We're using "pass" here instead of "assist" because D'Angelo Russell's teammate had to go ahead and blow the layup, but don't let that deter you from appreciating it. Russell and Sam Thompson teamed up for a nice little play, with Thompson feeding Russell the ball and curling around a screen to make a run at the rim. Russell put some crazy spin on the ball so it wouldn't just bounce harmlessly out of bounds, and instead it almost deadened the ball off the bounce and went right to Thompson.
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The pass was so good it may have actually crossed Thompson up, throwing off his rhythm just enough to slow his progress to the rim and allow the Iowa defender to close in on him. And, really, who cares? Pretty passes can be appreciated just as much as a dunk or a crossover.(But seriously, man, you couldn't have hit that?)h/t Troy Machir[ESPN]