RealClearSports: North Carolina is a Quick Winner

By Art Spander

This was one in which reality crushed reverie, power overwhelmed hopefulness. This was one in which the best college basketball team in the land proved it was the best college basketball team in the land, and the experts knew exactly what they are talking about.

Over the weekend, we had been immersed in the tale of Michigan State, and how its ascent was being felt by this city that once was the proud hub of a flourishing auto industry, but now reflects all the problems of America’s stumbling economy. It was going to be so glorious, so uplifting when the Spartans came through. But they could not. North Carolina never gave them a chance. The Tar Heels ran and jumped and harassed. And Michigan State was in a state of bewilderment.

In the end, Carolina won 89-72, took its fifth NCAA basketball championship, finished as the Final One of the Final Four, verified that indeed as in October’s preseason polls and now in April’s glory, the Tar Heels are an unquestioned No. 1

They hit quickly and hard, stunning not only Michigan State, but a record crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field, the majority of which naturally was cheering for the Spartans. Carolina was up 22-7 within six minutes gone; then 34-11 with 9:44 to play in the half.

Would the Tar Heels score 100? Maybe they should have. Would they beat State worse than in December, when Carolina, in the very same building, the home of the NFL Detroit Lions, dismantled the Spartans, 98-63? Maybe they could have.

“They’ve kind of given us our lunch, haven’t they?" Tom Izzo, the Michigan State coach asked with great prescience the day before the game. “But that’s because they’re a great program."

The greatest going this season.

Sunday night, Roy Williams, the Carolina coach, dined on fried lobster at the Detroit Fish Market for the second time in 48 hours. “I’m not superstitious," Williams said when confronted as he left the restaurant, “but I ate here Friday night and I didn’t want to take any chances."

With the team he put on the court, there were no chances to be taken. Carolina forced a supposedly disciplined State team into 21 turnovers. “Fourteen in the first half," said Izzo. “We couldn’t do anything. I was disappointed. I also thought we missed some good shots early. I thought we looked either shell-shocked or worn down."

The championship was a reward for Carolina players such as Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green, who ignored opportunities to join the NBA and came back for a senior season of not so much retribution as relish.

The 6-foot-9 Hansbrough, last season’s Player of the Year, was castigated because he did not lead Carolina to a title. When Williams was asked if that would diminish Tyler’s career, he was adamant in his denial. “Ernie Banks never won a World Series," Williams reminded.

But now Hansbrough has won an NCAA, and when the final seconds ticked off and the confetti was shot from those special air guns, he was a little kid beside himself, belying a reputation for a lack of emotion.

“This was the best way to go out," Hansbrough shouted into a CBS television microphone, “after what we had been through. We climbed all the way." Hansbrough had 18 points, behind Ty Lawson’s 21 and Wayne Ellington’s 19. Center Goran Suton scored 17 in his last game for Michigan State.

“We couldn’t stop Hansbrough inside,” said Izzo, “and we couldn’t stop Lawson from getting to the line.” Lawson got 18 free throws and made 15 as he drove inside and drew foul after foul.

“All I know,” said Williams, who has led Carolina to two championships in his six years after moving there from Kansas, “is I’m the luckiest coach in America. I am so proud of this team. We overcame a lot during the season."

They also scored a lot. Eight times Carolina reached 100 points or more, and when the Heels led Michigan State 55-34 at intermission, it appeared inevitable they would do it a ninth time. But Carolina got a bit loose and sloppy, and so the rout became merely a one-sided victory.

Magic Johnson, the Michigan State alum, and Larry Bird were in the building on what was the 30th anniversary of their memorable battle in the 1979 NCAA championship, won by the Spartans over Bird and Indiana State. And Michael Jordan, a Heel, David Robinson, Vivien Stringer and John Stockton made an appearance as part of being voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Quite a night for greatness. And North Carolina was a major part of that, much to the frustration of the state of Michigan and Michigan State.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he has recently been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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© RealClearSports 2009

Roy Williams, the country boy who became a monarch

DETROIT – He’s smooth, smart and demanding, a melding of the country boy he used to be and the dominant basketball coach he has become. Roy Williams describes himself as corny, a word that if used in the same context could also be applied to King Henry VIII.
Thanks to Kevin813 at Flickr


Williams’ North Carolina team faces Michigan State on Monday night for the NCAA Championship, and Roy, at 58, having been there and done that, is approaching the game with his usual refined arrogance and bewildering wistfulness.



The other school is the story, and Williams well understands that, although favored Carolina is quite likely to be the winner.




Michigan State, located 92 miles away, has been anointed as the savior of an economically depressed region of Middle America. Carolina is merely attempting to fulfill the role it was given back in November, which was to finish as the best team in the land.




College basketball is a coaches’ game, an obvious statement even before Kentucky broke the bank to hire Rick Pitino a few days ago.








In the NBA, the people on court, Kobe, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, are in charge. They get the ball and the big salaries. But in the undergraduate division, the attention belongs to the coaches.




They recruit, they strategize, they keep the media entertained or outraged. Or in some cases, both.




Williams can be defensive, although through the seasons, at Kansas and then his alma mater, Carolina, his teams have been recognized for offense. But rather than confront, Williams persuades. Or derides something as “hogwash,” a term virtually guaranteed to elicit a chuckle instead of a sneer.


Roy makesjournalists feel accepted — unlike, say, Bobby Knight — but Williams also lets themknow who’s boss. Right away Sunday, Williams, in his white golf shirt and babyblue Carolina sleeveless sweater, opened an interview by remarking, “If I’mdoing this now, don’t expect me to stay around 30 minutes after (the players)leave. I have more important things to do than stand around here and makefun.”


Or pay lip serviceto the suggestion that a Michigan State victory would benefit the local territory,ravaged by the decline and fall of the U.S. auto industry. Roy wants to see thecar business thrive once more. He also wants to see Carolina win its secondtitle in his six seasons as the headman.


“If we’re playingagainst the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan,” said Williams of theidea that the majority of the 70,000-plus people at Ford Field will be cheering forMichigan State, “they outnumber us. We don’t have a good chance at that one … I do realize they have a cause. Well, we also have a cause.


“We want to win anational championship. Period. The end. And if you tell me if Michigan Statewins it’s going to satisfy the nation’s economy, then I’d say, ‘Hell! Let’s staypoor for a little while longer.’”


Williams thenpointed out that he only would be concerned if the workers of America “come down andstart guarding my butt on the bench.”


What Carolina mighthave to guard against is complacency, not that it’s likely. The start ofDecember, in the very same building, Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions perfectedtheir imperfection, North Carolina defeated Michigan State, 98-63.


Michigan State,tired and injured at that time, is a far, far better team four months later.Then again, so is Carolina. And who cares about 70,000 people supporting theother guy?


“You know, to me,”said Williams, “it’s not nuclear science. We’re coaching basketball. We’replaying basketball. I go out on the court (Saturday night for the semifinal, inwhich Carolina beat Villanova, 83-69) and look up, trying to figure where is theguy with the worst seat in the house. ‘Wonder what he’s thinking right now?’ I said, ‘OK.’ Then that wasit. I mean you’re focused on the task.”


Which is winning fora group of seniors, including last season’s Player of the Year, TylerHansbrough, and Danny Green, who returned for a last fling instead of enteringthe pro draft.


“You know,”Williams told us, “I’m corny. There’s no question about it. I’m emotional. Thissenior class has been really, really important to me. These guys came in afterthe (2005) championship year. We didn’t have a lot coming back. They competedfrom the first day … The classes I’ve recruited in 21 years (15 at Kansas),this is the one that’s special.”


This is the gamethat’s special, the game that because of the size of the facility, in whichSaturday a record 72,456 were in attendance, could be intimidating but toWilliams is not.


“I like playing onthe road,” said Williams of what technically is a neutral side, yet is anythingbut. “I like going to some other place and having my team so focused that we can shut the crowd up. Now this will be the maximum test.”


Roy Williams and his team are well prepared.

A joy ride for Izzo and Michigan State

DETROIT -- They're 92 miles away. Ninety-two miles and one game. The team
from the state of Michigan, the state of euphoria, Michigan State, is riding to
where the road ends, an underdog under full head of steam and believing in a
dream.

The script is joyful
and remarkable. The not-so-little team that, as coach Tom Izzo points out, is
playing for the university, for itself, for this city of Detroit 92 miles from
campus at East Lansing, indeed all of Michigan, a state struck hard by the
economic downtown, comes through when needed.

One weekend it
knocks off the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Louisville, and then, with all
sorts of subplots weaving their magic – not to be confused with alumnus Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who was present and accounted for – the Spartans give a
virtual repeat performance.

On Saturday night,
before the largest crowd in NCAA tournament history, 72,456 at Ford Field, MSU
literally runs past Connecticut, 82-73, to reach the Monday night final against North Carolina.

And Izzo, who knows
full well the problems of the American auto industry, Detroit's failing engine
as it were, stands on the court and through the screams and cheers shares the
appreciation of a region that knows well the pain and pleasure of a job well
done.

"We're a blue-collar
team," said Izzo, "and this is the blue-collar city. It was amazing, amazing to
walk out that tunnel. Give the people of Detroit, the Ford Field people,
credit.

"Yes, there were a
lot of Michigan State fans. I'm appreciative for all the people. I hope we were
a ray of sunshine, distraction for them, a diversion ... We're not done
yet."

Two Big East teams
in a row, Louisville and Connecticut, victims of Michigan State's tenacity. And
depth. "We want to run," said
Izzo. "I thought we could wear them down a bit. I thought depth worked on our
side. We knew that going in."

The Spartans used 11
players, belying the basic rule a team can't function with more than eight or
nine regulars. Connecticut had its eight. And its troubles. Michigan State's
bench outscored Connecticut's 33-7.

"That's the type of
player (Izzo) recruits," said Magic Johnson, hard-nosed, hardworking. Thirty years ago, in that memorable game
against Larry Bird and Indiana State, the game some believe was the birth of college
basketball interest, the Magic man led the Spartans to the NCAA
championship.

Saturday night, in
his green-and-white pullover, the one with "State" across the front, he sat in
the fourth row behind the Michigan
State bench and cheered. After visiting the pre-game Spartan locker
room.

Magic; former San
Francisco 49er coach Steve Mariucci, Izzo's boyhood pal; and Minnesota Vikings
assistant Pat Morris, another Spartan, were in the MSU locker room pre-game,
extolling, advising.

"A couple of
football guys, a big basketball guy (told) our team that it's going to be a
football game, so you might as well get ready for one," Izzo said. "I thought they were the
most physical team we played all year."

Just before
halftime, Connecticut's Jeff Adrian grabbed a rebound under the MSU basket and
was grabbed by the Spartans' Travis Walton, trying to extricate the ball. There
was grappling and shoving and glaring. But the officials stepped in, and the end
result was a couple of free throws for Adrian, who unlike some of his teammates
actually made them.

"Our league is
physical," said Izzo of the Big Ten. "Our league is tough. Our league is good
defensively. That helped prepare us for this tournament."

Izzo, whose team won
the title in 2000, who is coaching his fifth Final Four, helped prepare his
team. His tactics were brilliant, his substituting astute. Kalin Lucas, the
sophomore guard, had 21 points and five assists for Michigan State. Raymar
Morgan, with a broken nose and other ailments and seemingly as depressed as the
auto industry, awoke for 18 points, nine rebounds and impressive defense against
anyone Izzo chose.

"Sometimes it's hard
for me to find the right buttons," Izzo said of provoking Morgan. "Today the
button was, 'Ray I need you.' All but get down on my knees and beg. And it
worked pretty good."

Everything's working
for the Spartans.

"You know, after the
Louisville game," said Izzo, "I got to admit, I felt joy. I felt joy for the
university, our team, our conference, our city, our state. It's just a
once-in-a-lifetime thing. Those other Final Fours have been great, but boy, when
people you really care about can go right around the corner and see you play,
that's a special time, a special feeling.

"After the game, it
was surreal, impressive. Now it all turns to whoever we play and to see if we
can make the dream, the miracle, everything, come true one more
time."

Around here, they believe in Magic. And Tom Izzo.

RealClearSports: Road Ends Where It Once Began

By Art Spander

The slogan is both appropriate and ironic. “The Road Ends Here.”
That's what the NCAA is telling us. Here, in Motown, the city where if
the American road literally didn't begin, America's freedom of movement
did by using all that Detroit Iron.

It's the last weekend of the college basketball season, the Final
Four, as others contemplate a last hurrah of an industry that
metaphorically is 10 points down with 20 seconds to go. Wheels, that's
what Detroit thought about. And now for a few days, it's thinking
hoops, basketball, the NCAA championship, and the end of the road.

Now for a few days Detroit is offered an escape from the headlines,
from the economy, from the collapse of the automobile business. Or so
we're told.

So much has been made of Michigan State, which faces Connecticut on
Saturday evening in the first semifinal, becoming a savior, creating an
opportunity for Detroit, Southeastern Michigan, to find the pride and
satisfaction once found in building Chevys and Fords. You wonder. Even
if the Spartans win, the potholes will remain on the beat-up highways.
Even if the Spartans win, the jobless rate will remain much too high.
Even if the Spartans win it won't counter the loss of citizens,
460,000, which obligated the Detroit News to banner, "Eight-year population exodus staggers state."

And by most estimates, the Spartans won't win. The forecasters say
Connecticut will beat Michigan State and in Monday's final, play North
Carolina, which in the other semi meets Villanova. But who knows?
Predictions can be unreliable, maybe even those the last few days
insisting the auto business here is finished.

Tom Izzo, the Michigan State coach, is from the state, the Upper
Peninsula, one of the guys known as "Yupers." He and boyhood pal Steve
Mariucci, the football coach, grew up having to prove themselves.
Izzo's Spartans play basketball with that same chip-on-the-shoulder
mentality.

"I think players play," was Izzo's observation of the competition, "and the toughest players win."

In a region of mills, factories, and unemployment, the tough survive. The tough are admired.

Michigan State, as perhaps Detroit, gets too little respect. There was an interesting quote the other day in the Washington Post from Larry Alexander, president and chief executive of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"America thinks we are dying," said Alexander. "Unfortunately, when
you say 'Motor City,' they think that's all we have to offer. People
assume that if the auto industry is dying, Detroit is dying. But give
us a break. If Wall Street is dying, you don't say 'New York is dying.'"

Except New York is more than Wall Street. Detroit for decades hasn't been much more than cars.

The media hotel for this weekend, the Marriott, is in the GM
headquarters building, the Renaissance Center. The ground floor looks like
an auto showroom, with shiny new models here and there. The hallway
walls are embellished with photos of 1953 Cadillacs and 1957 Chevrolets.

The Michigan State players mostly are homeboys, from towns such as
Saginaw, Flint, Rochester, kids whose fathers, and often whose mothers,
built engines or attached axles. They have an understanding of what has
happened, over the years in the factories, the last few weeks on the
basketball courts.

"Detroit has been struggling," said Kalin Lucas, the excellent
sophomore point guard. He is from Sterling Heights, a suburb north of
the city. "A lot of people have been getting laid off and stuff like
that. So us playing here in the final, us being a Michigan team
playing, it can bring a smile to everybody in the city of Detroit."

The Final Four, with a Michigan team. Will this be any more
uplifting than the Stanley Cup, won by a Detroit team, the Red Wings?
Or the 2004 NBA finals, won by the Pistons, a Detroit team? Or the 2006
World Series, in which a Detroit team, the Tigers, was beaten by the
St. Louis Cardinals? Sections of old Tiger Stadium still stand,
resisting dismantling, now that the baseball team has shifted to new
Comerica Park. The NFL Lions last season, resisting dismantling, went an
unprecedented 0-16. Sporting history is never far away in Detroit.

More will be made. Maybe by Michigan State, which as skill and fate would have it, is in a Final Four in its home territory.

The auto industry clings to life. The state of Michigan clings to
Michigan State. So far the Spartans have taken every correct turn on a
road about to end here.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports
history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his
long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has
earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he has
recently been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of
America for 2009.

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© RealClearSports 2009