arty:
Obviously the story on Ross is amazing and thanks to a good man named Robert Montgomery Knight, he just had an amazing lifetime moment. No school would take him. Junior colleges said no, so Coach said fuk it and come play for me. 1st team all Big 12 conference. A great story.
The General said:
Even though I am a fan of the General, you have to admit that Ross was a walk-on, so not even Bobby Knight saw enough to give him a scholarship.
... but ...
Coach took the walk-on and made him All-Big 12. I doubt that has ever happened before. Now Coach K gets every single McD All-American and says that "the talent on this years team isn't like years past". Geez.
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
One Shining Moment
With his shorts falling off, his butt headed out of bounds and his team barely hanging on, Devonne Giles had about, oh, .005 seconds to do something Saturday afternoon. So the lanky Texas Tech forward did what drives a lot of basketball purists nuts -- which happened to be exactly the right thing to do.
Falling toward the photographers and cheerleaders on the baseline, roughly 94 feet from his basket, the 6-foot-8 Giles smartly turned to a referee to call time out. And seven seconds later the Red Raiders were on their way to the Sweet 16.
Big moments were pretty commonplace in the last couple of minutes of Tech's 71-69 minor upset of third-seeded and 10th-ranked Gonzaga in this second-round NCAA game in Tucson, Ariz. Few were more important than the plea from Giles after grabbing a rebound off a missed Gonzaga shot. It was this simple: If Giles falls out of bounds there, the Bulldogs get the ball back with a chance to tie the score or even go ahead with a 3-pointer. By calling the timeout, Tech keeps possession, forces Gonzaga to foul and, essentially, puts the game out of reach.
Gonzaga fans may be screaming "B.S." at the T.O. today. It's a move, when the other team does it, that always enrages the home team.
But Giles, a senior from Newark, N.J., is fine with that.
"If that's B.S.," he said, smiling in Tech's locker room after the game, "I'm glad to have B.S."
Player I Saw Who I Really Liked
They say the NCAA Tournament is made for senior guards -- they being just about everybody -- and Tech's Ronald Ross proved just about everybody right again on Saturday.
Ross, headed to his home state of New Mexico now for the Albuquerque Region, has played in 131 games for the Red Raiders. He's the guy players like sophomore Jarrius Jackson look to when the heat is turned up. Like, for instance, on Saturday.
Down by nine points at the half, and 13 early on in the second half, Ross took over, driving the ball against the Gonzaga zone, setting up Jackson for drives against the zone and sinking the biggest shot of the game.
"He's the most experienced guy on the team," Jackson said. "Nobody knows our system better. Ron and Coach [Bob] Knight tell us what to do out there."
The big shot came with 1:10 left when Gonzaga's zone, softened finally by the driving of Jackson, fell too far off of Ross, who slipped out to the left wing and pumped in a 3-pointer for a 68-67 lead. It was a shot that a lot of other players -- younger players, less experienced players -- either wouldn't have taken or may have been a little fluttery about taking.
"I," said Ross, "was just unconscious."
To further prove his steel, Ross -- who scribbles the words "Go Get It" on his wristband before games -- made the final two Tech free throws of the game, with seven seconds left. He finished with 24 points.
Courtside Confidential
You have to give the Bulldogs credit -- I guess -- for going for the win. Even after blowing that 13-point cushion, they had a chance to tie the score or go for the lead with 10 seconds left. Down by two points, sophomore forward Adam Morrison -- who finished with a game-high 25 points -- inbounded the ball to Derek Raivio, who gave it back. Morrison drove across the court, using a savage pick by Ronny Turiaf on Martin Zeno to get open. But Morrison's clear 3-pointer clanged off the rim, Giles pulled in the rebound, called time out as he was falling out of bounds and -- well, you know the rest. ... I don't think this is worth mentioning, but Knight was seen haranguing the officials as he headed to the Tech locker room at halftime. In equally important breaking news, the sun went down Saturday night. ... If they gave out MVPs for the first half of games -- and I suppose there's a reason they don't -- it could have gone to the headband-wearing skywalker Erroll Knight of Gonzaga, who had 12 points. The most he had this year for a full game was 14 points. His dunk with 19:13 left Saturday gave him 14 for this game, too -- but he didn't score again. Which is why, I'm sure, they don't give MVPs for first halves. ... Knight so controls his players that he even mocked himself. When someone in the press room asked Ross to comment on his coach, his coach leaned over and fed him this line: 'He's like a latter-day Santa Claus." Well, ho ho ho.
Championship Formula
It's hard to think, after seeing the Red Raiders behind for 95 percent of this game, that they're bound for anything beyond the Sweet 16. A team that plays hard only in the second half is a team not destined for the Final Four.
Still, Tech showed a great ability to adjust. The Raiders couldn't solve Gonzaga's zone in the first half, but they used some nifty dribble penetration and good inside passing to solve it in the second half. They showed a lot of heart, too, in busting the boards after an embarrassing first-half showing. The Raiders were outrebounded 27-14 in the first half, including 10-3 on the offensive end. In the second half, though, the smaller Raiders grabbed an 18-17 overall edge, and grabbed five offensive boards (to Gonzaga's seven).
The Raiders may have some trouble with bigger teams -- and most teams are bigger -- and the little problem they had in working against the zone can't happen again. But Texas Tech has good senior leadership in Ross and a studly scorer in Jackson (who finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting). Bet against them at your own risk.
The Red Raiders get either West Virginia or Wake Forest in Albuquerque next weekend.
One Shining Moment
With his shorts falling off, his butt headed out of bounds and his team barely hanging on, Devonne Giles had about, oh, .005 seconds to do something Saturday afternoon. So the lanky Texas Tech forward did what drives a lot of basketball purists nuts -- which happened to be exactly the right thing to do.
Falling toward the photographers and cheerleaders on the baseline, roughly 94 feet from his basket, the 6-foot-8 Giles smartly turned to a referee to call time out. And seven seconds later the Red Raiders were on their way to the Sweet 16.
Big moments were pretty commonplace in the last couple of minutes of Tech's 71-69 minor upset of third-seeded and 10th-ranked Gonzaga in this second-round NCAA game in Tucson, Ariz. Few were more important than the plea from Giles after grabbing a rebound off a missed Gonzaga shot. It was this simple: If Giles falls out of bounds there, the Bulldogs get the ball back with a chance to tie the score or even go ahead with a 3-pointer. By calling the timeout, Tech keeps possession, forces Gonzaga to foul and, essentially, puts the game out of reach.
Gonzaga fans may be screaming "B.S." at the T.O. today. It's a move, when the other team does it, that always enrages the home team.
But Giles, a senior from Newark, N.J., is fine with that.
"If that's B.S.," he said, smiling in Tech's locker room after the game, "I'm glad to have B.S."
Player I Saw Who I Really Liked
They say the NCAA Tournament is made for senior guards -- they being just about everybody -- and Tech's Ronald Ross proved just about everybody right again on Saturday.
Ross, headed to his home state of New Mexico now for the Albuquerque Region, has played in 131 games for the Red Raiders. He's the guy players like sophomore Jarrius Jackson look to when the heat is turned up. Like, for instance, on Saturday.
Down by nine points at the half, and 13 early on in the second half, Ross took over, driving the ball against the Gonzaga zone, setting up Jackson for drives against the zone and sinking the biggest shot of the game.
"He's the most experienced guy on the team," Jackson said. "Nobody knows our system better. Ron and Coach [Bob] Knight tell us what to do out there."
The big shot came with 1:10 left when Gonzaga's zone, softened finally by the driving of Jackson, fell too far off of Ross, who slipped out to the left wing and pumped in a 3-pointer for a 68-67 lead. It was a shot that a lot of other players -- younger players, less experienced players -- either wouldn't have taken or may have been a little fluttery about taking.
"I," said Ross, "was just unconscious."
To further prove his steel, Ross -- who scribbles the words "Go Get It" on his wristband before games -- made the final two Tech free throws of the game, with seven seconds left. He finished with 24 points.
Courtside Confidential
You have to give the Bulldogs credit -- I guess -- for going for the win. Even after blowing that 13-point cushion, they had a chance to tie the score or go for the lead with 10 seconds left. Down by two points, sophomore forward Adam Morrison -- who finished with a game-high 25 points -- inbounded the ball to Derek Raivio, who gave it back. Morrison drove across the court, using a savage pick by Ronny Turiaf on Martin Zeno to get open. But Morrison's clear 3-pointer clanged off the rim, Giles pulled in the rebound, called time out as he was falling out of bounds and -- well, you know the rest. ... I don't think this is worth mentioning, but Knight was seen haranguing the officials as he headed to the Tech locker room at halftime. In equally important breaking news, the sun went down Saturday night. ... If they gave out MVPs for the first half of games -- and I suppose there's a reason they don't -- it could have gone to the headband-wearing skywalker Erroll Knight of Gonzaga, who had 12 points. The most he had this year for a full game was 14 points. His dunk with 19:13 left Saturday gave him 14 for this game, too -- but he didn't score again. Which is why, I'm sure, they don't give MVPs for first halves. ... Knight so controls his players that he even mocked himself. When someone in the press room asked Ross to comment on his coach, his coach leaned over and fed him this line: 'He's like a latter-day Santa Claus." Well, ho ho ho.
Championship Formula
It's hard to think, after seeing the Red Raiders behind for 95 percent of this game, that they're bound for anything beyond the Sweet 16. A team that plays hard only in the second half is a team not destined for the Final Four.
Still, Tech showed a great ability to adjust. The Raiders couldn't solve Gonzaga's zone in the first half, but they used some nifty dribble penetration and good inside passing to solve it in the second half. They showed a lot of heart, too, in busting the boards after an embarrassing first-half showing. The Raiders were outrebounded 27-14 in the first half, including 10-3 on the offensive end. In the second half, though, the smaller Raiders grabbed an 18-17 overall edge, and grabbed five offensive boards (to Gonzaga's seven).
The Raiders may have some trouble with bigger teams -- and most teams are bigger -- and the little problem they had in working against the zone can't happen again. But Texas Tech has good senior leadership in Ross and a studly scorer in Jackson (who finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting). Bet against them at your own risk.
The Red Raiders get either West Virginia or Wake Forest in Albuquerque next weekend.
