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Tuesday, March 20Call it a championship check list
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Pack lightly because there is no need to take along extra baggage to the rest of the NCAA Tournament. It may only take five items to win the national title, and players don't need to be bogged down with anything else than the necessities. If you've got a stable point guard, then you can advance. If there's an inside scorer to compliment someone on the perimeter, then you've got two of the five already. If your coach has been through the wars, gone through some adversity and maybe is a bit weathered from age then you're looking good on three of the items. A fourth need is halfcourt defense. Sounds technical but it comes down to hard work and toughness. Got that one and you're almost there. The fifth is a bit out of your control. You've got to be lucky. Yeah, you need some help on this one. But if the shots fall (or don't for your opponent) at the end of the game then you've got a chance to go four-for-four and win the tournament. Before packing for the Sweet 16, some of the coaches in the game will help you get your list in order.
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| Jason Williams gives Duke an advantage at point guard over any team left in the NCAA Tournament. |
During the course of a season, a team can get by without a dominant point guard. But in the NCAA Tournament, the game gets cut in half with halfcourt play even more important. As a result, the playmaker takes on even more importance. That's why Duke's Jason Williams, Arizona's Jason Gardner, Maryland's Steve Blake, UCLA's Earl Watson and Illinois' Frank Williams and to name a few could have a say in the outcome of the national title. Look at the last few champions and the point guard was the dominant personality on the squad with Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin and Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves. "Guards are huge factors, in fact 80 percent of it," Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy said before he was eliminated by Hampton. "You can say if we kept Marcus Fizer and lost Tinsley we wouldn't be where we're at. They're the guy who takes the shot at the end of the game and takes over the game. You've got to get the big guy the ball. The guard is the guy who makes the steal and goes the length of the court. We've got someone special and you need the guard to be the best player on the court." And late in the game the most important player is the point guard. "You've got to handle the pressure and shot clock situations," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "That begins with the point guard." Williams was sensational in leading the Blue Devils to the win over Missouri. He scored 31 points and was a dominating presence. Blake wasn't as much of a factor, but he still led his team to a tight win over George Mason and then on to the Sweet 16 by getting past Georgia State. Watson has been a model of consistency, thus far, in the tournament. Gardner's defense on the ball has been solid and one of the key reasons the Wildcats look like contenders, thus far. Michigan State hasn't needed a dominating performance from its point but will look to Charlie Bell to cut down on his turnovers when he's handling the ball. Marcus Taylor is still a green freshman, who's a deft shooter but needs to handle tight-game situations. Stanford's Mike McDonald is one of the most maligned point guards, but seems to hit the key shot when he has to in a game. The advantage at the position goes to Williams, but he can't win the title alone. Gardner is on his game enough to fill Arizona's quotient at this critical spot. Gonzaga, Temple and Penn State are all in the Sweet 16 in part because of point-guard play. Dan Dickau has been sensational for the Bulldogs in this tournament as has Lynn Greer for the Owls. Joe Crispin doesn't make too many mistakes, although he can shoot too quickly in the offense. Georgetown's Kevin Braswell is playing more within his game and has been nothing but positive for the Hoyas' run to the Sweet 16. Kansas is getting the necessary production out of Kirk Hinrich as is Kentucky from Saul Smith and Gerald Fitch, thus far. Cincinnati got this far because of Steve Logan and Kenny Satterfield dominating their guard positions, especially the point against BYU and Kent State. Ole Miss' Jason Harrison might be as gutty a point guard in this field. His 3-pointer to beat Notre Dame looked ill-advised, but was the type of leadership play that a team needs from a point to advance in this tournament. Inside Presence
This sounds somewhat basic, but a point guard can't do it alone. He needs someone inside to finish and to keep the pressure off him. Some teams have a dominant player in the lane, other just need a garbage guy to finish a play. But teams need balance to win the title. One hot hand won't do it. That's why Duke needs Carlos Boozer to feel more comfortable with its title chances. Having Boozer in the middle to go with Shane Battier, Jason Williams, Chris Duhon and Mike Dunleavy shooting 3s makes the Blue Devils that much more deadly. Boozer could be back Monday at practice and then in the lineup for Thursday's game against UCLA. But his effectiveness is in question. Battier went inside more against Missouri and got to the line. He'll need to do that against UCLA to ensure the Blue Devils advance. "You need that one backcourt and one frontcourt player to play great to get to the title game," Florida's Billy Donovan said before the Gators got bounced by Temple in the second round. "We had that last year and that's how we got in the national title game." Michigan State has more of an inside-out threat this season with Jason Richardson, Marcus Taylor and Charlie Bell on the perimeter, and Zach Randolph and Andre Hutson in the paint. The Spartans need to get Randolph more touches in the next two rounds if they're going to get to the Final Four. Al Anagonye has been a serviceable producer inside but he can't be the go-to guy. That has to be either Hutson or Randolph. Arizona has the inside-out locked up with Michael Wright and Loren Woods and then Jason Gardner, Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson. Wright continues to be the go-to player in the lane. He was simply solid against Butler in the second round with 14 points and 5 of 6 from the field, 4 of 4 from the line. He's more of a lock to score than Woods and gives the Wildcats a legit chance to win the title. Stanford has everything in place with the Collins twins and Casey Jacobsen as the inside-out combo. Jason Collins was sensational in the first two rounds in finishing in the lane. If he can continue to be a major, immovable force then the Cardinal have a chance to win the title. UCLA has Earl Watson and Jason Kapono on the perimeter and Dan Gadzuric in the lane. Gadzuric was back to being a go-to guy in the middle for the Bruins with 16 points and 14 rebounds against Utah State. He was selective with his shots, making 7 of 9. If he's intense, the Bruins have a shot against Duke. Illinois has its inside-out combination with Frank Williams and Marcus Griffin and Brian Cook (when he wants to go inside) and Robert Archibald is a viable alternative. But it's not the Illini strength. They have to make it more of their priority to get past Kansas in the Sweet 16. Kansas and Kentucky are legit contenders because they have an answer inside. The Jayhawks have a stable presence in the lane, thus far, with Drew Gooden while Kentucky found a consistent threat in Marquis Estill. Maryland is getting tremendous balance with Juan Dixon and Steve Blake on the perimeter and Lonny Baxter and Tahj Holden inside. Baxter is immovable in the post and seems to improve with each game. Cincinnati got an inside threat from Jamal Davis in the first two rounds but lacks the consistent scorer to feel comfortable in this category. Ole Miss has a workhorse in Rahim Lockhart. He gives the Rebels the balance needed to advance out of the Sweet 16, well, he could if they weren't facing Arizona. USC's Sam Clancy's dominating presence against Boston College was a difference maker in the Trojans advancing. But don't count out Gonzaga with its balance. Casey Calvary compliments Dickau with his ability to put the ball on the floor from the free-throw extended and then finish in the post. Halfcourt Defense
Full-court pressing usually doesn't occur in the NCAA Tournament. Coaches get too conservative and don't rely heavily on anything beyond halfcourt. Teams have switched up their defenses lately, with Gonzaga and Kansas experimenting more with zone in wins, thus far. But, in the end, the toughness quotient and defensive rebounding could turn out to be decisive factors. UCLA's shut down of Utah State and Hofstra in the second half proved to be closing arguments in the Bruins' two wins. Arizona forced Butler into too many miscues in its second-round win. Kansas made Syracuse look like they were just learning how to shoot and crushed the Orangemen on the backboard. Penn State's maligned halfcourt defense came through in limiting Joseph Forte's effectiveness in an upset of North Carolina. Michigan State did the same to Fresno State in the second round and Temple flushed Florida's shooting. The Trojans took care of Boston College in the halfcourt while Cincinnati, Georgetown and Kentucky all put together decent defensive efforts to advance, this far. But it comes down to defensive toughness to get to the Sweet 16 and beyond, especially on the 3-point shot. "Michigan State beat us last year by making 11 3s, that's where you've got to tighten it -- against the 3-point shot -- to advance," Donovan said. But getting the long rebounds, something that North Carolina couldn't do against Penn State, is critical to stay in a game defensively. "Getting those rebounds gets you extra possessions," said Illinois' Bill Self, who was in the Elite Eight last year with Tulsa. "Coaches won't say it but you get conservative the deeper you go in this tournament. That means fewer easy baskets and transition baskets become less of a factor. Rebounding cuts off easy baskets." The best defensive teams remaining in the tournament might be Michigan State, Arizona, Illinois, Ole Miss and Stanford. Duke has had its moments when it has been tough to score on. So, too, has UCLA. They've all got to step up the toughness aspect in the halfcourt to win four more. Coaching
This shouldn't discount the 34-year old Rod Barnes from winning the national title, especially since Billy Donovan got to the title game a year ago with Florida. But the Ole Miss coach would be bucking a trend. Thirty-something coaches aren't winning national titles. Coaches are usually over 50 who win the national title of late, even though Michigan State's Tom Izzo bucked that trend by a few years by winning the title last year. But experience in tight situations matters in this tournament. Coaches like Lute Olson (Arizona), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Izzo, Tubby Smith (Kentucky), Roy Williams (Kansas), Mike Montgomery (Stanford) have been to a Final Four as a head coach. Bob Huggins (Cincinnati) made one appearance. Getting that far in the tournament before has to make a difference in terms of being more relaxed in the tense moments. Certainly, Temple's John Chaney has been in a ton of games under stressful situations, but the pressure to get to the Final Four for the first time could be an issue for Chaney. It could swallow up Gary Williams (Maryland) and would certainly weigh on any of the other newcomers to that elusive goal like Self, Henry Bibby (USC), Steve Lavin (UCLA) or Mark Few (Gonzaga). The remaining coaches in this tournament are all doing the right things to be in this position. But they've got to handle the pressure that will envelope them over the next few days -- stuff like media and booster requests, not to mention getting ready for one of the most important games of their careers. But first-timers to the Final Four can win a title. Jim Calhoun did two years ago at UConn, Smith the year earlier and Jim Harrick at UCLA three years prior to that. So, there's hope for Williams. Luck
No, this isn't a throw away category. This is legit.
| “ | You have to be good but you have to be lucky. That means you've got to hit that shot that the other team misses. There's so many evenly teams matched. It's going to be decided by one possession. ” | |
| — Bill Self, Illinois head coach |
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Numbers add up to Elite Eight | ||
