Jayhawks: ‘Self-Styled’

In the nine years Bill Self has been the head coach at Kansas, he may have never embarked on a more surprising season as it was a season where most thought KU would rebuild.  He lost the Morris twins from a year ago as they were key contributors, so most thought that Kansas might struggle some in what was supposed to be a much tougher and deeper Big 12 as Self would have four new starters from 2010-11.

Well, it didn’t happen.  Self guided the Jayhawks to the regular season league championship and now they are back in the Final Four for the second time in the Self era as they have won 13 out of 14 games.  Suffice it to say that this, by far, ma be his best coaching job of his career.

“We have caught some breaks this year,too,” said Self, “So much of basketball in a season is such a long grind is staying healthy, those sorts of things and we have been fortunate in that regard.”

Self has gotten a team to mesh around the talents of point guard Tyshawn Taylor and big-man Thomas Robinson as the Kansas chemistry finally can’t be underrated going into this weekend against Ohio State and possibly next Monday night in the national championship game.

“I said before the season, and I meant it, even though I didn’t know for sure if I 100‑percent bought into it, that for us to be really good this year, Thomas was going to have to play like an All‑American and Tyshawn was going to have to be as good as any guard around, and those two things have come true,” explained Self.

Robinson has averaged 15.8 ppg. and 12.5 rpg. in the NCAA Tournament as he is the national leader in double-doubles with 26 which is a KU record.  Taylor has been scoring almost at-will through the second half of the season as he has 10 20-point games in the second half of the season.

“When people doubt you, I know myself personally, I think that’s when I perform my best, when somebody doubts me,” noted Robinson about any Jayhawks dissenters coming into the season, “And as a team together, we knew that we could do it.  But it took a lot of work.”

Self flipped the correct script Sunday as he went to a traingle-and-two for nearly the last 10 minutes in Kansas’ 80-67 win over North Carolina.  The Tar Heels missed some key open shots and never found rhythm as Kansas outscored them 12-3 to close out the game.  The comedic part was that North Carolina coach Roy Williams said afterward that he only saw the traingle-and-two on maybe one or two possessions. Self exposed Williams during that stretch which was all it took to advance the Jayhawks into Saturday’s Final Four against Ohio State.

“We were able to take the ball out of their hands and take away their two shooters,” noted Self, “The thing about it is, you got to rebound out of it.  They’re a great rebounding team and I thought we rebounded the ball as well as we have in a long time tonight.”

The Buckeyes are another formidable rebounding squad with J.J. Sullinger in the middle and surging DeShaun Thomas playing well on the inside and outside.  This is just another challenge for a squad that has been challenged in many ways since the first game of the season.

“They have so many pieces that are so good and it starts with Jared,” said Self, “But they have a stretch of four that can score. Craft is as good as any guard in the country and Burford has made as many big shots as anybody left in the field.”

- Ken Cross

 

Gamecocks hit home run with Frank Martin hire

The crowds had dwindled to nothing in the Colonial Life Arena as the the South Carolina Gamecocks basketball team had spiraled out of control to the point that they were losing games to Elon and Tennessee State early in the season before embarking on a 2-14 SEC campaign that spelled the end of Darrin Horn’s disappointing four-year tenure in Columbia.  When South Carolina lost to Kentucky, 86-52, on Feb. 4, an estimated 8,000 Wildcats fans had jammed into the Gamecocks’ confines, showing the Palmetto State what a No. 1 team in the nation actually looked like in full ragalia.

Earlier in the decade, the masses had whined about Dave Odom and his inability to recruit the elite player and now, the talent in the program had dwindled to the point where it was at the bottom of the SEC and Odom’s charges would be more than welcomed.  Not only that, but it was very clear that the players had tuned Horn out as USC lost 24 of it’s last 27 SEC games in the Horn Era.

Athletic Director Eric Hyman is a professional and a results oriented administrator.  He desperately wanted a basketball coach who could put the Gamecocks’ hoopsters on the same level that Steve Spurrier has with football, Dawn Staley with basketball, and Ray Tanner, who has led USC to two national championships in baseball.

Enter Frank Martin, the former Kansas State boss, who led the Wildcats out of the doldrums, into the NCAA Tournament in four of his five years, and within one game of a Final Four two years ago.

Martin’s name started hitting the wires on Saturday as he was working as a guest analyst in-studio on CBS with the NCAA Tournament coverage.  Of course, protocol assures that there would be no comments from him on the set, so as he left Sunday, he and his wife, Anya, embarked on Columbia and Tuesday morning, Frank Martin made the move from Kansas State to Columbia, South Carolina where he will take over what many consider a sleeping giant in the Gamecocks basketball program. 

As of noon yesterday at Martin’s opening news conference, the basketball program at South Carolina became relevant again and gained instant credibility.

Martin is a driven coach who exemplifies discilpine and will demand perfection out of a program that has totally lost it’s swagger over the last couple of years.  He brings a 117-54 record into Columbia from Manhattan, Kansas, where he led the Wildcats to 20-win seasons in all five years as their third-place finish in his first season was K-State’s best in Big 12 history at that point. 

Martin will immediately win over a fan base that is hungry for a winner and he will definitely have a presence on the sidelines that likens to John Calipari, Billy Donovan, Anthony Grant, Mike Anderson, and Kevin Stallings.  The key is for the fan base to understand that it takes time to turn a program into a winner, and Martin will certainly get South Carolina into position. 

He knows his work is cut out for him, but said he was excited about Hyman’s “full-court press” that he employed to get Martin in garnet and black. As excited as Martin is, the Gamecocks will pump up the volumn on excitement when they see Martin’s defensive mentality and rebounding philosophy, and oh yes, there is a full-court press and running game that will spawn out of his philosophy. Hyman may not have only knocked the ball out of the park, he may have knocked it out of the Palmetto.

- Ken Cross

 

Stanford stops UMASS in NIT semis

College Chalktalk's Ray Floriani with a few of those UMASS followers, the NY Giants' Victor Cruz, a UMASS alum and two members of the cheer squad.

NEW YORK CITY – It ended in the NIT semifinal. Stanford pulled away the last eight minutes of the game to post a 74-64 decision over UMASS at Madison Square Garden.

          The Minutemen attempted to get Stanford into an uptempo affair. They were successful but the result was not exactly what coach Derek Kellogg hoped for.

	Possessions	Offensive Efficiency
UMASS	79	81
Stanford	77	96

          UMASS was able to force a pace Stanford did not want but failed to capitalize. As Kellogg noted, “we got them to take tough shots when we were able to speed them up but their offensive rebounding killed us. We gave up 19 offensive rebounds, that allows too many extra chances.” The Cardinal led in offensive rebounding percentage by a 40-31% margin.

          Anthony Brown had a strong 18 point , 5 rebound outing with a succession of big shots in the final half , to lead Stanford. Josh Owens did the damage in the paint with a 15 point, 12 rebound, 2 block effort.

          Chaz Williams led all scorers with 19 points. The outstanding UMASS sophomore guard was ‘forced’ into a 7 of 18 shooting night with 3 assists and four turnovers. “He (Williams) didn’t get as many transition opportunities as he usually will get,” Kellogg said. “And they (Stanford) really packed it in on him.’ Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins agreed. “We tried to keep him (Williams) out of the paint. That kid is terrific.”

          UMASS shot 33.8% from the floor. Stanford was just slightly better at 36.9%. Overall, not a bad effort on the defensive end for the Minutemen, as the efficiency attests. But those offensive boards, alluded to by the respective coaches, proved to be the difference.

          Stanford advances to the championship game on Thursday. UMASS ends the season at 25-12. An especially rewarding and gratifying year for Kellogg and the entire program. ‘I thought we could be very good,” Kellogg said. “The kids put the hard work in over the summer. And I was actually happy where we were picked (12^th in the Atlantic Ten). Wasn’t really sure we would be 25-12 but we have some great people behind us. This has just been a great ride for me.”

          And for the legions of UMASS faithful that made the trip to Madison Square Garden.

- Ray Floriani

 

Calipari has NIT roots

The Garden. Home of the NIT 'Final Four'.

NEW YORK CITY – The Final Four in New Orleans is where he expected to be and where he will be. John Calipari has been a regular at the Final Four of the NCAA in recent seasons. Not as a spectator in a spacious dome but as a coach preparing a team prior to pacing the sidelines. Coach Cal will face Louisville in the national semifinals this Saturday. The attention and lofty heights he has attainted though, will not let him forget a tournament that gave him an initial opportunity, the NIT.

          At a basketball camp a few years ago Calipari remarked how he was ever grateful that, “the NIT gave us a chance when we were trying to get things turned around at UMASS.” Early in the rebuilding process in Amherst, the NIT extended an invitation following the 1989-90 season. The Minutemen went on the road losing 91-81 at Maryland. UMASS ended the season 17-14 in Cal’s second year at the Atlantic Ten school. The next season saw continued improvement and another invitation. UMASS took the opportunity, building on the prior year’s experience, to reach the NIT Final Four. The Minutemen lost to Stanford in the semifinals and Colorado in the consolation (they played the third place game back then). Regardless, UMASS was back in the mainstream and based on the success, ready to ascend to even greater heights.

          Calipari continues preparation for his Kentucky Wildcats this week. One wouldn’t be surprised if he took some time to watch his former player and assistant Derek Kellogg directing UMASS in the NIT. The Minutemen ironically were to face Stanford in the semifinal. The same opponent back in March of 1991 when UMASS ’crashed’ the Garden. And watching the Minutemen would  undoubtedly provide a moment of sentiment toward the nation’s oldest post season tournament. The one that first recognized the reversal of basketball fortunes that were transpiring in New England.

 - Ray Floriani

 

Wildcats ‘KO’ Bears in the first

Kentucky coach John Calipari immediately asked for a timeout some 3:45 into Sunday’s South Region Final vs. the Baylor Bears as BU had jumped on the Wildcats, 10-5, right out of the shoot.  Calipari just wanted to reassure the troops that nothing was wrong and he wanted to make sure that the Bears didn’t gain any quick confidence.  He was just rebooting the Big Blue computer.

“I told them to just get out there and guard people and make easy plays; I told them ‘we’re fine,’” Calipari said.

From there the earth shattered underneath the Georgia Dome as the Wildcats’ known volcanic eruption took place.  Kentucky slapped Baylor with a 16-0 run as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who led UK in scoring with 19, scored six of his points to lead Kentucky to scorers on eight of the next nine possessions.  Meanwhile, Baylor was 0-for-4 from the floor with three turnvoers in that stretch before Quincy Acy broke the run with a layup and free throw.

“I’d say we were just aggressive,” noted Terrence Jones, who totaled 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and two steals in 35 minutes, “I just think we got real aggressive on offense and defense and just mentally locked down on defense and just led to fast breaks on offense.”

Scoring on 13 of 15 possessions in the first half allowed the Wildcats to build a 32-17 lead en route to their 42-22 lead at the break.

“I think a huge part of that was our execution,” said senior Darius Miller, “After we got going a little bit, they threw a zone out there.  We knew exactly what we wanted to do, and we executed and got easy buckets.”

Michael Kidd-Gilcrist, who was the MVP of the South Regional lead the Wildcats with 19 points while Anthony Davis topped out at 18 and 11 boards with six blocked shots.

Kentucky’s aggressiveness in the first half took Baylor totally out of any scheme or game plan that coach Scott Drew might have tried to fashion as the tentative Bears had no answers for a transition game that racked up 17 points and 15 off 13 Baylor turnovers.

“We were getting out in transition,” noted Miller, ” I think it’s kind of a mixture of us executing the way that we wanted to and the way our game plan was set up and just how hard we were playing – especially on defense.  I think we did a great job defensively in the first half.”

Calipari noted that his defense that gave up only 22 points and 32% from the floor in the first half paced the Kentucky transition and Drew concurred.

This team’s actually better than I thought,” Drew noted of Calipari’s squad which won it’s 36th game of the season Sunday afternoon, “I don’t think we played our best game.  I’m going to give them credit for causing some of that. Definitely, we haven’t played a better team than them all year, and I don’t know in the last couple years.  When we lost to Duke, Duke was a very good team, but this Kentucky team is better in my opinion.”

-Ken Cross

 

Cats-Bears offer the ultimate in athletic matchup

Kentucky and Baylor square off at 2:20 EST today in the Georgia Dome in what might be the best battle of total athleticism on the hardwood this basketball season.

Kentucky center Anthony Davis who was in foul trouble early Friday night in the Wildcats’ win over Indiana knows that Baylor is probably bringing in the most athletic team that Kentucky has faced since it’s early December win over North Carolina.

“This team is very talented and very athletic, very long,” said Davis, “It’s a great matchup for us.  It’s about who is going to want it more.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari is concerned about the Baylor length which features five players with wingspans over 7-feet.  This factor inside a zone like this could possibly alter Kentucky’s shooting in a half court.

“I think that’s one of the reasons they’ll play zone is that they’re looking at, okay, you’re not going to get to the rim.  If you do get to the rim, there’s going to be length there,” said Calipari, “One of the things we do in our zone offense is we’re throwing a lot of lobs.  So that length has to be back, but that length is on the wings too now.”

With all of it’s athletes, leading scorer and senior Quincy Acy is probably Baylor’s most athletic player.  He had 20 points and 15 boards, including two monster one-handed dunks on inbounds passes that wowed the Georgia Dome crowd.  He is probably the most interesting matchup for the WIldcats.

“I pride myself on my work ethic,” said Acy, ” Everyday after practice I life weights.  I started that a while back and guys have started following.  I do pride myself on my physicality and to a certaine extent you can’t be too physical.”

Acy’s antithesis could be Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who had an awakening of sorts on Friday night with 24 points and 10 rebounds after struggling so mightily in the three previous games.  When Kidd-Gilchrist wills himself to play, no one in the country can matchup him in the open floor and with his athleticism around the basket.

“He does about 10 things and he worked his butt off all week,” said Calipari, “He spent extra time.  He’s in the office at night and he’s int he gym. We’re winding it down and he is stepping it up.”

For Kentucky, a duplication of the effort from Friday night will almost assure the Wildcats a date with rival Louisville next Saturday in the Final Four in New Orleans.  For the Baylor Bears, they have to bring 40 minutes of their most intense basketball of the year.  If they do not, Kentucky marches on.

 

Pitino vs. Donovan and an ironic twist

Saturday afternoon when the Florida Gators and Louisville Cardinals battle for a Final Four berth in Phoenix, it sets up the consummate teacher vs. pupil matchup with Rick Pitino facing Billy Donovan who played for him in the mid-80s at Providence.

Both coaches weighed in on their relationship.  But possibly the most interesting thing is the ironic flip-flop in how Florida is now defending, a la, Louisville.  Rhetorical question: Is it anther teacher-pupil entity?

“I taught Billy as a player and he was with us as an assistant coach, but he’s developed his own methods of basketball,” commented Pitino, “I think the one thing that left Billy as a player and as a coach is to build a fun style of play for the guys.  And he’s certainly done that in high fashion.”

Of course, Pitino is talking about a Florida offense that shoots the 3-ball at a 38% clip and uses big man Erik Murphy in a 4-out/1-in offense that is terribly hard to guard.  For the Cardinals, their defense has gotten them to the brink of the Final Four and defending Bradley Beal, Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker, and Erik Murphy from 21-feet is the ultimate goal today.

“I think the three‑point shot for us is a priority every game,” noted Pitino as he went down the list of teams that Louisville has played so far that rely heavily on the three points shot, “It was a priority with Michigan State.  It was a tremendous priority with New Mexico.  It was a priority with Davidson.  It’s been one of the top three elements in all of the games.  It was with Cincinnati in the Finals. So defending ‑‑ we’re not always going to make it, because we’re not a great shooting team.  So if we don’t make that a priority, the disparity would be too great.”

Conversely, pupil may be mimicking teacher on the way to New Orleans and a Final Four both as Florida has picked it’s defense up in the tournament as the Gators. Checking the defensive stats for the last three games, Virginia, Norfolk State, and Marquette are only shooting 31.5% from the floor and Florida outrebounded those foes by an average of 11 per game.

Donovan pointed to the fact that when his best defender, Will Yugete went down, it forced Florida’s players to take a look at different roles in different positions.  At that point, the Gators reassessed how they competed and now they are comfortable in those roles.

“I think there was a commitment when Will went out where we collectively have got to step up as a group and get this done,” remembered Donovan, “It can’t be just one player or a front court player getting it done.  It has to be a collective job as a team.  And I think they were able to see those things on film.”

As for the Coach vs. Pupil angle, Donovan is 0-6 vs. Pitino with two of the losses coming to Louisville.  That is an overrated stat tough and will have nothing with what happens today. Donovan credits Pitino for his ascension in the sports landscape and a statistic doesn’t make any difference either way.

“It’s great when I see him, spend time with him, said Donovan of Pitino, “He’s been great to my family, to my parents.  Obviously playing and having Richard on my staff, it was a different kind of dynamic.  So he’s always been the same with me.”

- Ken Cross

 

Ken’s High Five: The Bear facts from Baylor’s talented Quincy Acy

Baylor’s athletic Quincy Acy wowed the Georgia Dome crowd with a pair of rim-rattling dunks off inbounds passes Friday night in the Bears’ 75-70 Sweet 16 win over Xavier.  Acy was a mismatch for anyone the Musketeers tried to use to negate his athleticism and ball skills.  He would up 8-of-11 from the floor with 20 points and 15 boards in 34 minutes.  Acy gave his synopsis of the Bears, who are making tehir second Elite Eight appearance in the last three years.

On being back in the Elite Eight now as a senior: “It feels great.  We had thoughts at the beginning of the season that we really wanted to still be playing at this time.  Here we are.  Guys are doing a great job executing what Coach has for us, and I think we’ve really just come together.  We’ve willed ourselves to some wins.”

On the meaning of the win beyond getting Baylor to the Elite Eight: “It’s win No. 100 for my senior class.  That means a lot.  Who all can say they have 100 wins?”

On him and Perry Jones III turning in big game Friday night after the Bears were so quiet in the paint vs. South Dakota State and Colorado in last weekend’s round of games: “ I think we really stepped our game up because we know, in order for us to continue to win, we had to get more production from our front line.
Our guards have been consistent this whole tournament, and we had to give them more help.  So the guys on the front line really took that personally, and we need to do a better job.”

On the contrast between the Elite Eight run in 2010 and this year’s Elite Eight run: “I think the guys, the younger guys as well as the seniors, upperclassmen, we made a commitment this year that we know we have the talent.  We just have to execute and do what Coach has for us.  He always puts us in good positions to do what we’re capable of doing.  It’s just up to us to execute and get stops and stuff like that.”

On his beard, which contrasts with his being prematurely bald: “You don’t like the look?  I think it looks nice myself.  My mother likes it.  I think it might be my hairline.  That might be it.  Prematurely bald.  I’ve accepted it.  I get a lot of rag from my teammates.  It’s cool.  I’m supposed to be a junior, y’all.  I’m not old.”

- Ken Cross

 

 

 

Kidd-Gilchrist flips the switch

When he was being recruited, about 330 Division 1 coaches drooled over the raw athleticism of Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Although about 320 of them knew they had no shot to land his skills, to have him play one season in the respective uniforms would be very satisfactory to try to to accrue and then place w designs on a league title, making the tournament,and then going deep into March.

MKG, as he is known, showed the definition of his skills in Friday night’s 102-90 Sweet 16 win in Atlanta as he posted his first double-double with 24/10 since he had 18 points and 10 boards in a February 21 win at Mississippi State.

“Mike’s a spectacular player,” said Kentucky big-man Anthony Davis, who was strapped with first half foul trouble, “He brings a lot of energy, score the ball, rebound.  Coach Cal told him, go out there and rebound the ball, especially offensive rebounding.”

Kidd-Gilchrist had toiled through most of the first half as he had only taken two shots before his first score at 6:13 in the first half gave the Wildcats a 35-30 lead.  From there, scored 11 of Kentucky’s last 15 points as he got to the basket with ease and pushed into the lane for easy scores.  His drop step and layup off the right box and subsequent free throw broke a 45-45 tie which was the last time Indiana was even with Kentucky Friday night.

MKG’s superior night was a Godsend for Calipari and at the right time.  He has struggle of late with only five points in 16 minutes in Kentucky’s loss in the SEC title game to Vanderbilt and he was a combined 5-of-12 with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Western Kentucky and Iowa State in last week’s opening rounds.  Indiana laid off him defensively and dared him to make plays and MKG responded.

“He does about ten different things,” Calipari noted of the multi-skilled freshman, “We’ve been building him up all week to tell him, I knew he was going to be great.  I told him:  ’You’re going to be great in this game.  Go and get offensive rebounds.  You’re going to be great.’”

With so many facets to the Kentucky attack, coaches choose their poisons on who to stop  because obviously, they can’t matchup across the boards.  Iowa State dared Marques Teague and he stepped up to help the Wildcats blow out the Cyclones. Thursday night, Indiana coach Tom Crean challenged MKG and he stepped up and responded.

“Tommy (Indiana coach Crean) did something interesting; they didn’t play him,” said Calipari, “I don’t know if you noticed, they didn’t have a man on him.  And he was on the right side facing.  I just told Mark:  ’Give it to him.  Shoot it.’  He shot one and waited.  I said:  ’Give it to him again.  Then he drove the ball and got the and one.’”

- Ken Cross

 

Miller’s experience complementary for Big Blue

With all of the great freshman talent and sophomore Terrence Jones garnering the headlines most of the year for the Kentucky Wildcats, senior Darius Miller could have just played out his string and then went to NBA try-out camp and probably wound up playing in a foreign pro league.  In Friday night’s 102-90 Wildcats win in the Sweet 16 over Indiana, you saw why this man is a consummate professional and will no doubt have an NBA career after this season.

Miller was the supplementary piece and the X-factor as he score 19 points and grabbed six boards in 32 minutes.  He  hit two triples and nailed a pair of free throws out of halftime to stake UK to a 64-56 lead out of halftime that helped the Wildcats get the separation they needed to move on to a meeting with Baylor for the Final Four berth tomorrow.

“My teammates did a great job of finding me when I was open, and they felt like I had opportunities I could take advantage of,” explained Miller, “So they got me the ball, and I just tried to produce. When the coach or the team call my name, I just try to come out, play aggressive, and get shots.”

One of the places that Indiana had no answer for Kentucky was on dribble penetration and Miller was able to set up some terrific plays inside for himself and his teammates when Indiana pushed Kentucky in the first half. The Hoosiers belted the Wildcats with a 15-6 run near halftime to take a 43-39 lead with 3:23 to go.  It was Miller though who ignited Kentucky for the 11-4 rush to the end of the half when he scored on a lay up off transition on a missed free throw. Kentucky would score on it’s last five possessions to take the 50-47 lead at the break.

“The game was a very intense game,” noted Miller, who refused to take any credit for the roll he played, “It was up and down for the most part.  I felt like both teams did a great job of executing what they were trying to do.   It was a fun game to be a part of the way both teams played.”

-Ken Cross