Best Buzzer-Beater in SU History? | Page 3 | Syracusefan.com

Best Buzzer-Beater in SU History?

SU's first Final Four was in 1975. To get there, SU needed 3 buzzer beaters. The first against Lasalle was one that actually did not happen. The game was neck and neck and was tied with seconds left. Lasalle had the ball and got it inside to Joe Bryant (Kobe's dad) who somehow missed the easy layup for the win, sending the game into overtime. My recollection of the overtime period is a little sketchy due to hyperventilation, but I do know for sure that SU won and went on to the Regional Semi's to face UNC. UNC was expected to walk away with it, but SU kept it close and was down 76 to 75 after a Chris Sease jumper with about 25 seconds left. No way were we getting the ball back without some sort of divine intervention. SU slapped on the full court press and UNC threw the inbounds pass out of bounds giving SU one last shot to win it. SU got the ball inbounds, ran clock then got the ball inside to Rudy Hackett with seconds left. The entire UNC team fell for the decoy and collapsed on him. Hackett calmly passed the ball out to the wide open Jimmy Lee who even more calmly sank the 20 footer ("The Shot Heard 'Round the World" as Joel Marieness called it) with seconds left to give SU the win. I was at my girlfriends dorm room on the 10th floor of Haven Hall watching the game on her Philco black and white portable TV. I swear, the entire play happened in slow motion and the entire Campus (City?) went deathly quiet as the shot left Lee's hand and slowly, slowly arched towards the basket, then swish the ball goes through the hoop, then total pandemonium - A prelude to what happened on Campus on April 7, 2003. In the Regional Final, SU faced the Kansas State Wildcats and sharpshooter Chuckie Williams. The game was tied near the end and Kansas State had the ball for the last shot. You just knew Williams would take the last shot, which he did from the corner and of course made to give Kansas State the 2 point lead with 5 seconds left. SU inbounded the ball to Jimmy Williams (aka "Bug"), who streaked down the court, fed the ball inside to Hackett, who bobbled, recovered, put up the shot, (the same one we saw Joe Bryant miss a week earlier) ball rolls around the rim then in at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Now those were some heart stopping buzzer beaters.
I was in the 1st Infantry. We were based at Fort Riley. Manhattan KS. 1975. I went to a party to watch the the game. I’m surprised I made it out alive. I remember like it was yesterday.
 
SU's first Final Four was in 1975. To get there, SU needed 3 buzzer beaters. The first against Lasalle was one that actually did not happen. The game was neck and neck and was tied with seconds left. Lasalle had the ball and got it inside to Joe Bryant (Kobe's dad) who somehow missed the easy layup for the win, sending the game into overtime. My recollection of the overtime period is a little sketchy due to hyperventilation, but I do know for sure that SU won and went on to the Regional Semi's to face UNC. UNC was expected to walk away with it, but SU kept it close and was down 76 to 75 after a Chris Sease jumper with about 25 seconds left. No way were we getting the ball back without some sort of divine intervention. SU slapped on the full court press and UNC threw the inbounds pass out of bounds giving SU one last shot to win it. SU got the ball inbounds, ran clock then got the ball inside to Rudy Hackett with seconds left. The entire UNC team fell for the decoy and collapsed on him. Hackett calmly passed the ball out to the wide open Jimmy Lee who even more calmly sank the 20 footer ("The Shot Heard 'Round the World" as Joel Marieness called it) with seconds left to give SU the win. I was at my girlfriends dorm room on the 10th floor of Haven Hall watching the game on her Philco black and white portable TV. I swear, the entire play happened in slow motion and the entire Campus (City?) went deathly quiet as the shot left Lee's hand and slowly, slowly arched towards the basket, then swish the ball goes through the hoop, then total pandemonium - A prelude to what happened on Campus on April 7, 2003. In the Regional Final, SU faced the Kansas State Wildcats and sharpshooter Chuckie Williams. The game was tied near the end and Kansas State had the ball for the last shot. You just knew Williams would take the last shot, which he did from the corner and of course made to give Kansas State the 2 point lead with 5 seconds left. SU inbounded the ball to Jimmy Williams (aka "Bug"), who streaked down the court, fed the ball inside to Hackett, who bobbled, recovered, put up the shot, (the same one we saw Joe Bryant miss a week earlier) ball rolls around the rim then in at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Now those were some heart stopping buzzer beaters.
My post was Jimmy Lee. I was a young boy at that game. Roys Runts were amazing and Joel is one of the best announcers of all time. Both were pure magic.
 
Regarding that 1996 Georgia game, obviously Cipolla and Wallace's shots were awesome, but two things that don't get enough attention are:

-Wallace's absolutely perfect pass to Cipolla in the corner. Being able to drop that ball over the defender from about 40-50 feet away was way harder in difficulty than Cipolla's shot itself.

-When it felt like we were dead in the water, Z Sims made threes on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead from 9 to 3, which totally changed the game.

This is the answer. Nothing was important to this program coming off probation and an atrocious loss to arkansas prior season. To me that run preserved Boeheim as The guy in Syracuse. To think it was 23 years ago!
 
Well, I must say these made me smile. I believe I have to go with the Georgia game, which was one of the most exciting games I have ever watched. Gerry in the Big East with both Cincinnati and Gtown a very close second.

It’s good to smile nowadays.

Edit: Oh wait wait wait! How could anyone forget Conrad McRae’s duplication of Christian Laettner’s “shot” against Kentucky?? We were playing Nova, at the Spectrum (?), the very same arena where Laettner made his shot. It was the same in every respect. And I have searched and can’t find video of it.

It was cosmic.


It looked like this:

 
The Lee/Hackett shots in 1975 and the Cipolla/Wallace shots in 1996 were the most important. Then comes GMAC vs. Cicny. The Pearl's shot was big because it was the Pearl. Elijah's shot was the most difficult and eld to perhaps our biggest upset win.

But I'll go with Gillon's shot which beat Duke and should have put us in the tourney. An amazing way to win a classic game.
 
Pearl/BC for the epic crowd reaction.
Wallace+Cipolla/Georgia
Dave Johnson over Alonzo Mourning, MSG BET
GMac
Ennis/Pitt
McRae
 
8 year old me spent hours in the gym emulating that GMac shot against Cincy, best day of elementary school I skipped for sure
 
term buzzer beater appeared in the NYT sunday puzzle. answer. flyswatter.
 

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