The Best One Shining Moments

The ball is tipped…..

Tonight Greg Gumbel will guide an entire nation from prelude to a Championship to the cutting down of the nets and conclude as always with my favorite and the best way to wrap up March Madness – One Shining Moment.

This montage has been a tradition played at the end of the National Championship game every year since 1987. You can count on this perfect mashup to feature smokeshow cheerleaders, fans crying over heartbreak, hustle from the underdogs, memorable plays from the tournament, and awful Jim Nantz canned lines.

But I want to breakdown individual players whose huge and clutch moments defined them and One Shining Moment as if they are Andrew Harrison saying complimentary and appropriate comments.

Bryce Drew:

In 1998, Drew hit one of the best and most clutch shots in NCAA tournament history. The perfectly executed three-quarter court pass and flip to Drew for a game winning three helped burn Drew into history and our mind like Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction. And the whale dive celebration that made him famous was probably the exact same victory heave anyone did that had Valparaiso money line in this colossal upset.

Tyus Edney:

In 1995, Edney ran coast-coast to coast for a game winning shot faster then Carmelo Anthony after landing a sucker punch. What made it even more special is it avoided a second straight early exit and upset for the heavily favored UCLA Bruins and it propelled them to cut down the nets that year. That was easily the most defining and one shining moment of the 1995 NCAA tournament and undoubtedly the first thing anyone will bring up when they hear Tyus Edney. Oh, and of course that he led Zalgiris Kaunas to the 1999 Euroleague title, duh.

Mario Chalmers:

“Rio” Chalmers hit the most defining shot of the 2008 NCAA tournament when he nailed a 3 pointer with 2.1 seconds left to vault Kansas into overtime against Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers, actually nobody come to think of it. There is nothing more clutch and shining then a back against the wall long-range bomb to keep the dream alive and propel your team to a National Championship. I just wonder, did anyone who had Memphis moneyline in any game that year have to give Vegas money back after they had their wins and season vacated??

Hakim Warrick:

Mr. One Shining Moment. The 2003 NCAA tournament was dominated by the absolute performance teammate Carmelo Anthony put on over three weeks to be named MOP (Most Outstanding Player) – not the rap duo that sings ‘Ante Up’. Late in the title game Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich wanted to get another sweet bowl cut and passed to a wide open Michael Lee in the corner. Out of nowhere, Mr. One Shining Hakim Warrick stretched farther than Stretch Armstrong to swat Lee’s shot into the Superdome crowd with less than one second left clinching the title. CBS did a phenomenal job of playing this in super slow motion with a crescendo of the music to capture why this was the best moment in One Shining Moment history to that point.

We all anticipate another phenomenal game to close out this tourney. And as Greg Gumbel sends us to this years rendition of One Shining Moment we will certainly anticipate RJ Hunter’s game winner with his dad falling off his stool, but hopefully we get a closing moment from Duke or Wisconsin to add to this list.

I want to hear from you! What and who define One Shining Moment to you? What are your favorite moments from One Shining Moment of years past? Hit us up on Twitter @BaconSports and on Facebook to let us know