Did Tim Brando and Dan Bonner predict the future?

[UrinalCake]

I just watched a replay of our 2015 home win over UNC. I had the good fortune of being in attendance at this game, and this was the first time I've seen a replay of the broadcast. It was an incredible come-from-behind win in which we trailed by 9 with just over two minutes remaining, before the elder Jones took over, driving right at the rim repeatedly and willing the ball into the hoop.

But here's where things get weird. Fast forward to the end of overtime and with 5.2 seconds remaining Cook hits a free throw to put us up by three. On the following possession we elect to foul Nate Britt, denying the CHeats the chance at tying with a three. With 3.5 seconds on the clock, Britt calmly sinks the first free throw, then has a decision to make. Does this sound at all familiar? But get this - Dan Bonner actually starts talking about how most shooters in this scenario try to bounce it off the back of the rim, but the better play would be to shoot it off the front of the rim. A timeout is called, and he even gets out the telestrator and draws a diagram of the ball hitting hard off the front of the rim and bouncing out to the elbows. Tim Brando concurs, says that you can catch the defense by surprise if you fire it off quickly and let the ball bounce past them and back to the shooter, and that if you can get it out beyond the lane to the three point line then the offensive team has an advantage in getting to it. It's like they perfectly predicted what was about to happen, except that it wouldn't happen until five years into the future and with the teams reversed.

Britt does not try this technique, he tries to bounce it off the back rim and actually does a pretty good job of it, but we secure the rebound and the game. To be fair, this is probably something that gets discussed all the time in these types of scenarios. But I thought it was pretty uncanny, one of those moments that seems to only happen in this rivalry.

Here is a video of the game. The play in question begins at the 1:25:10 mark.

[cspan37421]

Great catch! Great team.

Though Brando/Bonner don't actually use the terms front of rim/back of rim. They talk about how to shoot it in such a way that it rebounds here or there. Perhaps it's believed to be tacitly understood.