Monday, March 20, 2000

Expanded roles hinder freshmen

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Satterfield, Johnson have rough days

BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DerMarr Johnson watches Tulsa's Brandon Kurtz celebrate. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of the NCAA Tournament's golden rules is that it's no place to rely on freshmen.

        The University of Cincinnati lived the truth Sunday here in the second round when their marvelous rookie guards suffered through a combined 4-for-19 shooting effort in the 69-61 loss to Tulsa.

        Without All-America center Kenyon Martin and with senior forwards Pete Mickeal and Ryan Fletcher sticking to their blue-collar roles, the scenario was obvious. Either DerMarr Johnson or Kenny Satterfield was going to have to go off offensively. Neither did as Johnson shot 2-for-9 and Satterfield went 2-for-10.

        “It's hard to put guys in situations they haven't been in before ... You can't fault them,” said coach Bob Huggins. “We had to put guys in those situations and they didn't respond the way we'd like them to respond, and they got a little tired because we couldn't make the rotations we normally make.”

Kenny Satterfield. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Huggins wasn't pointing fingers, but Johnson and Satterfield were the players hurt the most by Martin's absence. Martin's scoring in the post allowed them to be complementary players and it may have been asking too much for either to suddenly be “The Man” after being one of the boys for 31 games.

        “I think if that had been my role the whole year, I would have been more comfortable with it,” Johnson said. “Trying to adjust to that right now, I think as a team we were used to dumping it into the post and Kenyon doing what he has to do.”

        After a season as a spot-up shooter, the 6-foot-9 Johnson tried to make hay in the post. But his last points were a 3-pointer as the shot clock ex pired to cut Tulsa's lead to 36-35 with 14:50 left.

        “They played good defense on me,”said Johnson of Tulsa's small, quick forwards.“They fought through screens and didn't let me get inside. If I can get the ball in the post, I can score. But I have to get the ball and they didn't let me.”

        That's not to say the freshmen blew this game by themselves or that they didn't have their moments. Satterfield had seven rebounds and five assists at the point, while Johnson had two assists for layups and a blocked shot as UC made its run to a 50-45 lead.

        And both were on the floor in the four-guard alignment that erased Tulsa's 16-point lead.

        “Those guys were all right,” Huggins said. “Nobody shot well.”

        But freshmen can be freshmen. With 4:28 left and Tulsa surging to a 59-50 lead, UC was forced to call its last timeout when Johnson (and others) weren't in the right spots for an offensive set.

        “That's the adjustment without Kenyon,” said UC assistant coach Mick Cronin. “That's getting to the spot you've been in all year versus getting to the spot you've been in the last five days.”

        Both freshmen played 34 minutes Sunday, about six to seven more than their average. Satterfield said he didn't know why Huggins pulled him in the same stretch Tulsa made its winning run, but indications were it was because of fatigue.

        “We had to make some subs that we didn't really want to make,” Huggins said, “but we didn't have any choice.”

        Johnson said he wouldn't talk about whether he'll return or go to the NBA next season. Satterfield said, “I think I will,” come back and caught himself thinking about a team that made Sunday's best run with two freshmen and sophomore Steve Logan.

        “We were fairly young,” Satterfield said. “There's no telling what we can do next year.”

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