The Shot: Four Seconds from Glory
Story written by Ralph Ventre. E-mail Ralph at rventre@northeastconference.org.
It's the picture-perfect scenario that little kids dream about on playgrounds across America. It's what happened right here in the Northeast Conference during a month when dreams are known to come true. A pair of dynamic scorers matching each other shot for shot, a frantic finish, a buzzer-beating basket, a raucous crowd packed up into the rafters - the 1993 NEC Championship game had it all. Bobby Hopson was mere moments away from being named NEC Tournament MVP - that's what the game-winning shot and a team-high 32 points will get you. Wagner's Tim Capstraw was on the verge of coaching his alma mater into the NCAA tournament while his Rider counterpart Kevin Bannon would have to wait until next year. Darrick Suber was about to see his most illustrious playing career end in a most disappointing fashion. But all that changed in a matter of four seconds.
It's a normal Tuesday morning in the life of Tim Capstraw, the first Tuesday in the calendar year 2010. The former Wagner coach turned hoops analyst is in the midst of running errands when he lends some of his time to have a cell phone conversation about a day he'll never forget. Capstraw mentions that his wife called only moments ago to remind him he must stop at the cleaners before returning home. He may have forgotten had it not been for her phone call, but the topic he's about to speak on is something of which he needs no reminder. It was a Tuesday nearly 17 years ago that Capstraw will remember for the rest of his life. How could he not? It was that day when he first laid eyes on his eventual wife, but meeting a mate was the last thing on his mind when he rose for work on Tuesday, March 9, 1993. He and his 18-11 Seahawks were one win away from the program's first ever Northeast Conference title and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. "The opportunities to go to the Big Dance are so few and precious," said the former head coach who now works as a color commentator for New Jersey Nets Radio along with NEC-TV. "You try to tell your young players before the game that this might be the most significant thing you will ever be involved in as an athlete." Wagner had never been to the Dance. In fact, Wagner had never won more than the 18 games the Seahawks had amassed that season. Two years prior, the Seahawks finished 4-26 before improving to 16-12 the following season. Now they were 40 minutes from NEC supremacy.
Kevin Bannon passes Alumni Gym every day on his way to work. The Executive Director of the Mercer County Parks Commission lives only two miles from where his fondest of coaching memories unfolded nearly two decades ago. "I'll never forget it," he said about that Tuesday in March, 1993. "It was extremely emotional. In fact it was an extremely emotional time for me in my life with my son being born." Bannon first came to Alumni Gym the season after he took nearby Trenton State (now The College of New Jersey) to the Division III National Championship game. He inherited a Rider program that had not one winning season to show for any of its previous five. His son, who now plays basketball for Notre Dame High School located literally down the street from the Rider campus, was born six games into the 1992-93 season when the Broncs were off to a rather unpleasant 1-5 start. As a television graphic during ESPN's broadcast from Alumni Gym noted, Rider's fortunes would take a turn for the better once Bannon became a father. The Broncs followed the sluggish start by win ning six of their next seven on the way to a 17-5 "post-natal" record. "He was our lucky charm," said Bannon of his infant son. Lucky charm or not, Bannon definitely had good fortune on his side.
Darrick Suber has made his home in Seattle where he recently established his own online media consulting firm. Rider's all-time leading scorer may live 3,000 miles away from Alumni Gym, but the memories of that day, and his entire time as a Bronc, remain as close as can be. He's asked a question and the words begin to flow. Just like Capstraw and Bannon, he articulately recites detail after detail, his passion more than evident. "Coach Bannon's first year was my freshman year," says Suber. "He was taking over a program that was near the bottom of Division I basketball, and now, after three-plus years of hard work, we had earned a chance to host the NEC Championship Game on our floor." Rider won five games during Suber's senior year of high school, but it didn't stop him from committing. "He was a tough-minded city kid from Pittsburgh who loved the challenge," said Bannon when asked to describe one of his first signees. "As he grew, the program grew." As did Rider's win total. It rose from five to 10 to 14 to 16 to 18 by Suber's senior year with a chance to make it 19 in front of a national TV audience during ESPN Championship Week. "Here's a guy [Suber] who helped put Rider on the map in what was a long building process," said Don Harnum, an assistant coach on Bannon's staff at the time and currently Rider's Athletic Director. The 6-foot-2 guard had done nearly everything any coach could ever ask of a prized recruit. He became the Broncs' first ever 2,000-point scorer as Rider became a winner. The Northeast Conference Player of the Year had already enjoyed somewhat of a storybook career heading into his final appearance at Alumni Gym, but the unforgettable ending was yet to happen.
Fans began filing into the 1,600-seat gym, known to many as the "Broncs Zoo," well before the game's scheduled start time. "The place was practically full an hour and a half before the game," remembers Capstraw. "Wagner brought the football team down and they were going back and forth with the Rider fans before we even tipped off. It was a NCAA Tournament atmosphere packed into a small high school-type gym." The box score states there were 2,000 people in attendance that night, but Suber says there could have been even more. "I think Rider is still paying the fire marshall off for that one," said the 1993 NEC Player of the Year. "You couldn't squeeze another person in there."
The ESPN broadcast did not begin until 9:53 pm after the Mid-Continent Conference game went final. Studio anchor Chris Meyers threw it to Tom Mees and Ed Murphy in Alumni Gym with Rider leading Wagner, 9-8, 5:07 into the first half. The viewership, which would nearly double by the contest's thrilling climax, was quickly treated to some fast-paced play. They were introduced to Suber when he flew into the offensive end and was fouled on a pull-up jumper. As good as Suber was, Wagner had an answer in the form of Bobby Hopson. The 6-foot guard was a member of the All-NEC First Team along with his Rider counterpart, and he matched almost every shot Suber made that night. The Broncs were ahead 22-19 at the 8-miunte mark of the opening half before Hopson temporarily took over. First, he delivered a kiss off the glass and the foul, scoring his first of three consecutive trifectas the traditional way. On the Seahawks next possession, he took a cross-court pass and rattled home a three. He wasn't done either. With Rider mired in a cold spell, Hopson struck again from beyond the arc as he launched a long shot over the defense of Suber. Good, and just like that the Seahawks were in front 28-22. With Rider continually coming away empty-handed in the offensive end, Hopson maintained the hot hand. He hit another shot, this time from inside, forcing Bannon to call a timeout after watching the Wagner guard outscore his Broncs 11-0 over the spurt. Coming out of the break, Suber fittingly stopped the Seahawks' run by draining a baseline jumper that cut the deficit to 30-24. Suber struck again soon after, sinking a three-pointer in the final minute to cut the Wagner lead to three heading into halftime. Hopson had 17 points, already one more than his season average, through the first 20 minutes while Suber had 16. The second session started with Hopson hitting a long three that bumped Wagner's lead to 37-31. Then, in what was a sign of things to come, Suber answered right back gliding through the lane for a bucket on the very next possession.
The Broncs' used a 13-4 spurt to take a 44-41 advantage, but Hopson, who did not miss a three-point attempt until midway through the second half, dialed long distance again as the shot clack wound down. The game was tied for the 11th, and final, time at 59-59. Who else but Suber broke the deadlock by nailing a free throw line jumper with 1:45 to go. After Wagner's Lamont Street fouled out, Mark Wilcox sunk a pair from the charity stripe to bump the Broncs' lead to 63-59 with 00:39 remaining. Racing up the floor, Hopson, taking only six seconds off the clock, drew a foul and hit the two subsequent foul shots to bring the Seahawks back within a basket. Wagner quickly fouled on the inbound, but Wilcox missed the front end of a 1-and-1. By this point the game's rating had risen 73 percent from the start of the contest, which meant 1.1 million homes were now looking on to see who would capture the NEC crown. Looking to tie the game, Hopson was fouled again. He netted the first of two ever-important free throws to cut the Rider lead to one. What followed was arguably the most-eventful 10 seconds in NEC basketball history.
Hopson missed the back end, but Wagner's All-NEC point guard Quincy Lewis, who was plagued by foul trouble the whole night, somehow came up with the offensive rebound along the baseline and almost immediately kicked it out to Hopson. His pull-up floater from the left side free throw line extended hit nothing but net and sent the raucous Wagner contingent into a frenzy with four seconds to go. Wagner 64, Rider 63. "Oh, no! Oh, No!" was all Suber could think. "When Hopson hit that shot, it was a tough on our team emotionally," said Bannon. Suber continued: "I have to commend Wagner because they brought enough people down to keep our crowd on its toes. For a second when Hopson hit that shot, I thought I was in a visiting gym because they were that loud." "I felt pretty darn good," said Walt Hameline, Wagner's Director of Athletics who can be seen jumping jubilantly into the air at his vantage point in the corner of the gym next to the Wagner bench. "Why wouldn't ya? But that's why they play until the clock runs out." Wagner's head coach, however, wasn't yet ready to celebrate. "This game is not over," was all that was running through Capstraw's mind at the time. One can tell the coach truly believed it, too. While his players were bouncing up and down in excitement as if they were on pogo sticks, the television cameras showed Capstraw furiously flailing his arms in an attempt to gain his players' attention and remind those on the floor that they had to play another four seconds of defense.
Rider had called a timeout, or had they? "It was always Coach Bannon's philosophy to let end-of-the-game scenarios to play out naturally, so we couldn't figure out who called the timeout," said Suber. "Even to this day I'm not sure who signaled for it." As Suber noted, whatever was said in the sideline huddle became a moot point when Wagner countered with a timeout as Rider was ready to inbound the ball. "I originally had my big man on the ball, but I was paranoid that they saw our defense and were going to come out and beat us over the top," said Capstraw. Meanwhile, on the Rider bench, Bannon was planning to use Suber as a decoy on the final play. "Quite frankly, that did not sit well with me," recalled Suber. "Especially since this could have been my last play ever as a Rider University basketball player." Suber, who had 31 points at the time, had his own idea. "Chris Mikola, who was going to take the ball out, usually sat to my left on the bench. So during that second timeout, I was in his ear telling him to 'Get me the ball.' After about the 13th time of me telling him to give me the ball, he finally threw down his towel and said 'OK'. Meanwhile the rest of the huddle had no idea what was going on between us."
When they stepped back onto the floor Suber saw a glimmer of hope. "Everything seemed to take shape when we realized that Wagner dropped back into a prevent-type defense. There was a look between Coach Bannon and me. I glanced over two or three times and we finally made eye contact. I gave him a look saying get the ball to me. Not more than two or three seconds before the inbound did he kind of wave his arm as if to say go ahead." The coach has a similar recollection of the moment. "Darrick just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders and I gave him a nod that said 'Go ahead'. Give him credit for glancing back at me with a dirty look." After all the lobbying and looks, Mikola sent an uncontested inbounds pass to Suber who began his final play in Alumni Gym at the opponents' three-point arc. "Getting to and past half court felt like forever because I had no idea what was going to happen. You never know how the defense is going to react," said Suber. Speeding up the far side, he passed both Hopson and halfcourt. Wagner's John Yezzi and Brendan Kenney were waiting for him just outside the foul line. Suber took off into the air, his feet at the waist of the two Seahawk defenders. He leaned in and released a one-hander. "When it left my hand there was no doubt it was good. As soon as I shot it I started looking for the ref thinking 'Did I get it off? Did I get it off [in time]?'" If the referee's signal wasn't enough, Suber's question was answered when the beyond-capacity crowd began pouring onto the floor. "Our fans erupted on cue," said Suber of the wild scene that followed.
"What hurt even more [than the loss] was that The Shot was everywhere," lamented Capstraw. "I personally saw it at least a dozen times on national TV that week," said Rider sports information Director Bud Focht. Still, amidst the disappointment, Capstraw was a victor in another sense. "One of my assistant coaches said there was a lady at the game that wanted to meet me. I obviously didn't feel like talking to anyone, but she was too cute to ignore. I begrudgingly said hello, but I made sure I remembered her phone number," said Capstraw of the first time he was introduced to his future wife. Whereas Capstraw claims he has never watched the tape of arguably the NEC's greatest game - one that burst the Conference into the national conscience and served as a springboard for the league's mid-90s renaissance - a copy has found a home in the Bannon household. The former coach's son recently played it for his high school communications class and received an ovation for his role in Rider's renaissance that season. As for the three years that preceded the magical season, no man played a more significant part than Suber. "The Shot was affirmation for what we set out to accomplish when I first got to Rider," said Suber. "He still has the face of our program," noted Harnum who recruited 2,000-point scorers Jerry Johnson and NBA Lottery pick Jason Thompson after succeeding Bannon as the team's head coach. "Here's a guy who won the NEC Player of the Year award, scored over 2,000 points, and the last shot he took in Alumni Gym is one no one will ever forget. To do it at home, in a championship game, in such dramatic fashion, I don't know if you could write a better ending to such a storied career. His last shot was 'The Shot'." "I agree," says Suber. Children on playgrounds dream it. Darrick Suber lived it.
