2K Sports College Hoops Classic Recap and Notes
by Ray Floriani
NEW YORK – They entered Madison Square Garden with a lofty ranking and high expectations. Two nights later they exited with the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic title. As much as the critics wanted to find chinks in the armor and evidence their number three ranking is too high, the bottom line said that Memphis weathered the challenge and responded with an 81-70 victory.
After dispatching Oklahoma 63-53 in the semifinal, the Tigers faced Connecticut for the championship. Memphis raced out to an 18-3 lead and their blue clad fans cheered as the rout was on. But UConn gradually fought back, chipping away possession by possession before taking the lead late in the first half. The Huskies led 41-40 at the break.
The second half was comparable to a March night – a Big East Tournament-style, take-no-prisoners affair. UConn battled on even terms before the Tigers went on a run in the final eight minutes to seal the verdict.
Notes
- “Get used to it” was a theme with one subject. “A lot of people will be zoning us,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “That’s not because we are not good against a zone, but because of the matchups.”
The Tigers are quick in the backcourt and have outstanding size up front. Athleticism is the key at all positions, so Memphis will see quite a bit of zone.
Oklahoma is not really a traditional zone club. As a result some of their slides and adjustments were not as crisp. Still, the zone was a smart move for the Sooners, especially in the area of controlling tempo.
UConn, a staunch man-to-man club, stayed with that defense in the finals. - I came away impressed with OU’s highly touted frosh Blake Griffin. The 6’10” post player scored eight points but was hounded by Memphis’ 6’9″ Joey Dorsey, with some help. “I think over the last few years we double-teamed maybe five times,” Calipari said. “But if you play Blake one-on-one down low, he scores, it’s that simple.”
Blake was held to 8 but did a very nice job of looking for teammates and not forcing when doubled up down low. - Derrick Rose, the Memphis freshman point guard, brought a slew of NBA scouts out to watch him. Popular theory is that he’s one and done at Memphis and some project him a lottery pick. Rose showed he could get in the lane and score. He had 17 against Oklahoma and followed that up with 24 against UConn. The point guard acumen is suspect. Rose had a 3:9 turnover/assist ratio and took 23 percent of Memphis’ shots over the two nights. In his defense, remember, Rose is a freshman and it’s not even Thanksgiving.
- I also liked the game of Oklahoma’s 6’11” senior Longar Longar. He battled gamely inside and hit a Sooner-high 13 points while grabbing 6 boards against Memphis.
- Prior to the UConn-Memphis final, both Calipari and UConn coach Jim Calhoun chose their words carefully, but one had to feel both coaches wanted that game bad. Calhoun personally stayed with his assistants courtside during the second game to scout.
- Haseem Thabeet of UConn had an outing that was encouraging in the final. For the first ten minutes, the 7’3″ Thabeet was a deer in the headlights. He then settled down, became a threat on offense, boxed out and got to the foul line. Thabeet was 7-7 from the charity stripe and scored 11 points while pulling down 9 rebounds in 35 minutes. And that was against a frontcourt that included 6’9″ Robert Dozier, 6’10″Shawn Taggart and Dorsey at 6’9″.
- Calhoun was satisfied with the play of Thabeet and the fact his team fought back and responded when trailing by 15 early. He was upset with the other Husky frontcourt players. “There was no four position,” Calhoun said after the Memphis contest. That was in reference to Curtis Kelly, Jeff Adrien and Stanley Robinson, who combined for three rebounds.
- Gardner-Webb gave a good account but dropped both contests (UConn 78-66 in the semis and Oklahoma 69-55 in the consolation) in New York. Even so, Bulldog coach Rick Scruggs wouldn’t trade the experience. “This team has been an inspiration to not just their school but their (Boiling Springs, North Carolina) community,” Scruggs said following the consolation. “What happened last week beginning with the Kentcuky game, you just can’t put a price tag on.”
- Scruggs said his team first used the New Jersey Nets practice facility in New Jersey after arriving in the New York metropolitan area. “We used the Net locker room and our kids all wanted their pictures taken by Jason Kidd’s and Vince Carter’s locker,” Scruggs said. “I told them we have something in our locker room at home they don’t, an Xbox.” Walking into Madison Square Garden on game day for an afternoon shoot around really hit the Gardner-Webb players. “They were awestruck,” Scruggs said. “To see the championship banners and the retired ones of Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier and all was really special.”
On their two nights, Gardener-Webb didn’t play anywhere near awestruck. They captured the hearts of New York fans with their hard work and hustle. “I love this group,” Scruggs said. “They just come to play ball and are great for our program.” - Speaking of Gardner-Webb, their fans also went the extra mile in the category of devotion and support. Some students lined up for two days on campus to secure a ticket to New York. One such fan was Monica Walser, a senior from Trinity, North Carolina who had added incentive. Her boyfriend, Auryn MacMillan, is a starter for the Bulldogs. Regardless, she was getting online for a $50 package that included round trip bus fare, hotel and tickets to the games at MSG. The only problem was working it out with her coach.
“I’m a tennis player,” the senior marketing major explained. “Our season begins in February, but we are in training so my coach said you can go but you have to train.”
Time off from waiting on line saw Monica go for a run. The afternoon of the consolation game, she and her friends walked around New York five hours sightseeing. “I think we got our training in,” she said flashing a big smile. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. “It was cool,” she said. “Different pace from down south and every time we said ‘y’all’ people looked at us funny. But everyone was very friendly.” - Chris Douglas-Roberts had a game-high 33 points for Memphis in the final and earned MVP honors. The 6-7 junior swingman sliced into the lane and hit a succession of huge shots in the stretch that doomed the Huskies.
- UConn’s A.J. Price played well both nights and earned all-tournament honors. He led UConn with 23 points in the final and did a nice job running the team.
On The Baseline
Special mention goes to the UConn cheerleaders, who cheered at the finals and then boarded a bus close to midnight. They headed back to UConn and had to be on the sidelines to cheer the football team’s game against Syracuse in West Hartford at noon. That’s dedication.
