DeAndre Liggins, one of the new additions to La Familia’s summer TBT roster, hit one of the biggest shots in Kentucky‘s NCAA Tournament history. You remember. Kentucky led North Carolina by one point in the final minute of the 2011 Elite Eight when Liggins drilled a corner 3 to punch Kentucky’s ticket to the Final Four. The Wildcats were the No. 4 seed in the region and knocked off No. 1 Ohio State and then No. 2 North Carolina in New Jersey to snap Kentucky’s 13-year Final Four drought. Liggins’ 3 was the exclamation point on winning the region, a shot the Big Blue Nation won’t soon forget.
Fourteen years later, Liggins guest-starred on Kentucky Sports Radio to explain his decision to join the Kentucky alums in The Basketball Tournament. Liggins also reminisced with KSR about his time as a Wildcat, including that 2011 Elite Eight win over the Tar Heels.
Looking back on the memory, he reminded KSR that, before the corner 3, he blocked UNC star Kendall Marshall’s driving layup with a minute to go to protect the one-point lead. Then came the 3-pointer to extend the lead to four with 35 seconds left. He revealed to KSR that the play Kentucky tried to run had broken down, so he found the open corner as Darius Miller tried to take Harrison Barnes off the dribble.
“We were supposed to run the play ‘winner,’ but the play was broken,” Liggins revealed. “I spaced out and hit the corner 3 wide open. It was a great feeling.”
“I get chills through my body to this day.”
Liggins said he still gets emotional about the shot. “Every time I see that highlight, I get chills through my body to this day. So it was a great moment for the Kentucky fan base and for our team. It was a very underrated team that year because we didn’t have a lot of talent. We had a lot of guys who knew their role, a lot of upperclassmen with me and Darius Miller. That was a great year.”
Twany Beckham, now the general manager of the La Familia TBT team, was Liggins’ Kentucky teammate, but Beckham was unable to travel to the NCAA Tournament as he sat out the 2010-11 season. He recalled watching the Final Four run from home in a post after Liggins’ KSR interview on Thursday.
“I was back in Lex watching because I couldn’t travel with the team due to transfer rules,” Beckham added. “When my brother Dre hit this shot we went crazy. He’s a Dawg. Hyped he is running with us this summer!!”
For more from Liggins on joining La Familia or other moments from his playing career in Lexington, hear the full interview at the beginning of the second hour of today’s show. You can also watch Liggins’ heroics from the Elite Eight win in the highlight reel below. It may give you chills, too.
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