Remember when Pitt won the Big East Tournament in 2008? Limping in and finishing 3-4 in the final seven games of the Big East regular season.
Four games in four days. Getting healthy. Getting confident. Consistent. Rising from middle of the pack in the Big East to winning the BET. Sam Young finally started playing consistently at a high level on both ends of the court. While it was something Pitt fans had been expecting for some time, it was a kind of coming out on the national stage for him. Other players found their place. It cemented that team as one that will always hold a special place in Pitt fans’ heart. Even if Pitt bowed out in the first weekend.
Or 2006 and Syracuse. Overshadowing Pitt’s almost as impressive run — only without one player dominating and pushing. Gerry McNamara carrying the Orange all the way to winning the BET. Something UConn’s latest victim, Syracuse could recognize — with requisite bitterness.
While it’s not quite the Gerry McNamara run of ’06, hats must go off to Kemba Walker (who passed Devo for the single-tourney scoring record). He’s got UConn in a position to set a new BET record for five-wins in one go. They certainly have the Team Destiny thing going for them, which is fine, since that makes it all the more likely they’ll run out of gas by next week (just like Gerry’s Orange did).
And almost as bad as losing — being merely a player in some other team’s or someone else’s story. That’s where things stand nationally. Pitt didn’t lose, so much as they were beat by a special player doing special things.
