ST. PETERSBURG – They are four points of light, similar and distinct, each one a source of energy, a guiding beacon for their teams.
It’s no coincidence that of the four teams which have made it to the final stop on the college hoops road, each has a terrific point guard. Connecticut, led by Khalid El-Amin, will face a Scoonie Penn-led Ohio State team Saturday in one national semifinal. Duke, led by sophomore William Avery, will face a Mateen Cleaves and Michigan State team in the other semifinal.
‘Given the rules we have, and don’t have compared to the NBA, the people who have the ball in their hands the most time end up determining the game,” said Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun. ‘That’s why we’re here.”
These four teams are here because they have little men who exert a huge influence on a big man’s game. And each does it in his own way.
El-Amin is the most emotional of the four, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound compound mixture of confidence and competitiveness that drives the Huskies.
Avery is the best athlete, a sinewy 6-2, 185-pound sophomore whose biggest burden was having to replace Steve Wojciechowski, the emotional leader of last year’s Duke team.
Cleaves is the best defender, a 6-2, 195-pound hardcore force from Flint, Mich., where he developed a toughness that has become the Spartans’ trademark.
Penn is the best shooter, a 5-10, 185-pound flash, who can whiz to the basket, whip passes to his teammates, stick a 3-pointer and has transformed the Buckeyes into a devastatingly fast team.
‘This tournament has as good a four point guards as I’ve seen in a long time,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. ‘The guard play in Florida should be of the highest level. Just the feeling part of the game should be great.”
The Fantastic Four who lead their teams into the Final Four share some intangibles. Each coach described his point guard as the hardest-working player on the team. Each coach acknowledged how much easier his job is because of the point guard who runs the team. Each, in his own way, gets the job done.
‘If I just sat there and kept my mouth shut, I know things would get done the way I want them to get done because Scoonie knows what to do,” said Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien.
Penn knows what to do because he followed O’Brien from Boston College two years ago. O’Brien left Chestnut Hill when the college’s administration dragged its heels at providing the support programs for the basketball program that had been promised.
While the Buckeyes lost 22 of 30 games last season, Penn sat on the bench. But in practice he often would team up with four walk-ons and lead his rag-tag team to maddening wins over the starters.
‘That was the challenge we gave to Scoonie, to try to beat those guys,” said O’Brien. ‘He knew the nuances of the system when he got here better than the guys we already had.”
With Penn in the lineup this season, Ohio State became a puzzle other Big Ten teams couldn’t solve. Teamed with shooting guard Michael Redd, the Buckeyes stunned the Big Ten with a fullcourt, wide-open style of play. Only Michigan State and Cleaves were able to stifle Penn, holding him to 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting with six assists and two turnovers. Cleaves had 16 points, nine assists and four turnovers in a 76-71 Michigan State win.
But Cleaves, who went through a mid-season slump that was snapped after he had a chat with Spartan legend Magic Johnson, has had some games that have been flat-out awful from an offensive standpoint. His coach, Tom Izzo, believes those who focus on Cleaves’ offense miss the big picture.
‘It’s no secret that sometimes his shot is missing in action,” said Izzo. ‘I’d still rather he take 10 shots a game and run our team, and play defense the way he does and let everybody criticize what he doesn’t do. And we’ll enjoy what he does do.”
Calhoun has a similar admiration for El-Amin, whose doughboy physique makes him the ideal target for heckling fans. There are times El-Amin can set offense back 20 years, as he did in the Huskies’ 67-62 win over Gonzaga in the West Regional final.
El-Amin missed all 12 of his shots from the field vs. Gonzaga. But he never lost his confidence in the face of an incredible effort from the upstart ‘Zags and never let his team lose its confidence either. What El-Amin might lack in height and God-given talent he compensates for with heart and unflinching leadership.
‘His emotion, his energy, sometimes his courage, that’s the kind of player he is,” said Calhoun. ‘Khalid has the ability to impart that to his teammates.”
Avery’s teammates were anxious to see if he could fill Wojo’s shoes. There’s no question Avery has skills Wojo could only dream about, but there was no more fiery competitor than the former Duke point guard.
With a team loaded with returning talent – Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Trajan Langdon – Duke entered the season with one glaring question: Could Avery emerge as a leader on the court?
‘There was a lot of focus on what William would do,” said Coach K. ‘He’s done more than anyone could have expected. In one year he’s made more progress than any point guard I’ve ever had.”
These four points of light will collide Saturday night. Will El-Amin’s will win out over Penn’s scoring and quickness? Will Avery’s athleticism prevail over Cleaves’s defense?
Those questions remain to be answered. One question already had been: Would these four teams be here without their point guards? All four coaches were in agreement, ‘No.”
