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Published: March 22, 2008
TAMPA - Just 5.7 seconds remained in overtime as Western Kentucky broke the huddle for the final time Friday afternoon, trailing Drake by a single point.
It already had been one of the best basketball games you will ever see, so there was nothing left to do but watch. Western planned to put the ball in the hands of point guard Tyrone Brazelton, but as they got into position, senior Ty Rogers leaned over and whispered to Brazelton, "Don't be afraid to kick it back to me."
If you feel inclined to drift to a "Hoosiers" moment where Jimmy Chitwood says plainly, "I'll make it," go right ahead.
Meanwhile, 805 miles away in Rogers' hometown of Eddyville, Ky., workers at city hall were huddled around an Internet feed carrying the game - there was no TV in the office - when Mayor Judi Stone mused out loud, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if Ty made that shot?"
What happened next can only happen in March, when dreamers dare and the impossible so often unfolds before you.
Brazelton, confronted by two defenders, did indeed kick it back to Rogers, well behind the 3-point line and right in front of the Hilltoppers' cheering section.
He launched what either was going to be the last shot of his career or the best.
"I have no clue where I shot the ball from," he said. "It felt like it took forever to get there."
The eruption of noise inside the Forum told you what had happened. It went through cleanly, as it had so many times before back on the playground in Eddyville when Rogers imagined being at just this moment in time. It gave 12th-seeded Western a 101-99 victory against the fifth-seeded Bulldogs in the first-round NCAA Tournament game.
It's the "One Shining Moment" moment. Ty Rogers will be one of "those" guys now.
"It's unbelievable. With my parents, I've watched the 'One Shining Moment' song played every year at the end of the tournament," he said. "It's every kid's dream."
Itty, Bitty Guy
Eddyville is the seat of Lyon County, home to about 8,800 souls in the southwestern corner of the state - named because the nearby Cumberland River has particularly strong eddies. Most folks around the state know it as home to a maximum-security prison. Ty Rogers is just about the best player ever for the Lyon County High Lyons; at least that's what the mayor said. The kid is a shooter and always has been.
"His father put a basketball in Ty's hands pretty soon after birth," she said. "Those Elks Club shooting contests they have, Ty used to win those all the time when he was a little itty, bitty guy. He is just a super-fine young man - a young man of high moral character."
Indeed, this super-fine young man - he is 6-foot-3 now, not so itty or bitty - made sure to give the glory to a higher authority, and his explanation for telling Brazelton not to forget about him was simple.
"The reason I wanted the ball is because I have faith," he said.
He also had a hunch. Before the Hilltoppers left for Tampa, he told teammate Matt Maresca they would hit a last-second shot to win.
"That's crazy for him to say it," Maresca said. "But for it to happen, and for him to make it ... it's crazy."
Well, it's March - a time of Cinderellas and 12th-seeded teams who have a chance now to go to the Sweet 16, as Western does. And, go figure, when the Hilltoppers play Sunday, they will wear the white uniforms that befit the higher seed because San Diego - the 13th seed - followed Rogers' miracle with one of its own. It beat UConn 70-69, also in overtime, in Friday's second game.
"Got to love the NCAA Tournament, don't you?" Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn said. "I think what you just saw out there is why this is the greatest show on earth."
Wanted To Be A Hilltopper
Back in Eddyville, the mayor was in a meeting with the guy who runs the water and sewer department in town when workers told her the game was getting close. They watched the rest of the game huddled around the computer, screaming and stomping to beat the band.
"It's the talk of the town, let me assure you," she said. "The phone is ringing off the hook."
Ty Rogers wanted nothing more coming out of high school than to be a Hilltopper. They don't all grow up in the Commonwealth wanting to play for the University of Kentucky. When Horn offered him a scholarship, it took him less than a day to accept. He has done the dirty work - changed positions, come off the bench, filled whatever role was asked.
That's what March is: Kids of high moral character making the folks proud back in Eddyville.
"You know, I told someone a while ago we ought to have a Ty Rogers Day," the mayor said. "Maybe we ought to do that. What do you think?"
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