Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Desperate move to alter roles
Jeff Gilbert
Gilbert is the sports editor for The Roanoke Times
Recent columns
Davidson was one of those teams that makes you root against your bracket.
So what if Kansas has to make it to the final to provide any hope of at least breaking even in the office pool?
So what if a Kansas victory will put four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four for the first time?
On Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m., I had a previous commitment. For the first time, and what will probably be the only time, I taped a Davidson basketball game.
No radio on the way home. No ESPN when the TV was turned on. Just straight to the video tape in hopes of seeing another Wildcat strike.
This wasn't just about pulling for the underdog. It was just as much about watching to see what Stephen Curry would do next.
Too bad Stephen had his first cold second half of the tournament. Too bad a couple more of those turnovers the Wildcats created with their defense didn't result in points.
And too bad coach Bob McKillop forced it and put the ball in Stephen's hands at the end of the game. You want your best player taking the final shot, but this strategy of taking Stephen from scorer to playmaker didn't make sense. McKillop said Monday he was going for the win and wanted Stephen to shoot the 3-pointer that was needed to overcome the two-point deficit. He said he still believed he made the right call.
Second-guessing McKillop might not seem fair after the great job he did to mold this team and get it ready for the NCAA tournament, but changing the roles of his players was a desperate move that wasn't necessarily needed.
Everything Davidson did to get one shot away from going to San Antonio was discarded when Stephen took the inbounds pass with 16.8 seconds left, dribbled slowly up the floor and wasn't able to dribble himself into an open shot.
Kansas was ready with the double teams and was determined not to let him drive or shoot. Stephen finally had to pass to Jason Richards, whose deep 3-point shot wasn't close.
Why not put the ball in Richards' hands, get the ball up the court more quickly, run Stephen off some screens (even if Kansas stays in the box-and-one) and ultimately get the best shot possible?
In this situation, a tie keeps your season alive for at least five more minutes, whether it comes from Stephen scoring, Richards on a drive, somebody off a rebound or anything else.
Going for the win is great if you can get an open 3-point shot, but banking the outcome on that limits your options. McKillop's strategy was reminiscent of Duke's final chances against UConn in the 1999 NCAA championship game.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski put the ball in Trajan Langdon's hands against UConn defensive specialist Ricky Moore. Duke trailed 75-74 and Langdon tried to penetrate the lane to shoot, but Moore forced Langdon to travel.
After UConn made two free throws, Langdon got the inbounds pass with 5.2 seconds left, pushed the ball up the floor and slipped and fell before he could shoot.
Langdon was Duke's go-to scorer, but he was never a player who consistently created his shot off the dribble. He had no chance against Moore, and Krzyzewski should have known that.
Stephen is better off the dribble than Langdon was, but he still never had a chance in the situation he was put in.
Davidson still might have lost if Richards had rushed the ball up the floor and found his suddenly famous teammate open in the corner.
We'll never know, and even after this critical analysis that's probably OK, because what we'll remember most as the years pass is the run Stephen and his teammates made.
