Page 8-Sunday, March 27, 1983-The Michigan Daily
N.C. State upstages
Virginia, 63-62
OGDEN, Utah (AP) - Sophomore Lorenzo Charles
sank two free throws with 23 seconds remaining
yesterday, lifting North Carolina State to a 63-62 up-
set over fourth-ranked Virginia in the NCAA West
Regional championship game and denying Ralph
Sampson his coveted national champsionship.
North Carolina State, 24-9, now advances to the
Final Four in Albuquerque, N.M., against the winner
of Sunday's East Regional final between North
Carolina and Georgia. State beat North Carolina and
Virginia on successive nights two weeks ago to win
the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and earn
an NCAA bid.
IT WAS SAMPSON, the three-time All-America,
who committed the decisiive foul when Charles drove
for the basket. Charles calmly sank both free throws,
capping a Wolfpack rally from a seven point deficit
with 7:39 left.
Virginia, unable to get the ball into Sampson for a
final shot, had two more chances to win it, but Tim
Mullen's long jump shot bounced off the rim and
Othel Wilson's follow shot fell short as time expired.
Senior guard Dereck Whittenburg led theWolfpack
with 24 points, most of them from long range, while
forwards Thurl Bailey and Charles finished with 14
and 11 points, respectively.
SAMPSON PACED the Cavaliers with 23 points, in-
cluding eight straight Virginia points that built the
seven point bulge in the second half.
But Virginia couldn't hold the lead, and Sampson's
illustrious four-year career ended without the
national championship he so cherished.
The Cavaliers, a solid free-throw shooting team
during the regular season, had problems at the line
for the third straight tournament game. The
Cavaliers converted just seven of 14 free throws in
the second half and missed three of their last five free
throw tries, including one by Wilson with 54 seconds
left that gave North Carolina State its chance to win
in regulation.
WITH VIRGINIA unable to pull away from thA
pesky Wolfpack in the first half, the 7-foot-4 Sampson
took personal charge of the Cavaliers:
His hook shot put Virginia, the top seed in the West,
ahead 50-43. After a pair of free throws by Wolfpack
guard Sidney Lowe and a basket by Charles, Sam-
pson scored two more baskets, one a slam of a missed
Virginia shot. Bailey cut the deficit to 54-49, but two
Sampson free throws with 7:39 to go extended
Virginia's margin to seven again, at 56-49.
Bailey had four of N.C. State's next eight points as
the Wolfpack drew closer and Charles shouldered hi4
way inside for a bucket that tied the score, 59-59 with
3:43 left.
Virginia guard Rick Carlisle, who had converted
six straight free throws in the closing seconds of
Virginia's semifinal victory over Boston College
Thursday night, then missed a free throw, but Sam-
pson's stuff off a lob pass from Carlisle put the
Cavaliers ahead 61-59 with 1:47 left.
Louisville pounds
Kentucky in OT
, .
t
d/' H
AP Photo
All-America Ralph Sampson prepares to leave Virginia's lockerroom and
his college basketball career after Virginia's 63-62 defeat at the hands of
North Carolina State in the West regional final of the NCAA tournament.
Straight from the
source's moutha
By RON POLLACK
So long Ralph and Antoine...
... coaching wins championships
IF YOU COULD pick any person from a college basketball team for the NCAA
tournament, who would it be?
If you could pick any person from a Michigan high school basketball team
for the state tournament, who would it be?
Virginia's Ralph Sampson and Detroit Southwestern's Antoine Joubert
you say. That's fine and dandy with me. Now it's my turn to choose.
So who should I pick? North Carolina's Michael Jordan, Memphis State's
Keith Lee or Tennessee's Dale Ellis for the NCAAs? Flint Central's Darryl
Johnson for the Michigan high school tourney?
They're all fine players, but I think I'll pass.
So what's left? How about a top-notch coach. Come tournament time, a fir-
st-class coach is as important as a Sampson or Joubert. Probably more so.
Take yesterday's Class A final as an example. Joubert has been called All-
State, All-Everything and just short of All-World. But in the finals, Antoine's
one-man show wasn't enough and Flint Central won its third straight state
championship.
The reason for Flint Central's dominance is its coach, Stan Gooch. The man
has had good talent to work with, but his teams win because of an emphasis
on the team concept and balance rather than a one-man highlight film.
So I'd choose a Stan Gooch over an Antoine Joubert. Gooch has proved
that can win without a superstar of Joubert's caliber. He had good talent to
work with this season, but nothing to compare with Joubert, despite what
Darryl Johnson fans say. Joubert, on the other hand, has shown that he can-
not win without a coach who will instill a team concept. The last two seasons,
Joubert has compiled awesome statistics and press clippings, but has lost in
the state finals to Flint Central both times.
And for the same reason, I'd choose a Bobby Knight, Dean Smith of Denny
Crum over a Ralph Sampson for the NCAA tourney. For the last four
seasons, Sampson has failed to win a national title because his coach has not
used him properly.
Sampson hasn't been part of the team, he's been the whole squad. He has
been asked to do too much, to be a one-man team.
And one-man teams do not win NCAA tournaments. Opposing coaches are
too smart and have too much bearing on games for this to occur. The import-
ance of the coach has been seen throughout this year's tourney.
A clearly undermanned Indiana team gives Kentucky a battle because it is
so well coached by Knight. Another overmatched squad, Princeton, pulled
off an early upset over Oklahoma State because of the emphasis on defense
and a slow down offense its coach has stressed all season. Yesterday, Ken-
tucky had the momentum going into overtime against Louisville, but Wild-
cats' coach Joe B. Hall let the game get out of hand by not calling a timeout
at a crucial moment.
If you look at the teams left in the tournament, you will find that their
coaches have infused a team concept. North Carolina's Michael Jordan is
considered to be the college Player of the Year in some corners, but the Tar
Heels are not a one-man show as is Virginia. Credit Smith for that. The other
remaining teams - Georgia, North Carolina State, Louisville, Villanova and
Houston - all sport fairly balanced attacks.
So give me an outstanding coach over an outstanding player. I'd be willing
to bet that if Joubert were coached by Gooch, he'd have a state champion-
ship to his name. And I'd wager that if Smith or Knight coached Sampson, the
7-4 giant who is arguably the finest college basketball player ever, he would
own an NCAA championship ring. Instead, these two fine players can only
wonder about what might have been.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Lan-
caster Gordon hit two baskets within 18
seconds, triggering an overtime out-
burst that carried second-ranked
Louisville to an 80-68 victory over no. 12
Kentucky yesterday in the NCAA
Mideast Regional tournament in the
first meeting in 24 years between the
Bluegrass State powers. '
Tenacious Louisville, 32-3, which
used a trapping defense to fight back
from a 13-point first-half deficit, scored
the first 14 points in overtime and
gained a berth in the Final Four at
Albuquerque, N.M. next week against
the winner of Sunday's Midwest title
game between top-ranked Houston and
No. 13 Villanova.
IT WAS THE 16th victory in a row for
the Cardinals, who have won 24 of their
last 25 games.
Gordon scored 24 points and Milt
Wagner 18, most of those after half-
time, when Louisville went to its relen-
tless pressure defense that forced Ken-
tucky, 23-8, into numerous turnovers.
The Wildcats held a nine-point lead
when Louisville applied the pressure in
earnest. The Cardinals forced Ken-
tucky into six turnovers in less than two
minutes, going on a 10-2 spurt that cut
the lead to 45-42.
LOUISVILLE didn't lead until 11:40
remained, when Gordon pulled up off a
drive to sink a six-footer for a 50-49 ad-
vantage.
Gordon came back with a dunk 90
seconds later to put Louisville ahead 54-
53, and the Cardinals never trailed
again.
Kentucky got possession to force
the overtime when Charles Hurt
rebounded Hord's missed free throw for
a layup that tied the game with 3:15 left
in regulation. Wagner's errant pass
gave Kentucky possession with 2:24 to
go, and the Wildcats held the ball for
the final shot.
HOWEVER, Dirk Minniefield spotted
an open lane to the basket with 16
seconds to play but had his layup
deflected by Jones.
Gordon came back with an eight-
fiooter 11 seconds from the finish to
make it 62-60 before Master's shot at
the buzzer tied it again 62-62.
However, there was no contest in
overtime. Gordon's two quick baskets,
one off his own steal, ignited the 14-0
outburst that sealed the victory.
MASTER AND Melvin Turpin led
Kentucky with 18 points each, a dozen
each after halftime.
Rodney McCray added 15 for
Louisville and Charles Jones had 14.
It was the second straight comeback
victory in the Mideast Regional for the
Cardinals, who overcame a 16-point fir-
st-half deficit Thursday night to edge
ninth-ranked Arkansas on Scooter Mc-
Cray's tip-in at the buzzer.
TV
4 t5v, Air
poll
I
AP Photo
Louisville's Rodney McCray tries for two points between Kentucky's Kenny
Walker (34) and Melvin Turpin (54).
Judge nets 47
in
By RICK BYRNE
The case was closed yesterday on the Class A
Basketball Championship, and as the red and black
banners proclaimed, the Judge was overruled. The
Flint Central Indians came to town with just one
goal in mind. They were looking for their third con-
secutive Class A title, a feat not accomplished since
1951, when Kalamazoo-Central turned the hat trick.
They came up against the Prospectors of Detroit
Southwestern High and the Judge, incredible Antoine
Joubert, equally determined to avenge last year's
final round loss to the Indians. When the smoke had
cleared, Flint emerged on top, defeating South-
western by the score of 84-80.
MUCH AS ONE would like to give credit to all the
Prospectors, who played their hearts out in the
closely-contested match, there could be no denying
that they were a one-man team. That one man was
Joubert who took 40 of his team's 60 shots from the
floor and poured in 47 points for a new Class A Final
Game record.
The game began as a dogfight, neither team
gaining a decisive upper hand. But as the second
quarter began with Flint on top, 22-19, the Indians
widened the margin with a run of four unanswered
baskets. The notorious accuracy of Central's outside
shots was in evidence as Darryl Johnson and Ervin
Leavy scored three field goals, from 15 feet or more
during that drive. Southwestern coach Perry Watson
called time out to regroup, and when play resumed,
his players moved to the ball more on defense.
However, oftense was still suffering as the Prospec-
tors trailed 40-33 at the half. All of Southwestern's 14
second-quarter points were scored by the Judge.
The sellout crowd at Crisler Arena was dominated
by Prospector fans, and as the players took the court
for the second half, their cheer of "Let's get fired
up!" filled the air. Offensive efforts by Clarence
Jones and Johnny Johnson helped Detroit to chip
away at the Flint lead, though Central continued to
'A' loss
hit from all positions, as Ken. Bowie contributed 8
points in the third quarter. At the buzzer, Joubert
fired a 22-footer to tie the score at 53.
AS THE FOURTH quarter developed into a
replay of the first and second, it became evident that
Southwestern could not win. Joubert dominated the
scoring and his teammates were unsupportive under
the boards. Central was able to consistantly ril
down offensive rebounds and take the decisive secon
and third shots. In the winning effort, four players
scored in double figures, Michigan State-bound
Darryl Johnson leading the way with 30.
In the final analysis, Johnson best summed up the
play when he said, "We had a good balanced attack,
but Southwestern had to rely on (Joubert)."
For his part, Joubert, who showed his leadership in
comforting some of the younger players after the
heartbreaking loss, said, "We're tough and we'll be
back next year, and I'll be here watching them."
Corunna overpowers
Oak Park for ' title
By STEVE WISE
The Cavaliers finally won a basket-
ball championship during Ralph Sam-
pson's senior year. No, it wasn't the
Virginia version, but the Corunna
Cavaliers who defeated the Oak Park
Redskins; for the Class B state title in
Crisler Arena yesterday, 52-49.
Corunna used a tough man-to-man
defense and superior rebounding at
both ends of the court to offset a weak
38-percent shooting performance. The
Cavaliers out-boarded the Redskins, 37-
30 (22-14 in the second half).
"WE MADE IT very difficult for
them to go inside," said Cavalier coach
Frank Davis.
THE CAVALIERS opened the final
quarter with two straight baskets to
take their first lead since two minutes
into the first quarter. They then stret-
ched the margin to seven, 46-39, on a
pair of Fattal free throws. But Oak
Park wasn't done yet.
Redskin guard Fred Marshall, who
was the Oak Park offense in the first
half with 19 points, scored the last of his
game-high 29 points on an incredib
off-balance jumper with 28 seconds lef
in the game. His basket cut the Corunna
lead to 48-47, but that was as close as
Oak Park could get.
Phil Zielinski, Corunna's senior cen-
ter, scored the last four points for the
Cavaliers. He finished the game with 16
points and 11 rebounds.
"It (a state championship) is.
C~AS Tournament
Midast Regional Final
at Knoxville, Tenn,
"ttisville 80, Kentucky 680OT
West licgion"fI Final
at Ogden, Utah
Nrth Carolina State fa, Virginia 62
Oak Park coach Richard Griest
agreed the Corunna defense made the
difference. "They put a lot of pressure
m M RM M NO ON W