9B
®()c Cfjarlotte
SPORTS
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1996
Herbert
L. White
Class and
sport not
exclusive
Scott Lilly is a sweet-shoot
ing guard on Independence
High's boys' basketball team,
but that's not his best
attribute.
He is a throwback to a
kinder, classier time when ath
letes were taught that sports
manship was a sign of respect,
not weakness. When Lilly
fouled out of last week's N.C.
4A Western sectional game
against Hunter Huss, he
could've sulked. After all, his
team was on the verge of los
ing a hard-fought game in
overtime despite his 18 points.
But instead of storming off the
court and burying his head
while waiting for the final
horn, Lilly did the unusual. He
walked over to the Huskies
players and shook their hands,
then Huss' coaches. In these
days of selfish, me-first prima
donnas, it was refreshing -
and shocking - to see such
behavior from a schoolboy, of
all people.
"It was just good sportsman
ship, I guess," Lilly said. "They
had played a good game and
they beat us, so I just wanted
to wish them the best of luck
on through the state."
What's so unusual about
Lilly's action is that it was a
heartfelt show of appreciation
for an opponent's giving the
game his all and coming out
the victor. Give it your all, be
proud of your effort and gra
cious in victory or defeat.
Noble? Yes. Antiquated? Sadly,
the answer is yes, too.
After a few years of watching
boorish behavior, one can
become hardened to such
shenanigans. The showboat
ing, showing opponents up and
taunting can be found from the
professional level to the Pee
Wee ranks, which is anything
but cute. Anyone can be a jerk,
but the media as a whole is
only too happy to point it out
among black athletes, from
Dennis Rodman and Derrick
Coleman to Albert Belle and
Deion Sanders, which leads to
copying from young athletes
and more attention.
Guys who are just barely tal
ented now figure the world is
all about them, and aren't shy
about telling the world in addi
tion to bashing the fans and
media that made it possible for
them to pull down millions of
dollars and some semblance of
comfort. Problem is, fans and
media are sometimes so
gullible we're taken by the
hype instead of the substance.
OK, it's not bragging when you
See CLASS Page 11B
s-i -Yjr5ur5is]r^[^"V][si^
I.-S I -5- I L.®..,. L5.
Finally, time to start the dance
Bulldogs aren’t
intimidated by
Jayhawks’ rep
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
never won an
Alexander
PHOTOWADE NASH
Davidson and forward Brandon Williams (40) didn’t get an invitation to the NCAA tournament
despite a 24-5 record, so the Wildcats had to settle for a date with South Carolina in the NIT. That’s
fine, Davidson coach Bob McKillop says.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has
NCAA men’s basketball tournament game.
S.C. State gets a shot at ending that streak Friday.
The Bulldogs, who won the MEAC championship almost two
weeks ago, play Kansas at Tempe, Ariz. in the first round of
the West regional. The Jayhawks, coming off a loss to Iowa
State in the Big 8 tournament final, are one
of the nation’s elite teams. The Bulldogs,
whose only other appearance in the 64-team
field was in 1989, are 22-7 and swept to the
tournament title by beating opponents by an
average of 19 points. S.C. State coach Cy
Alexander said he sees no reason why the
Bulldogs can’t be the first MEAC team to win
in the tournament, and he’s told his players
that. The league is 0-14 in NCAA play.
“We’ve had a great -year and we don’t
intend for it to end Friday,” he said. “We
want to make some history. These guys
aren’t intimidated, and they aren’t nervous.”
The Bulldogs will try to slow the pace down against Kansas,
which has a definite height advantage with 6-11 Raef
LaFrentz, who leads the Jayhawks in scoring and rebounding
and Jacque Vaughn, a 6-1 point guard, is a national player of
the year finalist. S.C. State will rely or. high-percentage shots
and defense to keep the game close. The Bulldogs placed three
players among the MEAC’s top 10 in rebounding, and one of
them, forward Derrick Patterson, leads the team in scoring (16
See BULLDOGS Page 11B
NIT another chance
for Davidson to shine
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
So Davidson didn’t get the NCAA tournament berth the
Wildcats thought they deserved.
They’re happy to take the consolation prize to a storybook
season.
The Wildcats missed out on the 64-team NCAA tournament,
but played South Carolina in the first round of the National
Invitational Tournament in Columbia Wednesday, Davidson,
which rolled through the Southern Conference before losing
See WILDCATS Page 11B
Handicapping the tournament? Here’s an NCAA primer
By Jim Litke
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
T he NCAA selection
committee got a free
weekend stay in a nice
hotel, permission to order up
more room service than Buster
Douglas in Las Vegas, and
enough flattery to make Dick
Vitale cringe. And for what?
For narrowing a field of some
300 teams — give or take a New
Mexico State and whoever else
is on probation at the moment
- to 64 for this tournament?
Please.
We could have done that in a
matter of minutes. To prove it,
we'll peel the remaining 64
down to a single national
champion in just about that
long. But remember: don't try
this at your office when copies
of the bracket are handed
around. We take the danger
ous shortcuts so you won't
have to.
And because we ll still have
enough time left over to pause
here and recognize two coach
es whose responses to being
left out shows why the profes
sion is a never-ending source
of wonderment.
The runaway winner for this
season's loss-of-perspective
award goes to Providence
coach Pete Gillen. The Friars
went 17-11 in the Big East,
which just may be the tough
est conference in the land. But
Gillen apparently had a nag
ging feeling that wouldn't be
enough. Anticipating the selec
tion committee would bypass
the Friars, he began preparing
his players Saturday for the
disappointment.
“Life isn't fair," he said at the
conference tournament.
“People are born blind and
crippled. Little kids die in
plane crashes. I think we
deserve to get in, but you don't
always get what you deserve."
No, life isn't fair. But after
those remarks, leaving
Providence out of the 64-team
See TOURNEY Page 12B
9 y
.li ^ M y I I y I, y I I y I y 11 9 I ly I ^ ^ IVI ^ [y
Tyson’s outlook on life
and boxing changed
since 1989 Bruno fight
By Ed Schuyler Jr.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Frank Bruno
says Mike Tyson will see a dif
ferent fighter March 16 than
the one he stopped in 1989.
Well, says Tyson, Bruno's
going to be seeing a different
fighter, too.
In a conference call Tuesday
from Las Vegas, the site of the
rematch, Tyson said that he
was in a stage of burnout and
was losing in interest in box
ing when he stopped Bruno in
the fifth round of a defense of
the undisputed heavyweight
championship Feb. 25, 1989.
Now
fight ii
thing
Tyson,
boxing
what he want
ed to talk
about. He put
off questions
about non
boxing ques
tions by say
ing, “My personal life. I'm
adjusting to since my release
from prison."
“I'm anxious," Tyson said of
his upcoming challenge to
Bruno, the WBC champion.
See TYSON Page 11B
Tyson
• When:
Semifinals M. rch 29
Finals March 31
• Where:
Charlotte Coliseum
• Tickets:
Sold out since April
1995.
Duke hopes to have Devil
of a time in women’s tourney
By Karl Petraroja
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Two years ago, the only way
the Duke Blue Devils had a
chance of getting to the
women’s Final Four was to buy
their own tickets.
Now, they hope to get to
Charlotte on their merit.
Much has changed for the
riue Devils, .^rortinc: with
coach G, That’s Gail
Goestenkors, who joined Duke
in 1992. Under Goestenkors,
the Blue Devils have steadily
improved from 12-15 to 16-11,
then 22-9 and finally this year,
to 25-6.
They made a second straight
appearance in the ACC tour
nament final in Rock Hill, los
ing 71-54 to Clemson. Despite
the loss, it's
been a great
year and the
Blue Devils
hope it con
tinues when
they host
James
Madison
Saturday in
round one of
the NCAA
tournament.
Should they win, they'll also
host a second game Monday.
The Blue Devils are led by
junior Kira Qrr, a 5-6 fireplug
Orr
of a point guard. She made the
all-ACC tournament first
team, scoring 41 points in
three games, including a last-
second half court bomb that
helped put away Wake Forest
67-61 in the tourament opener.
Orr's star took off last year in
Rock Hill, when she hit two
longe-range buzzer-beaters,
including one in overtime for a
stirring 83-82 upset of top seed
Virginia. Her first buzzer beat
er, sent the game to overtime.
“Yeah, as soon as it went in, I
said, Ahh this is definetly my
gym," Orr said with a laugh.
“Then I was just still thinking
about the game from then on.”
See DUKE Page 12B