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Point guard, shooter are musts Thursday, Apr 3, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - The eight-character password works far better than the decoder ring that on occasion could be found deep in the Cracker Jacks. me8..... secured admission to the official ballot for the John R. Wooden award and another vote for Tyler Hansbrough. No. 1 was easy. After that, Derrick Rose's line from Memphis 85, Texas 67, was fresh and indelible - 34 minutes, 7-of-10 from the field, 7-of-8 free throws, six rebounds, nine assists and two turnovers. That is the capsule of a point guard par excellence. Add the crisp perspective of Rose's coach, John Calipari, who cited the team's seven turnovers against the Longhorns, the nine, and the five prior to that in the NCAA Tournament with the addendum, "And, we play fast." NBA scouts say Michael Beasley of Kansas State is the No. 1 prospect in the country, but the college game begins at the point and Rose was No. 2 on the ballot. He was followed by Kevin Love of UCLA and Beasley. Like Rose, they are freshmen. A review of the NCAA Tournament illustrates the importance of making 3-pointers and not making turnovers. The former is simple math - a team that makes 5-of-10 from the field is still two points behind an opponent that is good on 4-of-10 from long range. Checking the box scores from 7 vs. 8, 6 vs. 9, 5 vs. 10, and the six so-called upsets of the first two rounds, the winning team shot better from the field and was usually more precise from 3-point range. In Sienna's victory over No. 4 Vanderbilt, the Saints made 9-of-20 3s and the Commodores made 4-of-20. In Villanova over No. 5 Clemson, the winners made 7-of-13 3s and the losers hit 9-of-33. If the losing team shot well, the next step was to check the turnovers. For instance, Georgetown made 26-of-41 from the field, including 10-of-18 3s, and lost to Davidson. The Wildcats missed 22 3-pointers, but had only four turnovers compared to 16 for the Hoyas. The darling of the tournament, Davidson had only seven turnovers against No. 3 Wisconsin and also hit 12-of-24 3s. The winning recipe continued through the third round of the NCAA, and it is both noteworthy and encouraging for Arkansas fans that experience is not a prerequisite to performance. North Carolina starts three sophomores and two juniors; Neither of Memphis' seniors starts and only one plays much. Seven freshmen and five sophomores are among the 24 players on the Wooden ballot. For the first time, The AP All-American team does not include a senior. Rose has his team in the Final Four and his next game might be his last with the Tigers. Sophomore Stephen Curry of Davidson shot so well in the first three games of the tournament that Dick Vitale went overboard in his praise. A 44 percent shooter from long range, Curry was 19-of-36 in the first three games and 4-of-16 in the loss to Kansas. As a freshman, he shot almost 41 percent from beyond the arc. For the Razorbacks, incoming freshmen could fill both roles - Courtney Fortson at the point and Rotnei Clarke as the designated shooter. Reviewing and previewing this week, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said that Fortson is capable of getting into the lane at anytime and that Clarke can stretch the defense from day one. If they come through, Patrick Beverley will be the beneficiary. In the regional finals, each of the four winners shot 50 percent or better from the field. Louisville was the only loser that shot well and the Cardinals offset that with 19 turnovers. Strictly for entertainment value, here's hoping that North Carolina plays Memphis in the championship game on Monday night. The ball might never touch the floor in a 90-88 slugfest with highlights that would be a dream for the execs at CBS. By the way, the folks in Las Vegas had it right long before the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee identified the four No. 1 seeds. In December, oddsmakers established UCLA, North Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas as the favorites to win the championship at 7-2, 7-2, 9-2, and 7-1. No other team in the country was less than 10-1. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
