Monday, March 10, 2008
Hokies treading water in sea of ambiguity
Aaron McFarling
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CLEMSON , S.C. -- Somebody "misremembers." That's the only explanation.
Either Virginia Tech's A.D. Vassallo hit the arm of Clemson's Demontez Stitt or he didn't.
Either the whistle should have blown or it shouldn't have.
Either the Tigers should have shot and made both free throws, like they did Sunday to win 70-69 and severely damage the Hokies' NCAA hopes, or the whistle should not have blown and Tech should have taken possession to run out the final 3.8 seconds, grabbing that eye-popping victory it sorely need to impress the selection committee.
So which is it? Yes or no? Black or white?
Let's go to both locker rooms and find out.
Vassallo: "I didn't touch him at all."
Stitt: "He got my arm, yeah."
Tech forward Lewis Witcher: "I didn't think he really fouled him, but the refs saw something different."
Clemson guard Cliff Hammonds: "I saw contact."
Tech coach Seth Greenberg: "It is just a damn shame that it had to come down to that. The teams played too hard for it to come down to that, plain and simple."
Clemson forward James Mays: "A win is a win. A win is a win."
Alas, there is no clear answer. No yes, no no. No black, no white. Only the same Olympic-sized pool of gray the Hokies have been swimming in since mid-February.
And that's what had Greenberg screaming on the sidelines. That's what had him sprinting to midcourt when the buzzer sounded and confronting official Jerry Heater.
What did he say to Heater?
"I asked him when his wife's birthday was," Greenberg said sarcastically, then didn't elaborate.
The temptation is to say that it never should have come down to one play, that if the Hokies had only made their free throws and taken better care of the ball in the final minutes, we wouldn't be having this debate. Normally, that's a reasonable stance.
But here's the thing: When Tech plays Clemson, it ALWAYS comes down to one play.
The past six times these teams have met, the game has been decided by five points or fewer. Each time, a huge play in the final 20 seconds helped decide it.
Just last year, the Tigers nipped the Hokies 75-74, spoiling senior day at Cassell Coliseum and costing Tech the ACC regular-season title. On Sunday, the Hokies were poised to get payback, leading 69-68 when Stitt brought the ball into the frontcourt as the clock ticked under 10 seconds.
Vassallo, backing up into his defensive position, noticed that Clemson's Sam Perry was running free toward the basket and decided he needed to cover him. Before he did, he made a move toward Stitt.
"I swiped at the guy," Vassallo said. "I tried to make him stop the dribble. That's all I wanted to do. He stopped dribbling. That's all I wanted to do. I never touched the guy. I pretty much swiped and moved out of the way. They felt like I fouled him."
Stitt's version?
"It wasn't like a hard, hard foul," he said. "But it was hard enough for the ref to call it, I think. He came down over my arm, so I had no chance to go up. That's pretty much why they called it."
Credit Stitt, a freshman reserve, for making both free throws. That's certainly not a given, considering the pressure of the moment and the fact that Clemson ranks last in the league in free-throw percentage.
The shots -- coupled with Deron Washington's desperation heave missing the mark at the buzzer -- sent fans streaming onto the court. As of this moment, you have to think those people were celebrating a win over an NIT team.
"What's his name, Lunardi?" Vassallo said of ESPN "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi. "Whatever his name is. Whatever he decides it is, I don't know. It may put us out or in. Last four in, last four out. I don't really don't pay attention to that. My concern was winning this game."
Now that's gone. Lost, stolen or otherwise. And even Vassallo admits the ACC Tournament just got a lot bigger.
"Oh, definitely," he said. "We've got to win. If we want our NCAA hopes to come back -- since we lost them, I guess -- we've just got to win every game. Our point is to win the ACC Tournament."
Then, and only then, would we know for sure.
Until then, the Hokies continue to splash onward, desperately trying not to drown in that crowded pool of gray.
