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This article was published more than 2 years ago
It wasn’t so much what Adam Morrison said when Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs hit a buzzer-beater to defeat UCLA in overtime. It’s how he said it.
Morrison was the color commentator with Tom Hudson on Gonzaga’s Learfield IMG radio broadcast of Saturday night’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament semifinal, and he relived a bit of personal history as undefeated Gonzaga advanced to Monday night’s championship game against Baylor.
“Yessss! Yes! Wow!” he screamed before he just plain yelled for a bit.
Morrison famously was a Gonzaga player — and the national player of the year — in a 2006 Sweet 16 game in which UCLA rallied from a 17-point deficit to take a one-point lead with 2.6 seconds left. There was enough time left for a miracle, but it wasn’t to be and UCLA won, 73-71. An emotional Morrison played out the final moments and, when teammate J.P. Batista’s shot missed at the buzzer, Morrison sat weeping on the hardwood.
“That’s what made Adam so great,” Leon Rice, a former Gonzaga assistant who coaches Boise State, told the Los Angeles Times recently. “My favorite thing about him wasn’t his scoring ability; it was that he was a killer competitor. That pain you saw was real. That dude hated to lose. He didn’t play basketball games to see who the best player was. He played to see who was toughest.”
It was a moment that clung to Morrison, who did an EA Sports commercial before the NBA draft in which he said: “Yeah, I cried on national television. So what?” And his history helped make Saturday night’s win sweeter.
One person who hadn’t heard the call was Gonzaga Coach Mark Few, whose sports information director played it for him before he met with reporters Sunday afternoon.
“It was awesome to hear Mo’s emotion,” Few said. “He’s not normally moved like that. I’m happy for him and proud of him for letting his guard down.”
Gonzaga and UCLA will meet in the Final Four.
15 years ago, @UCLAMBB stunned the Zags with one of the most incredible March Madness comebacks we've ever seen. pic.twitter.com/OWRIWrqblB
Not long after the game, Morrison tweeted: “TAKE THAT UCLA! These are tears of joy this time.”
🗣 The radio call. You have to listen. @VoiceofGonzaga & Adam Morrisonpic.twitter.com/HpXwAtlme3
Others searched for words to describe the ending.
On the CBS broadcast with Jim Nantz and Grant Hill, Bill Raftery went with his signature “onions” motif. “There are onions, Jim, and then there are MAJOR onions! With a kiss!”
JALEN SUGGS. UNBELIEVABLE! 🤯🚨@ZagMBB #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/QeEAjENYmG
On Westwood One’s radio call, Kevin Kugler, Jim Jackson, and P.J. Carlesimo were far more subdued.
WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF❗️❗️@ZagMBB & Jalen Suggs are on to the #NationalChampionship with this overtime game-winning buzzer beater❗️❗️@KevinKugler, @JimJackson419 & P.J. Carlesimo had the call in Indianapolis.#UnitedWeZag | #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/Hn3yEuNPD9
Morrison hasn’t responded to a request from The Post for comment. As for how UCLA felt, the Los Angeles Times used a “BANKED ROBBERY” headline on its story and writer Sam Farmer cited a quote by former Bruins star Bill Walton about Hall of Fame coach John Wooden. “The last lesson of life that John Wooden taught us was the measurement of success, which he described — and now I comprehend and buy into — is success is the peace of mind that comes with the self-satisfaction of knowing that you’ve done your best.”
Suggs’s reaction was more physical. He jumped up on a table — “I always wanted to run up on the table like Kobe [Bryant] or D-Wade [Dwyane Wade]” — as Gonzaga fans back in Spokane, Wash., erupted.
THE MOMENT pic.twitter.com/CaSU1Lm0bC
The game, destined to go down as one of the greatest in tournament history, was only a semifinal, though. Gonzaga will pursue more history Monday night, trying to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to finish undefeated.
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