Extra Point
By Mike Fitzgerald
Wednesday, April 3, 1996
Only in the world of sports can one play make so much difference.
I was there at the New Orleans Superdome when Keith Smart hit the 16-foot jumper that won the national title for Indiana in 1987.
My seat was right behind the Hoosiers' bench and it was lined up perfectly with Smart's last-second shot that gave Indiana the 74-73 victory in front of 64,959 fans.
As soon as Smart pulled up and let it fly, I knew it was in.
Boeheim was devastated - he has never watched a tape of that game because it was so painful.
It had been a great matchup - there were 24 lead changes and 13 times the score was tied. Indiana led by one, 34-33, at the half.
The game also featured several outstanding players. Steve Alford and Dean Garrett were among the Hoosiers' starters. The Orangemen had future NBA players Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Rony Seikaly.
Boeheim and Syracuse figured that Alford, a great outside shooter, would take the final shot. So they double-teamed him, which left Smart open.
Ironically, an angry Bob Knight had benched Smart for much of the second half of the semifinal game - a 97-93 victory over Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV in another great shootout.
Guess who was the other head coach at that Final Four? Rick Pitino. His Providence team lost to Syracuse, 77-63, in the other semi.
BOEHEIM has been the head coach at Syracuse for 20 years - talk about loyalty in this sports age of going to the highest bidder. And this Final Four appearance finally erased an unfair reputation that started with Smart's last-second shot.
When the Orangemen were here for the Rainbow Classic last December, I really liked their team. It was early in the season so there was some ragged play, but John Wallace was a proven star, and having a 6-4 point guard in Lazarus Sims always helps, even though Sims needed playing time.
Somehow, despite being one of the most durable and successful college basketball coaches in history, Boeheim - who has more than 400 career victories and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances - was dubbed a lousy coach because of the loss to Indiana.
This ridiculous perception, mostly created by the media, was in part because of Boeheim's appearance and demeanor. He is a slouchy, balding guy with glasses and a squeaky voice. Back in 1987, he was categorized as a wimp compared to the macho Knight.
Knight, despite his occasionally obnoxious behavior, is a great coach. But so is Boeheim.
And it showed at this year's Final Four - or actually all season long. The Orangemen were four-point underdogs to surging Mississippi State, and Kentucky was favored by 14.
Yet they beat the Bulldogs and played a good game against Kentucky. Using a 2-3 zone on defense is like wearing bell-bottoms in college basketball today, but they pulled it off.
Syracuse wasn't even ranked by most polls before the season started after losing most of its good players except Wallace.
Some rebuilding year, huh?
Playing in the extremely tough Big East this season helped. And Wallace - who wisely passed up the NBA draft last year - improved significantly from the time he was in Hawaii, especially his outside shooting.
Still, Boeheim kept it all in perspective.
"Would I be doing such a great coaching job if Wallace's shot didn't go in?" he said, referring to his team's last-second overtime victory over Georgia earlier in this year's NCAA Tournament.
This isn't a knock on Kentucky and Pitino. I like how they won the national title by emphasizing a true team approach.
But I was also happy for Boeheim, who finally shed some of the unfair burden caused by a single jump shot nine years ago.