The grainy YouTube video, shot 27 years ago, shows a skinny player in the thigh-high basketball shorts of that era throwing in a last-second jump shot, then disappearing under a celebratory team dog pile. The losing coach, with a full head of dark hair, is seen walking forlornly off the court.
The buzzer beater by Rolando Lamb of Virginia Commonwealth elbowed young Jim Calhoun and Northeastern out of the 1984 NCAA tournament. It was an instant that defines March Madness and makes "One Shining Moment," the highlight clip that rolls with the credits after the championship game on CBS, a must-see.
Imagine Calhoun's surprise when he was scouting an AAU tournament two summers ago in Augusta and fell head-over-heels for a teen with a familiar surname.
Upon meeting Rolando, father of guard Jeremy Lamb, Calhoun told his old tormentor, "You've given me nightmares."
Rather than hold history against him, the coach now at Connecticut, his thatch graying and thinner since Rolando's dagger, out-recruited other big basketball kahunas to sign Jeremy.
Calhoun has let bygones be bygones. The freshman Lamb, a backup until his senior year at Norcross High, has started all but one game for UConn, which is chilling out from an unprecedented run of five wins in as many days for the Big East tournament title and is a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs.
Oh, Calhoun rides roughshod on Lamb, once reducing his minutes over defensive lapses. But that hardly differs from how he treats other Huskies.
And when Calhoun tells him, "I still get mad at your dad," Lamb feels pretty sure he is kidding.
Before Lamb's breakout at the prestigious Peach Jam, an annual midsummer magnet for high schoolers and the college coaches who covet them, only two scholarships had been pitched, both from mid-majors.
After all, his exposure was limited until then. He had been home-schooled through the eighth grade and attended a small private school as a freshman.
His teacher throughout elementary school was mom, Angela, who would gather her kids -- ultimately, four of them -- around the kitchen table for the day's lessons. Jeremy remembers one rule: No shooting hoops in the driveway until assignments were completed.
Rolando Lamb proceeded to do some scouting himself. Relocating in Marietta in 1996 because he thought metro Atlanta was fertile ground to grow his sports ministry, he scoured much of the area five years ago for an ideal athletics/academics fit for his children. Norcross High scored highest and the Lambs moved into its school district.
Jeremy toiled on the JV team as a 10th grader, but was promoted to varsity for the finishing touches of the Blue Devils' third straight state title.
The following season, he came off the bench, a status easier to accept because of who started at his position -- big brother Zach. A senior then, Zach, who is bound for Manhattan College after two junior college seasons, assured Jeremy that his time soon would come.
Still, the Peach Jam showstopper came with little warning.
"I was nervous," Jeremy said. "People were telling me, ‘You do what you've got to do here and you'll be set.'"
Back in Atlanta, Rolando's cellphone began exploding after the first day with calls and text messages from coaches. By week's end, he says, 30 scholarship offers had poured in.
The proud papa rushed to Augusta to see what all the commotion was about.
"He literally dominated," Rolando said of his son. "That came out of nowhere. Everything just came together."
UConn, an early and dogged suitor, won out over Georgia and Georgia Tech, among others. Its distant location means that, for the past year, Rolando has had to deliver his spiritually based, sports-oriented motivational talks without his longtime trusty aide.
Jeremy says he was a willing companion at Dad's presentations-- "The only time I'd get mad is if he was preaching too long" -- and the constant reminders that include academics over athletics are embedded in him.
"Yes, I think he is getting it," said Rolando, whose zeal causes him to speak in axioms. (Sample: "The sports you play is what you do, not who you are.")
Jeremy played well enough to be included with five other Big East newcomers on its All-Rookie team, even if his shot, which includes a teardrop floater, began missing the mark late in the season. He attributes the slump to misplaced aggression.
"I've been up and down this season," he admits.
For some inspiration, Jeremy might want to check out a certain fuzzy snippet on YouTube featuring a player who bears a certain resemblance to him.
A list of former metro Atlanta high school players on non-Georgia teams in the NCAA tournament:
Name College Year Position High School
Shareif Adimu Alabama State Freshman Forward Stone Mountain
Kevin Anderson Richmond Senior Guard Peachtree Ridge
Trae Golden Tennessee Freshman Guard McEachern
Sam Goodman Morehead St. Senior Guard Central Gwinnett
Kenny Hall Tennessee Sophomore Forward Redan
Jamail Jones Marquette Freshman Forward Greenforest
Pierre Jordan Florida State Sophomore Guard Dunwoody
J.J. Mann Belmont Freshman Guard Marist
Jeff Middlebrooks Alabama State Junior Guard South Atlanta
Karl Moton UAB Sophomore Guard Chamblee High
Terrance Shannon Florida State Sophomore Forward Mary Persons
Chris Singleton Florida State Junior Forward Dunwoody
Tanner Smith Clemson Junior Guard Wesleyan
Cameron Tatum Tennessee Junior Guard Patterson
Wesley Witherspoon Memphis Junior Forward Berkmar
Ryan Watts Alabama State Freshman Guard Rockdale County
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