The original call on Michigan's final play against Kansas in last weekend's Sweet Sixteen was for star point guard Trey Burke to try to get into the paint and tally a quick layup.
When Kansas guard Kevin Young switched onto Burke on a high screen midway between half court and the three-point line, Burke knew he wouldn't be able to take the ball to the bucket. So he pulled up from about 30-feet and let it fly.
"I stepped back, got some separation," Burke said afterwards, "and hit the shot."
Burke had missed several big shots earlier in the season, perhaps none more important than a potential game-winner against Indiana in the Wolverines' final game of the regular season. But with six seconds left and his team down by three points against Kansas, Burke had no choice but to try his luck.
So Burke made the biggest gamble of the season, maybe even his career, and it paid off. The Big Ten Player of the Year drained the three-pointer, helped carry Michigan to victory in overtime and led the Wolverines to an impressive drubbing of Florida in the Elite Eight.
"Sometimes if you miss some big shots as a player, some players will shy away from the next one because they don't want to be the goat," Steve Kerr, who was calling the game for TBS, told ThePostGame. "He not only didn't shy away from the shot, he embraced it and just rose up and just drained it perfectly."
Kerr, no stranger to hitting crucial jumpers, called Burke's bucket "the shot of the tournament for sure." Not only did it literally give Michigan a second life against Kansas, the momentum from that single moment likely carried into the Wolverines' next game with Florida. Going up against one of the stoutest defensive squads in the country, Michigan shot out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back.
Really, Burke's shot is a microcosm of why the sophomore is so highly touted. In a pressure-packed environment, with time winding down and his team's season on the line, Burke made several crucial judgments. He saw and read Kansas' defense, made space for himself, and most importantly, executed perfectly.
"[Burke's] a great point guard in that he figures out what needs to be done from one game to the next," Kerr said. "Whether it's distributing or scoring, he kind of gauges the game as he goes and goes from there. That's a sign of a great point guard -- deciphering the game as it's happening and unfolding."
Kerr has been serving on a panel which selected the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Allstate NABC Good Works Team. On Sunday, Kerr and NBA legend Dominique Wilkins will participate in a basketball clinic for dozens of Special Olympics Georgia athletes. For more information about the squad and its honorees, see here.
