WORCESTER, Mass. – When Connecticut forward Charlie Villanueva of Brooklyn saw the replay of the college basketball low blow that changed the landscape of the NCAA Tournament, he knew exactly what precipitated Chris Paul’s sucker punch to the groin of Harlem’s Julius Hodge of North Carolina State.
“He’s the type of guy that he’s a talker,” said Villanueva. “He’s going to try to get under your skin. You’ve just got to stay with it. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win.”
Even take a shot to a delicate area, which as his tattoo, “Da Jules of Harlem on His Way 2 Stardom” reads, Hodge did in a game March 6. Hodge so frustrated Paul with his gift of gab and limbs of stab that the Wake Forest point guard lost it.
The Wolfpack lost that game to fall to 17-12. But the punch and subsequent loss proved to be a microcosm and rallying point for the Wolfpack, which plays UConn today in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.
After beating Florida State in a first-round ACC Tournament game, the Wolfpack had a rematch with Wake, but Paul was suspended for his low blow. N.C. State beat Wake, 81-65, solidifying its invitation to the Big Dance and dropping Wake to a No. 2 seed.
“Playing in New York you learn a lot of dirty tricks, so I was pretty much expecting something would happen,” N.C. State forward Gavin Grant of the Bronx said of Paul’s punch. “I didn’t think Chris Paul would take it that far. It worked out for us. We got a couple of wins out of it. We’re in the NCAA Tournament ready to face UConn.”
It is an intriguing matchup. The No. 2-seed Huskies (23-7) have a huge height and rebounding advantage over the Wolfpack (20-13). But N.C. State’s Princeton-style offense will pull the taller Huskies away from the basket.
“Those big guys are going to have to chase us around,” said N.C. State’s Ilian Evtimov.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun acknowledged he had no one to match up with Hodge. And the Huskies won’t resort to a low blow.
“If Chris Paul would have been in a New York City playground, I don’t think he would have came out of there alive,” said Villanueva.
Villanueva and Hodge are kindred spirits. Hanging from the hook in Hodge’s stall in the N.C. State locker room in the DCU Center was a baseball cap with the word Strugglin scripted across the front.
“Growing up from Harlem, not always being able to get what I wanted like necessities, sometimes dinner wasn’t there at night, it just symbolizes that I’m never going to forget where I’m from and I’m going to play every game like it’s my last,” said Hodge.
Hodge has instilled that desperation in the Wolfpack. They’re still smarting from last year’s 75-73 second-round loss to Vanderbilt – a game N.C. State led by 11 with 3:45 left when Hodge fouled out – and a 77-74 second-round loss to UConn in 2002.
“Our mentality is that when we’re down you have to get rid of us and stomp us out,” said Hodge. “If we have any left in us, even an inch, we’re going to be right back at you. This team never gives up.”
No matter how low the blow.
