Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Mr. March Madness No. 6: Hit that one from the parking lot

This post is courtesy of Rizzo, our resident B.I.A.H Vermont fan.

March is a great month. Not only because it ushers in the start of spring, but because of March Madness, the greatest sporting event of the year.

There are many reasons why March Madness is great. The endless basketball, the great games, the upsets, and the the buzzer-beaters. But there is one thing that ties all of these great reasons together, and that one thing makes all of those reasons infinitely better.

Gus Johnson.

In honor of his contribution to March Madness, B.I.A.H will be counting down the 10 greatest calls from Gus Johnson. Now, not all of the clips are from March Madness, but all of them are instant-classics.


Here is No. 6: Sorrentine from the Parking lot

The biggest game in the history of Vermont basketball, one of the greatest upsets of all time, and Gus Johnson swagging all over the mic brings this call in at #6. This moment was incredible and Gus Johnson capped it with one of his best calls ever.

Let's review. Vermont has the ball up one, 56-55, with 1:30 left on the clock IN OVERTIME. This is already the greatest game in the history of Vermont's program, but what happened next made it one of the greatest game in the history of the NCAA Tournament. TJ Sorrentine was UVM's scorer and three point threat, so he had the ball about 35 feet from the hoop, with the game on the line. The "U-V-M" chants start from the crowd who is obviously pro UVM because Vermont travels better then any team in the country. Sorrentine waves off a pick attempt from David Hehn, and continues to dribble now about 32 feet from the bucket. There is now only 10 seconds left on the shot clock and not a single person on the court has moved. Nobody knew it, but Sorrentine was about to pull off one of the swaggiest shots in the history of the NCAA tournament.

Sorrentine decides that the best option here is to pull from 30 feet, and drain a shot that completely breaks the will of the Orangemen, and puts UVM up 4 with a minute to play. Gus Johnson had this to say "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GOODNESS, SORRENTINE. HIT THAT ONE FROM THE PARKING LOT!!!!"



Now ask yourself if you have ever seen somebody pull from 30 feet, in a game that big. Probably not, right? That's what makes the moment so awesome. HUGE upset paired with unbelievable shot and the golden pipes of Gus.

Johnson has had a lot of good calls and he always knows how to take excitement to another level. This game was no different. Vermont brought the game and Johnson brought the call.


Mr. March Madness: No. 7 - Heartbreak City
Mr. March Madness: No. 8 - Sylvester for three
Mr. March Madness: No. 9 - Hey coach, play this kid
Mr. March Madness: No. 10 - Overtime in Seattle
Mr. March Madness: The Preview


To browse the rest of our Mr. March Madness countdown, click here.

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