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#1 Tar Heels Fall to Virginia Tech

First Duke, now North Carolina.

Virginia Tech beat them both in eight days, riding the play of senior guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon and an unheralded cast of role players.

Dowdell scored 23 points and had four steals, Gordon added 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals and the ball-hawking Hokies likely ended North Carolina's stay at No. 1 after only a week with a stunning 94-88 victory Saturday.

It ended with some tension -- the Tar Heels cut a 22-point deficit to 91-88 with 16.9 seconds left -- but then Dowdell made one free throw, Gordon made two more and the final seconds ticked off, bringing hundreds of frenzied fans rushing onto the court.

"They scared us at the end," Gordon said. "They were hitting shots like the Phoenix Suns. They're No. 1 for a reason, but tonight, it was our night."

The Hokies (13-4, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) joined Boston College (12-4, 4-0), which won earlier, as the only teams still unbeaten in ACC play.

And they did it not only because of their guard play, but also because of Coleman Collins, who had 12 points and frustrated Tyler Hansbrough inside; because of A.D. Vassallo, who scored 17 off the bench; and because of Nigel Munson, who scored 10.

There were also key moments for Deron Washington, Cheick Diakite and Lewis Witcher, who all got in foul trouble but combined for 12 points and helped the Hokies slow down the Tar Heels inside game, and former walk-on Chris Tucker, who hit a 3-pointer.

"That's kind of the pleasure of coaching," Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said of seeing guys who work hard and don't always get to play get in and make contributions.

"It was great," Vassallo said, "guys coming in and giving us a big lift."

Turned out, they needed it all as the Tar Heels went from trailing by 20 with six minutes left to getting within three and silencing the crowd with 16.9 seconds to go.

But then Dowdell hit one of two free throws, Gordon got fouled at the other end and hit two more and the Hokies had their second-ever victory against a team ranked No. 1.

"They've had two pretty big wins the last two Saturdays, to say the least," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "It's a different ballgame now in this league."

The Hokies, who came in leading the ACC by a wide margin in averaging 9.5 fewer turnovers than their opponents, turned 17 turnovers into 20 points against the Heels.

"In the ACC, it doesn't matter who it is or where it is, you always have to play hard," said Hansbrough, who finished with 19 hard-earned points and 15 rebounds.

"I think at times we had some let-downs that hurt us."

North Carolina (15-2, 2-1) got to see what Duke learned a week ago when the Hokies won 69-67 in overtime at Cameron Indoor Stadium -- these Hokies will take the ball away from you, not make many mistakes and force teams to play smart or risk disappointment.

And this time, they did it with a crowd on their side and in near hysteria.

"If you don't get jacked up for Carolina and Duke, you need to quit and go be a ballerina or something," Gordon said. "We came out hard. No reason to be scared."

Not even an early 17-9 lead for the Tar Heels was cause for concern.

Greenberg called a time out even though the next dead ball would have brought an officials' time out, and whatever he said in the huddle registered, and fast.

Beginning with two free throws by Collins, the Hokies went on a 21-4 run over the next 8:15, holding the Tar Heels without a point for 5‚½ minutes as the crowd at Cassell Coliseum showed its delirium with ear-piercing screaming and whistling.

Leading 30-21, the Hokies saw North Carolina close to within four, but then the Hokies scored seven straight late in the half and led 47-37 at halftime.

The stage was set for the deeper Tar Heels to assert themselves after halftime, but as if to show they weren't in over their heads, the Hokies scored 19 of the first 26 points after halftime, opening a 66-44 lead with 12 minutes left, and then hung on.

"We don't want anything but tears of joy in this locker room," Collins said.

Williams, who started with freshmen Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson it the backcourt, said it might be true that that Hokies guard tandem simply showed its experience advantage in the game, but added: "that would be simplifying it too much."

Instead, he hopes his guys learned something with more conference play ahead.

"I hope it was a big eye-opener," he said. "We'll find out."

The Tar Heels' next game is at Clemson, which suffered it's first lost Saturday.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=270130259

Florida Back to #1 In New Polls

Connecticut, which had been a fixture in the coaches' poll since 2003, dropped out of the rankings for the first time since 2003, and Virginia Tech made its first appearance in the poll since 1996.

The Huskies (13-3) fell out after losing to Marquette in Storrs on Wednesday. The Hokies (13-4) jumped in to the No. 25 spot after their 94-88 upset of then-No. 1 North Carolina (15-2) on Saturday. Virginia Tech is off to a 3-0 start in the ACC, already with wins over the Tar Heels and No. 17 Duke.

The top five was also shaken up. North Carolina fell to No. 4 after the loss to the Hokies, which allowed Florida (16-2) to move back into the top spot. UCLA (15-1) inched up to No. 2 with Wisconsin (17-1) right behind at No. 3. No. 5 Kansas (15-2) reclaimed a spot in the top five after wins over No. 14 Oklahoma State (15-2) and Iowa State.

Pittsburgh (16-2) moved up to No. 6. Ohio State (14-3) fell to No. 7 after a 73-69 loss at Wisconsin on Tuesday. Texas A&M (15-2) followed at No. 8, and Alabama (14-2) moved up to No. 9. Oregon (17-1) enjoyed the largest jump, shooting up seven spots to No. 10 after a 79-77 win at Arizona on Sunday.

No. 11 Air Force (17-1), No. 12 Arizona (13-3), No. 13 Nevada (16-1), Oklahoma State, and No. 15 Butler (15-2) came next.

Clemson (17-1) dropped just two spots to No. 16 after suffering its first defeat of the season -- a 92-87 loss at Maryland on Saturday. Duke (14-3) checked in at No. 17, followed by No. 18 Memphis (13-3), No. 19 LSU (12-4), and No. 20 Notre Dame (15-2) in the top 20.

Washington State (15-3) moved up to No. 21, with Maryland (15-3) right behind at No. 22. No. 23 Texas (13-3), No. 24 Tennessee (13-4), and Virginia Tech round out the poll.

Along with Connecticut, West Virginia and Washington also dropped out of the rankings.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2731959

Illinois students sue NCAA
Duo who portray Chief Illiniwek seek to end sanctions



February 15, 2007


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Two students who portray University of Illinois mascot Chief Illiniwek filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to end NCAA sanctions against the school.

The complaint filed in Champaign County Circuit Court also seeks to stop the university's board of trustees from complying with NCAA sanctions.

After years of complaints from American Indians and others, the NCAA in 2005 deemed Illiniwek an offensive use of American Indian imagery and barred the university from hosting postseason sporting events.

Dan Maloney, of Galesburg, and Logan Ponce, of St. Charles, portray the chief at basketball and football games.

In their complaint, they asked a judge to issue an injunction against the NCAA and the board. Maloney and Ponce claim, among other things, that limits on their performances would infringe on their right to free speech.

NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said Thursday that he hadn't seen a copy of the complaint and declined comment.

The university board of trustees has said it expects to make a decision on the chief's future this year.

Damn, even I'm offended, lol...They need to give that shit up man...

Escape in ACC quarters launched NC State's miracle run

By Pat Forde
ESPN.com


The scoreboard read North Carolina State 70, Wake Forest 70. Less than a minute remained in an Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinal game that, on a Friday afternoon in March 1983, hardly augured the start of something big.

Nobody in The Omni in Atlanta could have known that the events in that final minute would alter the course of college basketball history, the course of Jim Valvano's career -- and, ultimately, the course of his impact upon society.

But before the Wolfpack coach could become everything he would become -- the national championship coach, the prominent ESPN basketball analyst, the passionate orator who delivered the most famous sports speech since Lou Gehrig, the national face of the fight against cancer; Jimmy V -- his team had to survive that moment.

"If we don't win that game," said State point guard Sidney Lowe, "we're done."

If NC State doesn't win that game, an NCAA Tournament berth disappears. The Wolfpack had come into the game 17-10, 8-6 in ACC play -- as on-the-bubble as it gets. They were one loss from the NIT, and at least a couple of wins from the Big Dance.

And Valvano, at that point, was just a third-year coach at NC State with a quick wit and an unspectacular ACC record. He was 18-25 in league play, and his only NCAA Tournament win had come as the coach at Iona three years before. Now, he was on the verge of missing the tournament with a veteran team.

At the end of February, during an 86-75 loss at Virginia that dropped the Pack to 16-9, Cavaliers fans had serenaded NC State with chants of "NIT! NIT!" It seemed perfectly reasonable, although the Wolfpack had just gotten guard Dereck Whittenberg back from a broken foot.

With the NCAA inviting only 48 teams at that time, the Wolfpack was trying to play its way in from the outside.

Now, on the court in Atlanta, NC State unexpectedly was fighting for its tournament life against a Demon Deacons team it had routed by 41 points six days earlier to end the regular season. Wake got the ball with 4:25 left, score tied.

Those being the days before a shot clock, the Demon Deacons simply held the ball for nearly four minutes. Wake coach Carl Tacy called timeout with 30 seconds left to diagram a play for the last shot.

"No question," said Lowe, now the coach of the Wolfpack. "We were up against the wall."

Valvano decided he couldn't let his team be a passive participant any longer. He put his players in their "22-trap" defense, double-teaming the ball.

The ploy worked perfectly, as Lowe was able to intercept a weak pass out of a double-team, deflecting it into the hands of teammate Thurl Bailey. After an NC State timeout with 10 seconds left, Lowe fed a bounce pass to forward Lorenzo Charles, who was fouled with three ticks remaining.

The freshman badly missed the first free throw but made the second -- by no means his final heroic play that season. The Pack walked off the court with a 71-70 victory, never suspecting that the ultimate Cinderella run had just begun.

"That's where it started," Lowe said.

It would not end until a manic April Monday in Albuquerque, when a former bubble team shocked the socks off America and mighty Houston, 54-52, to win the national championship.

"If ever there was a team literally one basket away from not getting in a tournament they ultimately won, that was it," said Valvano's brother, Bob, a former coach and current ESPN radio host.

And that razor-thin margin between being famous and being forgotten illustrates the beauty of March Madness. It begins with the conference tournaments, where every team starts over with a chance. Every dream is in play.

You must be defeated on the court. No computer and no group of voters will eliminate you from title contention. It can be done only by another team, head-to-head on a 94-by-50 rectangle, until only one team remains.

And the last team standing has never been more unlikely than the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack.

The Wake Forest win began an unparalleled run of remarkable escapes from elimination. Of NC State's nine conference and NCAA tournament victories, six came by three or fewer points.

It was in the course of this run that Valvano popularized the term, "survive and advance."

After Wake, the Pack survived a long Sam Perkins jump shot that rattled out at the buzzer of regulation in the ACC semifinals, sending the game into overtime, where the Wolfpack upset North Carolina, 91-84. That was defending national champion North Carolina, ACC top seed North Carolina, national top-five North Carolina, Michael Jordan's North Carolina.

"I watched it at home with my parents, and I did have a feeling," Bob Valvano said. "The Carolina game was unbelievable. They just kept coming and kept coming and kept digging and kept digging. That's when I did think they were something special."

Full of confidence and playing fearlessly, State then finally turned the tables on Ralph Sampson and No. 2 Virginia. The Wolfpack had lost all six times to the Cavaliers under Valvano but won this game and the ACC tournament, 81-78, assuring their berth in the NCAAs.

"We weren't talking about the NCAA Tournament," said Lowe, who was named MVP of the ACC tourney. "We were talking about that tournament. We played each game like it was our last game."

As it turned out, State had six more games to go. The dramatic finishes were only beginning.

Down six with a minute to play against Pepperdine in overtime in the first round of the NCAAs, State needed 84 percent foul shooter Dane Suttle to miss a pair of front ends of one-and-ones before it could rally and eventually win in double OT. In the second round, against sixth-ranked UNLV, State rallied from a 12-point deficit with 11:40 left, got help from another key missed free throw and won by a point on a Bailey fadeaway with four seconds left.

After blowing out Utah in the Sweet 16, NC State faced Virginia and Sampson for the fourth time that year. Sampson had come back for his senior season to win a national championship, and the Cavaliers took a lead into the final minutes. But State rallied once more, and Charles -- a 63 percent foul shooter -- made the two free throws with 23 seconds left that ended Sampson's college career, 63-62.

By the time State got to Albuquerque for the Final Four, Valvano's wit and coaching acumen had thrust him to center stage. Yet, even after beating Georgia 67-60 in the semifinals, the Pack were considered one of the biggest underdogs in championship history against Clyde Drexler, Akeem Olajuwon and Phi Slama Jama.

You know how it ended.

When Charles dunked the Whittenberg 30-footer that became the most famous air ball in basketball history, Valvano had become a star. His frantic dash around the court in search of someone to hug became the ultimate video expression of the thrill of sudden victory.

"He was the person that he was before he came to NC State -- his character, his demeanor, his sense of humor; he had all of that when he got here," Lowe said. "But he didn't have NC State. I think they worked well together. He took NC State to that level that we achieved, and then NC State made him Valvano. Made him Jimmy V.

"Winning the national championship, and the way he did it, did boost his marketability and let people see who he was. He got a chance to touch more people. And once he touched you, you never forgot him."

When Valvano's coaching tenure ended amid scandal at NC State in 1990, he found a second career as a broadcaster at ESPN. Would that have happened without the miracle of '83?

"He was very good at what he did -- a very good coach, and he might still have gotten a job in broadcasting, and he would have been very good," Bob Valvano said. "But winning that title definitely helped."

Valvano was an instant success on the air and became a rising star in the network's college basketball coverage. But in 1992, he was diagnosed with a rare and virulent form of bone cancer.

And that tragedy opened the door for Jimmy V's most enduring moment: the "Don't give up, don't ever give up" speech at the inaugural ESPYS in 1992.

"[Bob] Costas believes that if Jimmy doesn't make that speech, the first year of the ESPYS, then [the ESPYS] might go away," Bob Valvano said. "Don't get me wrong, ESPN has had a lot of successes, but they've had a few strikeouts too, and maybe that would have been one of them. That speech gave that whole evening a dose of substance."

And it gave the fight against cancer a face, a rallying cry, a pep talk. Not until Lance Armstrong and his yellow bracelets came along did cancer research receive another such nationwide motivational boost.

The V Foundation for Cancer Research has since raised $56 million. You don't have to know a thing about basketball to appreciate that.

"I've heard Clyde Drexler say it -- and it might be part of not wanting to admit that you were beaten, but it's pretty insightful: He said, 'There's no way we win the game because it's all part of a broader script,'" Bob Valvano said. "Without that game there's no V Foundation, no $56 million raised for cancer research, no 'Don't give up, don't ever give up.'"

It might all have been meant to be. But if the V Foundation and the ESPYS moment needed the miracle in Albuquerque, remember this: The miracle in Albuquerque needed the escape in Atlanta to start the whole thing.




1983 was the best NCAA's I have ever seen. I was a bandwagon fan of NC State that year and remained a fan until Jimmy V left.

Field of 65 Set

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03/22/2007 13:27 PM

Tubby Smith leaves Kentucky to coach Minnesota

(AP) -- Tubby Smith is leaving Kentucky to take over the
head coaching job at Minnesota, multiple sources told ESPN.com's
Andy Katz on Thursday.

Minnesota is expected to pay Smith $1.8 million per year.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/2tt2y5

All 4 Junior Starters Turning to NBA Draft

Florida's junior starters Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green will forgo their final years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft, university president Bernie Machen told Bloomberg Radio.

"They will announce soon that they're going to stand for the draft,'' Machen told Bloomberg Radio for a program due to air this weekend. "They thought about it and decided it was in their best interest to move on."

The four juniors were expected to make an official announcement on their futures Thursday afternoon.

Last year, after Florida won its first national championship in basketball, the four juniors announced they would remain in school and try to repeat as champions. They completed that mission on Monday, beating Ohio State to become the first back-to-back champs since Duke in 1991 and 1992.

Their coach, Billy Donovan, announced Thursday that he is staying at Florida and turning down the opportunity to interview for the vacant head coaching position at Kentucky.

Source: ESPN


Donovan Staying At Florida

Billy Donovan will go for a three-peat at Florida after saying Thursday he will remain the Gators' coach, effectively rejecting overtures from Kentucky to return there as the potential successor to Tubby Smith.

Donovan told Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart early Thursday morning by phone that he wasn't interested in leaving a Florida program that he led Monday to the national championship for the second consecutive year.

"After finally having an opportunity to sit down with my family, and with [Florida athletic director] Jeremy Foley, I've decided that I will remain at the University of Florida," said Donovan, a former Wildcats assistant under Rick Pitino. "I have great respect for the University of Kentucky, its great history and tradition, and I had five wonderful years in Lexington. That being said, I'm very proud of what we've built here at the University of Florida and I look forward to continuing build on it."

Foley told ESPN.com that he and Donovan met Thursday, at which time Donovan said, 'This is my home, Jeremy. I love the University of Florida. I love you. I had a chance to talk to [my wife] Christine and I'm not going anywhere."

"As a former UK assistant, we wish him the very best," Barnhart said in a statement. "Obviously, finding the right coach is more important than finding the next coach quickly. Patience remains a priority as we continue to identify the best individual to lead the Big Blue Nation."

Donovan and Foley will discuss terms of a contract extension for the coach after Donovan returns from a planned week-long vacation to the Dominican Republic. Donovan leaves the country Saturday.

Even before meeting with Foley, Donovan apparently had his mind made up. Donovan told some of his close friends Wednesday night that he would not be leaving Florida, according to a source close to Donovan.

Florida will release an official statement on Donovan's decision Thursday afternoon.

"Obviously we've been talking," Foley said. Donovan has two years remaining on his current contract. "Friday is about the celebration [for the title] and then he's [vacationing]. This is where he wants to be."

Donovan turned down a contract extension last spring after winning the 2006 national championship because he said he didn't feel right about it after four then-sophomores decided against declaring for the draft.

Barnhart left a message for Foley on Wednesday seeking permission to talk to Donovan, but Foley did not want a Donovan-Barnhart conversation to occur until speaking with Donovan himself.

Speculation has centered on Texas coach Rick Barnes as Kentucky's Plan B to replace Tubby Smith, who left the program in March for the job at Minnesota. Sources said Thursday that that speculation is accurate and that Barnes will seriously listen to Kentucky's pitch.

Scott McConnell, Texas' media contact for basketball, said there has been no formal contact between Barnes and Kentucky. McConnell said Barnes' schedule has him on campus Thursday planning offseason workouts, then flying to Los Angeles on Friday with Longhorns freshman forward Kevin Durant for the Wooden Award presentation. Texas' team banquet is scheduled for Monday.

Kentucky's search might also include Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Marquette's Tom Crean, Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie and Gonzaga's Mark Few.

Source: ESPN

Removed by request of Lost Ghost

Kentucky Hires Gillispie as New Head Coach

Kentucky has announced it will hold "a pep rally and a press conference" Friday afternoon at 12:45 p.m. ET to announce the hiring of the program's 21st head coach. And Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie is the man the Wildcats will introduce to Big Blue Nation as Tubby Smith's replacement.

Kentucky homed in on Gillispie at the end of a whirlwind Thursday that began with a rebuff from Florida's Billy Donovan and included Texas coach Rick Barnes withdrawing his name from consideration. Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart asked for and received permission to talk to Gillispie on Thursday night, according to Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne.

A Kentucky source told ESPN.com that Gillispie agreed to a seven-year contract worth $2.3 million per year. The school's Athletics Association Board scheduled an afternoon meeting to make the hire official.

Gillispie recently agreed to a lucrative contract extension with A&M after being wooed by Arkansas, but he did not sign the deal. It would have paid him $1.75 million a year.

His name had been on the "B" list of candidates from the beginning at Kentucky after Smith unexpectedly resigned March 22 to take the job at Minnesota.

Later Thursday afternoon, speculation moved to Barnes as Kentucky's top choice. But by early evening he had withdrawn his name, saying he would stay at Texas. Sources have given conflicting information about whether Barnes decided he was not interested on his own, or if he learned that he was not at the top of Kentucky's list.

Gillispie has worked a swift makeover at Texas A&M, going 70-26 in three seasons at a school that had little history of success. The 2006-07 Aggies went 27-7, earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reaching the Sweet 16. It was the school's first Sweet 16 birth since 1980.

Prior to that, Gillispie was the head coach at UTEP for two years, and he previously worked as the lead assistant to Bill Self at Tulsa and Illinois.

Other names believed to be on the Kentucky list were Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Marquette's Tom Crean.

Barnhart and Byrne have a long history together. Barnhart worked under Byrne at Oregon in 1983 and considers him something of a mentor. Byrne's son, Greg, worked under Barnhart at Kentucky for a couple of years, and Bill Byrne helped facilitate the hiring of former Oregon coach Rich Brooks as the UK football coach in 2002, after Barnhart had struck out on several other candidates.

Source: ESPN

wtf buff...is that the damn rule book? cut that down