This weekend New York was well represented in the Final Four. Perhaps not by regular standards because there are no Stony Brook, Hofstra, St. John's or any local teams playing in the Final Four, but there certainly are key players across the teams making contributions.
Alabama has forward Mouhamed Dioubate from Queens and Mohamed Wague from the Bronx. UConn's Hassan Diara is also from Queens and while Jayden Ross is from Virginia originally, he also went to Long Island Lutheran. Then there is Michael O'Connell, North Carolina State's electric guard from Blair Academy in Mineola.
O'Connell has the closest ties to the island and also could be considered the most impactful of these New York area players. The Wolfpack came into the weekend as the talk of the tournament, and like most NCAA championships, getting to the Final Four lives in the history books no matter how you do in the final games. NC State is the biggest seed to make the Final Four this year but their improbable run was mere seconds away from not happening.
The Wolfpack were down by 3 with just 6 seconds left on the clock and Virginia grabbed a huge rebound after the Pack missed a late 3 pointer. Virginia was fouled and missed the free throw. That's when Michael O'Connell stepped in and with no time left on the clock hit one of the biggest 3 pointers in recent memory. That sent the game into OT where O'Connell led his team to a victory with a key steal, rebound, and a field goal.
New York has been well represented this season and in March Madness because of these outstanding athletes, none bigger than O'Connell who's name now will live forever in college basketball lore. Clutch O'Connell has a nice ring to it.