Buckeyes riding success of remarkable freshmen
March 27, 2007
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Across the gently rolling plains of Indiana, where basketball goals rise from the ground like corn stalks, Hoosiers fans must be cringing and quite possibly weeping.
Had their beloved basketball program not been mired in turmoil, and the transition from Bob Knight not been so rocky, then maybe the program would have been able to keep Ohio State's two fabulous freshmen at home.
And maybe point guard Mike Conley Jr. and 7-foot center Greg Oden would be leading the Hoosiers, and not their Big Ten-rival Buckeyes, into the Final Four.
"They've had a tremendous impact," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said of his freshman jewels. "Probably, maybe unlike anybody's ever had before with the job that they've done."
Oh, how that must sting back in Bloomington. Because about 65 miles away in Indianapolis, Conley, with his breathtaking ball-handling skills, and Oden, a physical specimen mature beyond his years, led Lawrence North High School to three consecutive state championships.
"Did they win every game?" Memphis coach John Calipari incredulously asked after his Tigers fell to Ohio State in the Elite Eight. "I hope so. You know what else? They're good kids, good young men. They just play ball. It's great to see. It's really great to see."
And now the combo package stands two wins from bringing an NCAA basketball championship to football-frenzied Columbus, Ohio, for the first time in 47 years.
Riding the nation's longest winning streak at 21 games, Ohio State (34-3) faces resilient Georgetown (30-6) and it's 7-2 star Roy Hibbert on Saturday in the national semifinals.
"One of the biggest keys that people probably forget, usually when freshmen come in and they help take a team to the Final Four, there's a bunch of veterans coming back," Matta said. "We had one starter coming back on this basketball team. We had four returning players off a team that won 26 games last year.
"In essence, we added seven or eight new guys to the roster."
And one giant center of attention.
Oden, averaging 15.4 points and 9.5 rebounds and selected a first-team All-American on Monday, has been a figure of media and fan fascination since he arrived on campus with a beard and a broken right wrist that forced him to learn how to shoot free throws left-handed for most of the season.
"He's had that pressure all the way through high school, so he's pretty used to it," Conley said. "He's just a humble guy. He doesn't let the pressure get to him. He's all about winning. And the reason we came here was to win."
Conley, 6-1, continues to force the spotlight on himself with his play. He led the Big Ten in assists and steals, is averaging 11.0 points and is playing his best basketball in the postseason pressure-cooker.
He had 17 points, six assists and seven rebounds, four on the offensive glass, in the 20-point comeback against Tennessee in the Sweet 16.
And he put up 19 points against Memphis. Yet, more than his points, his poise at point guard is what stands out. He never sweats.
"Mike will bring so much to the table besides the points and the assists," Matta said. "He gets his hands on so many balls. But the stabilizing factor is what I love about him. If the team is pressuring us, once we get the basketball in his hands, I'm like, 'Yeah, we're in good shape here.'"
Because then he usually gets it into Oden's hands.
ONLINE: ohiostatebuckeyes.com
THE FINAL FOUR Georgetown (30-6) vs. Ohio State (34-3) at 5:07 p.m. Saturday, KTVT/11. No wonder the Hoyas are here: they have John Thompson coaching and Patrick Ewing playing -- albeit the sons of their famous fathers. The Buckeyes have won 21 games in a row, the nation's longest streak.
Florida (33-5) vs. UCLA (30-5) at 7:47 p.m. Saturday, KTVT/11. The Gators, in their third Final Four trip this decade, can be the first repeat champs since Duke in 1991-92. The Bruins were 16-point losers to Florida in last year's title game, and make a record 17th Final Four showing.
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Ohio State's freshmen, point guard Mike Conley Jr., and 7-foot center Greg Oden, are two big reasons why the Buckeyes are in the Final Four. Their production this season:
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Pitt hungry for UCLA
CSTV U-WIRE) PITTSBURGH -- In a matchup that already has produced more pre-game drama than a TNT series, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon gave his two cents on the upcoming Sweet 16 contest between his Panthers and UCLA.
"We are playing UCLA," Dixon said on pittsburghpanthers.com. "There are five guys on the floor on their team and five guys on the floor on our team. That is what it is."
As much as Dixon would like his team to believe it is that simple, the third-seeded Panthers will be competing against second-seeded UCLA for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight.
Tip-off is scheduled for Thursday night at 9:40 p.m. ET in San Jose, Calif.
The Bruins (28-5, 15-3) are only a season removed from playing in the national championship game and are 3-point favorites heading into Thursday's contest.
Pitt advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in six years, yet it has never advanced past that round.
The only thing standing between Pitt and its first-ever Elite Eight appearance is UCLA and head coach Ben Howland, whose personal ties to Pitt have created a fascinating storyline.
Thursday's game marks the first time in school history that a former Pitt coach will face his old team.
Before coming to Pitt, Howland coached Northern Arizona from 1994 to 1999, where he hired Dixon as an assistant.
One of Pitt's most successful instructors, Howland coached at Pitt from 1999-2003 and rebuilt a declining program into a national power, winning 89 games while making two appearances in the Sweet 16.
But UCLA offered Howland the head-coaching job in 2003, and he bolted to California. He still insists it was a difficult decision.
"Leaving was one of the hardest things I've ever done," Howland said on ESPN.com. "As I said many times, the only job I would have ever left Pitt for was this job and this job period."
His departure opened the door for Jamie Dixon, who has been even more successful at Pitt than Howland, going 105-29 in four seasons while becoming the first coach to lead Pitt to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons.
Yet, like Howland, Dixon never has gotten Pitt past the Sweet 16.
Though they will be opposing each other later this week, Howland and Dixon are best friends, and they talk almost daily. In fact, Howland's daughter Meredith, a Pitt student, initially moved in with the Dixons after her father left town.
"If you're working until midnight every day with someone, you'd better be friends," said Dixon. "You've got to realize the whole situation - this didn't start at Pitt."
Because of their friendship, both coaches made a deal that they would never face each other unless it occurred in the NCAA Tournament.
Always in search of a good story, many believe that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee created the potential matchup on purpose, a suggestion both coaches dismissed.
Yet, the matchup could have even occurred in last year's tournament as well, if Pitt hadn't been upset in the second round by Bradley.
"This is how it all worked out," Howland said in the Houston Chronicle. "Everyone thinks the idea was to match Pitt and UCLA up because of my connection to Pitt, but it wasn't."
Dixon agreed.
"This was inevitable," Dixon said. "We both said we weren't going to play against each other in the regular season, but we hoped it happened in the NCAA because you hope they win and you hope we win."
Former Pitt star and current assistant Brandin Knight noted Howland's old players were waiting for the matchup.
"Julius (Page), Jaron (Brown), all those guys who are playing overseas or elsewhere, they've been dying for this matchup," Knight said. "I don't know how much coach Howland and Dixon were looking forward to playing, but I know all of us were."
And current player Mike Cook also weighed in on the matchup.
"We know Coach Dixon coached under Coach Howland, and we wanted to get this win for him," Cook said. "He might try to downplay it, but we know it's important to him and to the university."
Pitt advanced to this year's Sweet 16 after defeating Wright State and Virginia Commonwealth. In its game against VCU, Pitt was on the brink of making NCAA history by blowing a 19-point lead with 12 minutes remaining, yet the Panthers managed to squeak out a win in overtime.
UCLA advanced to the Sweet 16 by burying Weber State in round one, and getting by Indiana in the second.
Jamie Dixon revealed in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that one of the reasons Howland left was because he didn't feel like the success he had achieved at Pitt could be sustained, despite earlier comments to the contrary.
"To be honest, Ben didn't think we could sustain it," Dixon said. "I've always seen more in Pitt than other people did. I have higher expectations than anybody for this job."
And so it is: Legendary powerhouse vs. the rising power, head coach vs. former assistant, best friend vs. best friend. It's a game Pitt fans have waited long to see.
Copyright 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
Basketball coach Tommy Amaker fired by Michigan following six seasons
Published: Saturday, March 17, 2007 4:23 PM ET
Canadian Press: LARRY LAGE
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) Michigan basketball coach Tommy Amaker was fired Saturday following six seasons leading the program without an NCAA tournament appearance.
"I'm not going to make excuses," Amaker said in an interview before he was scheduled to appear at a news conference.
Before this season started, Amaker said it was fair to expect the Wolverines to reach the NCAA tournament. They ended up playing in the NIT for the third time in four years and were eliminated from that tournament two days ago.
"Letting Tommy go was the toughest decision I've had to make in seven years as athletic director," Michigan athletic director Bill Martin told The Associated Press. "He took over a program that needed help, and he helped it in a lot of ways. But at Michigan, we have a tradition of winning Big Ten and national championships and we haven't been close to doing either in a lot of ways."
The Wolverines finished 22-13, with an 87-66 loss at Florida State on Thursday night.
"There were moments of delight and success (this season)," Martin said. "But we didn't make the NCAA tournament and that was the goal. To that extent, it was a disappointment."
Amaker's career record at Michigan was 109-83 overall - with three 20-win seasons and 43-53 in the Big Ten.
He was under contract through the 2010-11 season, but the school could fire him without cause by giving him US$900,000, according to his contract, which was obtained last week by the AP in a Freedom of Information Act request.
Amaker had to be employed as Michigan's coach on March 31, 2011, to earn a deferred-compensation package after the school's annual contributions of $100,000. By firing him, the school keeps the invested money, according to the contract.
Michigan hired Amaker on hired March 29, 2001, after firing Brian Ellerbe.
He inherited a mess, stemming from the Ed Martin scandal, the school's lacklustre facilities and Ellerbe's awful recruiting.
Martin, a now-deceased former booster, told the federal government he lent $616,000 to ex-Wolverines Chris Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock in what the NCAA said was the largest financial scandal in its history.
Michigan was 18-12 overall and 10-6 during the 2002-03 season Amaker's second year but the Wolverines were ineligible for the post-season because of NCAA sanctions.
In four seasons at Seton Hall, Amaker led the Pirates to a 68-55 record, a trip to the round of 16 in the 2000 NCAA tournament and three NIT bids.
The native of Falls Church, Va., spent nine years on Mike Krzyzewski's staff at Duke, where he was a four-year starter in the mid-1980s.
Amaker's wife, Dr. Stephanie Pinder Amaker, is the University of Michigan's associate dean of students.
Martin said he had a list of candidates, but declined to identify any of the coaches.
"Michigan's basketball opening is going to be a highly sought after job," he said. "I want to move as quickly as I can, but some of the coaches we're might be interested in are still coaching in the NCAA tournament."
Grambling St. 76, Alabama St. 70
March 3, 2007
GRAMBLING, La. (AP) -Andre Ratliff scored 18 points and Anthony Williams had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Grambling State to a 76-70 victory over Alabama State on Saturday night.
Jamal Breaux added 16 points and Kendric Baker had 15 for Grambling (10-19, 8-10 Southwestern Athletic Conference).
There were five ties before halftime and Alabama State led 33-29 at the break.
Tahrea Jackson made a 3-pointer with 7:03 left in the second half for the Alabama State to make it 60-60. But the Tigers went ahead for good at 6:12 on a dunk Breaux.
Jackson finished with 10 points. Andrew Hayles scored 19 points to lead the Hornets (12-12, 10-8) and Joel Bosh had 13 points.
AP NEWS
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Copyright 2006-2007, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
UCSB 68, UC Riverside 67
Feb. 24, 2007
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - Cecil Brown hit a turnaround jumper with 8.3 seconds left to lift UC Santa Barbara to a 68-67 victory over UC Riverside on Saturday night.
Brown's shot came 20 seconds after UC Riverside (6-22, 1-12 Big West Conference) took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Justin Bell.
Alex Harris scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Gauchos (16-10, 7-5).
Brown scored 16 points, while Chris Devine added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Ivan Elliott had 10 points.
Henrick Thomsen paced the Highlanders with 15 points. Larry Cunningham scored 14 points, Chris Johnson added 13 and Bell had 11.
Santa Barbara shot 58 percent from the field, including 6-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc, to break a four-game losing streak.
Riverside shot 42 percent from the floor, but did make 10 of 11 free throws.
AP NEWS
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Copyright 2005-2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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