Monday, March 29, 1999
'Rip' believes he'll rip Duke
'No way you can guard me,' Hamilton says
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This is the only way Richard “Rip” Hamilton can think when he takes the court. Nobody can guard me.
“Any competitor, anybody that plays any sport, you've got to feel you're the best out there,” Connecticut's leading scorer said. “If not, you'll be cheating yourself.”
There will be two first-team All-Americans squaring off tonight in the NCAA championship game: Duke sophomore center Elton Brand and Hamilton.
While the Huskies ponder ways to keep Brand from dominating — as he did Saturday night against Michigan State — so must Duke work on ways to tame Hamilton.
UConn's junior forward is averaging 23.6 points in five NCAA Tournament games — more than two points better than his season average.
Hamilton has scored 30 or more points four times this season — including a career-high 39 at Boston College — and 20 points or more 21 times, including the last six games.
He has done so facing all kinds of gimmick defenses geared toward stopping him.
“I think I'm mentally tough,” he said. “I've been through all that.
“I think there's no one way that you can guard me. That's just how I feel.”
Hamilton considered turning pro after his sophomore year but decided to return in order to pursue a national championship. Now he's one game away.
He is one of just three players to be named Big East Conference Player of the Year twice; Chris Mullin of St. John's and Georgetown's Patrick Ewing are the others.
“Rip's a different type of player,” UConn junior Kevin Freeman said. “He's skinny but he's strong; he's slow but he's quick. I catch myself watching him sometimes. ... A lot of players have to force shots to get points. It seems like all his points come within the flow of the offense.”
Said sophomore point guard Khalid El-Amin: “He thinks the game through. He doesn't just go out and play. That's what makes him a better player.”
Saturday night against Ohio State, it was Hamilton who hit a back-breaking jumper with 1:42 left to give UConn a six-point lead. That was the last field goal of the game and came with the shot clock buzzer sounding.
“I think he does things that surprise everybody,” teammate Jake Voskuhl said. “A lot of guys in the country can hit shots. Not a lot of guys can hit shots that are important like that.”
“You can't find him in one area of the court,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “(UConn coach) Jim (Calhoun) gives him great freedom of movement. They look for him in transition. They set things up for him. And then he can just make his own moves whenever he sees fit.
“There's no question he's as good an offensive player as we've played against all year.”
The Blue Devil likely to draw the most time trying to stop Hamilton is junior forward Chris Carrawell.
“I'm going to try to deny him the ball,” Carrawell said. “I'm going to get a lot of help from my teammates we well. It's not a personal matchup, me trying to shut down Richard Hamilton. It's going to be everybody on our team.
“Hopefully he misses a lot of shots. That would really help a lot.”
Duke: A team for the ages?
System can work - ask Carrawell Paul Daugherty column
Brand is title game's biggest man
Childhood friends are foes tonight
MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP NOTEBOOK
MARCH MADNESS PAGE
