GANSEYBITCHES! Big Shot of the Week
February 21, 2008
Winner: Craig Austrie, UConn
Facing a potentially embarrassing loss against Big East bottom-feeder University of South Florida, Austrie drove the length of the floor in overtime and hit a twisting jumper with less than one second left. The Junior guard is an underused, though dependable option for UConn, and he delivered when it mattered most for the Huskies. Austrie took the ball right at the USF defender, who backed off slightly in fear of being whistled for a foul. Austrie then elevated around the free throw line and rotated his shoulder square to the rim and released the winning shot. To stay that poised and under-control Congratulations Craig, Mr. Gansey would be proud.
2nd Place: Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis
For the first time this year Memphis got tested in the CUSA on the road at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. They trailed for long stretches in the second half and needed every bit of Douglas-Roberts’ 32 points. Roberts scored six points in the final minute, including a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left and an old-fashion three-point play with 6.5 seconds left that kept the Tigers perfect season alive. Douglas-Roberts is building himself a nice portfolio for the Naismith award.
Loser: Aaron Bruce, Baylor
It’s tough to give the loser award to anyone at Baylor especially considering the damage Eastern Shore residents have done to the program, but Bruce made one the worst mistakes in basketball. Bruce was in-bounding the ball, down only one-point to the 11th ranked Texas Longhorns with 30 seconds left and couldn’t find anyone to pass to, so he decided to call a timeout. Normally that’s a good idea, except of course if you don’t have a timeout, in which case it’s a disaster. Then again it’s not like he made the mistake in the championship game, which would be really stupid.
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.