Thursday, March 16, 2000
UK looking for one more rally
Wildcats closing ranks after Allison affair
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVELAND — Kentucky's trick is turning tragedy into triumph. Each March, basketball becomes therapy, with the Wildcats willing wins for a common cause.
Last year, it was for recruit John Stewart, whose death inspired UK to reach the Elite Eight. Two years ago, Allen Edwards' mother died and the Wildcats won a title for their grieving teammate.
In 1997, Player of the Year candidate Derek Anderson blew out a knee, yet the team rallied to reach the NCAA finals.
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UK vs. ST. BONAVENTURE
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• When: 12:20 p.m. today
• Where: Cleveland State Convocation Center (13,610), Cleveland
• Records: UK 22-9, St. Bonaventure 21-9
• TV: Ch. 12
• Radio: WSAI-AM (1530), WNKR-FM (106.5)
• 17: NCAA Tournament appearances for UK since St. Bonaventure last made the tournament in 1978
• 9: St. Bonaventure players averaging 10 or more minutes per game
• 9: UK players (total)
• 40: Consecutive 3-pointers UK would have to make to bring its percentage up to .334 and tie the worst season mark in school history, set last year
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“We always rise to the occasion and play better with adversity,” senior center Jamaal Magloire said. “With everything that has happened this year, we're more hungry than we've ever been.”
When the fifth-seeded Wildcats meet 12th-seed St. Bonaventure at 12:20 p.m. today in an NCAA Tournament opener, they'll do so shouldering a mountain of misfortune.
Starting forward Desmond Allison has been suspended after a DUI arrestSunday. Ten players are gone since last season. UK (22-9) enters with its most losses and lowest seeding since NCAA probation a decade ago.
College basketball's premier program has become a soap opera. As the Wildcats Turn.
“It's all on us,” freshman guard Keith Bogans said. “We can either make a run or give up. I think we're going to make a great run.”
Where have all the Wildcats gone?
Since last year: Scott Padgett, Wayne Turner and Heshimu Evans exhausted their eligibility. Michael Bradley, Ryan Hogan and Myron Anthony transferred. Stewart died. Marquis Estill didn't make
grades. Nate Knight came, then left. Allison got his DUI..
UK will have just nine available players, and it's a shaky bench at best: Marvin Stone, still nursing a broken bone in his right thumb; J.P. Blevins, 1-for-15 shooting the past five games; Todd Tackett, 1-for-22 as a designated 3-point shooter this season; and Steve Masiello, who has scored one point all season.
March Madness? Or March Sadness?
“Every time something has happened, there are two paths we could have taken: Letting it disrupt the chemistry and bring us down, or bonding together to work harder,” Masiello said. “We always make the best of the situation and play better.”
UK finished fourth overall in the Ratings Percentage Index and went 3-3 against Top 10 teams, facts which led coach Tubby Smith to lament a relatively low seeding. He now finds himself a trendy pick for a first-round upset victim, facing a hungry up-and-comer. Temple coach John Chaney said St. Bonaventure (21-9) would beat UK.
“We're always going to be the Goliath, and the other team's always the David,” UK junior guard Saul Smith said. “We're going to have to rally and come together as a team and not lose our focus. We won't overlook anyone. There is no tomorrow.”
St. Bonaventure hasn't been in the NCAAs since 1978. Coach Jim Baron, who endured an 0-14 Atlantic-10 mark seven years ago in his first season with the Bonnies, has lifted them to this lofty level.
Five-foot-10 senior Tim Winn, the Bonnies' lightning-quick point guard, averages 13.7 points and 4.1 assists. They have a beefy big man in 6-11, 250-pound junior Peter Van Paassen (10.2 ppg, 7.1 rebounds) and a shot-blocker in 6-9, 220-pound senior Caswell Cyrus (12.1 ppg, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks).
Cyrus has been suffering from the flu but will play today.
“Some schools might be happy just to be here,” Winn said. “We're not.”
The Bonnies have beaten Temple, Dayton, Xavier (twice), North Carolina Charlotte and Massachusetts (twice).
“If we want to make a name for ourselves, we've got to go through the Kentuckys and the Temples,” Van Paassen said. “I don't think our guys are intimidated.”
Sophomore Jules Camara will start instead of Allison,giving UK a bigger lineup. Replacing the emotional void, however, is a task for every Wildcat.
“This was an emotional letdown, a blow to our team,” Tubby Smith said. “But I think our kids have overcome that. They've persevered all year long and overcome a lot of adversity. I expect us to come out and play our best.”
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