Reserves and persistence win for Louisville
By Art Spander
ATLANTA -- The fans of the school that didn’t win, Wichita State, were complaining, not about their team, which was magnificent, but about the college basketball rule that awards alternate possessions on what used to be jump balls and, of course, about the officiating.
What happened was Louisville -- which was down 12 in the second half and came rushing back to win the NCAA national semifinal, 72-68, Saturday night, and advance to Monday night’s final against Michigan -- missed a free throw with nine seconds to play.
Wichita’s Ron Baker grabbed the ball, then Louisville’s Luke Hancock also grabbed the ball, although the Wichita people among the huge crowd at the Georgia Dome insisted Hancock grabbed Baker, getting away with a foul that became a tie-up.
The possession arrow pointed to Louisville, and naturally Wichita had to foul intentionally. And that was that, the No. 1 seed beating the No. 9 seed.
But forget the rules and the refs. If you’re in front, 47-35, with under 14 minutes remaining, they’re not at fault. Your team is.
Your team, which was so protective of the ball for more than 30 minutes, which had only four turnovers, wilted under Louisville's pressure and made six turnovers in eight possessions. Your team, which got this far on 3-point baskets hit on only 6 in 20 attempts.
Louisville won because when its starters were less than effective, its reserves -- including a walk-on, Tim Henderson -- were very effective. Louisville won because it’s the best team in the country.
“They do that to everyone,” a saddened Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said of Louisville.
Then he sighed, “This may be the most important basketball game I’ll ever coach. It’s definitely the most important Wichita State has played in.”
It was no less important for Louisville, which certainly was without its emotional leader, Kevin Ware, who broke his leg in last weekend’s regional final against Duke. Louisville has made even greater comebacks – it was down 16 to Syracuse in the Big East tournament – to advance as it has.
“We had to win this game with our second unit,” said Rick Pitino, the Louisville coach, “with Steven Van Treese, Tim Henderson, one of the best sixth men in basketball, Luke Hancock, and Montrezl Harrell. Our starters played poorly, and that was because Wichita State is that good.”
If not quite good enough.
Henderson is one of those hometown kids who sat on the bench while Peyton Siva from Seattle, Russ Smith from Brooklyn, Gorgui Deng from Senegal – and definitely Ware, from the Bronx – got the playing time and accolades.
Hancock also is a sub, if one who Saturday night, basically taking Ware’s place, was on the court 31 minutes and scored 20, one point fewer than Smith.
Great teams, or at least very good teams, are deep teams, with players who perform when nobody except their teammates expects them to. Very good teams have players such as Henderson, who defied the Wichita State defense, if not logic.
All season, in the 25 games he played, Henderson had made just four 3-pointers, In this game, an agonizingly awful one in the first half and frantically exciting one in the second half, Henderson made consecutive 3-pointers. At the most critical of moments.
With Wichita ahead by those 12 points, Henderson cut the margin to nine at the 13-minute mark. Then he trimmed it to six, 47-41, with 12:18 to play.
“Tim hits shots like that in practice,” said Hancock.
This wasn’t practice. This was near perfection. Three 3-pointers in 17 attempts in 25 games. Two in three attempts in the national semifinal game.
“I think the two Henderson hit,” said Marshall, the Wichita coach, “were in concert with the two one-and-ones (the Shockers') Ehimen Okupe missed. You got to get some points there. Then the six-point run for them becomes three or four points.”
A week ago, when Ware went down with that gruesome fractured leg, the Louisville Cardinals prayed for him. On Monday night, Ware said he prayed for Hancock. “We’d love for him to be out there,” Hancock said of the injured teammate. “He’s out there in spirit. It means a lot.”
What meant a lot was for a dog of a game, Wichita leading at half by the ridiculous score of 26-25, to awaken after intermission and make the final totals respectable. More than respectable were the turnover numbers. Louisville had only two in the second half, nine for the game, Wichita just four in the first half and 11 for the game.
In domes, the shooting invariably is off -- although Siva, who was 1 for 9, was asked if the depth perception affected his jumpers and cracked, “Well, my layups. I couldn’t really see. I was too far away from the basket.”
No laughs, just the realization he’s close to the national title.
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