ATHENS, Ga. - If you run into Brian Williams on campus today, it's OK to offer a high five, a slap on the back or a loud "Go Vols!''
But please don't refer to his game-winning basket Tuesday night as a rebound or, for heaven's sake, a tip-in.
"No, no,'' Tennessee's hero protested on the court at Stegeman Coliseum. "I shot it like Kobe.
"I went off the one foot, I leaned and I faded away. That was a shot.''
It was the shot by a 6-foot-10, 270-pound Kobe Bryant wannabe that broke a 57-57 tie and saved Tennessee from having to go into overtime at Georgia, not a promising scenario before a rabid crowd of 10,523.
It was the shot that makes you think a 59-57 SEC road win could be a real step out of the doldrums that have dogged the Vols for a month.
And it was a shot that will go into Tennessee basketball lore forever. Not every day does somebody hit one at the buzzer to win a game. The officials had to huddle at a TV monitor to confirm that Williams got it off in time.
"I knew it was good,'' said guard Melvin Goins. "I looked at it the whole way through.
"The only way they would have called it (too late), they would have had to cheat us blatantly.''
The game-winning scenario was unlikely on so many levels.
It was Williams who got the bucket to put UT up 57-54 with 1:31 to play. And it was a tough two, as Bruce Pearl likes to call them.
Goins drove into the lane, the shot clock ticking in his head, and lofted a desperation pass over Georgia's defense in the general direction of Williams.
Williams collected the pass, gathered himself and put in the basket.
"Like a wide receiver,'' said Williams, "if it goes your way you're supposed to go get it with two hands.''
So he's not only Kobe. He's Jerry Rice.
But Georgia tied it on Dustin Ware's 3-pointer with a minute left, throwing the onus back on Tennessee.
The Vols milked the clock for a Scotty Hopson shot that was off, but Goins beat a posse of Bulldogs for the loose ball. Tennessee ball, with 27.8 seconds to play. The shot clock was off.
Tobias Harris, not for the first time this year, found himself launching a game-deciding 3-pointer. This one too was off track.
Williams knew the play call, knew his job was to monitor the backside rebound.
Sure enough the ball missed the rim and came his way. With Georgia’s Chris Barnes backing into him, Williams won the ultimate battle for the ball and had time to launch — a fraction of a tick before the horn sounded and the backboard lights fired red.
“I’m probably the last player anybody expected to get that shot,’’ Williams said.
Yep. But the real shocker is that when virtually everyone in the gym waited for a whistle, there was none.
Did Williams go over Barnes’ back to secure the rebound?
“Call it how you want it,’’ he said. “It might have been a foul. It might not. But I got it.’’
When Williams is involved, it’s almost always a foul.
He’s big and he’s no ballerina. Officials have rarely cut him any slack.
“His body language isn’t always the best,’’ assistant coach Steve Forbes said of Williams’ checkered history with the zebras.
This time, maybe they cut him a break. Maybe they didn’t. Sometimes officials swallow their whistles at the end of the game for the sake of letting the players decide the game.
“That’s the surprising part,’’ Williams said. “I’m a senior. I’ve been through four years on the wrong end of these foul calls.
“It’s a great feeling to be on the right end and make that shot.
“I’m gonna take this the rest of my life.’’
For one magic moment, he was Kobe.
Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6276. Follow him at http://twitter.com/strangemike44 and http://blo4gs.knoxnews.com/strange.
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Comments » 39
Sammy_Burklow_IsAMoron writes:
Awesome. Thank you Mr. Williams.
holleyab writes:
Tobias is gonna hit that game winning three eventually, maybe he's saving it for the tourney. On the other hand, congrats Brian, the big man on campus!
Caspian writes:
Wasn't a foul. The defender was backing into him. And the primary contact was initiated by the defender when he grabbed Williams' right arm and pulled it down. Hard to see it accurately at full speed, but the officials got it right. Probably, more likely, they had just decided to "no call" just about anything but a knifing in the last 10 seconds.
PopsinCapetownSA writes:
I've always liked this young man. Way to go mr. williams. Pop$ in south africa
slambob2#228938 writes:
Awesome finish, with a lot of heroes. But for the 2nd game in a row, Brian Williams was a beast for the Vols.
If coach can get Tatum back on track, we'll be back to the team that can spank Connecticut on their home court on Saturday.
botetourtvol2 writes:
Agree - no foul - Brian has quick hands - he cleanly got the ball before the defender - all the contact was when the defender started pulling them both away from the basket - it easily looked like over the back in real time - especially since the defender was between the rim and Williams - but BW snatched it and shot it flat footed.
VOLinATL writes:
Great no call in that situation (although if I were a UGA fan, I would be screaming bloody murder!). Kudos to Brian Williams!!!
VOLinMAHWAH writes:
Agreed. Brian Williams has been lambasted by most people on here for his play, but consider he is a walk-on with a heart the size of Texas, and nobody can out play him when he is on his game, as witnessed the last two games. BTW, the game against UConn is in Hartford, not Storrs . . . and I will be there!
Brillovol writes:
Mighta been an over-the-back call at any time other than in the last second. Officials will NEVER call that with 1 second to go. Brian knew that and exerted his will. Tough game, good win.
Now on to the evil empire...
rockytop4ever writes:
At first glance I thought it was a foul but that late in the game the refs can't call that. Turned out to be a good call on replays. I couldn't be happier for Brian. Great game. Keep working men. Go Vols!
Volunatic writes:
Congrats to Brian Williams. The Vols need him to step up and play strong in situations like that.
tmartin writes:
What if UT/UConn was day-night double header?????
pj_ladyvolnMI writes:
Thanks for giving Vol Nation that fabulous finish last night, Brian!! Keep it going against UConn!!
KevDVol writes:
Eventually, a UGA fan would have to turn his attention to Chris Barnes - who got completely PUNKED on that whole play. My man Brian snatched two balls off the heads of Georgia defenders in the last minutes/seconds to win the game.
You could say that Brian Williams "snatched Georgia ballheaded" to win the game!
NashvillePreds writes:
Great, great win.
Did anyone hear Kesling's broadcast? He stated he wasn't sure if the shot was good, b/c the ball wasn't "all the way through the rim, before the game clock ran out."
C'mon man!
Jakevol writes:
Way to go Big Baby,, Nice shot. You will remember this the rest of your life. Great win in Athens.
TicklesTheTwine writes:
"With that shot, yeah, I’m a Kobe (Bryant) or a mix with Dirk (Nowitski) – that follow-through on it, one-foot fade, SportsCenter top 10," Williams said. "That’s the biggest shot ever. The Ohio State one, it compares to that. But to hit it with no time left, that’s a great feeling because people get injured and I was trying to run away from my teammates. That’s how I knew I’d made it."
tmartin writes:
Are you really shocked at this? He is TERRIBLE.
SoundsVol writes:
VOLS WIN! We steal one and KY Jelly loses. Great day to be a Vol!
MusicCityVol writes:
Williams is key to Vols success. What a Difference a Week Makes!!!.....
http://checkerboardchatter.blogspot.c...
SaintDeacon187 writes:
Brian Williams stepped on Georgia's face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose. Go Vols!
Bigger_Al writes:
Big Ol' Boy with the game winner at the buzzer!
TennVolAlum writes:
"shot it like Kobe"....yeah,ok. let's not go overboard here.
abnermc writes:
Another deciding play was Goins out-hustling Ga for the loose ball that would have surely been a vicious slam @ the other other end & a win for the dogs!! Great win.
tennrich1 writes:
Any other time maybe an over the back...but when you look at the replay...Brian had possession...then the contact...Almost like Barnes undercut a little...but hey...we've had those go against us far more times and I care to remember....
cargen#1339565 writes:
I am glad you did not take your usual short dribble. Just put the sucker back all the time.I love your statement "Glad to be a vol" U.T. has been good for you in all aspects of life. Can you tame Walker of U. Conn? Play loose as a goose and the team will be alright.
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
I know..I thought the same thing..BW is always a joker!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Ditto to all. Cam has replaced Scotty and Brian in my mind as the leading enigma on this team. One game he plays lights out and the next you couldn't find him with a pack of bloodhounds! He is the true "X-factor" on this team. I saw a graphic on one recent game that showed he has an incredible "plus/minus" rating this season, meaning that the team outscores the opposition by a BUNCH when he is on the court. Yet he is a streaky shooter and is very unpredictable in hunting his shot. He has made some good defensive plays but he is not known as a true "stopper". He is the current "poster boy" for this team's up-and-down nature.
factor writes:
Great hussle play Brian. Remember that clean and sober living will always pay off in every way possible.
murrayvol writes:
At least he "made it like Kobe".
carbonzip writes:
The "Neighborhoooooood!" and good shot McBee.
theoldbear writes:
Well, some days it is better to be lucky than good. It was indeed a good "no call." But folks, Josh Bone's floater in the lane was still in his hand when the shot-clock expired. That is where we got lucky! Without that bad "no call", Vols lose.
It is about time we got a call, and a win at the end!
Go Vols! Win the rest, and you'll be the best!
these_orange_colored_glasses writes:
yeah, "shot it like shaq"... might be a little closer to the truth.....nice shot though...
factor writes:
You have to give the Georgia fans all the praise! No bottles/trash thrown on the floor or at the coaches/players after the bad last second call. Now if only Vol fans could learn from this.
Mule_Days_King writes:
And you want Bruce not to refer to you as "that guy who won't stop calling me."
But we don't always get what we want now do we, stalker?
martinvol34 writes:
Or put his no rebounding, no defending tail on the bench for Josh Bone and give Bone and Tyler more shooting green lights. Tatum was one of the better defenders, but somewhere he started being Scotty who bless his heart can't guard a cow being milked, LOL. His offense it the bomb, but he can't play defense worth a damn. LOL.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
As the guy was backing into him! The player behind has as much right to his space as the player in front. Also, if Brian had his arms wrapped around the guy's head, it was because the guy had Brian's arms hooked and pulled them down on him. Both players wound up a full step back up the court from where they first came in contact. As big as Brian is, if he had come over Barnes' back, they would have wound up under the basket. You accuse us of seeing everything through orange-tinted glasses, but you see everything through anti-Pearl glasses.
Actually, I thought they WOULD call the foul on Brian if only because he has gotten hosed on about half the fouls called against him in his whole career. I know Brian has committed a LOT of silly fouls in his career, but, if you could be honest, you know he has also gotten a lot of fouls called on him just for being in the general area of contact that wouldn't have been called on any other big man. Knowing that, opponents have "flopped" on him for his whole career and the refs have mostly let them get away with it.
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
When the refs huddled, I was thinking immediately that we were gonna be LSU'ed or Tarheeled again and they were gonna call a late foul.
It looked like his arms at first were over the guys head and the Ga. player then hooked his arms. I think it was a correct no-call. I think the officiating was poor on both sides, but I would much rather have too few calls than too many calls. It gives a more exciting game for the fans when the refs let them play physical.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
My general take on late situations in close games, whichever way they go, is that there were no doubt at least a dozen times where making the right play might have prevented the game from ever being that close in the first place. That is why you are supposed to play EVERY game situation as if it was the last one. A careless turnover, a failure to secure a defensive rebound, a casually-blown layup, a slow defensive rotation--any or all of those could be a play that ignites or stops a big run earlier in the game and could decide it LONG before the desperation situation arises.
Also, if the situation in the UGA had been reversed with, say, Thompkins making the game-winner over Harris, I would be as hacked off as any other UT fan, but I would have still said the same thing about having had PLENTY of chances to influence the game before that case ever arose. In this particular case, UT may well have gotten away with one, but they generally played well enough to win, and no player should be attacked for just trying to make a play.
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