Commentary

The final possession, first-person style

A look at the end of Kansas vs. Davidson in the 2008 Elite Eight

Updated: March 24, 2010, 11:16 AM ET
By Ryan McGee | ESPN The Magazine

This is a sidebar to a story on the final possession in March Madness games; the story, which ran in the April 5, 2010 issue of ESPN The Magazine, can be found here.

With 16.8 seconds left in the 2008 Elite Eight matchup between Davidson and Kansas, the Wildcats called a timeout down 59-57. KU assistant Joe Dooley and Stephen Curry, then Davidson's star guard, describe what happened next.

:16.8 left

DOOLEY: In the huddle, we talked about keeping everybody in front of you. We didn't want them to have any momentum up the court. Everyone in the arena knew where the ball was going.
CURRY: We talked about starting the play with the ball in the hands of our point guard, Jason Richards. But we didn't want him trapped where he couldn't find me. So I took the inbounds.

:15.9 left

DOOLEY: We had Brandon Rush guard Curry off the inbounds. We wanted Brandon to make sure Curry caught the ball going backward.
CURRY: I moved up the court deliberately; there was plenty of time left. I waited for Thomas Sander to set the flat ball screen up top. Depending on what I saw, I would drive the lane to tie, shoot a three or find Bryant Barr off of another screen. He was hot that night.


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Ryan McGee | email

ESPN The Magazine, NASCAR
  • ESPN The Magazine senior writer
  • 2-time Sports Emmy winner
  • 2010 NMPA Writer of the Year

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