They’re Still Talking About the Call Against the Hall

SEATTLE —  On the morning after Michigan won the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball championship, Steve Fisher’s job status and Glen Rice’s records-breaking performance were overshadowed by The Call Against The Hall.

It was, in retrospect, the most lasting memory from Michigan’s thrill-a-minute, 80-79 overtime victory over Seton Hall Monday night at the Kingdome. Forget Rumeal Robinson’s baseline two-handed reverse dunk or the second-half duel between Rice (31 points) and Pirates guard John Morton (35).

In the end, it all came down to lead official John Clougherty’s call with three seconds remaining in overtime. Seton Hall point guard Gerald Greene was called for bumping Robinson, as the Michigan point guard appeared to be passing off as he drove in the lane. The Pirates were leading, 79-78.

“Honestly, I thought it was kind of weak to make that call at that time,” said Robinson, who after a Seton Hall timeout made both ends of the one-and-one.

“That’s where I think referees take over the game,” Robinson said. “I honestly feel if I was the referee, I probably wouldn’t have called that. I would have let the play go on because there’s only three seconds left. When you have so much riding on the game, why call that?”

Said Greene, “It was one of those calls that could have gone either way. The ref made the call on me, so it was the right call. I didn’t spend much time thinking about it. There were three seconds remaining and a lot of things could have happened.”

What happened was that Seton Hall forward Daryll Walker took a long inbounds pass from center Ramon Ramos, wrestled the ball away from Greene, turned and fired from 24 feet away. The ball ricocheted high off the backboard and into the hands of Rice.

Michigan (30-7) had its first NCAA basketball championship. But Seton Hall (31-7), which had trailed by 12 points five minutes into the second half and had led, 79-76, following a three-point shot by Morton with 2:50 left in overtime, had won more respect than any losing team in recent Final Four memory.

“We knew they were going to come back, because they did against Duke,” said Michigan center Terry Mills, alluding to the Pirates’ early 18-point deficit that turned into a 17-point victory. “They have showed a lot of character and class.”

So did P.J. Carlesimo. Unlike many coaches, who might have ranted about how the call cost his team the national championship, the Seton Hall coach displayed the same cool and class afterward that he had shown during the game. He blamed his team’s defeat on its inability to hit some key free throws and makable shots down the stretch.

“We had our opportunities,” said Carlesimo, whose team could have wrapped things up earlier, when Greene missed a crucial one-and-one with 1:13 left in overtime, and later, when two shots by Morton fell short. “They made the shots at the end and we didn’t.”

As for the officiating, Carlesimo said, “I’m not trying to be smart, but I thought it was a well-officiated game. John Clougherty is one of the best, if not the best, officials in the country. We couldn’t have asked for anyone else we’d rather have make the call when the game is on the line than John Clougherty.”

Of the call, one veteran official with extensive NCAA tournament experience said, “First of all, no matter what anybody thinks, it’s in the eye of the beholder, and in this case, the official is the eye of the beholder. When that call was made, it looked as if Robinson was going to the basket and the bump caused him to pass off.

“You could argue from now until doomsday. You get 10 people, and five will say it was a good call and five will say it wasn’t. For a good official, it’s not a tough call. You want to be consistent for 40 minutes. If you make that call in the opening seconds, you make it in the closing seconds.”