It was a dumb play call by Martin and a terrible call by the official. However, most good officials would have not blown the whistle at all--don't call fouls on a last play like that either way unless it is an egregious hack, say--and had there been no call Stokes would have lost the ball and we would have lost anyway.
Basketball teams have been in that situation a million times: You throw the ball in to a playmaker (McRae or Richardson)--that's why you have playmakers--who makes a move and tries to get a good shot--or take it to the basket; you try to get a shot off with a few seconds left so that if you miss your team has a chance to get the rebound. You don't pass the ball to your center 12 or more feet from the basket. DUMB. And ultimately the proof is in the pudding: the play was dumb and we didn't even get a shot. Since when do you hope your center can make a play away from the basket like that? Had Stokes gotten the ball close to the basket, then, yea, it makes sense. But it does not make sense to throw it to him 12+ feet away.
Tennessee's best offensive situation for weeks has been Stokes with the ball in the post, either driving to the basket himself or passing out of the double-team. It boggles my mind that people would rather have seen the ball go out to the perimeter. I don't know what you guys have been watching for the last month.
They also don't understand that the there are limited places to inbound the ball from the spot they were working from. Finding Richardson or MacRae up top is basically impossible from where they are inbounding. The only way to get one of them the ball would be to run them to the corner, which would have immediately been trapped.
Didn't these guys see Witchita on Sunday? If you throw it way out to the perimeter with under 10 seconds left, the overwhelming likelihood is that you're going to end up with either McRae or Richardson taking a 23 footer with a hand in his face when a two-pointer wins the game. The ball went to the right spot.
Didn't these guys see Witchita on Sunday? If you throw it way out to the perimeter with under 10 seconds left, the overwhelming likelihood is that you're going to end up with either McRae or Richardson taking a 23 footer with a hand in his face when a two-pointer wins the game. The ball went to the right spot.
So an inbounds to Stokes 12-15 ft away from basket, not even on the post, with him being really bad in this game, and JMac and JRich Being hot and nearly unstoppable, at least in the last 5 minutes, is the right call...smh...only reason Stokes should have gotten the pass was then to immediately hand off to either one of them and let them drive to basket...UM couldnt stop their drives at that point...
Do you really not understand where they were inbounding the ball? On the baseline, close to the corner, with a man on the ball. You can either throw it over the top into the back court, pass it into the corner, or drop it off right where Stokes cut. There was no way for Stokes to "hand off" to anyone.
Do you really not understand where they were inbounding the ball? On the baseline, close to the corner, with a man on the ball. You can either throw it over the top into the back court, pass it into the corner, or drop it off right where Stokes cut. There was no way for Stokes to "hand off" to anyone.
Don't you understand, defenses just stand idly by and let you throw the ball anywhere you want on the floor. I'm surprised Martin didn't call for a pass to a wide open player under the basket for an easy dunk....
We have the dumbest fans.