ROBBINS NEST
By Lenn Robbins, The New Yrok extra/TheNYExtra.com
There they were for the last time. St. Peter’s Proud. The coach and players who put a university on the map and played their way into NCAA Tournament lore.
In the waning seconds of the Peacocks 69-49 loss to North Carolina in Sunday’s East Regional championship game, coach Shaheen Holloway huddled with his upper classmen. His message, the last coaching moment he would have with this group, was succinct and superb.
“Keep your heads high!” he said.
Indeed.
This run by the 15th-seeded team in the East Region should never be forgotten. It should live with Christian Laettner’s shot and Villanova’s 1985 upset of Georgetown.
We can’t predict all of the ripple effects of this baby they were born to run but it will be more than the nation realizing that Rutgers and Seton Hall aren’t the only two New Jersey colleges that have basketball programs.
When the Pirates got to the national championship game in 1989, one of the best T-shirts in history was born. It read, “Where is Seton Hall,” on one side. The other side read, “In the Final Four.” St. Peter’s was 40 minutes accomplishing what Seton Hall did, which needs to be read three or four times to appreciate the spectacular hoops celebration known as March Madness.
Holloway, a Jersey Guy who has reminded us what loyalty in action looks like, will be the next Seton Hall coach, probably by the time you read this. Holloway played at Seton Hall and was the best thing to happen to that program since the P.J. Carlesimo run.
He is comfortable with people who have his back as he has theirs.
This move, from what was the bottom of the MAAC when he arrived in St. Peter’s, to the lower third of the Big East at Seton Hall, is far from lateral but it’s not a KC Ndefo leap. The Pirates have few advantages over most Big East programs, which means Holloway will have to use the same special sauce he did at St. Peter’s: find and develop players and make sure they play defense like a Jersey City locksmith. Or South Orange.
Nine months from now we predict a spate of babies being named Fousseyni. Those bundles of joy will come with stories from those who were there to those who claim they were there to those who turned Run Baby Run Arena into The Garden.
It will be difficult for St. Peter’s to maintain this success. Rick Pitino is building a MAAC power at Iona. Siena College has had its share of success, plays in the 14,500-seat MVP Arena in Albany and has churned out coaches such as Paul Hewitt and Fran McCaffrey. Run Baby Run seats 3,200.
The Peacocks went where no MAAC school has ever gone and likely will never go. It went further than any No. 15 seed has ever gone and if beating Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue doesn’t earn you a display at the Basketball Hall of Fame, they should tear the place down.
Finally, The Four.
Duke vs North Carolina for the first time ever in a Final Four? In Mike Krzyzewski’s last season? As Coach K is fond of saying, “Are you kidding me?”
What seemed improbable after Duke got blasted by North Carolina in its ACC regular-season finale and then got upset by Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament, is now probable – the Blue Devils are going win a 6th National Championship under Krzyzewski.
They are, by far, the most talented team in the Final Four. Heck, Duke or Arizona was the most talented team in the field to begin with. Now they are playing like an NBA team in the fourth quarter, probably because most of these Blue Devils expect to play in the NBA and this is the time to improve draft stock.
Duke’s defense and hustle has gone to another level. Center Mark Williams has used his 7-foot frame to block 16 shots in the four games. Point guard Jeremy Roach has returned to the starting lineup and provides the ball handling and toughness that are trademarks of Duke guards. And super frosh Paolo Banchero has established himself as a go-to force.
But the biggest reason Duke will beat North Carolina is simple. The Blue Devils are shooting 86.2-percent from the line in the tournament. The Tar Heels are at 71.3.
The saddest story this March is the tournament-ending injury suffered by Villanova’s Justin Moore, who tore his right Achilles tendon with 35 seconds left in the Wildcats 50-44 win over Houston in the South Regional. Villanova already was without Jordan Longino who was emerging as the team’s top bench threat before suffering a meniscus injury prior to the start of the tournament.
The Wildcats best chance is to turn their semifinal game against Kansas into a foul-shooting contest. Nova is hitting 89.8-percent of its free throws in the tournament and are about to become the best free throw shooting team in history. The Jayhawks, who shot 71.9 in the regular season, are at 67.5-percent in the tournament.
If you don’t think Kansas coach Bill Self knows the importance of free throw shooting, consider this:
In the one title Self won in 2008, Memphis came into the game shooting 59-percent from the line. With 10.8 seconds left, Derrick Rose went to the line for two free throws and the Tigers leading 62-60. Rose missed the first and made the second giving Memphis a 63-60 lead. Mario Chalmers drained a 3 with 2.1 seconds left to force overtime. Kansas won going away, 75-68.
