Anthony Brock Makes His Grandma Proud

Dashiell Bennett|published: 03/09/2009, 10:45am EDT

Alabama point guard Anthony Brock almost didn't play against Tennessee on Sunday, because on Saturday he was at his grandmother's funeral. Naturally, he had to be the hero and win it at the buzzer.

Brock drove from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Knoxville in the middle of the night to reach his team in time for the game, then drove down the court and threw up a 25-footer at the horn to crush Tennessee. A week earlier, two-days after finding out that his grandmother had died, Brock scored a career-high 17 to beat Mississippi, a win that snapped Alabama's 18-game road conference losing streak. I guess it's safe to say he was inspired.

It was also a particularly galling loss for the Volunteers. A win would have given them an outright division title and an important 20th victory and now they might find themselves sweating a little bit on Selection Sunday. They could tumble to a double-digit seed—or worse—if they don't get a least a win or two in the SEC tournament. (Maybe. I mean who even knows?) But they were part of a nice heartwarming story, so that probably makes them feel better.