ESPN.com's 10 most memorable NCAA Tourney shots

[User #2735]

In my personal order:

1) Bo Kimble's left handed free throw - Maybe to anyone ~20 and under, this shot may not mean as much...but I remember Hank Gathers on the court like it was yesterday. The night I saw the news of his collapse on ESPN was one of those times where my heart literally hurt because of the tragedy. Like most people who followed college basketball during his time at LMU, I had seen and read about how much of a genuinely good person he was and the story of the close friendship between Gathers and Kimble had been told on most broadcasts featuring LMU. When Kimble went to the foul line for the first time in that tournament, you just knew that every basketball fan in America was mentally willing the ball to go through the hoop. When it did, I think many more than just me felt a tear fall from their eye.

2) Lorenzo Charles dunks Whittenburg's miss - I rewatched this game a few weeks ago on ESPN Classic and was just as pumped up when they won as I was the first time I saw it...and I'm not even close to being a NC State fan.

3) Christian Laettner's buzzer beater against Kentucky - One of the few sports moments that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it occurred. That shot caused me to hate Laettner and hate Duke for eternity.

4) Jordan's title-winner - The greatest player of all time gives one of the greatest coaches of all-time his first title. Legendary.

5) Bryce Drew hits the three - It's not just that Valpo had upset Mississippi...it was just a first round game, after all. But it was the coach's son hitting on one of the prettiest, smoothest, best drawn up plays I have ever seen. From the full court inbounds pass to the catch and pass by the Valpo guard to the catch and shoot by Drew, the entire play seem like it was one motion. Poetry in motion.

6) Keith Smart wins it for Indiana
7) Rumeal Robinson with nerves of steel
8) Danny Ainge goes coast-to-coast
9) Tyus Edney pulls an 'Ainge'
10) Tate George wins the East

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by User #2735
[b]3) Christian Laettner's buzzer beater against Kentucky - One of the few sports moments that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it occurred. That shot caused me to hate Laettner and hate Duke for eternity.

So I'm not the only one who felt that way? God that was a great game. It was also the exact moment I stopped following basketball. For some reason Duke just seemed like an unstoppable force of evil.

[kcchief19]

Tyus Edney can kiss my big fat black-and-gold ass. Stupid Derek Grimm. Block the god d*mn shot you jackass!

Christian Laettner's shot is the winner for me. I was/am a huge Duke fan and I was holding an NCAA party that night. When Laettner hit that shot, I ran through the house, out the front door and around the yard like an idiot and scream my ass off. I then went inside and watched our SMSU Lady Bears dismantle No. 5 Mississippi for a ticket to the Final Four. The Lady Bears were "Gonzaga-ed" that year, finishing the regular season at, I believe, No. 10 in the polls and ending up with a No. 8 seed in the regional. Take that, tournament committee.

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by User #2735

5) Bryce Drew hits the three - It's not just that Valpo had upset Mississippi...it was just a first round game, after all. But it was the coach's son hitting on one of the prettiest, smoothest, best drawn up plays I have ever seen. From the full court inbounds pass to the catch and pass by the Valpo guard to the catch and shoot by Drew, the entire play seem like it was one motion. Poetry in motion.

Just for clarification, it was PF Bill Jenkins who caught the ball and passed it to Drew. The only reason I remember that is because Bill and Bob Jenkins played for one of our HS rivals and were friends with my old roommate.

[Radii]

Originally posted by User #2735

2) Lorenzo Charles dunks Whittenburg's miss - I rewatched this game a few weeks ago on ESPN Classic and was just as pumped up when they won as I was the first time I saw it...and I'm not even close to being a NC State fan.

I was 6 years old. Growing up in Wake Forest, NC, 20 minutes from Raleigh. My parents were huge huge NC State fans. I didn't understand the enormity of the game or the whole NC State tournament run at 6 of course, but hearing my mother scream and watching my mom and dad celebrate after the "alley-oop" is one of my earliest totally vivid memories.

[ahbrady]

My most memorable is Scotty Thurman of Arkansas' 3 point shot with the shot clock winding down. I know it's nobody else's most memorable, but I'm from Arkansas.

I felt the same way you did on the Bo Kimble shot and the Laettner shot. Although I hated Duke before then, that shot made me sick.

[MrBug708]

Hey KcChief. Those kind of reactions make me feel so much more pride

[rexalllsc]

Originally posted by MrBug708
Hey KcChief. Those kind of reactions make me feel so much more pride

http://boss.streamos.com/real/ncaabb.../03/ucla95.smi

[MrBug708]

Saw that on BRO REx. I imagine thats where you got it? In fact, thats why I'm reading this thread right now. To post it

[MJ4H]

Originally posted by ahbrady
My most memorable is Scotty Thurman of Arkansas' 3 point shot with the shot clock winding down. I know it's nobody else's most memorable, but I'm from Arkansas.

AMEN brother. AMEN.

[bosshogg23]

Bryce Drew #1 for me.

Laettner is 2nd. Man was I pissed when I saw that. Didnt make me hate Duke, just Laettner!

[rexalllsc]

Originally posted by MrBug708
Saw that on BRO REx. I imagine thats where you got it? In fact, thats why I'm reading this thread right now. To post it

Yep.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally posted by User #2735

3) Christian Laettner's buzzer beater against Kentucky - One of the few sports moments that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it occurred. That shot caused me to hate Laettner and hate Duke for eternity.

The best college basketball game I ever saw. Duke was destine to repeat. Been a Duke fan ever since they knocked of the Evil UNLV Runnin Rebels the year before. I was so excited when Laettner made this shot I jumped on my bed and fell right through it. Memories...