Michigan traveled before buzzer-beater but no one cares anymore

Published Mar. 11, 2016 2:37 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Look, Kameron Chatman's (near) buzzer beater to beat Indiana on Friday in the Big Ten tournament, a shot that saved Michigan's flickering NCAA tournament hopes and served as a great prelude to the Madness that begins next week, was awesome. Chatman scored 69 points all season and came off the bench to play a few minutes during which, oh, he only drained a shot that knocked off Indiana and possibly put his Wolverines into the Big Dance. If the situation had been reversed, they'd be calling a "Buddy from 'Hoosiers'" moment. 

But, come on. Let's get real. Dude traveled.

Look, I'm not saying Indiana got jobbed. I'm not saying they should replay the game with Indiana getting the ball with 2.4 seconds left. I'm not saying I care in the least bit. That's because traveling as we knew it as children (assuming you've over 20 years old) is dead and gone. Usain Bolt takes fewer strides to win the 100-meter gold medal than Russell Westbrook sometimes takes before a layup. Spot shooters look like they're doing some new Fetty Wap move before shooting. It's ridiculous. Traveling is like holding in the NFL: It happens on every play and only occasionally will officials care about it.

Watch as Chatman catches the pass, moves his right foot, slides his left foot and then shuffles both before draining his shot. (Michigan fans who are angry with me, let me state that as I was watching the replay, I got a text from one of the biggest Michigan fans in the world celebrating the victory with a string of mashed buttons and unprintable words and that ended with, "he traveled, obvi.")

And good for him, but bad for the long-accepted rules of basketball. Now, you'll have to pardon me, I'm going to go outside and instead of telling kids to get off my lawn, I'm going to lecture them about how college basketball was better in the days of no shot clock, no 3-pointers and the Four Corners.

share