The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 04, 2005, Page 13, Image 13
Tarheels, Illini should be classic battle
■ Illinois’ guard play,
UNC’s sheer talent make
championship intriguing
The No. 1 Illinois Fighting Illini take
on the No. 2 North Carolina Tarheels
tonight, in the NCAA national
championship game, at 9:21 p.m. on
CBS.
The first thing that comes to mind
with this
matchup of
college basketball
heavyweights is
the fact that the
game is starting
at 9:21 p.m.
What idiot at
CBS decided
that this game
TODD would start so
PRFFN late, and why
uncc.n 921 p m, my
GRADUATE not 9 p.m.? It
STUDENT IN may be a little
SPORTS AND , . i u
ENTERTAINMENT later’ but 1 could
MANAGEMENT even stomach
9:30 p.m., over
9:21 p.m., just because it sounds better.
1 guess it doesn’t really matter to me
all that much, because from 9 to 10
p.m., I’m going to be watching “24” on
FOX. Jack Bauer and his crew at CTU
have a tough task ahead of them. That
evil bastard Marwan is up to something
diabolical, and I don’t know how they’re
going to get out of this one.
But, back to basketball, tonight is the
culmination of the NCAA Basketball
Tournament. From 65 teams to two,
and many broken brackets in between
(really, who could have seen Bucknell
beating Kansas?).
Illinois’ strength is in its guard play.
They have three tremendous players in
Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron
Williams. Against Louisville, the 3
pointers rained in from all over the
court. These guys can get back on
defense, drive to the basket and bring
down tough rebounds. In short, they can
do it all.
Another criticism of Illinois has been
that they lack any talented “big men."
Roger Powell, the 6-foot-6 senior
forward, sparked the Illinois victory
against Louisville by scoring 20 points, 1
off his season high, and he also brought
down five rebounds.
Illinois has been consistently
spectacular all year long. They play great
team basketball, and they will need to
put together an extraordinary
performance tonight if they are to take
the title against a talented UNC squad.
I will now admit to being completely
biased. I hate UNC. I grew up in North
Carolina, and the sight of those baby
blue-clad fans nauseated me. One of the
reasons why I love the state of South
Carolina so much is because it is the only
state in the entire country where a person
says “Carolina” and everybody assumes
you are referring to the Gamecocks. I
despise the fact that even today, it has
been driven into me so deeply, that when
I hear the word “Carolina", I naturally
think of UNC. Intensive therapy has
helped me make great strides toward
correcting this problem.
As much as it pains me to say it,
UNC has one of the most talent-rich
basketball teams that I can remember
seeing. These guys are good, and the
majority of them will be playing in the
NBA in the months and years to come.
Forward Jawad Williams could not
miss against Michigan State in the Final
Four showdown, scoring 20 points as the
Tarheels went on a rampage in the
second half to break the game open.
Williams was helped out by center Sean
May, a terrifying presence in the paint,
who put up 22 points of his own, 18 of
them in the second half.
The Tarheels defeated Michigan
State through the play of their inside
game, but guard play is one of the
factors that have made UNC so good
throughout the year. Raymond Felton,
point guard, is the leader of this team.
Felton struggled in the first half against
Michigan State, and this is partly why
the Spartans were able to lead at the
halftime break, but he played strong in
the end, finishing with 16 points.
Guard Rashad McCants, a great
defensive player, finished with 17
points.
The championship game will be
decided through individual matchups
and style of play. North Carolina leads
the nation in scoring, so a high scoring
game would favor the Tarheels. May and
Jawad Williams’ inside presence will play
a major role in determining whether the
critics were right about Illinois’ weakness
in the paint. Look for freshman forward
standout Marvin Williams to play a
critical role in this game.
Illinois rained down 3-pointers
against Louisville. To win they will have
to get hot from beyond the arc once
again. If their shooters go cold, UNC
might blow them out. It should be a real
treat to see Illinois’ star guards take on
their UNC counterparts. We could be in
store for a real basketball clinic.
This is UNC’s quandary: They have
an entire team of individual superstars,
basketball players that seem to fly
through the air, dunk the ball with the
force of a sledgehammer and defy all
aspects of the physical limitations of
gravity. Illinois has several very good
players, but they play great team
basketball. On any given day, a great
team can defeat a squad full of superstars.
I see two possibilities: UNC either
manhandles Illinois, or the Fighting
Illini keep it close and finish off their
dream season with a national
championship.
f » ■ 1_i
ERIC GAY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Carolina’s Sean May puts up a shot over Michigan State’s
Delco Rowley in the second half of their semifinal game.
■ SEASON
Continued from page 12
ran the floor hard and shot the
deep ball well, holding Carolina at
bay for much of the game.
Carolina made one final charge,
and a full-court sprint to the basket
by senior Josh Gonner for the
game-winning layup kept USC
alive in the postseason.
Things got a bit easier in the
next round, as UNLV’s luck ran
dry. The round, as UNLV’s luck
ran dry. The Running Rebels lived
by the 3 and ultimately died by it
against the Gamecocks, as the
Rebel attack was nothing short of
unbalanced. UNLV had only four
players score more than 8 points, as
USC handily beat the Rebels 77
66, moving one game closer to
Madison Square Garden.
The opponent standing in
Carolina’s way was a young-but
talented Georgetown team that
became another opponent versed
in the art of 3-point shooting.
The Hoyas seemed to have
Carolina’s number early, as they
led early and often. But a
Gamecock rally was hard-fought,
and the team iced the game from
the free-throw line. The Hoyas
missed two 3-pointers to tie late,
and the Gamecocks escaped with
a 69-66 win and a plane ticket to
New York City.
The Gamecocks’ opponent for
the semifinal game was ACC
powerhouse Maryland. But you
would not have known Maryland
was a former bubble team by the
way they played, as Carolina
picked the Terps’ pockets for
turnovers that turned to points.
USC ran away with the game 76
67, setting the stage for another
shot at the NIT title.
The title tilt featured the
Gamecocks and the St. Joseph’s
Hawks. The Hawks were yet
another team that felt they had
been snubbed by the NCAA
Tournament, as they had another
20-win season but were left out of
the big dance. The game was a
back-and-forth affair, but
Carolina managed to have the
lead late. Up 56-54 with 20
seconds left, Rocky Trice went 1
for-2 at the free-throw line, and
Pat Carroll made USC pay,
hitting a 3 to tie the game at 57.
That’s when one of the biggest
moments in USC history
occurred.
THE MOMENT
Tied at 57, with 7.5 second
left, USC coach Dave Odom bit
his tongue and allowed play to
continue without calling a time
out. Junior Tarence Kinsey
brought the ball into front court,
dribbling to the right side of the
key. Kinsey proceeded to pull up
with a 3-pointer that hit bottom
of the net, as only .09 of a second
was left on the clock, giving
Carolina a win for the NIT title.
THE MVP
In his final season as a
Gamecock, Carlos Powell was the
emotional and physical leader of
the Carolina squad. Powell moved
into USC’s No. 6 all-time leading
scorer spot and was named to the
Third Team AI1-SEC. Powell’s
emotions were none more
apparent than after the win for the
NIT Championship, as he
clutched the game ball and refuse
to let it go. Powell was named the
tournament MVP for his hard
work throughout the Gamecocks’
run.
USC finished the season with a
record of 20-13, notching their
third 20-win season in the last four
years.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gii~m.sc. etlu
—e-—-a-i—ml—
■ NEXT SEASON
Continued from page 12
%
summer. USC trainers put Wallace
on a 3,000-calorie-a-day diet and a
rigorous weight-training regimen
last summer to little results.
Averaging only 22 minutes of
playing time, Wallace was often
cited by Odom as not having the
stamina to participate more
because of his slight frame.
USC coaches look to see more
consistency from Tisby next
season. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound
junior college transfer from Allen
County Community College
became a key contributor after
struggling early on in the season.
With more minutes and more
experience, Tisby could become
the answer in filling the void left
by Rolando Howell in 2004.
Odom has relied heavily on
junior college players in the past.
This season will be no exception.
Of the three players signed by
Odom during the early signing
period in January, two were junior
college players.
Allasane Savadogo from Gulf
Coast Community College and
Bryce Sheldon from Fullerton
College will both have two years of
eligibility remaining beginning
next season.
Savadago, a 6-foot-8, 250
pound forward, averaged 8 points
and eight rebounds last season.
The Burkina Faso, Africa, native
chose USC over Auburn, Ohio
State and Pittsburgh and will give
the Gamecocks added depth in the
post.
Shelden, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound
swingman, averaged 14 points a
game his freshman year at
Fullerton after averaging 23.6 his
senior year at Loara High School
in California. Shelden will
compete with Rocky Trice for a
starting guard spot.
The lone high-school signee
from the early period is forward
Dominique Archie from Augusta,
Ga. Archie’s impressive stat line at
T.W. Josey High School included
18.5 points per game, 11
rebounds, four assists and 5.5
blocks.
Trice, a junior college transfer
from last season, broke through
into a starting guard spot he will
likely keep going into next season.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound
Swainsboro, Ga., native averaged
just 6 points a game but shot more
than 50 percent from the field.
Sophomore Tre’ Kelley showed
that flashes of brilliance last season
were no fluke. The point guard’s
consistency in running the offense
proved him to be an adequate
replacement for graduated senior
Michael Boynton. Freshman point
guard Stephen McDowell will
likely come off the bench again
next season.
Junior Tarence Kinsey will look
to replace Powell as a scoring
machine for the Gamecocks. The
forward’s clutch shooting ability
will make him a primary target in
2005-06.
Odom will attempt to continue
his tradition of winning with
whatever talent is available in
2005-06. The 2004 SEC Coach of
the Year has led the Gamecocks to
20-win seasons in three of the four
years he has been USC coach.
USC reached the NIT finals in
Odom’s first season. In 2003, the
Gamecocks earned an NCAA
Tournament bid with 23 wins,
and this season, Odom’s squad
finished 20-13 while winning the
NIT championship.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockspoits@gwm.sc. edu
■ COACH
Continued from page 12
place Eastern division team before
the recent setbacks, a history that
Somera views as telltale signs of a
strong program.
“There definitely was an
attraction here at South Carolina
with an opportunity to win more,”
Somera said. “With the talent that
we have on our team, there’s no
reason that we can’t be up there
challenging for an SEC
championship. I think South
Carolina, the university, Columbia
... this whole package is very
attractive to an athlete, to a
prospect trying to figure out where
they want to go play. I don’t think
there’s any reason why we can’t
attract top talent at this university.”
With a strong background in
West Coast volleyball, Somera said
she hopes that she and her staff,
including holdover Jason Hou
from Hudson’s staff, will be able to
teach that knowledge to the
Gamecocks and begin competing
for championships soon.
What it’s like (in the Pac-10) is
every night you’re playing against a
very, very good volleyball team,
and you really have to be very
prepared physically and mentally
for every point, to just compete,”
Somera recalled. “What I think
that an athlete takes away from
that experience is learning how to
get the most out of thdmselves all
the time. Those are the things that
we want to teacn our team here.
It’s that when you discipline
yourself and hold yourself
accountable to giving your all and
laying it on the line, and doing it
even when you don’t feel like it,
that you become a better person.”
With six weeks to become
acquainted with her new team,
Somera has already pointed out
the team’s strengths as hitting and
blocking, headed by second-team
All-SEC pick Shonda Cole.
Before the summer comes and
contact between players and
coaches is prohibited, she said she
hopes to instill a winning attitude
in her young team and fix the
skills that need the most work.
After that point, two-a-days begin
in August, when Somera and her
start wm Degin working toward
their first game Sept. 2 in
Tallahassee, Fla.
“We’re spending a lot of time
on first contact right now,” Somera
said. “It’s where we need the most
work. The girls can hit and block.
We need to pass and dig and take
care of free balls better. We also
want to really begin to create a
team identity that reflects a
winning attitude. I don’t care how
good of a team you are. That’s
what you’re doing every season
anyway -- working every week to
get better and better. We’re going
to be no different than anybody
else... come August.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
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