McDermott vs. Barnes: An air of familiarity

One of the ultimate ironies of the Round of 32 is the history of Creighton leading scorer Doug McDermott and North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes.  The two players starred together on the same high school team in Ames, Iowa.  Sunday afternoon, they will matchup as foes for 40 minutes, but walk out as friends after the challenge of NCAA competition.

McDermott didn’t even start for the high school squad as a junior.

“His growth has been tremendous,” said Barnes, “Just having the ability to go to Creighton and go to a system where he had an opportunity to grow and develop.”

McDermott has had some eye-popping games this season for Creighton.  He went 18-of-23, coring 44 points in a 92-83 win over Bradley and scored 36 on 14-of-20 shooting vs. Long Beach State.  His 33 points in the MVC championship were a needed entity because Creighton needed all of those in forging out an 83-79 win over Illinois State.

“Now we;re starting to see his efficiency magnified,” said Barnes, ” We see him get the shots he needs and int he right location he needs them in.  It’s been great and as a former teammate, it’s been fun to watch.”

Barnes is such a sleek athlete that he would have, by contrast, walked in anywhere and started.  He is the Tar Heels’ leading scorer and has shot 45.3% from the floor in taking 21% of UNC’s total shot  He is a leader of this North Carolina squad that sees pressure bourgeon with every line it moves on this bracket.

“I think once, we step on the floor, it’s just going to be a competitive game,” commented McDermott, “I think all the stuff will be set aside because we are both competitive dudes. It should be a really fun game.”

Some of the “stuff” McDermott alluded to was that he used to drive Barnes to school since he didn’t have a driver’s license.  McDermott also alluded to the fact that Barnes was a 4.0 student throughout his years at Ames High School, making Barnes a role model around Ames and the community.

“I really looked up to him and how hard he worked,” said McDermott, ” I think part of the reason why I’m at where I am right now is because he was kind of a role model and he’s been working hard to get where he’s at.”

 -Ken Cross

 

Look for Bluejays to ‘Duke’ it out with Tar Heels

The Creighton Bluejays survived and advanced on Friday with a 58-57 win over Alabama in a game played totally at a Crimson Tide pace.  Now, come a matchup against Midwest 1-seed North Carolina, who will look to run, run, and run some more.

That’s totally okay with the Bluejays because they like the high-octane too in averaging 80 ppg. and shooting 50.9% from the floor and 42.5% from behind the arc.  They are the top shooting team in the nation and second in apg. at 17.9…and are drawing comparisons to Duke from the North Carolina camp.

“The team is very similar to Duke because you got to run off the 3-point line,” said North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, ” You have got to make them beat you in other ways.  They are very well coached and they play very well together.”

Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall agreed with Barnes as he saw lots of similarities to Duke.  Three players in leading scorer Doug McDermott, the coach’s son, Jahenns Manigat, and Ethan Wragge have made between 52-60 triples.  What could be interesting is how the Bluejays will react once the Tar Heels ‘D’ up on the three-point line.  Gregory Echenique, a 61.4% shooter from the floor, will need to have an assertive impact in the paint.

“I think one thing that we’re going to have to do is make them a 2-point shooting team as opposed to a 3-point shooting team,” said Marshall, “As well as they shoot the ball, you may not take away all their attempts, but you want to make it as tough as possible.”

McDermott, a sophomore who went to high school with Barnes in Ames, Iowa, is a lethal marksman.  He was the first sophomore in MVC history to be named conference player of the year as he is also the first Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin to amass four straight 25-point performances, doing it twice this season.

“They’re a multiple offensive team, though, because Doug’s shooting 62% overall, so if he’s making 49.5% from three and 62 overall, he’s making a lot more of those two,” said Tar Heels coach Roy Williams.

- Ken Cross

 

 

 

McAdoo making a difference with opportunity

James Michael McAdoo’s uncle, former NBA player and North Carolina Tar Heel Bob McAdoo, knew a thing or two about rebounding.  He still holds the Buffalo Braves/Los Angeles Clippers record for defensive rebounds in a season at 10.3.

The younger McAdoo is asserting his presence now in Chapel Hill with injuries becoming an even bigger issue for the Tar Heels.  McAdoo played 18 minutes in Saturday’s win over Virginia, one off his season high, and took nine shots from the floor, tying his season high for attempts, and then he was two off his rebound season-high of nine.

“Coach put me in, I mean, I don’t know if he thought I wasdown from the loss on Wed, but he put me in there and I was able to I was able to put the ball in the basket and not only be a good rebounder, but go in there and make some good defensive plays,” said McAdoo.

As Virginia virtually outplayed North Carolina in leading for most of the first half, McAdoo had two key scores that helped turn back Cavaliers’ momentum.

Virginia led 16-9 when Mike Scott scored with 12:51 remaining in the first half as the Cavs had hit a 9-0 run.  McAdoo scored from the left box in a mismatch to end the Virginia momentum streak and feed a Tar Heels’ 9-0 run that allowed them to regain the lead at 18-16.

Then, after UVa ballooned another lead to seven at 27-20 on a pair of free throws by Malcolm Brogdon with 5:01 to play, McAdoo punctuated a 7-0 North Carolina run with a a breakaway dunk off a Virginia turnover that tied the game at 27 before UNC popped to a 35-32 halftime lead.

“I have been looking at each game and trying to get better, not saying from a statistical standpoint, but to be  more confident in myself and help the team anyway I can,” commented McAdoo.

Since a game is 40 minutes long, McAdoo’s scoring assertion were big in ending two runs as he continues to shed a mantra for only being a rebounder.

- Ken Cross

 

Seminoles’ adjustments assert them as ACC contender

Once Michael Snaer’s buzzer-beater went through the nets and Florida State upset then-No. 4 Duke on Saturday, the questions started rolling in the postgame about where this Seminole team’s place is right now in the ACC scheme of things.

Coach Leonard Hamilton had to do a remake as he lost his two leading scorers from last season in Chris Singleton and Derwin Kitchen.  FSU had good chemistry to begin with, but Hamilton said Saturday that reinventing meant shifting pieces more than inventing chemitry.

“We have had pretty good chemistry all along,” he said, “It’s just that we had adjustments we had to make learning how to play together to make the plays we had to make.”

Hamilton noted adjustments such as moving Okaro White away from the small forward because “it wasn’t working.” He discussed how there was a learning period for Xavier Gibson as he went from center to power forward.

Hamilton had a laundry list of transitions as he continued.  He noted how Luke Loucks, who found Snaer for the game-winner, went from playing 12 minutes to being the Florida State starting point guard. He also noted how Deividas Dulkys, who a week earlier torched North Carolina for eight three-pointers in a 90-57 rout, wasn’t shooting the ball well when the season started.  Ian Miller, who is FSU’s second-leading scorer, wasn’t available until the 11th game of the season, so he has only played in eight games.

“We have been in transtition all year long but that is part of what teams go through,” noted Hamilton, “We are finding ways and making the necessary adjustments and that’s where we are now, but here again, there is no time to make many bows.”

An eye-opening 79-59 loss at Clemson on Jan. 7 seemed to have reasserted this team.  Nothing went right as FSU could only manage 35.5% from the floor and the ‘Noles were far from Hamilton’s trademark “junkyard dog defense” as forward Bernard James alludes.  Loucks says the urgency to settle things on the reservation picked up.

“After the Clemson loss, I remember talking to the media and being at a loss for words,” Loucks noted, “I knew that the type of character guys we have it this locker room, we are not gonna get to low on lows and too high on highs.”

Loucks sounded prophetic as Florida States gutted out a 63-59 win at Virginia Tech before the massacre at North Carolina.  FSU did not trail in the games against the Hokies and Tar Heels, and didn’t trail Maryland until the 17:23 mark of the game.  This entailed 102 minutes and 37 seconds of not knowing a deficit.

“Obviously, we watch individual film with the coaches and on our own,”  explained Loucks, “A lot of those losses, we would watch over and over in our locker room to kind of remind us that we have an uphill climb here and then after the Carolina game, we had that film going and going, so film is a big part of preparation and the lows and high you have to deal with.”

James, who shoots 57.7% from the floor, leads FSU in blocks and rebounding.  He didn’t get his offensive game going until the second half on Saturday as he scored seven points in a quick flurry that helped the Seminoles finally draw even.  At that point, confidence in the adjustments, the new found chemistry, and in each other took over for the completion of what many would dub, “an unlikely ACC-hat trick” of wins over North Carolina, Maryland, and now Duke in a week.

“Right now, everyone is jubilant,” summarized Loucks, “We gotta keep pounding and keep doing the same things we have been doing to get ourselves in these spots.”

- Ken Cross

 

 

No. 4 Duke caught in a ‘Snaer’

Imagine Florida State basketball coach Leonard Hamilton as a scientist in a basketball lab.  He has a test tube that encompasses minature basketballs and each has a prescription for every appointed situation.

Hamilton and the Seminoles found the correct antidote Saturday afternoon for No. 4 Duke as leading scorer Michael Snaer nailed a three-point field goal off the right wing at the buzzer to lift the Seminoles to a 76-73 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  It capped what, a month ago, might have seemed like an improbable week as FSU struggled to an 8-5 start although losses came to stiff competitors in Florida, Michigan State, Princeton, Harvard, and UConn.

Fast-forward to Jan. 21 and the Seminoles enjoyed a week where they embarrassed North Carolina, 90-57, controlled Maryland, 84-70, and now they just won on a buzzer-beater in the hallowed Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“It says that we have grown a lot but have a lot more space to grow,” Snaer said after the game, “We got it done on the road, but we still have a lot more space to grow.  I challenge my guys on the road all the time.  We haven’t really been a good road team.”

After Austin Rivers made a driving layup to tie the game at 73-73 with five seconds remaining, Florida State hurriedly inbounded the basketball to point guard Luke Loucks.  When he saw two Blue Devils run at him, he knew the possibility for a wide open shooter existed because Duke was in a scramble.  He looked to the right, distributed to Snaer, who drained the jumper off the right wing as time ran out.

It was the first buzzer-beater of Snaer’s career, but he downplayed the issue by giving all of the praise to Loucks, who found him open.  He said that he had opportunities to win games in the last seconds before, but this time, he didn’t want to let the Seminoles down.

“I was thinking about it might come down to the wire and this time, I wasn’t gonna let my team down,” Snaer explained, “I had it against UConn and Princeton and couldn’t finish it.  A lot of times, your team looks to you and finally tonight, I was able to finish it.”

Snaer had the penchant for the big shots on Saturday throughout the game. He hit a forgotten buzzer-beater off the glass at the end of the first half to cut Duke’s lead to 32-26.  In the second half before his game winner, Duke guard Andre Dawkins capped an 11-5 run with a three-pointer with 7:55 remaining, but it was Snaer who stopped the momentum on the next Seminoles possession with a lay up.

Possibly, the biggest though came with 55 seconds remaining and Duke holding a 70-69 lead.  Snaer used the dibble-drive to blow by his man and make a layup and give the ‘Noles the one point lead.

“You could just see in his eyes there at the end of the first half, and there was a couple of buckets he made when the game was going on, that he was determined to deliver,” noted Hamilton, “Sometimes those guys get in that moment, and are really focused and that is what happened to him.”

Snaer’s game-winner equated to FSU’s fifth win over Duke in Hamilton’s tenure and the second victory at Duke as FSU took a 68-67 win there in 2007.  Snaer’s focus and maturity are huge intangibles for Hamilton as he now sees his Seminoles taking shape.

“Michael is one of the hardest workers I have ever been associated with,” summarized Hamilton, “He is very focused.  He is a gym rat.  He gives his all everytime he shows up.”

-Ken Cross

 

 

 

 

Around the nation

Most figured it would be a down year for the PAC-12, but what was once one of the nation’s mightiest three or four leagues has slipped mightily. Through games of Sunday, WarrenNolan.com had the league as the ninth-best RPI league thus far this season. According to Joe Lunardi’s Monday edition of “Bracketology,” (subscription required) just two of the league’s teams — Cal and Stanford — would get in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today.. Part of the reason for the league’s slide is that two preseason Top 20 teams, UCLA and Arizona, have had off-years and probably wouldn’t make the tourney if the season started today. Meanwhile, Oregon State, which has big wins over Texas and Cal and looked ready to perhaps challenge for its first NCAA Tourney appearance since 1990, is now 1-5 in league play. … At least the PAC-12 can take consolation that it’s not the SWAC; that league ranks dead-last among Division I’s 33 conferences (if you group the independents as a league). The league’s 10 teams went a combined 7-96 in non-league games. … Among the teams included in Lunardi’s field of 68 is Bill Carmody’s Northwestern Wildcats, who are 24th in Nolan’s latest RPI. Northwestern is just 2-3 in Big Ten play so far, but the conference is the top-rated league thus far, and the Wildcats have scored huge wins over Michigan State and Seton Hall thus far. Northwestern has never made the NCAAs, even though it started playing basketball in 1905. … Among other teams that started the year in the Top 25 but fell out include Memphis, Pitt and Vanderbilt. Memphis is going to have to pick things up just to make the Tournament; the Tigers are 12-5, but just 1-5 against top-50 RPI opponents. Pitt has now lost seven in a row after an 11-1 start, with four defeats coming by five points or less. The Panthers remain the only winless team in the Big East. They’ve not missed the NCAA Tournament since 2001, but this might be the season. Vanderbilt, however, seems to be hitting its stride, standing 13-4 with Festus Ezeli back and in the starting lineup. VU has won seven in a row, all by double figures. The Commodores have two huge tests later this week: at Alabama on Thursday, followed by Mississippi State in Nashville on Saturday. … The three undefeated teams from last week — Baylor, Murray State and Syracuse — all remain unbeaten. Now, there are only two 1-loss teams (Kentucky, Missouri) and eight 2-loss teams. … Perhaps the most-shocking score of the season was this one from Saturday: Florida State 90, North Carolina 57, with the Seminoles getting 32 points from Deividas Dulkys, a senior who averaged 7.3 points per game last season. How out-of-the-blue (no pun intended) was that scoring outburst? Dulkys has a reputation as a practice shooter, but hadn’t scored more than six points in any of the previous nine games, and had been shut out twice in that span. This was the first really big win for FSU, which lost by 20 at 9-8 Clemson just a week before, and also fell to 8-8 Princeton on Dec. 30.

- Chris Lee, VandySports.com

 

Bzdelik laments psychological importance around Deacons

Following Wake Forest’s 58-55 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon, Deacons coach Jeff Bzdelik made it a point to discuss the negativity surrounding the program even though it is off to a 10-5 start. Much of that negative vibe could have come from last Monday’s 56-52 loss to Wofford, a team that has been near the top of the Southern Conference cage wars in the last three years.

Bzdelik cautioned of how negativity in the community and society could have an effect on his team.  As the day began, he said he wrote “The mind” on the dry erase board in the Deacons’ locker room.  He said it was important for each every member of his basketball team to understand that each and every member of his coaching staff believes in them.

“All we have done is to let them know how much we believe in them, I believe them and they can do this,”  Bzdelik noted, “That is a big focus for today.  ’The mind’ is the first thing that I wrote on the blackboard. We live in a very negative society where people dwell on the opposites.”

The ACC’s second-leading, C.J. Harris who Wake Forest’s hero of the day with two key threes in the last minutes, concurred with his coach.

“If we didn’t believe in ourselves, there is no way we would have won that game,” noted Harris, “They have big guys and great guards, so if we didn’t believe in ourselves, we wouldn’t have won that one.”

Harris iterated that the minds of the players are in concert with where the coaching staff wants them to be.

“This gives us a lot of confidence,” explained Harris, “You have got to understand that what we are doing so far is helping us a lot, so we have to stick to that.

-Ken Cross

 

 

Deacons’ Harris reasserts Wake

Reassertion is a must in the game of basketball.  It is a diametrical opposite of football where you have one game per week and there is a small window to reinvent mentality after a tough loss.

Wake Forest suffered one of those on Monday night when Wofford came into Winston-Salem and took advantage of Wake’s cold shooting in a 56-52 win.  Much of that scenario dealt with Wake leading scorer C.J. Harris having to sit out with a strained groin.

“He shows good maturity and leadership and came off a flat ball screen,” said Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg of Harris, “He came off those and made good shots.”

Harris returned to action Saturday and just when the Hokies made a key run to take their first lead on a Jarell Eddie three at 53-52 with 1:19 to go, he had enough impetus to immediately nail a responding trey to put the Deacons ahead 55-53.  Then, when Erick Green tied it on the layup, Harris hit the game winner with 15 seconds remaining.

“He did another wonderful, wonderful job as our leader to make big shots and that is what is going to have to happen,” commented Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik.

Harris reads the game well he took advantage of a flat ball screen to knock down the three after the Hokies took their first lead of the game and then accepted a hard screen from Carson Derosiers to zip the eventual game winner.

“I was gonna attack and make a play regardless, but when he went under the screen I took the shot and we practice that every day in practice,” strategized Harris.

Harris showed no ill effects of the groin injury as the ACC’s second-leading scorer played played a solid 39 minutes and made only three-of-eight shots.  He was obviously one of the key targets on the Hokies game plan as he normally averages 11 attempts per game.

“I didn’t shoot the number of shots I usually take in a game today,” Harris noted, “The first one was great ball movement by my teammates and I was wide open.  The second one, Carson just set a great ball screen and i knocked down the shot. I was wide open.”

Wake Forest is 1-0 in ACC play.  The Deacons seem like they are a more cohesive unit that that of a year ago, but Bzdelik knows, without saying, that Harris is going to play a major role in how high WFU can ascend in the ACC this season.

“His non-conference stats are incredible,” related Bzdelik, “I think 54% from floor, 53% from three almost three assists and around 20 ppg.  Today, he was three-of-four from the arc.  He is just a quiet very effective player that everybody looks up to.”

-Ken Cross

 

Coast-to-coast: Monday edition

West Winds: ”What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” is no adage for UNLV’s 90-80 upset victory over North Carolina on Saturday night.  The Runnin’ Rebels served notice under first-year coach Dave Rice that their return  to prominence may not even be that far away.  The win could have been the biggest since the 1990 national championship season.

East Edict: The St. Louis Billikens served noticed with their play in the 76 Classic in Anaheim over the Thanksgiving holiday that senior Brian Conklin is becoming the catalyst for Rick Majerus.  The Billikens look like they could be a surprise in an Atlantic 10 that has basically seen Xavier as the league’s favorite for 2011-12.

Southern Swag: The Virginia Cavaliers are looking for a rebirth in the ACC basketball wars as Tony Bennett enters his third season in Charlottesville.  One major key is athleticism and play around the basket which the Cavaliers are beginning to show.

Midwestern Matters:  It could be a long season in Iowa City, especially after the Hawkeyes were smacked by Big South member Campbell, 77-61, last week.  Coach Fran McCaffery is trying to cajole his young team, but not hurt its collective psyche.

-Ken Cross

 

Ticketcity Legends Classic: Consolation

East Rutherford, NJ - It seemed like it was all Texas. The Longhorns raced out to an 18 point lead in the consolation game of the Ticketcity Legends Classic at Izod Center. NC State appeared to be finished. Down the stretch the Wolfpack put together a furious rally sparked by transition baskets, a few timely three pointers and plain, simple tightening up on the defensive end.

A contributing factor was an awful decision on the part of Texas point guard J’Covan Brown. With 8:25 remaining and Texas ahead by a dozen points,  Brown was hit with his fourth personal. As he walked to the bench he let official Early Walton know in complete terms that he thought the call was ‘BS’. Walton tagged him with a technical which was his fifth personal that disqualified the Longhorn junior. Up to that point Brown repeatedly broke down the NC State defense, scoring 17 points while handing out seven assists against one turnover. “He (Brown) is a veteran,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “He has to realize something like this hurts him as a player but it’s a team game. This is something that sets his team back.”

In the stretch, there were anxious  moments for the victorious Pack. They missed two free throws with a three point lead and nine seconds to play. After a time out, Texas attempted a three at the buzzer. The shot was off the mark but gathered in by an NC State defender. Texas protested looking for a goal-tend call. But one of the primary axioms, officiating wise, is a shot must have a chance to go in to be considered for goal tending. This one (attempt) had no such shot. Still, it was an anxious moment at the final buzzer,  for victorious NC State.

Scott Wood, a 16 point scorer was a huge factor for NC State. “This game shows a lot about our team,” Wood said. “We lost the first game Saturday and got down by 18 tonight. We could have just given up but we didn’t. It shows the heart of this team.”

CJ Leslie of NC State and Texas’ Brown tied for game scoring honors with 17 points each.

- Ray Floriani