Oct
8
Remembering a Crazy 30 Seconds in the 1998 Elite Eight & Three Minutes of an NBA Career
Before donning his terrible dancing skills in front of thousands of Lakers fans following another Los Angeles NBA championship earlier this decade, Mark Madsen shaked and baked on the large stage of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
As a junior on the Stanford Cardinal, Madsen participated in one of the wilder finishes in Elite Eight history during a game against the upstart Rhode Island Rams, coached by former UCLA Head Coach Jim Harrick.
After upsetting a number-one seed Kansas team featuring Paul Pierce and Raef Lafraentz in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament and then knocking out Bryce Drew and Valparaiso in the Sweet Sixteen, eighth-seed Rhode Island and its superb backcourt of Tyson Wheeler, who is 32 years old today, and Cuttino Mobley were on the verge of the Final Four.
With a trip to San Antonio on the line, Rhode Island led Stanford 74-70 with 33 seconds remaining before the Cardinal went absolutely crazy. Cardinal point guard and Midwest Regional MVP Arthur Lee would drive for a layup, score and get fouled. After hitting the free throw, Lee would steal the ball from Mobley and feed Madsen, who would slam the ball and get fouled, prompting the Mad Dog to do a little shimmy. With both arms raised in the air, Madsen would swing his hips left and right in celebration of the stunning chance in momentum.
Madsen would hit the free throw to give Stanford the 76-74 lead, and Rhode Island would completely fall apart. Stanford would get three more free throws to extend the lead to five, and Rhode Island would hit a three at the buzzer. Stanford would lose the next weekend in overtime to eventual champion Kentucky in the Final Four.
As for Wheeler, a diminutive yet crafty southpaw point guard, he would get drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the sixteenth pick (47th overall) in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft, six picks after his backcourt mate Mobley was nabbed by the Houston Rockets in what was certainly a draft day steal.
In the strike-shortened 1998-1999 NBA season, Wheeler would get in one game with the Denver Nuggets, scoring four points in three minutes. Wheeler would never appear in another game in the NBA and begin a steady career overseas. Wheeler played for Benfica in Portugal during the 2006-2007 season.
As for Mobley, he has notched 24,549 minutes in his nine-year NBA career, which has included time with the Rockets, Sacramento Kings and his current team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
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