March 13, 1998

[valpopal]

In case anyone had forgotten, on this date in 1998. Tried to find Todd's call, which is even better, but couldn't locate it. Also, I appreciate the brief glimpse at Bryce's teammates on the Valpo High School team, especially Tim Bishop!

Valparaiso v. Ole Miss, 1998-Bryce Drew Buzzer Beater

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I watched it, but I don't watch it often because I like to keep the emotion fresh.  It just takes you back!

Obviously, it will always take US back, but it didn't necessarily have to capture EVERYONE'S imagination; if I remember right, there were several buzzer-beaters that day (pair of days) and we were just part of a SC feature on all of them.  I think there was a WVU one, for instance. 

I remember all that because I remember worrying that our great achievement would be overshadowed by others' heroics.

It didn't.

In a Malcolm Gladwell-like way, I've often wondered, WHY has ours become pretty much THE shot in NCAA early rounds?  Obviously there are more famous shots--Laettner in Philly to go to the F4; Keith Smart and Mario Chalmers in the championship game, just to name a couple.

But when they roll highlights, we're there.  Rather than anything in particular, I would suspect it was the confluence of a certain number of factors, to wit:
--the difficulty of the play (full-court, with 3 people touching it, in under 3 seconds)
--the situation (I never respect makes and misses when the score is tied as much as others seem to.  Here, it was either win or lose.)
--the underdog aspect (maybe should be higher on list)
--the father-son angle ('MERICA)
--the local-boy-makes-good angle (DITTO)
--the complete and utter newness of our school, our team (our colors gleam) to the national stage (i know, 3 previous trips. not many noticed though.)
--the Sweet 16 run (like FGCU here last year, winning more than one negates the one-hit-wonder aspect).  Obviously we didn't know that at the time, but certainly it helped in the replaying of the moment.

In fact, THAT might be the biggest factor--if we don't beat FSU, our beating Ole Miss doesn't get nearly the play count it now does.  It might be more of an oddity, á la Richmond in '91, for example.

What do y'all think?  Why do you think The Shot has risen to the top echelon of NCAA shots?

[valpotx]

I remember it like it was yesterday, as I visited campus my Junior year on a recruiting trip, and it was during ticket sales for the Sweet 16 game.  I honestly had no clue that this was the same school that just won on a last second shot, since I barely followed college basketball back then.  Students were abuzz with excitement for the next game, and the campus really spoke to me.  My father wanted me to consider several Midwest baseball programs that were recruiting me, and I did it just to oblige him.  I had no idea at that time that I would hurt my arm, have surgery, and end up going to Valpo lol.  Also, I had no idea how much I would dislike the other schools I visited on the trip: Butler, Purdue, and Creighton .  Very cool experience to look back on, after I realized that it was the same school everyone was talking about on TV.

[valpo84]

Here's a recounting of the Shot from a few different angles (in words) 15 years later:

http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/3/19/4119040/march-madness-valparaiso-ole-miss-buzzer-beater-history

[FWalum]

Here's a recounting of the Shot from a few different angles (in words) 15 years later:

http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/3/19/4119040/march-madness-valparaiso-ole-miss-buzzer-beater-history

Valpo84, Martin did a nice job on the article. Good to see Wake take down the Irish in the tourney and the Blue Devils last Wednesday.  Thought they were looking pretty decent until the 7 game conference losing streak.  Here's to hoping they finally achieve some relevance again in the ACC.  I knew Prosser was a good coach, but this is taking way too long!

[valpopal]

A highlight of Selection Sunday had to be the historic montage video version of "One Shining Moment" shown by CBS. The many scenes brought back great memories, and of course Bryce's shot received attention with the call of the play actually giving a shout out to "Valpo."

For those who missed it, here is the only link I could find where someone has uploaded a poor copy to YouTube. I know the quality is not great and it might even be taken down due to copyright infringement at any time; therefore, I hope CBS makes an HD version available:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3djinU-IIk

[wh]

Great stuff - thanks for sharing.