Twice the Charm
On Monday evening the construction zone, safety displays above the roadways on Interstate 95 and the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut read, “2004 Men’s Basketball National Champions: UConn Huskies.” Jim Calhoun and the University of Connecticut won its second title game in as many appearances.
On the religious holiday known as Passover a team that has partially built its heritage on recruiting players from Israel capped the 2004 NCAA tournament with a brilliant encore.
The Huskies (33-6) brought Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Rashad Anderson and Josh Boone, all potential NBA products that basically put this game away by the end of the first half. A defining season for the students in Storrs, invaluable (losses) and learning experiences during the Huskies road to number one led to this success.
With the top ranking in all pre-season polls and the pressure to live up to the hype, number one UConn traveled to Chapel Hill on January 17th in a clash against the No. 12 Tar Heels of North Carolina. The two met in a nationally televised Saturday afternoon game in a “sea of Tar Heel blue” environment where they practically paint the bathroom toilet seats the Carolina blue color. Trailing by 14 points in the second half, the Huskies almost made an astonishing comeback nearly escaping the Dean Smith Center with the “W”. In the final year of a three-year contract with UNC, the Tar Heels will travel to the Gampel Pavilion next season with Husky revenge on mind.
The Huskies lost that game but an invaluable lesson was learned. Their second half comeback was what championship teams do and UConn would soon encounter a similar situation to that of the one in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Enter the Duke Blue Devils.
The Huskies’ display in the last four and a half minutes of the Saturday Final Four versus Duke was spectacular. A heart of a champion was put on display, like a science fair in grade school with the obvious project winner, the Huskies showed Duke the will to win regardless of the time on the clock or the score on the board.
It took more than five weeks before the camaraderie and the bulk of the Huskies culminated. Villanueva sat and watched from the sidelines missing the first six games due to a possible AAU/NCAA infraction, which turned out to be nothing. Calhoun suspended backup freshman point guard Marcus Williams (Los Angeles, CA) midway through the season for poor academics, forcing Gordon (Mount Vernon, NY) to take the role of the starting shooting guard plus backup point guard.
It was soon discovered that starter Denham Brown had tendonitis in his knees, which eventually led to the insertion of Rashad Anderson into the starting lineup, a role he relished in and Anderson grasped the opportunity with open arms.
Then came the debacle versus the Providence Friars on January 24th. Ryan Gomes showed the Huskies what it is like to play against an All-American on a good day. Following the game in the pressroom Calhoun ripped Dave Solomon of the New Haven Register, dropping F-bombs left and right after being asked why he did not heavily recruit Gomes of local Waterbury high school. Meanwhile the Huskies were on the verge of a total meltdown and a mental collapse as reporters called the Huskies the most disappointing team of the season.
Parts one and two of the season had come to a close with conference and out-of-conference schedules ending. Madison Square Garden and the Big East Tournament would feature seven possible NCAA tournament-bound teams. The back spasms Okafor (Houston, TX) encountered four months ago versus Georgia Tech started acting up again. He would miss the first two games and fly to Dallas for an evaluation by a top NBA doctor.
The Huskies proved they could win without the dominating center Okafor and stormed through to the championship game defeating Notre Dame and Villanova. Okafor decided to play versus Pittsburgh in the title game but did not look 100 percent and though UConn won, Okafor fouled out and had a grimacing look on his face throughout the night. UConn, however, took the Big East Tournament defeating Pittsburgh 61-58 securing a number two seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Winning by an average of 16 points per game, the Huskies, on a path of destruction defeated Vermont, DePaul, Vanderbilt and Alabama all the way into San Antonio with a Final Four meeting versus the kill-or-be-killed mentality Duke Blue Devils.
The ACC flagship program put up a brilliant fight and looked to be in control until the waning minutes when the Huskies, behind their catalyst Okafor, took control and showed the world why they were not to be reckoned with. Gordon finished with 18 points and when asked in the pressroom if he’d celebrate the win and his 21st birthday at midnight with a drink, his response was, “I spoke with my buddies from Mount Vernon and they asked the same question. I said, ‘Fellas’, I cannot be playing in this title game with a hangover.’” A reporter then asked a puzzled yet humble Gordon how he knew what a hangover was.
The championship game was not even close as a two-pointer from Anderson at the end of the first half summed up the contest. With 44,468 fans in attendance, UConn led by as many as 25 points on separate occasions and shut down Jarrett Jack and the rest of the Yellow Jackets offensive firepower. Tech could not hit from the perimeter shooting just 38 percent for the game and failed to get Okafor in early foul trouble, which was the only way they were going to win this game. UConn took an 82-73 victory over Georgia Tech and the 6-foot-9 Okafor was named the tournament’s MOP (Most Outstanding Player) after recording his 53rd career double-double with 24 and 15.
A unique situation will pit the UConn women’s basketball team against Tennessee in tonight’s respective championship title game. The University of Connecticut has the opportunity of becoming the first program in history to win both the men’s and women’s national championships.
Huskies basketball has lost its athletic director, its two head assistant coaches (and possibly a third this summer) and three Big East rivals to the ACC. Boone, Anderson and possibly Charlie Villanueva (if he does not hire an agent) along with newcomers AJ Price (NY), Rudy Gay (MD) and former ACC Rookie of the Year, Georgia Tech transfer Eddie Nelson headline the 2004-2005 roster. A standard has been set in the Constitution State and now the 15th and 16th players from Connecticut will enter the NBA in Okafor and Gordon. Tate George, Rod Sellers, Tony “the Microwave” Gwynn, Ray Allen, and Richard Hamilton have been instrumental in building this university’s successes.
I would never compare this UConn team to the Fabulous Five of the Michigan Wolverines, or maybe I would. Actually, I will. Three of these guys should go pro right now. Two of the others, when proven, will end up going pro. The “want” these five guys showed on Saturday and then on Monday was extraordinary. ‘Cuse head coach Jim Boeheim said before the tip of the title game Monday night, “UConn will win by high-end double figures because these guys want it bad enough and you could see it when they play.” He was not too far off. Okafor, Gordon, Villanueva, Anderson and Boone were not going to let this team lose no matter what the circumstance.
Last year, every single New Yorker had to make it known that Syracuse was number one and orange popped up all over the Big Apple like yellow cabbies on a holiday weekend. Two years ago I spent time watching the championship game at a fraternity-alumnus house in College Park, Maryland, listening to the Terrapin fans rant about how their Maryland team was the best of the best. For the sake of this never again happening in my lifetime, One Shining Moment could not have sounded better than it did Monday night when UConn took home the trophy and cut down the nets.
