GANSEYBITCHES! Big Shot of the Week
January 17, 2008
Winner: Roy Hibbert, Georgetown. Big Roy made his second ever three-pointer to put away the challenge from UConn as the game and shot clock were winding down. Roy also played his best game of the year, scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Georgetown runs a warm-up drill in which they practice threes from different areas on the court. Hibbert actually makes a fair amount of these shots. We think everyone can agree that he actually looks more natural shooting than he does dunking. There was a fair share of bitterness from the UConn camp, with some saying that it was a cheap way to win. As if Roy banked it in or something. The UConn bench might have thought Roy yelled “bank” after he released his shot, but those of us with better hearing in section 114 know he actually yelled, “Ganseybitches!”
Second Place: Dan Fitzgerald, Marquette. Big Shot Dan, as his coach Tom Crean calls him, nailed a crucial late three-pointer to seal a victory against Seton Hall. There might not be another player in college basketball like Fitzgerald. At 6' 9'' he technically plays power forward for Marquette, but he actually makes most shooting guards look like post players. Coming off the bench, he's taken 37 shots this year and an unfathomable 34 of them have been three-pointers. He's made a blistering 47 percent of those shots, making him one of the most effective offensive weapons in the country.
Loser: Jerome Dyson, Connecticut. After Hibbert’s three, UConn still had 4.2 seconds left to score. They called a timeout and designed a play where Jerome Dyson loses the ball and then heaves it into the backcourt to make sure they don’t even get close to getting a shot off to tie. We know this was a close game, but we weren’t terribly impressed with anything UConn did. They’re a solid team and much improved from last year, but they’ll probably be on the bubble all year.
The Tee’s Weekly Michael F. Gansey Big Shot of the Week title is awarded each week to the biggest shot in college basketball. Michael F. Gansey is one of college basketball's all-time clutch shooters. A pure, lights-out shooter, he was recently selected as one of Tee's Weekly 50 greatest college basketball players of all time. He set the all-time record for three pointers in a game for West Virginia with eight trifectas against Marquette in 2006. He has more career three-pointers at West Virginia than even the great Jerry West. While at WVU Gansey made a habit of hitting three-pointers at critical spots in games and could often be heard taunting his opponents while the ball was in the air by screaming "GANSEYBITCHES!" So, next time you are on the playground and someone shoots a three in your face and yells "GANSEYBITCHES!" you'll know why.