FSU coach goes off in cringeworthy interview after team gets bounced from tourney
When your team is down four points with 11 seconds remaining, and the opponent has the ball, the odds of winning a basketball game are rather slim.
What little chance you have to win, however, is pretty clear, even to those who never played beyond the junior high level: Foul the opponent, hope he misses the free throws, hit a 3-pointer, foul again, hope for missed free throws, and pray for a buzzer-beater to tie or win the game.
Granted, the odds of all of that happening are not great, but — to paraphrase the Jim Carrey line from “Dumb and Dumber” — I’m telling you there’s a chance.
That scenario apparently didn’t seem remotely possible to Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton in the final seconds of his team’s 58-54 loss Saturday to Michigan. After the Seminoles missed a 3-pointer and the Wolverines grabbed the rebound, FSU players simply stood and watched as the Wolverines ran out the clock.
Game analyst Reggie Miller — who once scored eight points in nine seconds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a miraculous playoff win over the New York Knicks — immediately questioned why Florida State’s players didn’t foul, either on their own or by order of the coach.
After the game, TBS sideline reporter Dana Jacobson asked the question everyone seemed to be asking: Why did you choose not to foul?
Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton on the decision not to foul with 11 seconds remaining.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IxlWNnuPRa
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 25, 2018
“What are you talking about?” was Hamilton’s response.
Jacobson clarified she was referring to the sequence when Michigan had the ball with 11 seconds remaining.
Hamilton replied in the way anyone does when trying to avoid a question — by asking another question.
“Do you think that the game came down to the final seconds of the game?” the coach asked.
Jacobson stayed on point, pressing the coach for an explanation. He came up with a rather stunning answer.
“The game was over,” Hamilton replied.
Jacobson stayed vigilant, even setting up the foul-miss-make-foul scenario. Hamilton rolled his eyes and seemed like he was about to walk off, but he stayed, although he never actually answered the question. Instead, he began by giving credit to Michigan for its game plan and then went into the usual postgame analysis.
It’s worth noting that as slim as the chances were of rallying from four down with 11 seconds to play, Michigan was ranked 326th in the nation (out of 351 teams) in free throw percentage. The Wolverines also had missed four attempts in the final two minutes of the game.
For her part, Jacobson was fine with how Hamilton handled himself in the interview.
Coach Hamilton spoke to me minutes after an emotional @FSUHoops loss. It was the right question to ask. He showed emotion & I appreciate him talking through it w/me instead of walking off. He was nothing but professional w/me throughout this weekend as I believe I was with them.
— Dana Jacobson (@danajacobson) March 25, 2018
“I appreciate him talking through it with me instead of walking off,” Jacobson wrote on Twitter. “He was nothing but professional with me throughout this weekend, as I believe I was with him.”
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