ATLANTA – It was a dunk that would have brought the house down. No, really.
Had Greg Oden finished his soaring dunk attempt from just inside the foul line Saturday, the “crowd probably would have stormed the floor,” Ivan Harris said. “Because I know I was going to.”
That’s how impressive Oden’s miss late in the second half was. Leaping over Jeff Green, who was called for a blocking foul, the ball slammed off the rim. It was the game’s most indelible moment.
For Oden, it was just unleashing a little aggression after sitting out much of the first half with foul trouble.
“I was out for 17 minutes, so I wanted to get in there and just tear the rim down, you know,” Oden said, smiling.
“It was amazing, NBA-type stuff you only see on video games,” Harris said.
Buck off, Kentucky
Put the Matta going to the Bluegrass state talk to rest.
Just evidence this recent exchange between Matta and a reporter sporting a Kentucky shirt.
“Did you lose a bet, with the shirt?” Matta said.
“I want to remind you that we’re looking for a coach,” the reporter said.
Matta laughed before asking the reporter if he was a UK alum. Yes, Mr. Kentucky nodded.
“I’ll use real small words then,” Matta said, smiling. “That one is probably going to kill me. I apologize to the University of Kentucky for that. I always say that about the school up north when people tell me they’re from there.”
So yes, Matta’s future at Ohio State looks secure. Although there’s a clause in the coach’s contract that allows him 30 days following the Big Ten tournament to explore other jobs, he’s guaranteed at least $18.6 million throughout the next nine years, making him one of the top 10 paid coaches.
It may take an unlikely NBA offer to lure him away anytime soon; for as strong as his recruiting skills are, life on the road isn’t easy.
“The one thing that I think intrigues all college coaches is spending 365 days on basketball,” Matta said on ESPN radio’s “Dan Patrick Show” last week. “When we get back to Columbus (tomorrow), we’re heading back out recruiting and away we go again.”
Buckeye Bash
Jim Tressel, OSU’s resident hoops lecturer and fan of the 3 a.m. text message to Matta – “I don’t think the guy sleeps” Matta said – highlighted a cast of Buckeye “celebs” in attendance at Saturday’s national semifinal win against Georgetown.
Former gridiron stars Michael Jenkins, Eddie George, Kirk Herbstreit, Troy Smith, Nate Salley and Anthony Gonzalez, and ex-Buckeye ballers Jim Jackson, Jay Burson, Lawrence Funderburke and Bill Hosket were also on hand.
Microwave delivers
Green against Harris. Georgetown’s All-American forward against “The Microwave,” a streaky shooter and a matador on defense.
The match-up was laughable.
“Everybody’s saying it’s a mismatch, that I had no chance guarding him because he’s bigger than me,” Harris said. “I read everything and I took it personally. I needed to step up.”
He did. Playing tough inside, Harris finished with nine points, seven boards and a steal. Green’s line? Nine points and 12 rebounds. It was a draw for the ages.
And though it took several others and a combination of defenses to shut down Matta, the oft-overlooked Harris looks hell-bent on going out on top. And of course, taking a few others down with him.
“They made it tough on me to throw the ball down into me,” Green said. “Their defense played a major part.”
Conley to leave?
He’s a projected lottery pick. His father recently formed his own sports agency, and reports have his exodus to the NBA a done deal.
Yet Conley continued to insist that he’s returning to OSU for his sophomore season.
“Absolutely,” Conley said. “Haven’t even thought about it.”
Rumors of Conley bolting for NBA riches were kindled last week by an ESPN report, which cited an anonymous player agent claiming to be “99 percent sure” both Oden and Conley are leaving after having discussions with Mike Conley Sr.
Conley Sr. denied the reports, but did not go as far as to guarantee his son’s return.
Whatever he says now – hello Anthony Gonzalez – the draft is certainly worth considering for Conley.
Though he is just 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds and needs to improve his outside game, many regard Conley as the game’s top point guard. For now at least, Conley isn’t listening.
“My thoughts right now are staying in college and making myself better,” Conley said. “I’m stuck on college. I’m all about college. I love it.”
Floor it
OSU might be taking home about 47,000 extra pounds of luggage early Tuesday morning.
Tonight’s title winner will have the opportunity to buy the 227 pieces of hard northern maple wood making up this year’s court.
Champions are typically afforded this chance. Florida, for instance, currently plays on the Indianapolis floor where they took the crown last year. Other schools often put blocks up the floor up for sale.
Bracket anguish
Picking the perfect bracket. It would be life’s ultimate triumph.
And we’re not exactly exaggerating here. The odds of this happening are 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to one. Yes, that’s nine quintillion to one.
Even in a year largely devoid of upsets, consider these statistics taken from the 2.3 million brackets filled out on CBS Sportsline.com: Nobody had more than 56 of the 60 correctly picked going into the Final Four, and just 14 people had at least 55 of the 60 games right.
Quotable
“Greg’s watching movies 24/7 with the lights off, the fan on, it’s cold in his room and he’s under five covers. He’s always in there trying to memorize every part of every movie. I think he’s been through three or four DVD players this season. He’ll go out and buy different things to get the newest technology, I guess, and tries to use it to its fullest.” – Conley to reporters on Oden, the team’s resident movie critic.
Bucks Bonanza
As the lower seed in tonight’s championship game, the Buckeyes will sport their scarlet uniforms … Georgetown’s starters accounted for all 60 of the Hoyas’ points Saturday … Daequan Cook didn’t get off the bench in the second half after going 0-for-4 in seven first half minutes … The honors keep gushing in for the big man. Oden was named a Wooden Award All-American and is one of five finalists slated to attend the Wooden Award presentation ceremony Saturday in Los Angeles. Kevin Durant (Texas), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Acie Law IV (Texas A&M) and Alando Tucker (Wisconsin) also received invites … Oden, by the way, is registered for spring quarter, taking courses in biology, calculus and history … OSU surprisingly leads the nation in fewest personal fouls committed, averaging just 13.3 per game … Matta finished a distant second behind Washington State’s Tony Bennett in the Associated Press’s coach of the year voting announced over the weekend.
David Briggs can be reached at [email protected].
