Yahoo Sports Why MSU's Kenny Goins was getting yelled at by Tom Izzo right before hitting clutch late winner
WASHINGTON – Michigan State senior Kenny Goins smiled at the idea of his game-winning shot being enshrined in this season’s version of “One Shining Moment,” the annual highlight montage played on CBS at the end of every NCAA tournament. “I love it,” he said. “I’m going to be looking for it in the video.”
While he emerged as one of the improbable heroes of No. 2 Michigan State’s 68-67 victory over No. 1 Duke, Goins also revealed a moment in the huddle late in the second half when things weren’t looking so, well, shining.
After a pair of late defensive lapses, Goins returned to the sideline during a timeout and got an earful from the Michigan State assistant coaches and Tom Izzo.
“They’re getting on me,” he said with a laugh in the locker room. “I’ll tell you guys straight, I was like, ‘Look, I [expletive] up. But we still have a game to win.’ As soon as I said that, [Izzo] kind of shut up. No offense to him. Shut up and we moved on. There’s nothing you can do to change the past.”
Instead, Goins went on to change Michigan State’s fate and propel the Spartans to the Final Four. Coming out of the timeout, Goins swished a 3-pointer over Zion Williamson from the left side of the key to give Michigan State its final points, turning a one-point deficit into a two-point lead. (R.J. Barrett missed a free throw and then botched his attempt to miss, which prevented Duke from tying the game.)
Goins hitting the 3-point shot over Zion was fitting, as Williamson had blocked one of his 3-pointers early in the game, leaping from about 7 feet away to block the shot. It was perhaps the most amazing show of athleticism on the night. Goins was 1-for-7 from 3-point range before hitting the game-winner, and he said his fortitude was a testament to experience.
“I wasn’t nervous,” he said. “I was ready to take the shot. It’s what you dream of.”
MSU star Cassius Winston set the screen that freed up Goins. He complimented the fifth-year senior responding to Izzo and overcoming earlier mistakes, a by-product of veteran experience.
“We do a good job of responding, you know what I'm saying?” Winston said. “[Izzo] got after Kenny a lot this game, [telling] him, ‘When are you going to hit a shot? When are you going to hit a shot?’ Kenny said, ‘I'm going to hit the next one ...’ And that's what he did.”
Goins was affable and self-deprecating at his locker after the game. He got dunked on by Williamson in the first half and joked about it, saying he had a plan on how to respond entering the game.
“As long as you get the ball out quick and go to the other end,” he said with a laugh. “If it’s not like a wind up of him coming from half-court, no one is going to remember it.”
Instead, Goins ended up hitting a shot that will be replayed for years. And after getting screamed at in the huddle, he enjoyed reveling in his moment.
“You come to play college basketball and you want to leave your legacy,” Goins said. “I think this whole team has made a hell of a run this year and done it. That’s what you dream of as a kid, hitting that shot. The fact I ever got an opportunity to was amazing to me.”
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