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| Friday, December 20 After landing in Louisville, Stone shines in debut By Andy Katz ESPN.com |
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Rick Pitino didn't really want Marvin Stone's first minutes in a Louisville uniform played in Freedom Hall. At least they didn't come against Kentucky. Hoping to ease Stone into his first game action, Pitino would have preferred his Cardinals been outside Kentucky state lines Wednesday night. But, as someone who knows a thing or two about switching colors in the Commonwealth, the coach was at least happy Stone's first game with Louisville didn't come against his former Wildcat teammates.
Stone will avoid hearing the boos Pitino was subject to last year when he returned to Rupp Arena in the annual Bluegrass State battle. Instead, Stone will be hailed as a conquering king when he is introduced in front of Cardinals fans on Dec. 28. Still, the hoopla over Stone's not-so-subtle transfer less than a year ago will certainly be the major story leading up to the game. "It would have been a nightmare to put him in a game like that against his old teammates without any experience at all (playing with Louisville)," Pitino said of the senior power forward who played nine games last season before leaving Kentucky after the Christmas break. "If he had opened up on the road then he would have been more relaxed. He played well, not great, but did what I had hoped. He was tired, emotional, and got a big lift from a thunderous ovation. It'll get easier from now on." Stone started his Louisville career by scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against Manhattan in the championship game of the Billy Minardi Classic. He'll get another warmup, against Furman on Sunday, before the showdown against the 'Cats in Freedom Hall. "I was a little nervous at the beginning (Wednesday)," Stone said. "I need a couple of games to get back to being in big-time college basketball. I'm glad I've got a few games before Kentucky. That's a big game, it's one that I'm going to give my all, too. None of my teammates here have beaten Kentucky (in the last three years). It'll be strange at the beginning, but all we care about is the victory." Stone was an enigma for Kentucky. He had loads of potential that was rarely reached during his two-plus seasons in Lexington. He was a solid defender for the Wildcats but never became an offensive threat. He averaged 4.6 and 6.0 points while starting nine games during his first two years. He shared time with Marquis Estill and Jules Camara, never emerging as the No. 1 post player. His and the program's frustrations came to a head last season, when he averaged 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds before leaving. He missed the Louisville game, then irked head coach Tubby Smith even more when he said he would transfer to Louisville. Kentucky balked about releasing him from his scholarship. But public pressure finally forced Kentucky to cave, and he received an athletic scholarship from Louisville. "I was frustrated for 2½ years there," Stone said. "I wanted to transfer after my first year. I tried to hang in there but it never got better. Playing time was part of it. I didn't think coach Smith had confidence in me. I was frustrated. I was trying to work hard in my academics and I was struggling with that too." Pitino, meanwhile, was sold on Stone from the outset, but only if he were willing to work. He was and has been a pleasure for Pitino and his Louisville teammates.
"He's gone from 14 percent to 7.5 body fat and is much stronger physically,'' said Pitino. Stone was listed at a generous 253 pounds in last year's UK media guide. He took the court Wednesday still 6-foot-10 but a cut 240. "He's a great kid, no problem at all. He's always, 'Yes sir,' 'No, sir.' I just have to get him to play cohesively with Ellis Myles in the post." "Is he better than he was at Kentucky? I don't know because I never saw him," said Pitino, who was coaching the Celtics when Stone was a freshman and sophomore. "His body is different, that I know. He's not one-dimensional. He makes everybody better with his passing." Stone was sold on Pitino, which is why he chose Louisville. But Pitino won him over for good when he started him. Remember, this is a kid who earned just 11 starting assignments in 75 career games at Kentucky. What did being introduced as a starter mean to Stone? It meant Pitino had confidence in his game and work ethic. "That was a big plus," Stone said. "I didn't want to come off the bench. I wanted to be out there." The question from Day One, which will remain unanswered until well after the Kentucky game, is whether Stone has been hyped too much? He is being billed as a difference-maker in Conference USA, a player who can turn the Cardinals into an NCAA team again after missing the postseason in Denny Crum's last season and reaching the NIT under Pitino last year. The answer, at least against a team like Manhattan, is apparently "No." Stone's performance against the Jaspers showed he could be a double-double player. Senior guard Reece Gaines, who is vying with Marquette's Dwyane Wade for C-USA, and possibly national, player of the year honors, scored 18 in the win. He's averaging 20 a game. Pitino billed the Gaines-Stone tandem as the outside-in combo the Cardinals missed a year ago. "He exceeded my expectations," Gaines said. "I didn't think he would play that good after sitting a year. He overpowered people in practice, but we weren't sure what he would do in the game. He wasn't able to show how good a passer he is. "At first I was worried about (the hype)," Gaines said. "I knew coach didn't mean for him to score 40 points. He meant he would be a threat in the post and a great passer in the post and block shots. He's got a great body to do that." Louisville lost to Purdue in the John Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis. But that's its only blemish so far. The Cardinals won at Seton Hall and have cleaned up at home in four other games heading into Furman. The true test will come against Kentucky on the 28th before road games at Ohio State and then Charlotte for the start of Conference USA. "Last year we were mediocre and did much better than anticipated," Pitino said. "This year, we have much higher expectations for ourselves." Those expectations don't start and end with Stone, but he's easily the most anticipated addition to a Division I team. Not to mention, an intriguing subplot to one of college basketball's fiercest rivalries.
Check out these results: What's going on here? "We have revitalized the Big Sky," Montana coach Pat Kennedy said. "I came here (from DePaul) to see how much fun this could be. We had an 11-point lead against Gonzaga at home (before losing). This whole mid-major thing is for real. There are some low-majors, but the mid-majors are a lot closer to the high-majors. "We're a few years away from beating Gonzaga easily and they beat N.C. State. It's crazy but it's happening." Kennedy said the Big Sky teams have shooters, athletes, a few big bodies and a "great bunch of kids who don't think about the NBA." "I couldn't have taken a DePaul team in there to beat Stanford," Kennedy said. "But kids like we've got here at Montana who don't have NBA prospects can get it done." Spread it out around the country and the results are staggering. San Diego won at UCLA ... Florida Atlantic won at Miami, Fla. ... Prairie View A&M won at Houston. A few theories to the gap closing between low-, mid- and high-majors: The 13-scholarship limit has created parity; high-major teams don't respect the opponents; transfers are the great equalizer. "You can beat somebody you're not supposed to early in the season," Eastern Washington coach Ray Giacoletti said. "You're not catching these teams at their very best. They don't prepare for us as well and they're not ready for any gimmick defenses. "Kids are tired of getting beat and see in our area that if Gonzaga can do it, so can they. So much of this game is mental, and more kids believe they can go anywhere and win." San Diego's Brad Holland, who once was an assistant at UCLA, said the gap has closed. It helps that he had a high-major player in former Oklahoma State center Jason Keep when he beat the Bruins. Keep hung 30 on the center-challenged Bruins. "We've got a few Pac-10-caliber players," Holland said. "The transfer business has improved mid-major programs. And there's no question there is a lack of respect. You don't scout these teams. The big boys aren't exactly sure what they're up against." "We should create a Big Sky/Pac-10 challenge, don't you think?" joked NAU's Mike Adras. "All of the UCLA comments prior to playing us were about Kansas (the Bruins opponent Saturday). I have a couple of D-II games that I worry about for the same reason that they don't take us seriously." Adras said his player's body language proved to him that they were ready to win. They didn't slump. They weren't scared. It showed, as NAU all but controlled the game from the outset. So what's the fallout of all these wins? Likely a better seed for the Big Sky champ in March. Montana was a No. 15 seed last season as the lone Big Sky rep. If Eastern Washington or say NAU won the title could they get a 14? Possibly. Weber State, which beat equal-level teams UCSB, Nevada and Ball State, might not have as much of a case for a higher seed unless it beats a team from the Pac-10 or MWC on the road. "I hope that's the perk of winning big games," Adras said. But winning guaranteed games (when the opposing team gets a paycheck without a return game the following season) means scheduling gets tougher. Eastern Washington can't get a home game, let alone a call back for a road game. NAU is running into similar problems. If you're good, then no one wants to pay you to get beat at home. A high major shouldn't fear a team from the Big Sky, but coaches run scared of teams that have a chance to beat them at home.
What They're Saying ... Cincy Boosted C-USA's Rep By Routing Oregon: The league got a push to start the season when it swept the Big East in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York, as Memphis beat Syracuse and Marquette topped Villanova. But it was the Bearcats' dominating victory over No. 5 Oregon on Tuesday night that raised the profile of Conference USA. This is a league that simply needs to get more than three teams into the NCAAs. C-USA is moving to a one-division format in 2003-04 to avoid the appearance that one side is weaker than the other. The one-division format will also get rid of scheduling imbalance. Teams will play the other 13 at least once. Until then, the league needs to improve its power rating before conference play. "We need Cincinnati, we need Memphis and Marquette to play well," Pitino said. "We're undefeated against the Big East and beat the No. 5 team in the nation. We need these wins before we beat each other up in conference play."
What's Happening At ... At Arizona: The Wildcats staff says it needs more out of forward Channing Frye before the Pac-10 season begins in Oregon on Jan. 2. He's averaging eight points and nearly six rebounds a game. Senior forward Luke Walton (ankle injury) is scheduled to play in the Fiesta Bowl tournament next weekend (Davidson and then either Florida State or Boston University) before the Pac-10 opener. And the staff is livid with the league for putting the Oregon game at 9 p.m. local time. "Our guys won't get to bed until 2:30 or 3 a.m.," Arizona associate head coach Jim Rosborough said. "They are student-athletes and this is ridiculous." At Connecticut: Playing time was the reason junior forward Scott Hazelton bolted last week. You could argue he was only a McDonald's All-American out of high school because the game was in Boston three years ago. The same is true of Holy Cross center Neil Fingleton. Both were McDonald's All-Americans, while former Huskie Caron Butler was left off the squad. Hazelton could end up at Rhode Island, close to his Massachusetts home. At New Mexico: Guard Ruben Douglas is averaging 24.6 points through seven games and is the first player ever in the four years of the MWC to score 20 or more points in seven straight games. At BYU: The Cougars still own the nation's longest home-court winning streak at 39. BYU has beaten 27 straight non-conference teams at the Marriott Center. At N.C. State: Forward Marcus Melvin could be one of the tougher matchups for teams in the ACC. The 6-8 junior made only one 3-pointer and missed 3 of 14 shots, but he still left Gonzaga impressed. "He can spread you out and he makes 53 percent of his 3s," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "He's hard to guard." At Memphis: Coach John Calipari said injured freshman point guard Jeremy Hunt will be ready for the Illinois game on Dec. 28. He has been out with a stress fracture since the opening win over Syracuse (19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists). At SMU: Guard Bryan Hopkins, the best recruit since Jeryl Sasser signed at SMU, won't red-shirt this season. He will still play even though he has been bothered by a hip flexor and foot injuries. Hopkins (4.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.4 apg) is averaging just 20.4 minutes in five of the Mustangs' six games and played only 11 minutes in the loss at Appalachian State. At Gonzaga: How do teams get home from crazy trips? Gonzaga got an empty Frontier Airlines plane to fly the Bulldogs from Newark, N.J. to Spokane, Wash., Tuesday night. The trip took only four hours, and 40 minutes according to head coach Mark Few. Five Bulldogs had finals at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year. |
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