His career as a standout pitcher is often cited as one of the keys to Scott Burrell’s famous full-court, inbounds pass to Tate George in the 1990 Sweet 16, but don’t discount his days as a football standout at Hamden High, either.

Burrell, after all, had to hit George on an out pattern.

“I had to get Tate on his outside,” Burrell recalled. “I knew what I had to do. We didn’t really work on that play. With one second left, you usually don’t have many plays. I couldn’t let (Clemson’s) Elden Campbell tip the ball, because the game’s over. Tate had Sean Tyson on his back, so I had to throw it to the corner where Tate could catch it.”

The rest, of course, is history: George caught Burrell’s heave, spun around and swished a 15-footer at the buzzer, sending UConn to the East Regional finals and the program on a course of success that hasn’t stopped yet.

Read Chip Malafronte's complete story.