Last night’s epic performance by Billy White got me thinking about how rare it is for a player to have a game where nothing else on the court matters. I have a feeling that Gonzaga could have thrown six guys in the paint last night and White would have still scored 30.
I quickly scanned my brain through the Steve Fisher era for memorable performances. I’m not talking about solid games, or even great games that propelled us to victory. I was looking for games that stood out so much that we’ll never forget the performance. Marcus Slaughter may have put up a solid 16 and 11 every night in 2005-2006, but I don’t remember many games where you knew that as long as he was on the floor we were going to win. That was Billy White last night. When he touched the ball, you knew it was an automatic two points for the Aztecs.
I could only think of four such performances since Fisher came to the Mesa that reached this level. The contenders for greatest game are:
Al Faux – Dec. 30, 2000 vs. Oklahoma State (87-66 win) – 28 points (9 of 10 shooting, including 7 of 8 on three pointers), 5 assists, 1 steal
Brandon Heath – Feb. 25, 2006 at New Mexico (73-66 win) – 32 points (8 of 13 on three pointers), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Kawhi Leonard – March 13, 2010 at UNLV (55-45 win in MWC Tournament Semifinals) – 16 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals
Billy White – Nov. 16, 2010 at Gonzaga (79-76 win) – 30 points (14 of 18 shooting), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
November 18th, 2010 at 1:17 am
I voted for bottoms. Only because the Pit is arguably one of the toughest places to play in the country, I think that win clinched at least a share of the MWC title, and he was unguardable from 3 point range.
November 18th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Tec,
That’s the biggest thing from that game. Heath took over in the second half and was hitting threes from NBA distance without breaking a sweat. He had 17 points in the first six minutes of the second half. SEVENTEEN POINTS IN SIX MINUTES!!! New Mexico would hit a three and he’d come right back with another.
No doubt you have to give it to Heath.