Jim Souhan: Ill-timed timeout an error showing coach and player out of sync

Al Nolen grabbed the rebound and flipped the ball to Lawrence Westbrook. Westbrook dribbled upcourt on the last possession of the game, the possession that could determine whether the Gophers will play in the NCAA tournament.

Westbrook weaved amid teammates and retreating Wolverines and found an opening near the Gophers bench. In rapid succession, Minnesota coach Tubby Smith called a timeout, and Westbrook pulled up and shot a long three-pointer.

The whistle blew. The ball snapped through the net. Westbrook put his head down and stalked away from the bench. Smith walked the other way, looking glum. There were 4.1 seconds remaining, and the Gophers still trailed by three.

During the timeout, Smith drew up a play to free Westbrook for a three-point shot. Michigan, with time to prepare and knowing the Gophers needed a three, surrounded Westbrook, who unleashed a desperate shot that missed everything.

Westbrook put his head down, and after the teams exchanged handshakes, Westbrook and Smith were the only two members of the team who didn't clap along with "The Rouser." Each looked lost in his own world.

The final sequence was not the primary reason the Gophers lost to Michigan 67-64 on Saturday at Williams Arena, in the last game of the regular season. Minnesota committed 18 turnovers, many of them for no good reason, and blew a 12-point lead in what may prove to have been a must-win game at home.

The final sequence did provide the most dramatic moment of the day, though, and highlighted a mistake too many coaches -- even big-time, national-championship-winning coaches like Smith -- make all too often.

Also, Westbrook shot the ball with about four seconds remaining, which would have given his teammates a chance, if he missed, to get an offensive rebound and perhaps a second three-point attempt. Shooting off an inbounds play lessened the chances of that happening.

"I usually call one," Smith said of timeouts in such late-game situations. "There were a few seconds left ... to make sure we got a good look at the basket, and we had two timeouts left.

"At that point in time, you needed a three. A two is something a little different. He hit a jump shot from way out there. I don't know the chance of that happening. That's neither here nor there. We lost the game. I decided to call a timeout. That's what I usually do."

Maybe Westbrook took, or made, the shot because he heard Smith calling a timeout, but that's not what he said after the game. "I hit a three and coach called a timeout, and it didn't count," he said. "I thought he was going to let me go because there was only six seconds left. ...

"It's kind of like in football, you kick a field goal, and they call a timeout. I thought I tied the game, and then we're walking to the bench. I was surprised."

"Coaches second-guess ourselves all the time, anyhow."

Sometimes for good reason.