NEW ORLEANS -- The freshmen were fabulous early and the "Helicopter" swooped in late. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim got the final four seconds right this time, winning a championship that had eluded him for decades.
Freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara helped the Orangemen take a big lead and Hakim Warrick made a huge block at the end Monday night to preserve a thrilling 81-78 victory over Kansas.
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| Carmelo Anthony (left) hugs Gerry McNamara after Monday's win.(Getty Images) |
Leading by three, Warrick missed two free throws that would have sealed the game with 13.5 seconds left. But the 6-foot-8 forward, nicknamed "The Helicopter" for his 7-foot armspan, made up for it by coming from nowhere to swat a 3-point attempt by Michael Lee that would have tied it with 1.5 seconds left.
"I definitely wanted to go out there and make a play after missing those free throws," Warrick said. "I saw a guy open in the corner and I knew they needed to hit a 3, so I just tried to fly at him."
Kirk Hinrich, cold all night, followed with an airball at the buzzer and the Orangemen (30-5) ran onto the floor to celebrate their first title.
Boeheim threw his arms in the air and ran to shake hands with Roy Williams, the 15-year Kansas coach who was deprived once again of the championship.
"I've never been one to like moral victories, and I don't like this one," Williams said. "But I love the competitiveness of my kids."
They had quite a hill to climb after the first half, and quite a group of players to stop.
McNamara hit six 3-pointers, all in the first half, to finish with 18 points. Anthony showed he is certainly ready for the NBA if he chooses, fighting off a bad back to finish with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
"All my hard work just paid off tonight," Anthony said. "I paid a physical toll the whole night, the whole tournament. The whole season, everybody's been beating me up. Coach told me to tough it up."
He helped make Boeheim the winner in the marquee coaching matchup of brilliant tacticians who had never won it all.
Sixteen years ago, Syracuse lost by one to Indiana on Keith Smart's game-winner with four seconds left on the same Superdome floor. Boeheim said he wanted to get the last four seconds right this time, and he did -- just barely.
"I didn't want it to be another one of those Keith Smart shots," Warrick said, referring to his game-saving block.
Boeheim added, "I think this building kind of owed us one."
After the first half, it didn't look as if he'd have to sweat it.
The Orangemen built their lead to 18 during a breakneck first 20 minutes. But things ground to a halt in the second, and it was Boeheim's famous 2-3 zone that closed out the game.
The Jayhawks never really found the outside touch to force the Orangemen to guard them up high. Hinrich shot 6-for-20 -- 3-for-12 from 3-point range. He missed twice with a chance to tie in the closing seconds, including one that went halfway down the net before rattling out.
Inside, Boeheim's 'D' came close to turning Kansas into a one-man show. All-American forward Nick Collison was valiant and brilliant -- he finished with 19 points and 21 rebounds. But in the end, he simply didn't have enough help against the tall and long Syracuse players and that well-coached defense.
There was also one fatal flaw that had nothing to do with Syracuse's defense: The Jayhawks missed an amazing 18 of 30 free throws; Collison went 3-for-10.
"You try to make a free throw," Collison said. "You miss, you make, there's nothing else you can do."
In some ways, bad free-throw shooting can be corrected. Other things just can't be coached. Exhibit A was McNamara, Anthony, Warrick -- the whole Syracuse team, really -- who played a one-on-one style of offense that looked as if it came straight from the playground.
McNamara was relentless, unabashedly hoisting shots from 23, 24, 25 feet and making almost all of them. By the end of the first half, he was 6-for-8 -- his season high -- and the Orangemen led 53-42. The 53 were the most points scored by one team in the first half of a title game.
Was McNamara the best player out there?
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| Nick Collison and Kansas come up just short Monday night.(Getty Images) |
Before his back started acting up, Anthony look destined to join Dwyane Wade of Marquette as the second player with a triple-double in this year's tournament. As it was, he finished three assists shy.
"We just came into the tournament and proved everybody wrong," Orangemen guard Josh Pace said. "We have the best player in the country."
Even with Anthony struggling down the stretch, Kansas couldn't play catchup well enough to tie or take the lead. A great chance came with 14 minutes left when, trailing 61-58, the Jayhawks picked off a bad pass and started rushing downcourt. But Kansas turned it right back over, and Anthony made a 3-pointer to keep the Orange ahead.
Syracuse stretched it to 12 with 7½ minutes left, and KU could never overcome after that.
"When you're fighting and scrapping, running through a lot of double teams, it does take a lot out of you," Hinrich said.
It was another bitter defeat for Williams, who stayed without the one victory that would have rounded out an otherwise impeccable resume.
Now, his next task is to decide whether he's interested in the opening at North Carolina, his alma mater, or wants to return to Kansas to try to complete his still-unfinished business.
Choked up, as he normally is when the season ends, Williams uncharacteristically used an expletive when asked about the job during a live postgame interview on TV.
"I've got 13 kids in that locker room that I love," Williams said before the interview turned testy.
Boeheim, meanwhile, improved to 1-2 in title games. Nine years after the 1987 loss, Syracuse fell to Kentucky in the final.
He insisted he would coach the same as he always does in the final, and by the looks of things he did. He also called "foolishness" the notion that a win in this game would make him a better coach.
That, for now at least, is still open for debate.
AP NEWS
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