Michigan freshman Jordan Poole remembers Trey Burke’s shot against Kansas in 2013 well. Burke said he was happy to have helped influence the U-M youngster.
Burke, of course, helped rally the Wolverines back from double digits late and sent a Sweet 16 game with Kansas to overtime with a 30-footer with four seconds to play. Poole’s triple Saturday beat Houston with no time remaining to send U-M to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles.
“It was a great shot,” Burke told the New York Post Monday before his New York Knicks beat the Bulls, 110-92. “One of those shots you’ve got to be special for.
“To influence players that are coming to the program now, it means a lot. I think he probably was just coming into high school when the shot was made. It’s a lifelong highlight that I’ll be able to show my kids and generations to come after me. It means the world to me. People always talk about it, especially when I see fans from Michigan. That’s one of the main memories from Michigan people talk about.”
Burke is playing well in New York, averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 assists in 16.8 minutes per game. He said he wasn’t surprised the Wolverines pulled it out, noting head coach John Beilein always ha a plan.
“It’s a great feeling as a former player, a guy who came through that university, went to school there, played there, has built many relationships with people in that area and in that state,” Burke said. “I’m rooting with all my heart for them. I’m hoping they can make a deep, deep run in the tournament.”
Wagner’s Sportsmanship Gains National Acclaim
Junior center Moritz Wagner was chasing Poole to celebrate with him after ‘the shot’ when he noticed Houston’s Corey Davis Jr. standing in shock on the sideline. He immediately stopped to put his arm around Davis and console him in an act of great sportsmanship that didn’t go unnoticed.
“At the end of the day, you're only human. Seeing people like this, it's a weird feeling. For an emotional guy like me, I knew if (Poole) doesn't make that shot it's us laying on the floor. You got to appreciate both sides.”
Davis told Fox 26 Houston’s Mark Berman it was “a respect move, for sure.
“I appreciate him for doing that, especially in that time,” he said. “He stopped and came and talked to me and consoled me and I appreciate that. He’s a good person for sure.
“I guess it shows that he respected us,” Davis said. “It was a hard-fought game. The way they won and the fashion, it’s March Madness. Anything can happen at that point. The way they won that game was crazy.”
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, in fact, said ‘the best team didn’t win.’
“I’m proud of our team. Sometimes in situations like that, you gotta get lucky,” Sampson told Mark Berman of FOX 26. “Michigan made a great play, but I didn’t think the best team won that game (Saturday) night. Every kid on our team thought we would win that game, and we played that way.”
For those who missed it, some fantastic videos from the weekend. First Duncan Robinson and Zavier Simpson go back and forth in a must-watch ‘bad roommate’ battle (start watching at 3:00).
Then, the entire locker room celebration following the win was filmed on Facebook Live, and it’s also must-watch material.
Finally, John Beilein isn’t the only Beilein with a big game coming up. Michigan’s coach got so excited about his son Patrick’s game with LeMoyne today, a DII Elite Eight affair, that he forgot his team played Thursday, not Friday:
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