Saturday, April 3, 2010

April 3, 1989: Two free throws for the win

SEATTLE - What must have been going through Rumeal Robinson's head as he stepped to the free-throw line?

Was he thinking about the scoreboard, which showed his Michigan Wolverines trailing Seton Hall 79-78, with three seconds left in the national championship game?

Was he thinking about Michigan's just-completed offensive possession, where Robinson, a point guard, was trying to do his job and set up a teammate for the game-winning shot when he was fouled before he could get the pass off? Or was he thinking how lucky he was to get that call, considering that, no matter which way you look at it, he was never touched on that play, much less fouled?

Was he thinking that it should have been his gifted teammate Glen Rice standing there taking these shots? After all, Rice had been the heart and soul of that team his entire career. He had already scored 31 in the national championship game, giving him a tournament record 184 for the tournament. He had hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute left in regulation, a shot that had coincidentally made him the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer. Surely, Robinson wouldn't have minded if it was Rice taking these free throws instead of him.

Was he thinking about the chaos surrounding his team right before the tournament? Michigan's head coach, Bill Frieder, announced he was leaving to go coach Arizona State as soon as the tournament was over, but Michigan's athletic director, legendary football coach Bo Schembechler, told him not to bother waiting and appointed assistant Steve Fisher as the interim coach for the tournament.

Did he think any of those things? Did he have time to think about anything at all? Or did everything happen too fast for him to be able to process it?

It doesn't matter. He made the two most pressure-packed free throws he had ever been asked to make, and three seconds later, Michigan was the national champion.

No comments:

Post a Comment