PAGE 16 THE BEHREND BEACON MARCH 24 2000
NATIONAL SPORTS
lowa
battle
by Scott Howard-Cooper
Los Angeles Times
March 21, 2000
They came from nowhere. That's
not a commentary on Ames, lowa,
either. (Although ... )
They came from everywhere:
Coach Larry Eustachy from Southern
California, where he played at Arcadia
High, Citrus College and Long Beach
State, and later from the Rockies,
where he coached at Idaho and Utah
State.
Marcus Fizer, the All-American
forward, from Louisiana, a big-time
recruit who signed out of desire and
not a lack of options.
Jamaal Tinsley, the mouthy point
guard, from Brooklyn, then Mount
San Jacinto Community College.
Michael Nurse, the dangerous
shooter, from Teaneck, N.J., a junior
college in Arkansas and a Division HI
school in New York.
Martin Rancik, a top reserve, from
Slovakia and a suburban Minneapo
lis high school.
Mostly, they came from obscurity,
by way of disappointment, through a
battle for top standing in their own
state. Of course, that only means the
lowa State Cyclones were prepared
for what was to come, finishing the
regular season ranked sixth in the na
tion and being made the second
seeded team in the Midwest Regional
and having everyone wonder what
gives.
"We read about an individual saying
that if we beat them, it's an upset,"
Eustachy said. "It's amazing. We're a
two seed and still fighting for re-
spec[."
This week can take care of a lot of
that. lowa State, at 31-4 the
winningest Division I team ever in the
state, surpassing the beloved
Hawkeyes of 1986-87, goes to Au
burn Hills, Mich., to play resurgent
UCLA in the Sweet 16 as a legitimate
threat to advance to Indianapolis. That
much is certain, after a season that has
included two victories each over Kan
sas and Oklahoma State and one over
Texas, tournament teams all.
Having that translate into accep
tance among the elite is another mat
ter. Part of it is coming from Ames,
not quite pushing to become a com
munications mecca. The bigger part,
Gonzaga: March's team?
by Christian Ewell
The Baltimore Sun
March, 21 2000
TUCSON, Ariz Joy is what makes
the Gonzaga men's basketball team a
Cinderella-type phenomenon.
It isn't the West Coast Conference af
filiation, the school's size, nor the fact
that in a sport heavily appropriated by
blacks, the roster is nearly all-white.
There isn't another tournament fa
vorite that would have its coach point
ing toward the stands to say thank
you, as Gonzaga Coach Mark Few did
following his team's 82-76 win over
second seed St. John's at the McKale
Center last weekend. And after a sec
ond-round win, the players on most
front-running teams wouldn't be
caught dead reveling in the highlights
of their exploits.
Yet, afterward, there the Bulldogs
were, forming a human mound of
navy blue nylon jumpsuits as they
crowded around a small locker room
television, watching the
"Sports Center" clips of Matt
Santangelo knock down one of his six
three-pointers in the face of a St.
John's player.
Gonzaga players maintain that they
expected to make it this far. In nor
mal seasons a 10th seed reaching the
Round of 16 would be cause for wild
celebration. But with the top three
seeds gone in the South Region as
well as the West, the Bulldogs have
plenty of company being as happy
with their not-taken-for-granted wins
as the ousted are sad about their un
expected losses.
"If people need to call this an up
set, or that we are a Cinderella team,"
Santangelo said after advancing to the
region semifinals Thursday against
State winning
for respect
since CNN hasn't opened a bureau in
Lawrence or Durham or Lexington
either, names that can stand alone as
synonymous with college basketball
excellence, is that there hasn't been a
reason to know of the Cyclones.
After Jeff Hornacek, Jeff Grayer
and Kelvin Cato played there, after
Johnny Orr coached there for 14 years
and six tournament appearances, and
immediately after the heartbreaking
Sweet 16 overtime loss to UCLA in
1997, there was the 12-18 finish.
Then the Chicago Bulls plucked
Tim Floyd to replace Phil Jackson,
Eustachy came in from Utah State,
and the Cyclones went 15-15 last sea
son. Not long after, the lowa
Hawkeyes, continued to bite into the
attention by bagging Steve Alford as
coach.
Fizer was a budding star all along,
the first McDonald's All-American to
go to Ames, "budding" being the op
erative word. Floyd's departure,
though without hard feelings, was a
personal blow to him. Even the Big
12 coaches made him second-team
all-conference a year ago.
Then, he exploded.
As a junior, he is a candidate for
player of the year. In the nation.
No one else in Division I finished
in the top nine in shooting and scor
ing. He averaged 7.5 rebounds as the
Cyclones' 6-foot-8 pseudo-center. He
became the symbol of the leaps of a
program.
"Against Texas Tech in Lubbock,
I think it's the first time I've ever
played against a box and one where
the man was on me,"Fizer said. "Usu
ally, it's on an outstanding perimeter
shooter. For a little while, I couldn't
understand why this guy was just
standing behind me."
There was a lot of that this season,
only the other way around. The Cy
clones played a weak nonconference
schedule, beating Arkansas by six and
losing to Cincinnati by 15 at the Big
Island Invitational in the most notable
outcomes, then started rolling in the
Big 12, and kept putting their ears to
the ground, wondering when the
bandwagon would roll through.
Losing in January at then-No. 17
Oklahoma State in double overtime
in the first major conference test hurt,
but they came back to beat Kansas a
week later and the Cyclones were
Purdue in Albuquerque, "then it's
OK, because it means that we are still
winning, and that's what it's all
about."
But the team's reaction to its latest
success should be the only surprise
in a season that's produced a 26-8
record. Santangelo, who beat St.
John's with 26 points, four rebounds
and five assists, is a first-rate point
guard who was a gold-medal winner
on the U.S. team at the World Uni
versity Games. He's complemented
by Richie Frahm, who averaged
nearly 17 points a game this season
to lead the team and torched Louis
ville for 31 points in the Bulldogs'
first-round win.
Inside, 6-foot-11 Axel Dench and 6-
8 Casey Calvary present a formidable
inside punch that was pivotal in get
ting Gonzaga to the Sweet 16; 43 of
the team's 82 points against St. John's
came from inside players.
St. John's guard Erick Barkley,
who saw Gonzaga's outside strength
as being the key, said, "I didn't ex
pect their big men to dominate the
way they did."
All of these guys were around last
season, when the Bulldogs beat the
No. 7 (Minnesota), No. 2 (Stanford)
and No. 6 (Florida) seeds in the West
Region, and came within five points
of beating top seed and eventual na
tional champion Connecticut in the
regional final.
The run gave the 4,400-student
school recognition, and gave
Santangelo credibility when he joined
the World University Games team.
"When I walked into the gym, I didn't
have to explain where I was from,"
he said. "That kind of recognition is
mostly what I experienced."
With three starters and four key re
WIA:K IN SPORTS
lowa State's Brandon Hawkins hangs on the rim after a dunk
over Auburn's Marquis Daniels (3) in the first half of lowa State's
79-60 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Saturday.
ranked 20th in the nation.
Then 17th. And 14th. Then back to
17th after losing in overtime at Colo
rado, bound for a 7-9 league finish.
The march started there.
Consecutive victories over then-No.
14 Texas by 12 and No. 10 Oklahoma
State by 11 pushed them to 10th in the
country. By the time the conference
tournament started, lowa State was all
the way to seventh, and at the start of
the NCAA tournament, the Cyclones
had a seven-game winning streak and
were ranked sixth.
"So, it is about falling into place like
it should," Eustachy said. "We march
to the tune of respect. I am not big on
motivating. We just coach. The play
ers have picked up on it. It has flip
flopped now. We find ourselves with
a bull's-eye right on our backs."
serves returning, and with former as
sistant Few taking over after last
year's coach, Dan Monson, left for
Minnesota, Gonzaga took some
lickings against high-profile teams,
but gave its share back as well.
In the space of four days in early
December, there was the 16-point neu
tral court loss to Temple, coupled with
an easy blitzing of UCLA (59-43) at
Pauley Pavilion.
"After last season's success, we
have gotten our opponents' best ef
fort," Frahm said. "We didn't compete
well at certain points in the season, but
we have been here before, and we
know what it takes to win."
It takes good athletes, which
Gonzaga has plenty of. Anyone pay
ing attention would have seen sinewy
reserve forward Mark Spink rising
well above the rim for several slams
last weekend, or Frahm shaking free
of Louisville defenders for any shot
he wanted.
Still, because of the complexion of
all but two of the Bulldogs, they are
seen as an overachieving bunch that
walks the ball up the court and shoots
three-pointers. The team averages
nearly 80 points a game.
"People, unfortunately, still haven't
got it," said St. John's coach Mike
Jarvis, who is black. "Most people
would look at Gonzaga and they
would say that because they're all
white, they're not good athletes.
They're very athletic. Some would say
they're athletic for white kids. They're
good athletes."
People also fail to take the Bulldogs
seriously because of the league they
play in, the West Coast Conference.
If not for Gonzaga's results in last
year's tournament, Pepperdine might
not have made this year's field, de-
It caused only minor problems in
the opening rounds at Minneapolis.
The Cyclones began with an 88-78
win over Central Connecticut State.
They blew a 19-point first-half lead,
were tied with six minutes left, then
pulled away for good.
Two days later against Auburn, the
challenge was to overcome Fizer's
being relegated to supporting role
most of the way, but Tinsley made
consecutive three-pointers midway
through the second half to start the
eventual blowout, a 79-60 victory.
That Tinsley was shooting 15.2
percent on three-pointers heading
into the tournament did not go with
out notice. Yep, falling into place like
it should. Just in case anyone is pay
ing attention.
spite winning the WCC regular-sea
son title.
The WCC isn't on ESPN, nor
should its members hold their breath
waiting to be. But Few maintains that
lower-tiered teams in major confer
ences couldn't win his league.
So he's equally bemused on the re
cruiting trail, by parents and AAU
coaches involved with high school
players who still turn up their noses
at the Spokane, Wash., school in fa
vor of a ninth-place team in the Pa
cific-10 or Mountain West Confer-
"There was one kid who dearly
wanted to come to our program, but
his parents and the people around
him didn't think we were big-time
enough," Few said. "The AAU
coaches are in there - 'Well, he's get
ting recruited big-time, Coach.' The
teams are seventh, eighth and ninth
in the Pac- 10 or the Big Ten, so I ask,
why isn't he being recruited by a big
time school that went to the Elite
Eight."
As it stands in a tournament that
Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson
described as having 12 contenders
for a national title, Gonzaga should
feel good about its chances of being
a national semifinalist, with Purdue,
Louisiana State and Wisconsin as ob
stacles in its road to Indianapolis.
With a feat like that, perhaps the
program's move out of Cinderella
dom would be accomplished at last.
"You're constantly being told to
prove it, prove it," Few said. " `Ah,
you're in the Elite Eight, 20 seconds
away from the Final Four. That's a
one-year deal.' "
Well, maybe not.
Winthrop baseball
its
team trades barbs
with Penn State after
Confederate flag flap
ROCK HILL, S.C. Winthrop pitcher
John Swanson whistled "Dixie" from
the dugout during a weekend baseball
game against Penn State, whose play
ers
wore red wristbands in protest of
the Confederate flag flying atop the
South Carolina State House.
Several teammates of the freshman
from Surfside Beach shouted "Yan
kee" at the Nittany Lions during the
game. When a Penn State player dived
back to first on a pick-off attempt, the
Eagles' first baseman said, "Safe by a
wristband."
"That was absolutely offensive,"
Penn State coach Joe Hindelang said
Monday. "All we did was make a state
ment and wear red wristbands. Noth
ing else. We weren't trying to be rebels.
"In wearing the wristbands, we. the
Penn State baseball team, were stat
ing our opposition to the racist views
that have been associated with the
Confederate flag. -
Swanson said the only way his team
would return to South Carolina before
the flag is removed would be to play a
postseason game.
The protest had nothing to do with
Winthrop or a request by the NAACP
for an economic boycott of the state,
he said
"If one thing is so offensive to a
large group of people, why don't you
change it?" said Hindelang, who is
white. "I remember a number of years
ago the nickname of St. John's Uni
versity was Redmen. They're the Red
Storm now.
"It's like the Spike Lee movie, 'Do
The Right Thing.' Let's do the right
thing in society."
The flag has become a national is
sue with the NAACP's request for a
boycott. The New York Knicks will no
longer train for the NBA's preseason
in Charleston as they normally do. And
several college tennis teams pulled out
of a spring trip to Hilton Head Island
as a protest.
Franklin & Marshall, a Division 111
school in Lancaster, Pa., canceled trips
Niedermayer awaits
punishment from NHL
It was exactly one month ago Tues
day that Marty McSorley's infamous
stick attack on Donald Brashear
shocked the hockey world and brought
a swift and harsh judgment from the
NHL. This afternoon, Scott
Niedermayer will find out just how
much he's been caught up in that
wake.
The Devils defenseman will be at
the league offices in Manhattan at
noon to discuss his own stick attack
on Florida's Peter Worrell, which oc
curred in the final minutes of the Dev
ils' 5-2 win at the Meadowlands on
Sunday. That he'll be meeting with
NHL VP Colin Campbell in person,
and not by phone, all but guarantees
he'll be suspended. And even
Niedermayer knows the suspension
could be long.
"I deserve something, there's no
doubt about it," Niedermayer said yes
terday. "It was a stupid play. I deserve
to be suspended."
The question for Campbell, though,
is how long should the suspension be?
There are nine games left in the Dev
ils' regular season, including tonight
against Carolina. McSorley was sus
pended for at least the Bruins' final
23 regular-season games. And while
McSorley's may have been the far ug
lier of the two incidents, it's still likely
to have an impact on the Niedermayer
case.
"It's definitely not a good time for
something like this to happen,"
Niedermayer said. "There's no doubt
the league is going to be watching it,
obviously, with what happened. So
we'll see."
Undoutedly, since Niedermayer has
by David Newton
Knight-Ridder Tribune
March 21, 2000
by Ralph Vacchiano
Knight-Ridder Tribune
March 21, 2000
by the women's lacrosse and softball
teams and the men's and women's ten-
Ms teams
Hindelang wasn't aware of the is
sue until a month and a half ago when
a newspaper reporter from a small
town in Pennsylvania asked if he
planned to boycott any games. He then
spoke to the minorities on his team
two blacks and a Hispanic to get their
views. He also discovered several
campus organizations were discussing
the matter.
"We met as a team and gathered as
much information as we could through
the Internet, through articles in The
State newspaper and from some very
knowledgeable people in and around
Penn State who we respected,"
Hindelang said.
The 38 players and four coaches
then voted overwhelmingly in favor
of wearing wristbands as a means of
protest during the two-game series
played Saturday and Sunday,
Hindelang said.
Hindelang said the reaction of
Winthrop fans and players surprised
him.
Swanson told a reporter he was glad
the flag flies over the State House.
"It's heritage, not hate," he said.
Flag supporters say the flag repre
sents Southern heritage and honors the
Civil War dead. Opponents say it rep
resents racism and hatred.
Hindelang got the impression from
some that many South Carolinians
don't consider the flag a major issue.
"It's time to wake up and smell the
coffee," he said. "It's a national issue.
Someone asked me if this was a black
issue. I said if I didn't have any blacks
on my team, I would feel the same
way. It's a human relations, human
being issue.
"We're all better, the team specifi
cally, for having discussed it, re
searched it, come up with a course of
action and followed through.
"In the overall scope of things,
we're only 38 players and four
coaches, but we feel good about what
we did and how we handled the sensi
tivity of the issue. It can only be a
healthy and positive thing."
admitted his actions and intent, the
crux of his defense this afternoon will
he that the McSorley incident should
have no bearing on his own. "I have
all the confidence that it will be
treated as an isolated situation," said
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello, who will
join Niedermayer at the hearing. "And
it should be."
Worrell - who a team spokesman
said is still suffering from headaches
- and the Panthers obviously disagree.
But the more important opinion is that
of the league. How much will the
Mil., factor in Niedermayer's spotless
record? And how much will the
league weigh the things Worrell did
to provoke the attack?
The Devils hope Worrell's actions
count heavily. Though he received
only two penalties prior to the game
ending fight - including a penalty for
elbowing Niedermayer 4:22 into the
game - the Devils accused Worrell of
taking illegal shots at their heads all
game long. And they criticized refer
ees Dan Marouelli and Scott Zelkin
for not stopping him.
"(Niedermayer) was waiting for
justice to be done," Devils center
Bobby Holik said. "But nobody
would do it."
Of course, even Niedermayer ad
mitted that was no excuse for his ac
tions. As he did after the game, he
again stated yesterday, "It was not the
right thing to do." However, he did
not go so far as to offer an apology to
Worrell.
"I don't know, I guess would apolo
gize if he thinks I need to apologize
to him," Niedermayer said. "But
there's going to be a lot of apologiz
ing going on. Is he going to apolo
gize for every elbow that he aimed at
my head? Probably not."