WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13. 2002
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5B
Bulldogs player elevates team
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — No matter how Derrick Zimmerman plays, reporters gravitate to him after Mississippi State games.
Mississippi State games
the boyish-looking point guard gives interesting answers to even the most mundane
questions. his demeanor is usually pleasant, even after a loss.
He has become the Bulldogs unofficial spokesman.
"I kind of noticed it. I really don't mind it," he said. "That's probably the role of the point guard — being the spokesperson for the team. I just try to take it as an honor."
Zimmerman leads Mississippi
State (26-7) into the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region and one of the hottest teams in the nation.
The Bulldogs have won eight straight, including their first Southeastern Conference tournament title in six years, heading into Friday's game against McNeese State in Dallas.
Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said Zimmerman's transformation from uncertain reserve to team leader — on and off the court — has paralleled the Bulldogs' unexpected rise to prominence.
"I said from day one. Derrick Zimmerman would be the key to our success this season. We're here because of him." Stansbury said.
two years here," Zimmerman said.
The 190-pound junior came to Mississippi State from Monroe, La., as a high-scoring shooting guard with blazing speed and a gravity-defying vertical leap.
"That's a big honor coming from where I came from my first
But in college he was a player without a position. His size — 6-foot-2 — and lack of shooting range weren't ideal for an off guard. And he didn't have the mentality of a point guard.
Zimmerman played in short spurts, mixing spectacular plays with questionable decisions.
He was constantly looking over his shoulder, waiting for the hook from Stansbury.
"Look, 'Z' has always been a great, great player and a great athlete," back-court mate Marckell Patterson said. "But he used to play on the fringes, and we wasn't
relaxed."
The turning point came late last season, when Stansbury turned the team over to Zimmerman during the NIT.
With Zimmerman mostly playing point guard, the Bulldogs won two games.
The transition was still a work in progress heading into this season.
"I told coach, 'Just give me a chance. I'll be able to make good things happen for this team.'" he said. "Look where we are today."
Zimmerman led the SEC in assists this season with 6.2 per game and was second in steals (2.24), helping 17th-ranked Mississippi State tie a school record for victories.
He's still a little rough around the edges, though, as his SEC-leading 113 turnovers suggest.
Panthers point guard key to team's success
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh guard Julius Page saw teammate Brandin Knight play with a calf injury so severe that it limited him to one practice a week and with a sore knee that had troubled him for three years.
So, when Knight convincecoach Ben Howland to let him hobble back onto the court, despite a potentially serious knee injury, to take a desperation shot in the Big East championship game Saturday, Page wasn't surprised.
Page knew that if the situation were reversed and he was injured, Knight would expect Page to do the same thing without complaining, without failing.
"If I could walk," Page said,
"he would expect me to play."
Afterall, they know one of college basketball's top point guards and most improved players, the Big East co-player of the year, isn't about to let them down after carrying them all season.
That's why Knight's teammates are certain he will play Friday against Central Connecticut State in the NCAA tournament at Mellon Arena, even though Knight could barely walk Monday on his strained right knee.
The No. 9 Panthers (27-5) have been one of the nation's biggest surprises as they await their first NCAA game played inside Pittsburgh's city limits. And it's largely because Knight has transformed himself from a steady, reliable player a year ago on a 19-14 team that missed the NCAA tournament into a star.
The 6-foot junior has pushed himself onto the short list of the best players in Pitt history, alongside Billy Knight, Charles Smith, Don Hennon and Jerome Lane.
"I coached John Stockton," said Howland, an assistant at Gonzaga when the future Utah Jazz point guard played there. "And Brandin's right there with him. He just keeps getting better and better. He's one of the smartest players I've ever coached. His basketball IQ is unbelievable."
Knight's importance to Pitt goes beyond numbers that, even in themselves, illustrate his ability to take over a game: 15.6 points, 7.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 steals a game.
In recent weeks, as Pitt has won 12 of 14 during the best season in school history, Knight has had — amid a string of 20-point games — a couple of 14-assist games and a 10-rebound game.
Bluejays hope wait doesn't hurt game
The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — Creighton's last two trips to the NCAA tournament have started with long waits and ended with quick exits.
The Bluejays don't want that to become a trend Friday when they open the tournament against No. 15 Florida in Chicago. Creighton hasn't played since winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament last Monday.
This is the fourth straight NCAA trip for Creighton (22-8), but the Bluejays haven't won a national tournament game since upsetting Louisville in 1999.
"It's been frustrating. We want to get out and play this game," center Brody Deren said yesterday. "We've been waiting forever it seems like. It's kind of hard to get motivated in practice when the game is so far away."
"Those were both games we thought we had a really good chance of getting. We didn't get them and it hurts a lot," guard Kyle Korver said.
Coach Dana Altman is trying to come up with a way to revive the intensity Creighton had while beating Southern Illinois 84-76 last week. The Bluejays and Salukis tied for the MVC regular season title.
To avoid being lost in the league
tournament frenzy that precedes selection Sunday, the MVC plays its tournament the weekend before the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences, wrapping it up the Monday before.
Although it leads to a long delay, the league does get a rare national television matchup when ESPN shows the championship game.
"We've probably got the right weekend. We just need to figure out how to stay ready — how to stay sharp over those 10 days. You go through a whole basketball season and you never have that long of a break." Altman said. "It's just kind of a difficult time."
Altman has had the Bluejays scrimage more often than usual in practice while preparing for the Gators (22-8), who were ranked No. 2 in late January.
The Gators are the fifth-seeded team in the Midwest Region, while the Blueiavs are the No.12 seed.
Altman blamed inconsistent play that led to upset losses to teams like Drake and Northern Iowa for Creighton's lowest seed in its four-year tournament run.
"Our margin of error isn't very big. We're not a real big team. We're not a real athletic team." Altman said, "But we've got just enough athletism and just enough size, that if we play hard we can compete with a lot of people."
Illinois hopes to put inconsistent season behind
The Associated Press
It's what was expected of them from the beginning.
CHAMPAIGN, III. — The inconsistent season by Illinois and Frank Williams would all be forgotten with a successful run through the NCAA tournament.
Ranked as high as No. 2, the Illini appeared
to be overrated when they lost five of eight games — then looked as good as advertised as they
closed the regular season with a nine-game winning streak.
"We've taken a strange route to get here, but I think we are a pretty good team." Illinois coach Bill Self said. "The season starts Friday, basically. This is why you play. Now we need to make it happen when it counts the most."
Williams, a junior guard criticized for his inconsistent play during the Illini's midseason slump, has announced he is leaving college a year early for the NBA.
Self isn't sure where Williams, regarded as a top pick after being
named the Big Ten player of the year as a sophomore, stands with pro scouts now. He does know the enigmatic guard could erase a lot of doubts if he dominates like Self said he believed he was capable of during the tournament.
"Frank's had a good year. I don't think Frank's had an exceptional year," Selfsaid. "He's probably got as much at stake as anyone in the tournament. This is his last go-around."
Williams leads Illinois in scoring and assists, but is shooting just 38 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range.
The No. 13 Illini (24-8) are seeded fourth in the Midwest and play San Diego State (21-11) on Friday in Chicago at the United Center — a home away from home for Illinois.
Senior forward Randy Holcomb was born and raised in Chicago, and San Diego State coach Steve Fisher was raised in Herrin, Ill., and played basketball at Illinois State.
The Aztecs are sure to have a few fans in the stands, too.
Holcolm leads the Aztecs in scoring and rebounding with at 17.2 points and 9.2 rebounds.
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