Hurley didn’t seem to have any trouble getting his time out request acknowledged.
In fairness, I think Herb would be willing to take some blame here. He definitely hesitated in calling the TO and most likely ran towards the wrong official. He absolutely (“unequivocally,” in his words) called the TO within the rules of the game, and if the officials were robots, the TO would have been acknowledged and granted. The officials themselves probably feel at least a little bit guilty for not watching the sideline for 2/10ths of a second longer to catch Sendek’s call.
Without robot officials, he would have needed to do one or a combination of:
a. Be ready to call TO the second the ball went through the hoop;
b. Run towards the official granting the inbound pass who was stationary and responsible for changing legal possession rather than the sideline official running away from him;
c. Be a bit more Hurley-like and run onto the court screaming and shouting and stomping for the TO.
I don’t have any animosity toward Sendek for failing to get that TO, and I think that he probably lost sleep over it and took ownership with the team as something under his control for which he fell short. Similarly, I’m not bitter that Sash got blocked by Garrison twice on successive plays. The outcome of 45 minutes of play just isn’t reducible to three bad decisions.
But I sort of like the chip-on-their-shoulder narrative going into the off-season. It’s a better motivator to feel a little robbed and know that you should have won than to be trounced off the floor (like Kentucky in the next game).
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I’d think some of the players (including Graves) lost some sleep because they started celebrating too early instead of playing defense.
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I certainly lost some sleep
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Of course, the one who clearly didn’t was Ensminger. Which led me to a thought this morning: I think Ensminger is the player from my era (2011 to present) who I would feel most comfortable as a someday-head coach of the Broncos.
I would buy a Sendek → Ludwig → Ensminger chain of SCU coaches if it were on the table.
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Ensminger was so good offensively in the Kentucky game. He had to play a little out of position on defense guarding some of the Kentucky length in the post, but offensively it might have been his best game as a Bronco. He hit a couple of huge 3s and always seemed to cut at the precise time needed. I know he is our glue guy but I am convinced there is another level he can get to offensively, primarily with a higher volume of 3 attempts(40 percent from 3 this year!). That Kentucky game should be a great confidence builder for him heading into his final season.
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You could tell Jake was extremely comfortable in the moment.
Jake was seen hanging out at the Bronco send off at the hotel. Big smile on his face. After the game, Jake came back out on the floor to clap and show appreciation to the Bronco crowd.
When he’s hitting from the perimeter, he becomes even more valuable.
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Patty, I agree here with you. It did seem as if Herb hesitated. I’d have to review those final few seconds again, but it appears Herb has his arms folded near the top of the key as Graves “game winner” is in flight. I don’t blame him either as he just got caught up in the moment. At the end of the day, we need to tip our hat to Oweh for hitting a low percentage shot.
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It’s funny talking about a succession plan, but I guess it probably is subliminally in our heads with RB moving on. I agree with your take on Ensminger and would add Brownridge.
Always thought he would be a great commentator, so well spoken. Could also see coaching in his career as well because his demeanor is so endearing.
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As horrible as the Kentucky ending was, it never should have come down to a Sendek timeout failure. We missed two open shots- with one a layup by Graves with .28 seconds that would put us up by 4 making Oweh’s layup at 9 seconds, us with the ball up 2 before Graves made the dagger three that would have out us up 5 OR ft attempts if they fouled….
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@Broncomusings I completely agree. Graves missed short range shot left me thinking that was a huge missed opportunity. And of course we still had 5 minutes to win after that miracle Kentucky three pointer. In summary, it never comes down to just one play, shot or decision. Regardless, so immensely proud of our team and excited for the future.
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