Villanova's One Shining Moment
Kim Adams
It was a play Villanova had run hundreds of times this season. The team ends each practice with late-game situations identical to the one they found themselves in Monday night in Houston.
This time the atmosphere looked and felt a bit different from the comfortable confines of their on-campus practice facility outside of Philadelphia. This time 74,000 people – including Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson – were on hand at NRG Stadium watching the Wildcats execute this play. This time the program’s first national championship since 1985 was at stake.
But for the five Wildcats on the floor – Ryan Arcidiacono, Phil Booth, Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Daniel Ochefu – the court was the same “94 by 50 feet” they had practiced the play on so many times before. Amongst the chaos and electricity of the stadium, there was tranquility on the court. The Villanova players were calm.
The clocks in the stadium read 4.7 seconds.
Moments earlier, North Carolina senior Marcus Paige shifted his body in mid-air and launched a prayer from the right wing in front of the Tar Heel bench. The three-point shot unbelievably dropped and the stadium erupted. Villanova’s ten-point lead with less than five minutes remaining was gone. Tie game. Timeout Villanova.
Coming out of the timeout, the officials discovered a slippery spot right around midcourt. In perhaps both the strangest and funniest moment of the entire NCAA Tournament, Daniel Ochefu grabbed the mop and cleaned up the mess himself. That’s how calm the Villanova players were in that moment.
Kris Jenkins would inbound the ball from the baseline opposite Villanova’s basket. In this particular set, Jay Wright gives Ryan Arcidiacono free reign to read the defense and create a play. The primary option is for Ryan to attack and take the shot himself.
Kris passed the ball in to Ryan, who quickly began to dribble up the left side of the court. He was met by a Daniel Ochefu ball screen right before the half court line. Both North Carolina defenders stayed with Ryan.
Simultaneously on the right side of the court, Josh Hart set a screen for Phil Booth, who already had a career-high 20 points on the night. Booth ran off shot ready looking for a 3 on the wing. He was the second option.
As Ryan crossed half court, just 2.5 seconds remained on the clock. North Carolina appeared to have defended the action well. But they forgot about one person: the trailer. And not just any trailer. Kris Jenkins. Big Smooth, who had been Villanova’s most dangerous player in March.
As Ryan dribbled to the middle of the court a few steps outside of the three-point arc, Kris was wide open behind him and called for the ball. Ryan dished the ball to Kris and smartly cut in front of him, creating a diversion for the defenders.
Kris calmly stepped into the shot just like all young players are taught: left heel on the ground, right foot follows. He elevated and released the ball from about 5 feet behind the three-point line with 0.8 seconds on the clock.
The ball seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, but the shot looked good. Really good. 74,000 people held their breaths as it traveled through the air towards the rim. The buzzer sounded.
Nothing. But. Net.
Pandemonium ensued as Kris Jenkins stood in place holding up three fingers on each hand, looking as calm as he did when he took the shot. Moments later his teammates tackled him and the Villanova Wildcats were the 2016 National Champions. In a special moment, legendary Villanova coach Rollie Massimino celebrated from the crowd 31 years after leading the Wildcats to their last national title.
While Kris Jenkins will go down as the hero, that shot wouldn’t have existed without the tremendous playmaking and decision making of Villanova’s senior leader, Ryan Arcidiacono. Many players would have forced up a contested shot or not gotten one off at all in that situation. But he executed the play with perfection and trusted his teammate. It seemed like those final 4.7 seconds were slowed down for him. Incredible.
Some of the players said they knew the shot was good as soon as he stepped into it. Others weren’t sure until they saw it fall through the bottom of the net. But the feelings of euphoria immediately afterward were unanimous.
“We knew it was good. It was the weirdest thing. It was the longest time a ball has been in the air. It’s like go in already. You knew it was good the way he let it go and everything. Arcidiacono made the great pass. It’s just crazy. I cannot even describe this feeling.” – Darryl Reynolds
“I saw him open. Ryan did a great job of finding him. When he shot I just said, ‘Come on Kris, give me one,’ and we want him to shoot that shot 10 times out of 10. He’s a big shot maker. I didn’t know it was in. I was hoping it was going to be in, and just to see that ball go through the hoop, it’s crazy.” – Josh Hart
Kris Jenkins’ shot will go down as the biggest in college basketball history. And for a team who was tired of hearing about previous tournament failures, Villanova made sure this time they had the last word. The last shot.
When asked about what first crossed his mind when his shot dropped through the net, Kris Jenkins said one word:
“Ballgame.”