March 31, 2006
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By Bryan Armen Graham
Assistant Editor, CSTV.com
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BRYAN GRAHAM
Bryan is a basketball editor for CSTV.com and contributes on a regular weekly basis. |
Princeton had Pete Carril's backdoor offense. Loyola Marymount had Paul Westhead's run-and-gun approach. Miami of Ohio had a one-man scoring machine named Wally Szczerbiak.
The most prominent Cinderellas in the storied history of the NCAA Tournament are remembered for some kind of gimmick or stratagem -- a great equalizer -- that helped them collect the scalp. In some cases, it's an arcane system like a flex offense or a matchup zone. In other cases, it's a singular and supernatural talent -- Szczerbiak,
But George Mason doesn't have anything like that. There's no big secret or mystery that underlies Jim Larranaga's team, the most unlikely Final Four entrant in recent memory. In fact, the Patriots play about as straightforward a game as you could imagine.
Throughout the Big Dance, Mason has liked to get its post men involved in the early stages. Even though Jai Lewis and Will Thomas have been undersized during each of Mason's tournament upsets, both have demonstrated skill enough to score in one-on-one situations against bigger defenders.
The Patriots almost dare opponents to drop down a defender to double-team either 6-foot-7 forward in their frontcourt -- Lewis and Thomas are both savvy passers that have found open teammates on the perimeter throughout the NCAAs. Mason's sure-shooting perimeter players -- Lamar Butler, Folarin Campbell and Tony Skinn -- have done their part by shooting the lights out.
That Mason hasn't resorted to trickery -- or allowed the glare of college basketball's biggest stage to alter their game approach -- speaks to the resilience of Larranaga and makes these Patriots unique among giant-slayers in March Madness lore.
"I don't even talk to these guys about winning or losing. I talk to them about executing our game plan, playing to the best of our ability, doing what we do well, keeping their poise, making good decisions," says Larranaga. "If that's good enough to win, so be it. If it's not, then the other team proved it's better than us."
And Another Thing
George Mason didn't make the Final Four because of parity, one of those words that's been tossed around with such frequency over the past three weeks that it's long since lost its meaning. George Mason is headed to
Villa-No-Fun
There's no time like the Regional Finals to endure your worst shooting outing of the season.
Villanova hoisted enough bricks to build a Main Line mansion during its ignominious 75-62 tournament ouster at the Metrodome on Sunday, the latest in a long line of disappointing finishes for
Fans that might have only seen Jay Wright's club several times all season might have been tempted to think of this game as an aberration. But faithful followers had worried in hushed tones that the team peaked too early, and had been living on borrowed time for almost a month. Their shooting percentages over the last five games of their season -- .352 (Pittsburgh), .308 (Monmouth), .538 (
Suffice it to say, the last kind of Elite Eight opponent the Wildcats could have afforded was a red-hot one -- which is exactly what they drew.
Another factor in the Villanova demise involved the lackluster stretch play of point guard Mike Nardi. The junior never seemed to bounce back from a bout with mononucleosis, which led him to miss two games in early February. Some theorists think Nardi's underperformance was more damaging to the team's Final Four hopes than most acknowledge -- and the numbers back it up.
In the 19 games before Nardi fell ill, the Linden, N.J., native averaged 12.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists -- and Villanova went 17-2.
In the 12 games following his return, those figures dipped to 7.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists -- and the `Cats were 9-3.
No Doubting Thomas
Has anybody's draft stock exploded during the NCAAs more than
The 6-foot-9, 218-pound freshman became a household name after a dominating performance against Duke. Thomas, a
A quick log onto NBADraft.net, the year-round draft projection site which has amassed a cult following among hoop junkies in recent years, shows that the 19-year old is projected as the first overall pick. Gonzaga's Adam Morrison,
Milli-Grahams
· This is the first year since 1987 that at least one of Duke, Kansas,
· A number of
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· With Sunday's victory over Villanova, Billy Donovan -- one of six men to reach the Final Four as a coach and as a player (with Providence in 1987) -- returns to the national semifinals for the second time in seven seasons.
Bryan Armen Graham is an Assistant Editor for CSTV.com. Got a comment? Write Bryan and let him know.
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