Final Four Teams Make Gains in 2K Sports Classic
by Ray Floriani
NEW YORK – Last season Florida captured the 2K Sports Classic and eventually won the national championship. Maryland edged Michigan State in a thrilling final to capture the 2006 2K Sports Classic on Friday at Madison Square Garden. There is no guarantee Gary Williams’ club will be cutting the nets down in Atlanta, but there are similarities
Make no mistake: Maryland is good and could play deep into post season. The most significant thing Williams learned about his team deals with chemistry. Like Billy Donovan found out a year ago with Florida, having cohesiveness and cooperation on the floor goes a long way.
Williams is enjoying coaching this team. The chemistry is good, they share the ball and defend. The last point is a Williams’ trademark and something his more recent Maryland teams did not do on a consistent basis. Both nights here Maryland’s defense forced turnovers and got the transition game going. In the halfcourt set, that defense took away a number of options and in the St. John’s game, never really let the Red Storm get into any offensive flow.
The outstanding player of the tournament was D.J. Strawberry. The Maryland senior guard had a team-high 17 against Michigan State in the final. The prior evening he had 19 (in 22 minutes) against St. John’s. Strawberry shot very well (13 of 19) from the floor for the two nights and excelled in transition.
Maryland was especially tough on offense with a “three point guard” rotation. “For part of the game we had (D.J.) Strawberry who played point for us last year,” Williams said. “We also had (Greivis) Vasquez and (Eric) Hayes out there which gave us, in effect, three point guards.” And a wealth of good ball movement and ball-handling.
The Terrapins lack a significant inside game, though 6-9 senior Ekene Ibekewe, who plays a good deal outside, can mix it up underneath.
Michigan State is young but just getting better every night out. To finish runner-up in this field, especially facing the level of competition they saw in New York, bodes well for Tom Izzo’s club. The Spartans edged Texas in a thrilling semifinal before dropping another thriller to Maryland. The big men are gradually progressing, with the most consistent over the two days being 6-8 freshman Raymar Morgan. The Spartan point guard, Drew Neitzel scored the game-winner on a penetrating layup with 2.4 seconds left in the semifinal. He had another excellent night in the final. Neitzel concentrated on passing the first half, then started to open up offensively the second half as his club needed points. He finished with a game-high 21 points and over the course of the two games was one of the better players out there. The junior is a solid point guard who runs the team very well. Both nights he was asked to pick up the scoring slack, which he will do on a regular basis. The significant thing is his ability to get his shot and score without abandoning his duties of equitably distributing the ball.
After the wipeout against Maryland in the semis, St. John’s coach Norm Roberts promised his team would be ready, put the blowout behind and compete in the consolation. St. John’s showed a lot of what they are made of and held true to Roberts’ promise. The 77-76 result goes in the loss column, but the ability to bounce back in 24 hours after a thorough defeat says volumes about the character and determination of Norm Roberts’ team.
Texas is another young club certain to build on this experience. Three out of four, including a split at Madison Square Garden, left coach Rick Barnes satisfied. Kevin Durant the outstanding freshman forward showed more of an inclination to battle in the paint against St. John’s. Durant led all scorers with 29 points. The 6-9 forward buried five treys but did grab 10 rebounds, six of them on the offensive board.
In the opener against Michigan State, Durant scored 21 points but was 1-of-8 from beyond the arc and rushed his perimeter shots all night. As highly-touted as he is, we have to remember that Durant has about two weeks of collegiate competition as experience.
“I didn’t think I would do this well as a freshman,” Durant said following the consolation. “My teammates get me the ball, trust me and we all get along well.” Durant was named to the all-tournament team. Barnes has seen a steady improvement and increase in Durant’s poise even since the start of practice.
“Ask anyone on the team and they will tell you Durant is the hardest player to guard,” Barnes said. “He’s long and very deceptive. I’m surprised he missed some of the layups he did here.”
Barnes also hinted the best is yet to come. “You have not seen how good he (Durant) can be,” he said after the consolation. And without mentioning, Barnes is hoping Durant hangs around Austin for two years before showing his talent in an NBA uniform.
The first semifinal, Maryland against St. John’s, was basically over before halftime. Over the course of those agonizing last 20 minutes, Ricky Torres came off the bench and gave probably the best effort of anyone in a Red Storm uniform that night. Against Texas, Torres had another solid effort. The sophomore from nearby prep power St. Raymond’s finished with nine points. Down the stretch he sank two crucial treys and turned in another hustling performance.
Junior Avery Patterson continued his solid outside shooting for St. John’s. Patterson struggled against Maryland (as did everyone in a St. John’s uniform) but came back for a team-high 22 points (including 6 of 11 from three) against Texas.
On The Baseline
- As St. John’s was getting decimated during the semifinal, a Maryland cheerleader seated on the baseline (yes, actually) turned and asked “is St. John’s Division I?” The young lady wasn’t sarcastically kidding. After I told her yes, she then inquired, “what conference are they in?”
Amazing. Back during those glory days even the most casual fan knew St. John’s as a premier member of the Big East. - “Fear the Turtle”: The Maryland slogan is intriguing. What better source to learn more about the slogan than the Maryland cheerleaders, notably senior Valerie Towa and sophomore Becky Rosey. “We have to make the mascot ferocious,” Valerie said. “Make opponents fear it.” Becky added, while staying on the subject of ACC animal mascots, “our turtle is more fearsome than the Clemson Tiger.”
