CBS's "One Shining Moment " Arrives Early: Reynolds Layup Already A Legend of NCAA Tournament Lore

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful!!!-

"The ball is tipped... and there you are..." (accompanied by trumpet flourishes)...

- OneShiningMoment.com

The CBS "One Shining Moment" montage, with the song performed by Luther Vandross, is a cherished part of the grand ritual of every March Madness. (Here's the 2008 "One Shining Moment" version, with a much wider screen...)

As each year's tournament progresses, veteran observers of the tourney will note the various and sundry buzzer-beaters, upsets, and thrilling endings and think, "That's going into 'One Shining Moment'."

Well, even with the Final Four still yet to be played-

Scottie Reynolds has already etched himself a place, not just in the 2009 "One Shining Moment", but in the annals and lore of all subsequent NCAA tournaments...

After the initial euphoria, I considered the play in the context of the other incredible endings that have punctuated the tournament over the years. I realized that that the play was in fact very similar to the Tyus Edney coast-to-coast layup in 1995, in which UCLA avoided a second-round upset by Missouri, en route to its first national championship since John Wooden.

Nearly two decades later, the Edney play is still frequently featured in the CBS opening montage, and that was a second-round game - won by the favorite - UCLA was a #1 seed, Missouri an #8. In contrast, Villanova/Pittsburgh was in the Elite Eight, with the lower seed winning...

If CBS had scripted a "One Shining Moment", in fact, it couldn't have scripted one any more compelling or thrilling than the Reynolds layup... the only remote flaw in the script was the irritating fact that Pitt was subsequently granted 0.5 seconds, in which to undo the happy ending. That was very anticlimactic, though... and fortunately, Pitt played its role perfectly, by not making its own miracle shot to wreck the Reynolds layup...

As it turned out, that was the only potential problem in the story. One of the greatest aspects of the play is the fact that the Wildcats bench reacted as if the game were over, as they genuinely believed it to be. The fact that they hadn't realized there was still time on the clock, is what rendered the play as completely perfect for "One Shining Moment".

The shot from CBS's overhead camera, with which they closed the broadcast, of the exuberant Wildcats pouring off the bench onto the court, like a torrential blue-jerseyed wave, carried along by euphoria, and collapsing on Reynolds at the other end of the floor... it was among the most magnificent moments in the history of the NCAA tournament - and certainly in the CBS era of the NCAA tournament.

You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)

A Shot To Be Remembered Forever - Reynolds Takes His Place Among Villanova Legends

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful!!!-

On Saturday, March 29, 2009, Scottie Reynolds - had his Villanova career ended the instant the buzzer sounded, of a loss to Pittsburgh (as it very well could have) what would we have said, about his time as a Wildcat?

Certainly, Reynolds would have been remembered as a Wildcat of great distinction. He would have been acknowledged as a standout player in the nucleus of Jay Wright's second great Villanova team of the early 21st century.

The first nucleus had been the "Four Freshmen" of Allan Ray, Randy Foye, Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser that went to the Elite Eight in 2006 and the Sweet 16 in 2005.

The second nucleus is the current team, that took Villanova to the NCAA tournament in 2007, the surprise Sweet 16 of 2008 (after the ordeal on the bubble), and the 2009 run...

But that is not how Scottie Reynolds will be remembered. Instead, he now stands with the immortals of the Villanova pantheon... and best of all - he can still add to the legend in Detroit at the Final Four...

Such is the nature of college basketball, where one shot can transform the fortunes of a player, a team, a school, a city, a state, a nation...

I would like to recommend a particularly well-written piece from Fanhouse.com's Jay Mariotti, for a detailed look at the circumstances of that shot... included with the article, there's a great photograph of the shot from Reynolds' perspective, taken from the opposite basket. The picture perfectly captures an outstanding view of the play:

Reynolds going up for the shot while Reggie Redding - who had inbounded the ball - and Dante Cunningham - who had accepted Redding's pass and flipped it to Reynolds - trail the play...

Reynolds walked onto the court at the new Boston Garden - the TDBanknorth Garden - as one of many great Villanova Wildcats in the course of the 89 years of the program's existence. Three hours, two halves, and one victory in the Elite Eight later, he left the court not just with a gray "Regional Champions" hat with a Block "V'", with a snippet of the net in the brim.

Reynolds left the court as a legend, who will never be forgotten... not as long as there is a Main Line, a Villanova University, as long as blue and white remain the colors, as long as the Wildcats ever take the court...

You can also take a look at the other Villanova blogs included in Various Viewpoints on the right sidebar, for their takes...

Go Wildcats!

There are two ways you can contact Villanova Viewpoint. One is by commenting on this blog. Comments are encouraged. Also, you can e-mail villanova.viewpoint@yahoo.com (Important note: This is a different e-mail address than before. Please use this new one.)