Indiana Hoosiers: Revisiting The ‘Wat Shot’

The Shot

“Short of the day of my marriage/birth of my children, it was one of the greatest experiences in my life.” – ChronicHoosier

“I’ve never been involved in a single basketball game like that where the anticipation was higher.” – Bikoff

The Indiana-Kentucky rivalry dates back to the 1924. Perhaps no game was more anticipated than the one on December 11, 2011.

“The build up was crazy,” ChronicHoosier recalled. “While several discounted their budding success on the relatively soft non-conference schedule they’d played up to that point, there was ample reason to believe IU had finally paid for its sins in blood, sweat & tears and was ready to return to the realm of competitive basketball again.”

Fans starting line-up for the game on Tuesday, four days before the game was to take place. While students were sent home until Saturday, by the time gameday rolled around, thousands of people lined up for the doors to open.

“The best atmosphere I’ve ever been involved in for Assembly Hall,” Bikoff said.

For a Hoosier squad that was considered an underdog against the talented Wildcats, IU came out swinging from the start. They hung with the Wildcats, who led for most of the first-half, despite sloppy play and poor shooting. When Oladipo crossed over his defender and buried an elbow-jumper to give Indiana it’s first lead with five minutes to go in the first half, the building exploded.

This wasn’t the Hoosier squad from previous year’s that allowed it’s opponents to hang around. Early in the second half, they capped off a big 10-0 run with a Sheehey three-pointer in transition to send Assembly Hall into pandemonium.

And, at the midway point of the second half, when Oladipo used a Zeller screen to get to the rim and dunk over Darius Miller? Assembly Hall reached it’s loudest volume yet.

But Kentucky was not going down without a fight. The Wildcats never let the lead grow beyond 10 points and continued to chip away. With barely over two minutes remaining, Miller got to the rim and finished, giving Kentucky a 69-68 lead. Watford put the Hoosiers back on top with a spin-move and lay-in with just over a minute to go in the contest. Kentucky would get another basket, then force a turnover and get sent to the line nursing a 71-70 lead with 5.6 seconds left.

Doron Lamb, an 89% free throw shooter to date on the season, gave the Hoosiers one last chance by missing the first free throw before sinking the second, making it a 72-70 Wildcats lead.

“I thought ‘Ok, they’re going to foul them here’,” Bikoff said. The Wildcats still had a foul to give. “There’s no way they’re going to let them win this here. And Kentucky didn’t [foul] because, quite honestly, they weren’t as disciplined a team as Indiana was at the time.”

“Once the ball was inbounded, time slowed down,” ChronicHoosier said. “Cody’s pick, Verdell’s penetration and pass, Christian’s release & the ball’s subsequent flight, all seemed to happen in slow-motion.”

“That last play is such great display of team basketball,” Bikoff said, “They had Cody set a solid screen for Verdell. Verdell, when he was young, he would have dribbled to the basket and tried to score that himself. But he had matured and his decision-making had improved, so when Wat called for it, he got the ball back and it goes in the air.

If there’s ever a time for a floor rush, that was it. Considering all that Indiana had been through, the way they won the game, the buzz leading up to it. It was a celebration as deserved as any college program has seen over the last 50 years.

“It’s a strange phenomenon. When that last shot goes in the air, everything gets quiet and you can almost hear a collective gasp.”

“Once the net splashed, however, reality came crashing back in thunderous exaltation,” ChronicHoosier said. “The entire gym seemingly threw their fists up, jumped up & down, and slapped 5’s with everyone in their section. At one point, I legitimately questioned whether the old Hall was structurally sound enough to withstand the celebration. The concrete underfoot was bouncing, literally.”

“The shot went down and the place explodes,” Bikoff said. “Immediately, the fans in front of me just emptied onto the floor. The crowd reaction was generally one of joy. If there’s ever a time for a floor rush, that was it. Considering all that Indiana had been through, the way they won the game, the buzz leading up to it. It was a celebration as deserved as any college program has seen over the last 50 years.”

“After a couple days had passed, there came the recognition that not only was this an upset for the ages, but that it also marked the point when IU could once again play at a level where it could beat anybody on any given night,” ChronicHoosier said. “That good basketball was back in B-town for good, to me, was such a wonderful feeling after where we’d been.”