1994 NCAA tournament, second round. Marquette vs Kentucky. In one of the slickest performances I can remember, Tony Miller single handily slices right through the vaunted Kentucky/Rick Pitino press. No, this wasn't a classic (1996-97) Pitino/Kentucky squad. But watching Miller weave through the press over and over and over, rendering it useless, was impressive. His final numbers were unspectacular (box score), but that didn't tell the story. MU ended up winning and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in a coon's age. The 90s version of Big Baby Glenn Davis, Damon Key, moosed in 25. Gunner Robb Logtermann had 14.
A little research finds that Miller was actually a highly, highly, sought-after option quarterback in high school. Big boys like Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio St, Colorado, and Notre Dame wanted him. Just think, it could have been he, not Tommy Frazier, winning back to back titles for the Corn. Choose hoops, and MU, instead.
Alas, the min-run ended with a loss to Grant Hill and Duke. I can still see Jimmy McIllvaine eating Hill's nards on an alley-oop. Duke was just plain better.
2 comments:
Nice.
If my memory serves me correctly, Marquette jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the Duke game thanks to three 3-pointers. Those were good times.
Was Faisal Abraham on that team?
I played against Van Exel,McIlvaine and Key in high school. All were in our conference one year. Van Exel was a stud. Still see Key once awhile.
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