LOS ANGELES — When Michigan senior guard Duncan Robinson’s corner three-pointer dropped through the basket with 2:26 remaining in Saturday’s Elite Eight showdown to give the Wolverines a 54-44 lead over the Florida State Seminoles, it appeared Michigan was about to cruise into next weekend’s Final Four.
It turned out that Michigan did eventually win the game, claiming a 58-54 victory to become the West Region’s representative in the Final Four — where the Wolverines will become the latest team to try to stop the Cinderella story of this tournament, Loyola University Chicago, and newly-minted international celebrity Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt.
But all anyone was talking about after the game was a series of bizarre coaching decisions by Florida State Coach Leonard Hamilton over the final 90 seconds — including fouling twice while trailing by three, and then opting to let the final 13 seconds run off the clock with his team only trailing by four — and his even more bizarre explanations afterward.
The postgame TV interviews are never easy, for coach, player or reporter, but they’re a necessity and, occasionally, a surreal one. CBS’s Dana Jacobson was as curious as the rest of us — including the TBS studio panel — as to why Hamilton didn’t have his players foul. When Jacobson asked, Hamilton was incredulous.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
When Jacobson repeated her — again, understandable and fair — question, Hamilton responded, “Do you think the game came down to the final seconds of the game?”
When asked a third time, he said, “The game was over.”
And, finally, after a fourth attempt by Jacobson, Hamilton replied, “With 15 seconds left on the clock, what were we down?”
The answer, in case anyone had forgotten, was four.
Afterward Jacobson tweeted, “Coach Hamilton spoke to me minutes after an emotional @FSUHoops loss. It was the right question to ask. He showed emotion and I appreciate him talking through it with me instead of walking off. He was nothing but professional with me throughout this weekend as I believe I was with them.”
And, to one Twitter user’s suggestion that she would not have asked the same question of Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski in a similar position, Jacobson replied, “Yes, she would have.”
ESPN’s Jay Bilas questioned the coaching, not Jacobson’s performance Sunday morning. “In 10 seconds, there’s a lot of things that can happen. … Are the chances low? Yeah, they’re low, but you still do that [foul or steal, for instance]. … This is not a regular-season game where you walk off the court. It’s an Elite Eight with a chance to go to the Final Four and it’s a national championship event. … I don’t have any problem with Leonard Hamilton after the game. It’s a tough deal after the game. No coaches like to get questioned after a game. Dana Jacobson did a fabulous job.”
Florida State’s series of misadventures began with 77 seconds left. After Michigan had undergone its own implosion in a 60-second span to allow a 10-point lead to shrink to three with 1:17 to go — more on that in a minute — the Wolverines had the ball, leading 55-52, and all Florida State had to do was make one defensive stop and it would get the ball back with a chance to tie the game.
[ Ramble On: Loyola Chicago beats Kansas State to reach Final Four ]
Instead, the Seminoles decided to foul, with Savoy fouling Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman — a 75.9 percent foul shooter this season — with 1:06 remaining, after letting 11 seconds tick off the clock.
But, in keeping with what, at this point, was a full-on meltdown by Michigan, Abdur-Rahkman missed another front-end of a one-and-one, allowing Florida State a chance to tie the game.
Little did everyone know, though, that Florida State was about to experience a meltdown of its own.
On the Seminoles’ next possession, PJ Savoy fired up an unnecessarily rushed three-pointer just a few seconds into the shot clock, one that bounced harmlessly away and was corralled by Charles Matthews — who led Michigan with 17 points and was named the West Region’s most outstanding player — with 58 seconds remaining.
Remember that number.
A few seconds later, Michigan called timeout — undoubtedly, in Wolverines Coach John Beilein’s mind, to set up a play in the hopes of getting one more basket to make it a two possession game, and officially put the game out of reach.
Hamilton, however, had other ideas.
[ Duke vs. Kansas: Two college basketball powers, two different Elite Eight histories ]
Once Michigan inbounded the ball following the timeout, Hamilton eventually had his players foul Zavier Simpson with 40 seconds left in the game — 18 seconds after Matthews had grabbed the rebound.
This was horrid clock management. Once again, Florida State only had to play a few additional seconds of defense to potentially get the ball with a chance to tie the game. Instead, it waited nearly 20 seconds to send Simpson to the foul line with two chances to put Michigan up by two possessions — and had done so for a second time in the span of 26 seconds.
Simpson is a terrible free throw shooter — just 51.8 percent on the year, and he’d already missed one 58 seconds earlier. But by staying to his season average, and making one of two shots, he put the Wolverines up 56-52 with 40 seconds left.
Hamilton was asked about this after the game, and seemed to have no idea what the question was about — including insinuating Florida State was down four at the time.
(Narrator: it was not).
[ Ask Texas Tech’s coach about basketball, and you might get an answer about Whataburger ]
“I don’t remember exactly, but I want to say that it was a four-point game,” he said.
“I don’t remember exactly what the situation was to be very honest with you. But there was one situation where we thought it was best not to foul because we thought that we could get the ball back and still have an opportunity to score because it seemed like there were like 15 seconds difference in the shot clock, if we could just hold them. It might have been a one- or two-point game at that point. Maybe a two-point game. And we thought if we stopped them, we’d have an opportunity to come down and score.
“But I think that’s what happened in that one particular situation that I have in my mind. If we got a stop, we still would have an opportunity to score. If we fouled them, they’d be up four and we’d come down and we still would not be able to win the game.”
His explanation is befuddling.
But if you think Florida State was done screwing up the endgame — think again.
The Seminoles came down and chucked up two more wild three-pointers, managing to corral the rebound each time and eventually getting an offensive rebound and putback by senior forward Phil Cofer, who led Florida State with 16 points, to make it 56-54 with 24 seconds left.
At this point, Florida State had to foul, and Michigan got the ball in to Duncan Robinson — an 89.7 percent foul shooter — who was fouled and sent to the line with 21 seconds remaining.
“I take a lot of pride in being a good free throw shooter,” Robinson said, “So for a senior to step into that moment … the least I could do was make a couple free throws to secure a win.”
Robinson managed to do that, making it 58-54 — which turned out to be the final score.
It turned out to be the final score because of one final bizarre decision Hamilton and his team made — to allow the clock to run out.
Following Robinson’s free throws, Savoy launched one final desperation attempt with 13 seconds to go. But when Robinson secured the rebound, Florida State didn’t bother trying to foul.
Once Robinson realized that was the case, he dribbled away and put one finger in the air, and Michigan began celebrating its victory.
“I was a little surprised,” he said. “To be honest with you, I thought there was less time [left].”
All of the questionable decisions by Florida State and Hamilton down the stretch tied a strange bow on what has been a wonderful tournament run for the Seminoles, one that’s seen Hamilton lead his team past three higher-ranked foes — first No. 8 Missouri, then top-seeded Xavier, then No. 4 Gonzaga — to reach the Elite Eight for the first time in his career, and only the third time for Florida State — and the first since 1993.
But after a hard-fought, defensive game, the only reason Hamilton and his team had a chance to make the series of strange calls they did inside the final 77 seconds was because of how badly the Wolverines melted down themselves from what should’ve been a secure position — up 10 with 2:26 remaining.
“It was a long day from being over with all the games that I’ve coached,” Beilein said with a relieved smile afterward. “You don’t get into it too often up 10 with two [minutes] to go and lose, but it happens.
“And this is not the day to do it.”
For a few fleeting moments, though, it looked like it could be.
“If anybody followed us all year, up ten doesn’t mean a lot to us because we’re just not a great foul-shooting team,” Beilein said. “So the game is a long way from being over.”
It turned out Beilein was right, and that it was a long way from over. What anyone couldn’t have known at the time was just how strange an ending it would be — and that Hamilton would have so few answers as to how that ending played out the way it did.
***
In-game updates:
This is Michigan’s eighth Final Four appearance in school history. The Wolverines are riding a 13-game winning streak that dates back to Feb. 11.
***
And just like that, the Michigan lead is back up to 10 after a 7-0 run comprised of a Charles Matthews jumper, a Zavier Simpson layup and a three-pointer from Duncan Robinson.
The Wolverines lead Florida State, 54-44, with 2:15 to play. The winner earns a trip to the Final Four to face Loyola Chicago.
Charles Matthews leads all scorers with 17 points. Moe Wagner has struggled offensively — he’s only 3-of-11 from the floor — but still has 12 points.
***
Michigan could never pull away. Florida State put Moe Wagner in foul trouble and cut the Wolverine lead down to three points with four minutes to play.
***
The Wolverines might be starting to pull away. Six minutes into the second half, Michigan is on an 11-2 run to take a 10-point lead, its largest of the game.
Florida State went nearly six minutes without a point as the Wolverines ratcheted up the defensive pressure.
***
Well, the result won’t be an upset anything like Loyolo Chicago’s run, but Michigan and Florida State are nearly neck-and-neck in Los Angeles at the NCAA tournament’s West regional final.
The Wolverines, edged ahead 27-26 at the half after Moe Wagner was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made two of three free throws. Florida State has successfully turned the game into a slugfest, something Coach Leonard Hamilton’s group needs to do to throw off the hot-shooting Wolverines.
The Seminoles forced Michigan into 33.3 percent shooting and out-rebounded them 15-11 while blocking five shots. But four Florida State players already have two fouls with a full 20 minutes to play.
Charles Matthews leads all scorers with 10 points for the Wolverines. Phil Cofer leads Florida State with seven points.
***
Pregame reading:
Florida State, with its three national championships and three Heisman Trophy winners, is known as one of the great college football programs in the country.
Just don’t tell that to the school’s basketball coach.
When Leonard Hamilton was asked about the potential advantages that come with working at a traditional football school, the easygoing 69-year-old was clearly agitated to answer before the question could even finish being asked.
And, once he got started answering, it quickly became clear he had a lot to say.
“I think that’s one of the most ridiculous phrases that I’ve heard, football school, basketball school,” Hamilton said Friday afternoon, the day before his ninth-seeded Seminoles face No. 3 seed Michigan for the right to advance to the Final Four next weekend in San Antonio. “I mean, gosh, [Michigan has] been to the Final Four on a consistent basis. I think they’re a good academic school, and they have great sports.
“The basketball world that I know of, that I live in, never identified them as a football school. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever really heard anybody use that phrase, other than maybe coming from a reporter. I feel that at every school several sports have maybe had more success than others. Our baseball team has probably had as much success at Florida State as anyone, but nobody would call us a baseball school. Our soccer team does an outstanding job. Our volleyball team is good.”
“I just think that’s a cliche and that’s a phrase that we need to eliminate.”
It’s a cliche Hamilton has plenty of experience with. Throughout his three decades of experience as a collegiate head coach — with one year at the helm of the Washington Wizards in the middle — he’s been at three places that would traditionally fit that bill: Oklahoma State, Miami and, for the past 16 seasons, at Florida State.
Though he might not like the term “football school,” he admitted the big weekend celebrations that come with Saturday afternoons at Power Five schools with football tradition such as Michigan and Florida State have some added benefits for a college basketball coach.
“I kind of enjoy those football weekends myself,” he said with a smile. “It’s good for recruiting.”
[ ‘I got shivers down my whole body’: Michigan walk-on hits the shot of his life ]
It was just one of many moments of candor from Hamilton during a lengthy and jovial meeting with the press Friday. He took great pleasure in explaining how he came up with the term “junkyard defense” for his players to emulate, describing in great detail what junkyards in the South are like. He was equally pleased to take the time to describe his team’s philosophy of playing at least 10 players heavy minutes every game, extolling the virtues of several of his players who openly asked for their teammates to remain in the game instead of them because they were playing well.
When asked if he knows any other languages, because of his penchant for recruiting internationally over the years, he quipped, “I’m still working on English, and I’m struggling with that a lot of the time.”
[ ‘18 strong’: Seminoles will send waves of players at Wolverines in Elite Eight ]
But Hamilton turned poignant when it came to the final answer of his news conference, in response to what it would mean to him, in his 30th season as a collegiate head coach, to reach the Final Four for the first time as a head coach.
“Someone asked me that last night, and I hadn’t had a chance to really think about it, about what it meant to me,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been fortunate in my career to have been, as an assistant, to go to three Final Fours [and win] and I don’t know how many conference championships. I’m more thinking about how important it would be for our student-athletes to enjoy that experience.
“I’m not selfish enough to feel that that’s a cure-all for me that’s going to make my life any more important or successful. But I realize that these are memories that our young people will have that they will cherish for the remainder of their lives. I want so much for them to enjoy that experience, because I know how much it’s going to mean to them.
“I’m more excited about when they graduate and get their degrees, when I get a chance to go through their weddings and be the godfather to their kids. When I see them grow from being young adults to — I mean, from teenagers to young adults, those are the things that are important to me.
“Me personally, I hope that my reward would be to see the smiles on their face and hear their tone of voice and the excitement in it if we can win this game tomorrow.”
Then Hamilton smiled.
“So my job is to try to get them to be mentally and emotionally poised, connected, and energized and not pressured because they’re trying to satisfy something for the coach,” he said with a laugh.
And, with that, he got up from the dais.
Schedule: Florida State (23-11) and Michigan (31-7) will tip off at 8:49 Saturday on TBS.
How Florida State got here:
- The Seminoles wore down No. 8 seed Missouri in a 67-54 first round victory, winning their fourth straight NCAA tournament opener.
- They then rallied from 12 points down to stun top-seeded Xavier in the second round, 75-70.
- They recorded another upset in the Sweet 16, knocking off No. 4 seed Gonzaga, 75-60, to clinch the school’s third Elite Eight berth, and first since 1993. Florida State’s size, length and athleticism bothered Gonzaga from start to finish, with Gonzaga Coach Mark Few calling the Seminoles “probably easily the most physically imposing and athletically gifted team we’ve faced maybe in the 20 years I’ve been head coach.”
How Michigan got here:
- The Wolverines trailed No. 14 seed Montana 10-0 before surging ahead for a 61-47 win.
- Their second-round game offered one of the tournament’s most dramatic endings, when freshman Jordan Poole bombed in a long three-pointer as time expired to clinch a 64-63 win over No. 6 seed Houston.
Regular season results:
Florida State finished the regular season 20-10, with a 9-9 ACC record, earning the eighth seed in the conference tournament. The Seminoles dropped their ACC tournament opener to Louisville, and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. Florida State didn’t have any players on the all-ACC first, second or third teams; Terance Mann finished ninth in honorable mention.
Michigan finished the regular season 24-7, with a 13-5 Big Ten mark, good for the fifth seed. But the Wolverines raced through that event, winning four games in four days to claim a second straight tournament title. That earned them a No. 3 seed. German forward Moe Wagner was second-team all-Big Ten, while fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson was the conference’s sixth man of the year.
More NCAA tournament coverage:
Porter Moser has led Loyola Chicago to new heights after hitting a career low
Loyola Chicago doesn’t need divine intervention to reach the Final Four
Kentucky Gentlemen? Wildcats chided for skipping handshakes after Sweet 16 loss.
Jenkins: The secret to buzzer-beaters? It’s all in the (mental) release
Defiant and wounded, Rick Pitino insists he did nothing wrong — and wants back in
Read Again Brow https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/03/24/florida-state-vs-michigan-dont-talk-to-leonard-hamilton-about-football-schools/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "CBS's Dana Jacobson asks a question Florida State's Leonard Hamilton won't answer"
Post a Comment