Free The Final Four by Paul Volponi Page A

negative—he left twelve seconds on the clock, an eternity in this game. Now, can Michigan State and McBride answer back?
    Play-by-Play Man: Before this current run in the tournament, Troy was best known for scoring the most points in a collegiate game. Back in 1992, Troy defeated DeVry 258 to 141. When the score was called into the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, the sportseditor there thought it was a prank. That Troy squad didn’t even make it to the tournament. Now here they are, two decades later, out of nowhere, threatening to win the whole thing.
    Color Commentator: From what we’ve witnessed tonight, no one should refer to Troy as a Cinderella team anymore. Maybe entering this game there were still some doubts as to whether Troy really belonged. Maybe even some doubts in the minds of their own players. But this has turned from what could have been a fairy-tale, we’re-just-glad-to-be-here scenario into a stone-cold war, the Trojan War. You can credit the man in the middle of the Troy huddle, coach Alvin Kennedy, with laying the foundation for that transformation. And everyone realizes that at the end of this tournament, the big-money offers will come flooding in from larger universities in need of a coach. We’ll see if Troy can hold on to Kennedy.
    Play-by-Play Man: So you think that in essence, this isn’t the same Troy team that began the tournament nearly three weeks ago?
    Color Commentator: That’s right. Michigan State would have blown
that
Troy team out of the Superdome. These Trojans are the same in size and weight on the outside. But
inside
, they’ve grown immensely. They’ve bonded. I’d call it team chemistry, but that would be understating the process. It’s been more like nuclear fusion.
    Play-by-Play Man: And how does that affect Michigan State, the team with more raw talent?
    Color Commentator: The Spartans have got to find that ability to grow within themselves right now. They’ve got to become something more than they already are. Whether that means someone besides Malcolm McBride steps up or McBride himself becomes the catalyst for making the people around him even better.
    Play-by-Play Man: As the teams come back onto the court, let’s go to our sideline reporter, Rachel Adams. Rachel, what can you share with us?
    Rachel Adams: As everyone knows, Spartans coach Eddie Barker has been struggling with his voice this week. He had his team pulled in extra close around him as he feverishly diagramed a play. So it was hard for me to hear anything outside of that tight circle, especially over this crowd noise. But after the Spartans broke their huddle, Malcolm McBride looked at me and simply said, “Bank on it.”
    Play-by-Play Man: Here we go. Michigan State to inbound the ball. Bacic is all over McBride. The Spartans can’t get it to him. The pass comes in to Baby Bear Wilkins instead. Now the Trojans double-team McBride, and Wilkins can’t get it to him either. Nine seconds to go. Wilkins still holding the ball. Finally, he passes down low to Grizzly Bear Cousins, who’s confronted by Crispin Rice. He sends it back outside to Wilkins. McBride still smothered by the defense. Five seconds. Now Wilkins loses the ball! It’s rolling free. Three seconds. Two seconds. It’s picked up by Michael Jordan near half-court. He heaves up a forty-footer at the buzzer. It’s in! No, it’sout! It’s out! It rattled back out. Oh my! That shot was halfway down and it came back out!
    Color Commentator: That could have changed young MJ’s destiny. For a brief moment in time, he could have been more famous than the original Michael Jordan. But it wasn’t meant to be.
    Play-by-Play Man: Michael Jordan still sitting on the floor where he tumbled after that shot. Both of his palms pressed up against his temples, as if to ask, “How in the world did it ever come back out?” Here’s the replay on our monitors. A desperation shot that should have had no chance at all. First, it goes in, and then rims out.