All it took was one ‘Southwest Philly Floater’ from Tyrone Garland, and the Marshall Henderson Show came to an end.
Garland’s driving layup gave No. 13 seed La Salle a 76-74 win over No. 12 seed Ole Miss, a loss that may mean that we have seen the last of Marshall Henderson, the country’s most entertaining and polarizing college basketball player, at the collegiate level.
It begs the question: why didn’t Henderson get one last look?
Garland’s shot went in with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy had a timeout left. He has a guy on his team in Henderson that has done things like this before. I understand the coaching theory that not calling a timeout will keep you from having to go up against a set defense, and usually I agree with it.
MORE: How La Salle made its surprising Sweet 16 run
But 2.5 seconds left is not enough time to get anything better than a prayer without setting up a play. And that’s exactly what Ole Miss ended up with -- a shot fired up from beyond half court. Hindsight is 20-20, but I think it was a pretty obvious move to make at the time, as well.
It’s pointless to argue now, but it does make you wonder: did that play a role in what happened after the game, when he flipped off the crowd leaving the court?:I asked Marshall Henderson why he flipped off the crowd: “someone yelled that my sister is a whore and said something about cocaine.”
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) March 25, 2013Henderson said he’s always going to react, especially when someone says something to him after a loss and “in a moment like that.”
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) March 25, 2013You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.