Late-game execution a lost art in college hoops

Every time I see "The Play" I get goose bumps. The game and a trip to the Final Four hung in the balance. Young men on both sides had played the contest of their lives.

Grant Hill was asked to make a Tom Brady throw down the court, which he did. Christian Laettner was asked to make a leaping, Dwight Clark catch and find a way to get off a fade-away jumper in 2.1 seconds against a defender, which he couldn't have made look easier.

That was the shot heard 'round college hoops when Duke hit the game-winning basket at the buzzer to beat Kentucky in Philadelphia on March 22, 1992, giving the Blue Devils a 104-103 overtime victory and an eventual repeating national championship.

In what went down in history as one of the game's greatest of all-time, it was an even better example of perfect execution.

The design was impeccable, and the execution was flawless.

Boy, how times have changed.

Watching college basketball this year has really shown me something. First, there are a lot of close games. Second, no one knows what to do in them.

The growing trend is quite simple if you are trailing late in a game by one, two or three points: throw up a 3-pointer, hotly contested or not, from the parking lot if need be.

What happened to the days when coaches would actually draw up a play? You know, white clipboard, players hovering, Xs and Os with screens and movement all over the place.

Take Clemson for example. On Sunday, the Tigers trailed by three with 36 seconds left at Miami. Clemson came down the court and got the ball to 3-point specialist and freshman Terrence Oglesby about 23 feet from the basket. With a defender draped over him like wet clothes, Oglesby tossed the ball up towards the hoop as Clemson fans likely said a prayer. It wasn't answered, and the Tigers eventually lost by three.

There was enough time to call a timeout -- which they still had -- work the ball around, maybe drive in to draw defenders and then toss it out to get a better look.

Now I'm not trying to do coach Oliver Purnell's job here. It's obvious he knows way more about hoops than I ever will, and it's not just happening with the Tigers.

Basketball is a sport where players have much more of an impact on game decisions than coaches, especially compared to football.

But late-game execution has become a lost art. The college game has morphed into the NBA: Give the ball to someone and let them create their own shot. That strategy works pretty well when that someone is LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, not as well when it's an 18-year-old freshman.

There's a reason Dr. James Naismith put five players from each team on the court. It sure would be nice to see more of them involved in critical situations.

(Contact Brad Senkiw of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at www.andersonsc.com.)