Throwdowns > Closed

williewilliejuan said 01/05, 12:22 AM
"Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital"

The quote above from Daniel Webster epitomizes why Sampson's 1982 loss to Chaminade was the bigger failure. Virginia was by far the better team. They took Chaminade lightly and it resulted in the biggest upset in the history of college basketball.

Virginia was 8-0 and had beaten a G'town team featuring Ewing and a Houston team featuring Olajuwon. Chaminade was a NAIA school with about 800 students who had lost to Wayland Baptist in its most recent game.

There was no way that Sampson and the Cavaliers should have lost that day. And yet, they did. Sampson was 7'4" and was a 3 time national player of the year. And yet, he only scored 12 points against the Silverswords and got dunked on by a 5'10" guy named Tim Dunham in one of the game's signature moments.

While Ewing's Hoyas should have won the championship game against 'Nova, at least they lost to a team that had gotten hot at the right time and had earned a spot in the championship. Sampson's Cavaliers can make no such claim. This was David knocking out Goliath and stealing his lunch money. It just shouldn't happen.

Sampson's failure was bigger.

williewilliejuan said 01/06, 12:35 AM
The fact that Ewing's Hoyas lost to 'Nova in the Nat'l Championship game makes their loss more visible; it does not make it a larger failure. Whether they were expected to be there or not, 'Nova still qualified for the Tourney and won their way into the Finals.

I realize that G'town was the prohibitive favorite and must have felt that 'Nova wasn't in their league coming into that game. It is downright embarrassing when your team loses to an underdog who you don't feel is in your league. You want to know what's even more embarrassing?

Losing to a team that literally isn't in your league

Sampson's Cavaliers didn't lose to a decent NCAA team that played above their skill level to win a Championship. They lost to an NAIA team, and not a particularly good one at that. Chaminade was 5-9 coming into their game with VA.

Ewing did get outplayed by Pinckney, but it's not like he was a slouch. He went on to play 12 seasons in the NBA after leaving 'Nova. Sampson was outplayed by Tony Randolph, who was 9 inches shorter, 80 lbs lighter and has had a career as a youth counselor since college.

It's worse to get outplayed by a youth counselor than an NBA player.

williewilliejuan said 01/07, 10:46 AM
Your args are focused primarily on which of these games was the bigger upset and which game meant more. However, this TD isn't about upsets and it isn't about which game was on a larger stage. It's about failure. It is how these teams played in their respective losses that set these games apart.

Ewing's Hoyas didn't really fail in the '85 Championship. They ran into a buzzsaw. 'Nova converted an unheard-of 78.6% of their shots in the game and only missed one shot in the entire 2nd half. This shooting % still ranks as the best in NCAA Championship history.

Despite 'Nova's blistering shooting efficiency, the Hoyas still only lost by 2 points, based in large part on their own excellent 55% shooting in the game. They also only committed 11 turnovers while causing 'Nova to commit 17.

Sampson's Cavaliers were nowhere near as efficient or effective. They shot only 39% from the floor and committed 25 turnovers in the game. Despite getting many open looks, they just couldn't put the ball in the basket.

Sampson's Cavaliers failed miserably against an inferior team, which allowed Chaminade to win the game. Ewing's Hoyas just got beat by a 'Nova team that had a game for the ages.