March Madness Magnifies the Drama of Sports
By Geo Thomas
This past week was one of the greatest week's of basketball in recent memory. With the AlphaWolf playoffs, MHSAA tournaments and all the NCAA tournaments, there was plenty of basketball for the taking. Below is a recap of some of the more interesting happenings--all which prove that you never what may happen when playoff time arrives.
Heartbreak for Former AlphaWolf Star
1:10pm Friday. Breslin Center, East Lansing, MI
Detroit Pershing vs Romulus (Class A Semi-Final)
Former AlphaWolf standout and Romulus point guard Dominique Buckley had led the Eagles to the state semi-final game. Buckley, a Michigan Mr. Basketball Finalist, was attempting to reach the state finals for the second time in four years. Their opponent was Detroit Pershing, who Romulus had defeated earlier in the season. But Pershing had improved since and their attacking press forced the Eagles into 35 turnovers. Buckley, exhausted from breaking the press for four quarters, did not play his best basketball. He finished with 10 points, two assists and six turnovers. He fouled out with 2:01 remaining. Despite the Eagles poor play, the game went into overtime and was tied at 77 with 25 seconds left. Unfortunately the Romulus defense could not hold and Pershing's Demetrius Ward hit a 17 foot jumper from the wing with one second left. The Eagles went home and Pershing went on to the Finals (where they lost to defending champion Saginaw High 90-71).
Buckley fought back tears as I'm sure he felt that he had let his teammates down by fouling out. Having known Buckley for 12 years, it is safe for me to say that he will have found something to gain out of this loss and take that gain with him next year where he will be playing at Iowa State. I see my share of kids cry in AlphaWolf when losing. Some for valid reasons and sometimes because they just can't handle losing. There are only a handful times where I feel it is acceptable to cry in sports. Playing your last high school game with a team you love and respect is a good reason, regardless if you win or lose.
Dealing With an Official Mistake
7:30pm Friday, Breslin Center, East Lansing, MI
Flint Powers vs Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (Class C Semi-Final)
Trailing Powers by three, 66-63, Northern guard Cole Cline drove the length of the court and with three defenders on him, banked in a wild, underhand scoop at the buzzer. The crowd erupted in applause. The applause turned to quiet as the officials ruled the shot a two-pointer giving Flint Powers the 66-65 win. "Obviously I thought it was a three," Northern coach Steve Harvey said. Replays later proved that Cole's foot was behind the line and all three officials had gotten the call wrong. Northern could have made a fuss about the call but instead accepted their loss--as tough as it was to do. No fans rushed the court in protest. Northern players did not bad-mouth the refs, simply saying "they made the wrong call." Free-Press Prep Reporter Mick McCabe summed up the loss Monday with an obvious idea. Why isn't the MHSAA using available technology in dealing with late game scenerios?
Ironically, Powers lost on Saturday to Lansing Catholic Central 54-53 on LCC's Max Gover's 15-foot jumper with 13.6 seconds left.
4th Quarter Explosion Lifts Wolfpack
11am Saturday, Birmingham Covington School
Wolfpack vs Broncos (AlphaWolf College Div Final)
After the first quarter, 2-2. At halftime12-11. After the third quarter 17-16. That was how the game was going in the 2008 College Division final Saturday at Birmingham Covington. Both teams were playing great basketball--strong defense, nice passing and some solid rebounding. But in the last 8:00 of the game, the Wolfpack boosted their "team-play" mentality and made all the right decisions, outscoring the Broncos 17-8 in the last quarter en route to a 34-24 win..
The 'Pack began a nice inside-outside game with Power Forward John Polakowski. Guards Adam Katzman and Seth Stillman looked for and found their big man in the paint. When Polakowski got the ball, he took his time. Twice in a row he found teammate Jeff Berris open from about 15 feet out. Each time Berris drained the shot. When Polakowski couldn't find an open shooter, he took the ball to the basket himself. Polakowski got to the line six times in the fourth quarter, scoring six points in the last 8:00 and nine for the game. Wolfpack forward Chris Pearson had a career high eight points and added five boards in the win. Chris Zuhl added seven. This was the first AlphaWolf Championship for Wolfpack coaches David Katzman and Billy Berris.
The Broncos mostly responded with outside shots resulting in very few offensive rebounds and no trips to the foul line. Matt Lefkofsky hit a couple of late game threes to make it a ten point game. All-League forward Jon Radner was held to a season-low four points. Joe Bergin had a strong game with seven rebounds and two points.
Izzo Frustrated With Fouls
1:40pm Saturday, Conseco Field house, Indianapolis, IN
Michigan State vs Wisconsin (Big 10 Semi-Final Game)
In youth sports, we tell our coaches that there are more important things to worry about than what the officials are calling. Coaching players will reap more rewards than bartering with refs. But at the NCAA level, you would think that officials could handle the "intangibles" a bit better than they did in the Spartans 65-63 loss to Wisconsin.
Sure, the refs had nothing to do with MSU guard Kalin Lucas's bad turnover that immediately led to the game winning lay-up. But if you checked out the box score, four Spartan players fouled out while no Badger player had more than three. Wisconsin shot 37 free throws and MSU only 19. Izzo was reserved after the game, fighting back his own tears. "I feel bad for my players," Izzo said after the game, ...they worked their butts off preparing for this game." To editorialize, its easy to say that the Big 10 wanted to get a very high seed for the best Big 10 team that is Wisconsin. But make one more shot or commit one less turnover and State wins the game. Regardless, its very frustrating for a coach who is indeed known for strong relationships with his players. Free Press sports writer Drew Sharp summarized Sunday, "The overriding issue is less about a game they couldn't take and more about those who took it from them."
Prep Final is one for the Ages
2:10pm Saturday, Birmingham Covington School
Vikings vs Raiders (Prep Div. Final)
With four seconds left in the game and the Vikings leading by one, 20-19, Raider guard Roland Pack received the inbound pass. What happened next was a blur of events that was heart-breaking for the Raiders. With fouls to give, Vikings forward Ben Levin fouled Pack after his one dribble. The official called the foul but Pack made a quick pivot and shot the ball. The shot was perfect and the ball hit only the net in it's descent. The gym erupted.
However, the foul was called and the Raiders went from game-winners to taking the ball out of bounds with 1.6 seconds left. Even then, Pack's last ditch effort was close, but bounced long off the backboard.
The conclusion was a dramatic finish to what was a well played and well coached game from both teams. The score was tied 4-4 after the first quarter, 6-6 at halftime and the Vikings owned a 9-8 lead going into the last 11 minutes. The lead went back and fourth in the final five minutes as each team scored on three consecutive possessions. Joey Ashcraft hit the winning shot for the Vikings with 14 seconds left in the game.
The real story line may be each team's failure to score from the free-throw line. The Vikings were 1-8 while the Raiders struggled at 2-9.
Regardless, the drama of the games final events was spotlighted. "You hate to make that call," Varsity official Pat Paul said. Paul was watching the game before officiating the Pro Division Final. "But the other team is using a good strategy with fouls to give and if you don't make that call, you have one very upset coach from the losing team who did what he was supposed to do."
Ross Rogers paced the Raiders with six points and Roland Pack finished with five points and five assists. Jack McCarthy added four points as well. The Vikings were led by Ashcraft's eight points while Ben Levin and Joey Wujciak added four points each.
This game, like Flint Powers game mentioned above, should be noted for the class shown by Raiders fans and coaches. This could have been an ugly scene, but the parents of the Raiders were very supportive of their kids and the Raiders coaches understood the process of the call. Even though the right call is not always the best call, the Raiders carried their runner's up trophy with pride for a season well played and well coached.
The Vikings Coaches, Mike Wujciak and dan Ashcraft rebounded from a 0-6 Winter season of 2007 to go 7-1-1 this year and win their first AlphaWolf Championship.
Cavaliers Run Wild
3:20pm Saturday, Birmingham Covington School
Cavs vs Lakers (Pro Div. Final)
The Cinderella Story season of the Lakers went past midnight Saturday as the taller, faster Cavaliers ran in transition and ran up the score in a 53-23 pounding of the Lakers. It was the Cavaliers third Championship in the last four seasons.
The Lakers started the season 0-4 but won their last regular season game to head into the playoffs with a degree of hope. On Wednesday, they bested a talented Spurs teams to earn a spot in the Pro semis against the undefeated Nuggets. Trailing early, 8-2, the Lakers switched to man defense and were able to contain the Nuggets outside shooting threat of Francesco Ruffino, Josh Birnberg, Josh Schechter, Will Erwin and Steven Palmeri. The Nuggets, without big man Randy Righter, couldn't stop Lakers center Russell Frye who scored a game high 18. The 40-23 win gave the Lakers a chance for the title.
That chance lasted about five minutes as the Cavs turned every Laker turnover and missed shot into transition baskets. The Cavs passed with percision and were able to rebound the few missed shots they had. Erik Kelly, perhaps the division's best player, played great early with nine rebounds and six assists, all in the first half. "I think we were a little shell-shocked," Lakers coach Geo Thomas said after the game, "We got behind early and at half-time, we just looked tired."
The Lakers played hard though as Jake Gordon, Christian Comer and Jonah Kest played a mean perimeter defense in the half-court. Frye (7pts) and Kest(9pts) paced the Laker scoring.
The Cavs were led by Mike Vanderlugt's 23 points and Erik Kelly's 10-spot.
The Cavaliers, known for running up scores, were relentless in transition as they were able to find the open man on every break and secondary break. Even in the 4th quarter the Lakers ran transition, outscoring the Lakers 20-8 when the game was out of reach. "Its a good lesson for our team," Coach Thomas said after the game, "Some coaches tell their kids push on every possession, regardless of the score and we need to learn to match that intensity."
The Lakers however walked away in good spirits. They may not have won the glass slipper, but at least they got a chance to dance.