Five Most Important NCAA Tournament Shots
You already know who’s #1
This article runs down the five most important shots in NCAA Tournament history.
Michael Jordan’s game winner against Georgetown in 1982 came in at #5. Please don't tell Jordan. He’ll try and set up a way to get to #1 and he can afford to buy the NCAA to make sure it happens.
#4 is the Lorenzo Charles dunk to knock off Houston the following year in 1983. For those who were too young to know, please watch this clip but before you do, familiarize yourself with Phi Slamma Jamma. They were so good that when they were crushing Louisville, the Cardinal players were going over to the scorer’s table to watch the replays. Watch for Jim Valvano running around looking for someone to hug and also for a Houston player to hit the floor in despair as he realizes what just happened.
#3 The Mario Chalmers shot to tie Memphis in 2008 was superb but still the least memorable shot on this list. Not surprising since it’s the only game on this list without an ACC team.
#2 is Kris Jenkins just killing Carolina with his amazing game-winner in the NCAA championship game of 2016. It was a beautiful play but to do it justice you really need to include Marcus Paige’s incredible shot to tie the game just seconds before. That was an even more amazing shot but Jenkins overshadowed it.
#1 is still Christian Laettner’s shot against Kentucky. It was, and remains regal and magisterial. Like the NC State shot above, it has many elements: the greatness of Kentucky’s effort, Grant Hill’s magnificently perfect pass and Christian Laettner’s arrogant use of every fraction of ever second before dropping the ball through the basket with nothing at all left on the clock. Toss in Thomas Hill’s incredible face and Tommy Amaker’s refusal to be demonstrably excited and it’s really hard to top this one. And best of all, he ripped the hearts out of BBN and stomped it until it was lifeless. What he did to them was as bad as what they fantasized he did to Aminu Timberlake.