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NCAA Special Section / University Daily Kansan / March 6, 1991
Dominating centers are rare treasure for college coaches
The Associated Press
Quality big men in college basket ball - it is a small group, and the guidelines on quality and quantity are strict.
To be included you have to be good, and you have to be big. The two often do not go together.
Ask for a list of swingmen with strong moves or point guards who can also stick the three-point shot and the names come flowing — Auglem, Johnson, Owens, Cheney, Anderson, Smith, Murdock.
Ask for big men who make an impact and will in the future and the pace slows to a familiar few — Shaquille, Dikembe and Alonzo.
Coaches often don't get to coach a good big man and players often don't get to play with or against one. Things change when a big man is around, and sometimes it takes time to adjust.
"Last year when we got to play two big men, we had never been blessed before with a big man." ISU's Dale Brown said. "There was a time that I more or less resigned myself to the fact that I would never have a top center. We had always been forced to wear our strongest 6-foot 7 or 8-foot there.
"I had to find things out about coaching big men, and that meant a new experience for me. I was able to talk with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, probably the two best centers to ever play the game, and I was able to get Coach Wooden's drills and see how big man could still have mobility and not be as restrictive to an offense or defense."
Brown started last season with two 7-footers, and it did not work because 7-Stanley Roberts and 7-Shailquha O'Neal had trouble adjusting to each other on the court. Roberts has since had academic problems at LSU and is playing professionally in Europe. O'Neal, who received individual tutoring from both Abdul Jabbar and Walton this season, stayed around to become the dominant big man today despite having just turned 19.
"The best way I heard it explained was that the thumb is the most useful and forceful of your fingers, but you can also have it slid down ifn't function as well." Brown said.
O'Neal, the thumb which is still at LSU. has allowed the Tigers to hitch
their way to the NCAA tournament and is averaging 28 points, 14.5 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. He has become a highlight-tape staple with thunderous dunks that often end with a sly smile.
"A lot of great players don't breathe life into a team, but he does." Brown said of O'Neal, whose injuries are guarded as closely as he is.
When O' Neal played his final home of the game of the season, the LSU students chanted "two more years" every time he dunked or threw a shot away. It was not enough to get a rise from the quiet O' Neal.
"It was kind of neat," he said. "I guess they want me around."
But should O'Neal stay? Defenses collapse around him, and there have been allegations that some conference opponents have ordered players to foul him rather than risk the wrath of another power dunk. But no one has complained publicly about the treatment he receives from opponents.
O'Neal does not complain about the collapses defenses or about what happens when he has the ball. He man-to-man only enthils is brought up.
"That would be kind of nice, having just one man on you. But that's not the way they play the game, so there's no sense thinking about it," O'Neal said. "There's only one rule I would change, and that's when you're up in the air and someone comes under you and takes your legs out and is not going for the ball. Throw that guy out of the game. He's just trying to hurt someone and that's lame. Otherwise, that's it. I'll play by what they have now. I'm not a complainer."
But O'Neal is not the only big man around.
John Thompson was a pretty fair big man when he played in college and he has coached one of the best ever at Georgetown in Patrick Ewing. He now has 7.2 Dikembe Mutoumma, who was before the emergence of O'Neal, considered the prototype collegiate center.
"I personally don't disagree at all with Shaquille O'Neal's father, and I had said it before," the Thompson said. "I think you should be aggressive as my post men are."
guarded. The NBA's far more conducive for them and if we don't do something about the college game guarding a post player from staying in college.
"People ask me if Alonzo Mourning should stay in college. Well, from an educational standpoint and from his psychological and mental development standpoint, yes, he should stay at college as an athletic standpoint, it's insane."
"Because it's a technical foul if four people guard you in the NBA. It's not a technical foul in college for four people to guard you. In that case, Mutomo will exhibit a lot of offensive skills you will be surprised at."
There are some other quality big men such as seniors Luc Longley of New Mexico and Rich King of Nebraska, both 7-2. There is 7-foot freshman Eric Montross of North Carolina who is the biggest of the big man, who at 7-6 is the biggest of the big but heeded for a 2-year church mission.
The best of the rest of collegiate centers are not really big men. They are quality power forwards playing in the post. Players like Christian Wood, the Ace of Seton Hall, Mark Randall of Kansas and Doug Smith of Missouri.
Thompson has come under criticism for playing both big men at once, with Mourning obviously the one he serves as he moves to power forward.
"Next year for certain he'll be free," Thompson said of Mourning. "He's tried to do everything we've asked him to do this year, and he's worked like hell. He's gotten himself to a point where he's so darn tight about things when he wrong for them." "It's physical. Physically, he's fine. It's more what happens mentally that got to him, really."
Mourning missed nine games with a strained arch in his left foot and the slow coming-around of three shots. The result was a rare struggling year for the Hovas.
O'Neal grows even quieter when asked about playing with another big man, as he did as a freshman.
"That depends on the coach, and at this university, with the 7-footers it had, that was not a good idea," he said.
Senior Mark Randall will finish his Kansas career as the all-time leader in field goal percentage.
Mississippi State looks for first NCAA tournament since 1963
The Associated Press
STARKVILLE, Miss. - With its first Southeastern Conference title in 28 years in hand, No. 23 Mississippi State defeated the University school's first NCAA bid since 1963.
"But we want to do more, go farther." Carter said. "And that starts in the SEC tournament."
Mississippi State (20-7 overall and 13-5 in the SEC) opens tournament action in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday as the No.1 seed and will be matched against the winner of the Tennessee-Mississippi game.
"All this hasn't quite sun in yet, but if the plane doesn't crash, we'll be there," said Mississippi State coach Richard Williams. "We just want to make little. This is really a great accomplishment for this team and our fans."
The winner of the four-day SEC
tournament will get an automatic NCAA bid. But Mississippi State's players, Williams and LSU coach Dale Brown think the Bulldogs definitely will be among in the 64-team field.
"There's no way Mississippi State shouldn't go to the NCAAs," said Brown. "They played (No. 2) Ohio State to a two-point game on a team that his is an outstanding team. Richard done a good job of coaching them."
The Bulldogs' only NCAA appearance came in 1963 — the last time they won the SEC title. The
Bullets squirrelled in the NC conference after winning three conference titles in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but they declined those bids because of the unwritten policy which means with African-American players.
"It feels great to be on top," said Mississippi State senior forward Cameron Burns. "We won the game we had to get, but we'd like to keep playing for a while. Not many of us could we could do this, but we believed."
Mississippi State was a preseason pick to finish seventh in the SEC
race. The Bulldogs first-place finish is only the second time they have finished higher than eighth in the conference in the last 10 years.
"I think the story for us was our determination, the effort we played with." Williams said of the victory against LSU, the Bulldogs seventh victory in the national meetings, with Tigers. "Our kids were determined, not to be denied."
points in the first half. Behind Wayne Sims' 10 second-half points, LSU (20-8) rallied to within three points late in the game, but two free throws each by Carter and rarely used reserve Keith Hooper in the final 1:03 sealed the victory.
Mississippi State never trailed in the game, jumped to an early 12.5 lead and was up by as many as 11
Carter led Mississippi State with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Burns added 16 points. Geert Hammink, who filled in for the injured Shaquille O'Neal, led LSU with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Vernael Singleton and Sims added 12 points each for the Fighting.
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