Dusty Vandenberg: The shot heard around Houston

Jamal Shead. He’s the point guard for the No. 1 team in the country. He’s the player whose mom you can pretty much always find in the front row cheering him on. He’s known as the distributor. The man who always gets his teammates the ball. After the game, he was asked what was going through his head before the shot that won the game; he said:

“I was looking for Marcus, I was looking for Tramon, J’wan set a good screen for me, I was looking for Jarace, nobody was really open, so I shot it.”

Shoot it he did, sinking the biggest basket of the season “so far” for the Houston Cougars in a two-point win over Memphis. As the clock hit zero and the buzzer sounded he was mobbed by his teammates at half court as legendary CBS Announcer Jim Nantz proclaimed, “HE GOT IT THE COUGARS WIN IT NUMBER ONE REMAINS NUMBER ONE !”

Shead hit that shot because he is prepared for that moment. Last year when Sasser and Mark were injured, Jamal became a guy the Coogs could count on to deliver a clutch shot. Jamal is the kind of player Kelvin Sampson dreams of. A relentless defender and an unselfish distributor, but when called upon, the man who can deliver the knockout blow to a rival who for many years had the Cougars All Shook Up, to quote Memphis’ most famous resident. Memphis HAD BEEN 16-1 versus Houston at home dating all the way back to before the FedEx Forum, all the way to the days at the Memphis Pyramid. But this is a new day and a new age. Jamal Shead hit a shot that Coogs fans will remember forever, and I have a feeling he has many more of those to come. One thing is for sure Jamal Shead sent the Tiger fans home feeling Moody Blue.