some space inside the arc.
 
yeah, i liked everything, but how long he waited to start - and didn't have time to get some space inside the arc.
Agreed. He planned to take that step back 3 right from the start. Initiate his drive 2 seconds earlier, find space near the foul line and take his classic step back shot from that point with no time left on the clock. That to me takes it from a 30% chance of making it to over 50%. The much better choice in my opinion.
 
Did former St. Anthony’s HS player 6’9” Daniel Mading contribute to the UC-Riverside victory?
 
It could also be said that playing for OT is even riskier.

I believe that lots of star athletes today, and probably Geo more than most (his media comments about NIL) have oversized egos, and coaches are almost afraid to get in the way.

He tells Pike (or doesn’t even need to) “I’m taking the last shot”.

I doubt that what we saw was Pike’s ‘best play’ if he were being honest
I really doubt that Pike would allow G or any other player to decide what play to run.
 
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The ref called the timeout to go to the scorers table to check the game clock. They confirmed that 1.7 seconds left was correct. Hurley was ticked off about is because UCR had no timeouts left so they got a "freebie.".....oh well.....lol
great example of why the last :58 seconds of basketball is a very silly sport sometimes...
 
It could also be said that playing for OT is even riskier.

I believe that lots of star athletes today, and probably Geo more than most (his media comments about NIL) have oversized egos, and coaches are almost afraid to get in the way.

He tells Pike (or doesn’t even need to) “I’m taking the last shot”.

I doubt that what we saw was Pike’s ‘best play’ if he were being honest
1) There’s no way Geo went into the huddle and did that. Zero chance.

2) We weren’t playing for OT. We played for no outcome worse than OT. The call was - Geo holds until the clock runs down and Pike trusted his 5th year senior PG to get off the best possible shot he could at the buzzer. He started the play a few seconds too late. Would’ve gotten off a better shot if he started maybe 2 seconds sooner. Still could’ve missed though. There were no egos involved.
 
The ref called the timeout to go to the scorers table to check the game clock. They confirmed that 1.7 seconds left was correct. Hurley was ticked off about is because UCR had no timeouts left so they got a "freebie.".....oh well.....lol
There should be a rule that players cannot go to their benches when the refs stop the game just to check the clock.
 
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