Two hours later and I'm still speechless. Harrison Barnes' shot to defeat FSU, 72-70, was unbelievable. The confidence, to willingness, the cold no-nonsense approach was pretty impressive and inspirational.
In general, that was a great college basketball game. Both teams played well and played hard. And though me made some mistakes late to open the door for their comeback, hats off to the Seminoles for playing so well with their best player, Chris Singleton, out with a broken foot.
Barnes made the big shot, but as it was against Maryland on Sunday, their entire team played well in defeating FSU on their senior night. Zeller was in foul trouble but made some tough shots and grabbed key boards, Strickland had a huge take and old-fashioned three-point play to stop a Seminole run, Leslie McDonald was a microwave off the bench with 10 points, Marshall (despite two questionable plays in the final minute) had another great game with 8 assists and his own huge shot, a three, to stop a Noles run.
And then there's Henson and Barnes. Henson, who quietly has made 9 of his last 10 free throws, had another double double tonight on a variety of step throughs, dunks and shot jumpers and hooks. He was only credited with 3 blocks but it seems like he many more than that. On the boards he was like Spider-Man, grabbing balls out of the air as if he was shooing a web. Like Marshall he had a few bad possessions with sloppy passes for turnovers, but he was dominant for most of tonight's game in Tallahassee.
What do you say about Barnes? The shot was another clutch one in a season full of timely offensive outburst by the Ames, Iowa freshman. Not only is Barnes confident, he's also maturing. He did not force anything tonight, made 6 of 10 shots for an efficient and awe-inspiring performance.
This team is making plays, and everyone in contributing - with Barnes the first among equals tonight. The result is a team peaking at the right time, playing with confidence and playing as a unit.
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