San Antonio – How much can take one program? How can Houston Another stomach of these? Another picture to get near, just see it recedes from the show, instead covered with wrong colored sweets?
On this night in April, Emmanuel Sharp was deeply wandering, his hand on his head, and seeing the stadium around him turning orange and blue. Jaifier Francis knelt next to him, and he refused to leave his teammate’s team. Kelvin Sampson, the coach, stared from all over the Earth, on both sides. Florida Walter Clayton Junior He bent down, served a sharp hug from the back.
Houston’s journey to the national championship game would end either as the best night in school history or another chapter in this harsh epic. Divide in the endeavor of the Jim Vanno champion. The shadow in redemption is Farid Brown. Even before Monday, the school occupied a place in torment in the history of this sport-the record in the fourth final appearances ever without winning a national championship.
It was six. Now, after what happened in some way here – The loss of what faded to 65-63 is a loss for the Florida team, which follows the cuor in 12 early in the second half – Seven.
For a school that plays an unenviable patrol, this may be the most difficult. This end was supposed to erase all others.
“In this position,” said Sampson.
The sequence will live in the depths of the minds of Coogs for a generation or two.
Lower two, 19 seconds left. A deadline called.
How did Houston win 35 games this year? Because at these moments, Sampson’s conversations listen to Cogs. Then they implement. Then they win. Regular teams are not defeated in road conference games. This one did.
Some things were clarified in the assembly. Coogs did not need 3. But they needed to get a shot with enough time to get an offensive recovery. Sampson put a play for LJ Cryer, the guard of everything in Houston. If the initial procedure does not breathe, Sampson wanted to burn the Sharp’s elevator screen.
All of this developed very slowly. Kerner’s appearance was not there. Now it remained 7.3 seconds, and here it came sharp, extending from the foundation line to the top of the key, and in the past, the jungers, in an attempt to get freedom. That screen? Clayton does not care about it. The 6 -feet goalkeeper wandering, seeing a sharp rise in what could have been very good, carved a full chapter in university basketball annalism, jumped to the sky and banned the sun.
This, apparently, was when a sharp thinking about a possible wrinkle of the game. If he sees a closure, he was asked to put the ball on the deck and rush to the basket. Go link the game. Go to win in extra time. As the assistant coach Killin Sampson, Ibn Kelvin, said later, “Emmanuel is a good decision maker in the closest. He needs a small space to get one.”
Sharp thought that the shot was there, but it was not so, and it was too late. The archery window closed, and Sharp dropped the ball instead of getting it. There he bounced alone. However, all 75 years from the date of the program. There I stood sharp, completely powerless. If you pick the ball, it will be whistled to travel.
Under the basket, Roberts turned his back when Sharp rose to fire, waiting for this potential offensive recovery. He would have been at the sixteenth of the night, doubling what Florida fell. But the shot never came.
Roberts said, “I turned back and was bounced on the ground,” Roberts said.
Alex Condon in Florida on the ground with two seconds around the clock, shattered from the shoulder to the shoulder with Francis. The ball was overwhelmed, and the last century appeared and followed that impossible pain.
Roberts, originally from the American Virgin Islands, went to the secondary school in Killin, Texas, in order to play university basketball. Houston adhered to a three -star recruitment in September 2018. It was six years ago, seven months ago, five days. Houston, at the time, was starting from the first appearance of the NCAA championship under the leadership of Sampson. since then, Roberts saw every step on the trip All of this was leading to a final destination in Alamodome this week.
There was a loss against Kentucky in 2019 Sweet 16. Sweet 16 loss to Miami as Seed No. 1 in 2023. Another 16 Sweet Loss is one of the seeds in 2024, this time for Duke.
When the national semi -finals of this year ended with Houston’s return from 14 points, leaving eight minutes to overcome the same blue demons, it looked like that. On Monday was the last functional games of the Roberts 173 program. Sampson’s 300 victory would be at school and 800 victory in his career.
Instead, Florida, with its 39 -year -old coach, won its third national tournament. The others came in 2006 and 2007, when Clevin Sampson, who is now 69 years old, was in the midst of the transfer from Oklahoma to Indiana. What looks like everything since the millennium.
The final century looked Monday night before 10:15 pm local time.
She played “one bright moment” at 10:38.
At 10:54, the Houston wardrobe opened its doors, and revealed it. Roberts said it took a moment for Samson to gather himself and address the team. The old coach told this team that he would never go without every player. He specifically pointed to Sharp, who is young with 106 games played in Houston. Then Sampson called every assistant coach to address the room. Then all senior spoke.
Sharp, according to Roberts, got up and apologized to the team. In fact, it was not lost tonight on any unique possession. This was a 40 -minute rock battle, one full of moments that Houston wants to return.
Roberts said: “We are not blame for us (sharp) for that.” “He has done a lot of great things. We know how privacy of Emmanuel. I will rest him as possible, and I will defend his name if anyone tries to make him worse than he is.”
Sharp has never appeared in the postgame wardrobe room. The phone was disposed of in his wardrobe.
Outside, empty oles and continue midnight.
“What is today’s date?” Roberts asked, he fell in his closet.
It was April 7.
“June to April, a man. Long trip,” said Roberts, thinking about the first practice from 2024-25 Cogs. “It is just crushing. I have reached this point and loses two points. We have had an opportunity to link it or win the game. I just …”
Robert stopped temporarily, and brought all the voices of Houston’s past.
“I hope we can play this play again.”
(Photo: Jimmy Square / Getty Emayiz)
