‘I knew it was a bucket.’ Haynes-Jones demanded ball in timeout, then delivered game-winner for WSU
“I want it.”
Samajae Haynes-Jones did not mince words in Wichita State’s huddle during a timeout with 6.4 seconds remaining against Connecticut and the score tied at Koch Arena on Thursday.
With the game on the line, the senior from Wichita demanded the ball and WSU coach Gregg Marshall was happy to oblige. Haynes-Jones traveled the length of the floor up the right side, lofted a 12-footer high up into the air with his left hand as his momentum carried him away from the basket and watched as it floated into the basket for his second game-winner at Koch Arena in less than a month.
Wichita State 65, Connecticut 63. Final.
“I knew it was a bucket,” Haynes-Jones said. “It wasn’t no question, I promise.”
Haynes-Jones is getting pretty good at this game-winning stuff. On Jan. 30, he hand-delivered another crucial win for the Shockers, dicing up SMU’s defense for an improbable, up-and-under layup for the game-winner in an 85-83 win at Koch Arena.
Both wins are vital to WSU’s quest for the No. 6 seed at the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. They were must-wins for the Shockers (14-13), who are now tied with South Florida in sixth place at 7-8 in AAC play, and now set up a crucial swing game this Sunday with a road game at SMU.
“Back in the day, it was ‘Big Shot Bob’ with Robert Horry from the LA Lakers,” Marshall said. “We’re going to start calling him ‘Big Shot Samaj.’”
The play call was identical to the one WSU used against SMU with the only difference WSU had less time on the clock (6.4 seconds) and had the length of the floor to go. But the premise was still the same: give Haynes-Jones the ball, clear out the right side and give him the option to use a screen from WSU senior Markis McDuffie.
This time the screen with McDuffie wasn’t needed because Haynes-Jones had already built up enough speed to blow by his defender, who opted not to pick him up until the halfcourt line. It initially looked like Haynes-Jones was too lax with his first four dribbles up the court considering the time remaining, but he was using those casual dribbles to lull UConn’s Christian Vital.
The scouting report on Haynes-Jones, a dominant left-handed player, is to force him to use his right hand. Vital was sitting on Haynes-Jones’ left hand, inviting him to go to the right.
That’s exactly what Haynes-Jones did, as he bursted past Vital with a single explosive right-hand dribble. Even the three power dribbles that led to the shot were all made by the right hand of Haynes-Jones. In 2 seconds, Haynes-Jones went past a defender from halfcourt to the right baseline for his shot.
“He was dribbling the whole way with his off-hand,” McDuffie said. “That just shows how he can make plays with both hands. That was impressive.”
It’s extremely rare for a player to dribble the length of the floor and fire off an uncontested jumper, but that’s exactly what Haynes-Jones accomplished. After beating Vital down the right sideline, Haynes-Jones created separation that when he rose up to shoot, Vital was still on the floor.
When it was time to shoot, Haynes-Jones planted off one foot, his right, and raised his left leg up in the air for balance. Because his momentum was carrying him so hard the other way, past the backboard, Haynes-Jones had to calculate for this by aiming more than a foot to the left of the rim so the shot would ultimately line up on target when it arrived at the basket.
Also helping matters was the touch Haynes-Jones put on it. The ball floated in the air from his left hand with just the right arc so that when it hit the rim first, it was soft enough to rattle home as the buzzer sounded.
“It’s a tough shot, but you know he’s going to get a shot in that situation with a full head of steam,” Marshall said. “It was so pure and so good.
“When the ball left his hand, I knew it was good. I had a great view of it. Just beautiful arc.”
It was objectively a difficult shot, but to Haynes-Jones it’s a shot he’s shot hundreds, if not thousands of times. So while the degree of difficulty may have seemed extreme to some, for Haynes-Jones it was one that he was comfortable with.
“I’ve shot it a lot through my life,” Haynes-Jones said. “I just had to relax and knock it down.”
“It’s tough, but Samajae does that all the time,” McDuffie added. “When you see a guy who makes those type of shots, you have no doubt he can make that shot. He was confident. For him to go at that speed and get up a shot, it shows you the confidence in his game and no hesitation.”
His teammates stormed the court and dog piled him on a couch set up on the right baseline. Through the madness, Haynes-Jones could be heard screaming, “That’s what I do!”
It’s one thing to hit a game-winner. It’s another to step up and demand the shot, then hit the game-winner. On Thursday, Haynes-Jones felt the difference.
“I said I wanted to do it and I did it,” Haynes-Jones said, smiling. “It just felt good to get a win. My team, we all work so hard, it just feels great to get this win.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 11:14 PM.
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