Oct. 14, 2004

by Rashad McCants

The first time I ever made a game-winning shot was my junior year of high school at New Hampton. We were playing Winchendon Academy when they had a couple of guys who were top five players in the country, including (6-foot-10) Sani Ibrahim. This was when Wes Miller was also on our team. We were down one point with six seconds to play, and Wes got me the ball on the baseline. I drove and Sani came over to block the shot. I went up like I was going to dunk but then just floated it up with one second left. It went in, and we won the game.

I want to take those kinds of shots. I practice them every day. That's something I have always done. Before a game or when I'm shooting around before practice, I'll roll the ball out and act like it's a game-winning shot situation. I shoot them from inside, outside, from deep, from everywhere. I'll take shots from places people don't usually think about shooting, because I want to be comfortable everywhere on the court. I want to feel, no matter where we're playing, like it's my court. I want to be familiar with every spot on it.

Last year I got several chances to take the big shot. The one people always talk about is Connecticut. In the timeout before that shot, I was just waiting for Coach Williams to say my name. I wanted him to have faith that I was going to make it. I wanted the play to come to me.

The play we used was a last-second situational play that we had practiced a lot. Melvin was the decoy and Sean was the screener.

Everything was set up perfectly, the cuts were perfect, and I had a clean look. I knew if I could get it off it was going in. You have to be sly in that situation, because you don't want anybody to know you're looking at the clock. When I came off the screen and caught the ball, I looked at the clock as soon as I caught it to make sure I had enough time. I didn't hear the crowd at all until I made it.

To make those types of shots, you have to be willing to miss them. I missed one at Florida State last year, and I missed one against Texas in the NCAA Tournament. If I'd made that shot, we'd probably still be playing. You have to be able to fail in order to succeed. Confidence is so important. If you have that confidence, you can miss two in a row and then make your next five. It's all about knowing that when you catch the ball, you're going to score or do something to help your team score.