ANAHEIM - Stanford coaches and players praised little-used back-up center Tyler Daniels for the job he did holding back his teammates on the bench after Brook Lopez's jumper with 1.3 left in overtime to give the Cardinal an 82-81 win over Marquette in the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
"In the time out before the last play, our No. 1 concern wasn't drawing up a play - it was making sure that someone kept our bench players off the court when we made it," said Stanford assistant coach Doug Oliver. "Tyler's been waiting all season for just this moment, and he made the most of it."
Several of Daniels' teammates, lost in euphoria of Lopez's shot, jumped out of their seats at the end of the bench in a way that looked like they might storm the court in spite of the game not technically being over. Daniels, however, was ready, having extended his arms to full reach before the shot even went up in anticipation of such a situation.
"I spend an hour each day after practice working on my technique - spreading my arms out really wide, blocking any access to the floor by overexcited teammates," Daniels said after the game. "You put in all that hard work for an opportunity like this. It feels great to know that after four seasons and 15 total minutes, I could contribute something when the game was on the line."
Lopez, for his part, said it was "a highlight of his career" at Stanford to be able to make the shot and help set up Daniels' heroics.
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