What was it like when we found out Mashburn was coming to UK? Was it like John Wall coming?
No, but he was legit.
Mashburn was a high level recruit. Some recruiting services had him as a top 10 kid (Hoop Scoop, to their credit, had him top 5), others had him in the 20s. He wasn't a Mickey D All-American, but he should have been one (I can't remember if he was injured that year, but I think he was just slighted and not selected). Here's an article on the crappy way Mickey D players were selected back in those days and how they changed the system by actually allowing for recruiting experts to start having a voice in the selection process: http://www.grassrootshoops.net/2014/01/mcdonalds-overlooked-all-americans/ .
That '93 team should have won it all. Dale Brown's injury messed a lot up when UK was playing Michigan in the Final Four. So did Mashburn fouling out in OT after he started the OT by slicing Michigan's defense into pieces and giving UK an early 4 point lead in OT with a 5-out offense that Pitino had been saving in his back pocket.
Then, the inexplicable hip hold foul on Juwan Howard. Until my dying day, I'll never understand why Mashburn committed that silly hold. In part, it helped cost UK the game, and maybe the title that year. UK was something like an 8.5 point favorite against Michigan.
With Mashburn out, a 4 point lead eventually became a 3 point lead going into the final minute, leading up to the Ray Jackson "and-one" drive that cut the lead to 1 (I also wonder what would have happened if UK just conceded the layup - they'd be up one, with the ball, with about 40-45 second left). Then, because Mashburn wasn't in the game to rebound, leaving guys like Martinez in there instead, Webber got the offensive rebound and scored off the missed free throw. A 3 point UK lead was now a 1 point Michigan lead with about 35 to 40 seconds left.
Mashburn being fouled out basically ended up being a +7 for Michigan.
UK didn't score the rest of the way from what I remember. A sucky finish altogether that Final Four, as UNC ended up winning another title for Dean Smith and his corrupt program.
Last edited: