"That entire play, that sums up what we've been about all year,'' said Phil Booth, who came off the bench to score a career high 20 points for the Wildcats. The shot will be replayed over and over again, standing alongside Lorenzo Charles' air-ball catch-and-dunk for NC State in 1983 and Christian Laettner's turnaround that lifted Duke over Kentucky in 1992.īut it's the entirety of the last 4.7 seconds that truly defines who this Villanova team is. Jenkins made this one, giving Villanova a 77-74 win, its first national championship since 1985, and putting the perfect frenetic finish on a chaotic season. "He takes those shots all the time and sometimes I want to kill him,'' Jay Wright said. I knew it was in before the red light went off,'' said Villanova team chaplain Father Rob Hagan, who at Mass earlier in the day spoke about the vines and the branches and how they must stay connected to bear fruit. I knew it was going in,'' said Toronto Raptors All-Star and former Villanova player Kyle Lowry, who was sitting just behind Patty Wright and her three kids. "Do you know how many times I've seen that kid take that shot in the summer? At least 1,000. Because he was set and his shoulders were square,'' Joe Arcidiacono, Ryan's dad, said of his view from section 108. I just can't believe it,'' said Wildcats head coach Jay Wright's wife, Patty, sitting in the first row on the aisle directly behind the bench. "Physically, I watched it, but I don't think I actually understood it,'' Villanova assistant coach Baker Dunleavy said of his perch on the bench. The guard flipped the ball to the trailing Jenkins, who caught the ball in stride, squared his feet and let the 3-pointer go.Īnd time paused, if it didn't stop altogether, as nearly 150,000 eyeballs inside the building turned to the basket as the ball flicked off Jenkins' fingertips and headed on its trajectory toward the rim. "I just heard Kris yelling, 'Arch, Arch, I'm open,'" Arcidiacono said. Ochefu set a screen that popped Ryan Arcidiacono on the sideline inbounds play.Īs Arcidiacono sped over midcourt, amid the din of 74,340 people both screaming and holding their breath at the same time, he heard one distinctive voice - Kris Jenkins screaming at him. That's because the senior knew what was coming, even if no one else in the building would believe it long after it had happened. Ochefu decided to take the motivational motto literally, pushing the mop back and forth, back and forth, a good 10 times to make sure every last drop of sweat from the spot on the court where he'd just fallen was gone. The Villanova coaching staff likes to tell its players, "Be the best street sweeper you can be." HOUSTON - With 4.7 seconds left in a tied national championship game, Daniel Ochefu walked over to the little boy charged with mopping up the wet marks on the court and politely took the mop out of his hands. Men's College Basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels, Villanova Wildcats How Kris Jenkins' 3 happened and why it perfectly explains Villanova You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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