http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/146034.html
Once a champ, always a champ
There's little in the NBA this time of year that says 'in your face' quite like an NCAA title.
By Paul Gutierrez - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:12 am PDT Thursday, March 29, 2007
It still seems like yesterday to Corliss Williamson -- "The Big Nasty" battling Cherokee Parks for position in the paint. Scotty Thurman's three-pointer from the right wing just eluding Antonio Lang's outstretched hand. The ball falling from the Charlotte Coliseum rafters to find nothing but net.
The last-minute shot not only gave the Arkansas Razorbacks the 1994 national title over the Duke Blue Devils, it also gave Williamson bragging rights ... for life. And they come in especially handy this time of year -- every year.
Woo Pig Sooie, indeed.
So your NCAA bracket's been busted? You had the likes of Long Beach State and Nevada wearing Cinderella slippers with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament instead of UNLV playing the part of "Sin-derella" with its first Sweet 16 run in a not-so-sweet 16 years? Co-workers are heaping piles of trash talk on you in your cubicle and spamming your e-mail in-box? Imagine residing in an NBA locker room, where the smack flies as fast and furious as Allen Iverson on a fast break.
That's why, to quote Mel Brooks, it's good to be the King. Or, in this case, it's good to be a Sacramento King with an NCAA championship ring.
"There's a lot of pride, especially when you have your former team playing against one of your teammate's former teams," said Williamson, the 1994 Final Four Most Outstanding Player as a sophomore. A year later, the Razorbacks fell to UCLA in the title game and Williamson jumped to the NBA.
"That definitely brings out the school spirit," Williamson said. "You always hear them mouthing off when the NCAA Tournament rolls around. It's exciting to compare how your school's doing to another team."
From the moment the brackets are unveiled on Selection Sunday, the $100 bills are broken out with aplomb.
"Oh yeah, anytime two alma maters go against each other, that's an automatic $100 bet," said Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon, who won a title at Connecticut in 2004.
"It's automatic," agreed Gordon's backcourt mate in Chicago, Chris Duhon, who won his championship as a freshman at Duke in 2001. "You don't even have to go and ask them if it's on or not."
Of course, no one says much in the Kings' locker room to Williamson or Mike Bibby, who won his NCAA title as a freshman in 1997 at Arizona.
"Nah, I think it's already understood," Williamson said.
It's like that throughout the NBA, the NCAA titlists always having that trump card at the ready in case someone gets a little mouthy.
At Golden State, Jason Richardson said Baron Davis, Mike Dunleavy and Ike Diogu ran the most smack, before Dunleavy and Diogu were traded.
Dunleavy won a championship at Duke in 2001. Davis went to the Sweet 16 at title-heavy UCLA. But Diogu? He went to Arizona State, and the Sun Devils had trouble merely winning games let alone titles.
"I know, but he was still steady talking," said Richardson, a freshman on Michigan State's 2000 champs. "We talk about it a lot, especially (during) March Madness. Guys start talking about their schools, who's undefeated, who's ranked highest, who got upset. Guys talk stuff and I say, 'Hey, I'm the only one that got a ring.' "
Sitting nearby, Matt Barnes had heard enough.
"Why are you talking to him about Michigan State?" the former UCLA Bruin by way of Del Campo High School asked. "You should be talking to the all-time greatest program."
It mattered little to Barnes that he never went past the Sweet 16 during his time in Westwood. Just having played for UCLA for four years was enough for the small forward to puff out his chest and celebrate the 11 national championships the Bruins have won. And this was before UCLA clinched its NCAA-record 17th Final Four berth last weekend in San Jose.
"It goes hard, definitely," Barnes said of the rabble-rousing in NBA locker rooms. "If you came from one of the top programs and they're winning a lot still, you've got to represent."
Which makes the dynamic in Chicago especially intriguing. The Bulls have two Dukies in Duhon and Luol Deng and one UConn Husky in Gordon. UConn upset Duke in the 2004 Final Four in San Antonio, though Gordon insists he does not hang it over their heads.
"Nah, I don't tease them about it too much," Gordon said. "Every once in a while. I just give them that look. And they know what the look means. So I don't got to say too much."
True to form, guys pipe down when their school is struggling.
"I've got to keep quiet," said Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who played one season at Rhode Island. "We had a tough one this year."
And this from Gordon on his Huskies: "Well they ain't done (spit) this year." UConn missed the NCAA's for the first time since 2000.
It's not always peaches and cream and sheepskin dreams when it comes to college pride, fight songs and diplomas.
Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson chose to honor their coach, rather than UNLV, by wearing Jerry Tarkanian's old college number, No. 2, when they began their respective NBA careers.
So angered was Johnson over Tarkanian being forced out as coach of the Runnin' Rebels he had his junior college, Odessa, listed on his trading card as his school rather than UNLV.
And then there are the guys who never played in college, the high schoolers who jumped straight to the NBA. Guys like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James.
Kobe Bryant, arguably the greatest of those who took the limo from their prom to the draft, admitted that his mind often wanders when the Big Dance begins.
While he said he always planned on going from Lower Merion High outside of Philadelphia to the NBA, Duke was his college of choice.
"I went to a Duke game not long ago actually in New York, they were playing Gonzaga," Bryant said. "I went and sat in the Duke section and was just looking at the fans and how passionate they are and all that stuff and I miss it. I miss it."
But how could you miss something you never experienced? "I loved Coach K, I still talk to Coach K," Bryant said of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It would have been fun to go there."
Instead, Bryant is reduced to having a rooting interest in the Aces of Lower Merion High while being ribbed by Pennsylvania high school rival Richard Hamilton, who won rings at UConn (1999) and in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons (2004), beating Bryant's Lakers.
"Yeah, but I got three world championship rings," Bryant countered with a smile.
With the influx of so many foreigners and high school players in the NBA of late, you'd think school spirit would be ebbing.
Consider: the Warriors on Jan. 20 fielded the first starting lineup in league history comprised entirely of guys that did not go to college in Monta Ellis (Lanier High in Jackson, Miss.), Stephen Jackson (Oak Hill Academy in Virginia), Mickael Pietrus (France), Al Harrington (St. Patrick's in Elizabeth, N.J.) and Andris Biedrins (Latvia).
Meanwhile, just 90 miles away, the Kings are the only team in the NBA whose roster is made up completely of players who spent at least one year in college.
"Really? It's 2007, the league has changed a lot," Williamson said. "When I first came into the league, you noticed it a lot more. You had the NCAA pools going around, guys would compare how their schools were doing. I don't think that's the case anymore. ... Some guys, you talk about an NCAA championship and they don't even know what you're talking about."
Still, with the NBA now requiring players to be out of high school for at least one year, that old school spirit could be making a comeback.
"No matter how long they stay," Duhon said, "they're going to have some sort of school pride." Like when Michael Jordan famously wore North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls trunks.
"I think the spirit is still there as far as giving back to the school," Williamson said. "Some make extravagant gifts, others do something and don't get as much publicity for it.
"I think we all realize, the ones that went to college, that they did provide us an opportunity to better ourselves as people and also to play at this level."
Once a champ, always a champ
There's little in the NBA this time of year that says 'in your face' quite like an NCAA title.
By Paul Gutierrez - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:12 am PDT Thursday, March 29, 2007
It still seems like yesterday to Corliss Williamson -- "The Big Nasty" battling Cherokee Parks for position in the paint. Scotty Thurman's three-pointer from the right wing just eluding Antonio Lang's outstretched hand. The ball falling from the Charlotte Coliseum rafters to find nothing but net.
The last-minute shot not only gave the Arkansas Razorbacks the 1994 national title over the Duke Blue Devils, it also gave Williamson bragging rights ... for life. And they come in especially handy this time of year -- every year.
Woo Pig Sooie, indeed.
So your NCAA bracket's been busted? You had the likes of Long Beach State and Nevada wearing Cinderella slippers with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament instead of UNLV playing the part of "Sin-derella" with its first Sweet 16 run in a not-so-sweet 16 years? Co-workers are heaping piles of trash talk on you in your cubicle and spamming your e-mail in-box? Imagine residing in an NBA locker room, where the smack flies as fast and furious as Allen Iverson on a fast break.
That's why, to quote Mel Brooks, it's good to be the King. Or, in this case, it's good to be a Sacramento King with an NCAA championship ring.
"There's a lot of pride, especially when you have your former team playing against one of your teammate's former teams," said Williamson, the 1994 Final Four Most Outstanding Player as a sophomore. A year later, the Razorbacks fell to UCLA in the title game and Williamson jumped to the NBA.
"That definitely brings out the school spirit," Williamson said. "You always hear them mouthing off when the NCAA Tournament rolls around. It's exciting to compare how your school's doing to another team."
From the moment the brackets are unveiled on Selection Sunday, the $100 bills are broken out with aplomb.
"Oh yeah, anytime two alma maters go against each other, that's an automatic $100 bet," said Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon, who won a title at Connecticut in 2004.
"It's automatic," agreed Gordon's backcourt mate in Chicago, Chris Duhon, who won his championship as a freshman at Duke in 2001. "You don't even have to go and ask them if it's on or not."
Of course, no one says much in the Kings' locker room to Williamson or Mike Bibby, who won his NCAA title as a freshman in 1997 at Arizona.
"Nah, I think it's already understood," Williamson said.
It's like that throughout the NBA, the NCAA titlists always having that trump card at the ready in case someone gets a little mouthy.
At Golden State, Jason Richardson said Baron Davis, Mike Dunleavy and Ike Diogu ran the most smack, before Dunleavy and Diogu were traded.
Dunleavy won a championship at Duke in 2001. Davis went to the Sweet 16 at title-heavy UCLA. But Diogu? He went to Arizona State, and the Sun Devils had trouble merely winning games let alone titles.
"I know, but he was still steady talking," said Richardson, a freshman on Michigan State's 2000 champs. "We talk about it a lot, especially (during) March Madness. Guys start talking about their schools, who's undefeated, who's ranked highest, who got upset. Guys talk stuff and I say, 'Hey, I'm the only one that got a ring.' "
Sitting nearby, Matt Barnes had heard enough.
"Why are you talking to him about Michigan State?" the former UCLA Bruin by way of Del Campo High School asked. "You should be talking to the all-time greatest program."
It mattered little to Barnes that he never went past the Sweet 16 during his time in Westwood. Just having played for UCLA for four years was enough for the small forward to puff out his chest and celebrate the 11 national championships the Bruins have won. And this was before UCLA clinched its NCAA-record 17th Final Four berth last weekend in San Jose.
"It goes hard, definitely," Barnes said of the rabble-rousing in NBA locker rooms. "If you came from one of the top programs and they're winning a lot still, you've got to represent."
Which makes the dynamic in Chicago especially intriguing. The Bulls have two Dukies in Duhon and Luol Deng and one UConn Husky in Gordon. UConn upset Duke in the 2004 Final Four in San Antonio, though Gordon insists he does not hang it over their heads.
"Nah, I don't tease them about it too much," Gordon said. "Every once in a while. I just give them that look. And they know what the look means. So I don't got to say too much."
True to form, guys pipe down when their school is struggling.
"I've got to keep quiet," said Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who played one season at Rhode Island. "We had a tough one this year."
And this from Gordon on his Huskies: "Well they ain't done (spit) this year." UConn missed the NCAA's for the first time since 2000.
It's not always peaches and cream and sheepskin dreams when it comes to college pride, fight songs and diplomas.
Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson chose to honor their coach, rather than UNLV, by wearing Jerry Tarkanian's old college number, No. 2, when they began their respective NBA careers.
So angered was Johnson over Tarkanian being forced out as coach of the Runnin' Rebels he had his junior college, Odessa, listed on his trading card as his school rather than UNLV.
And then there are the guys who never played in college, the high schoolers who jumped straight to the NBA. Guys like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James.
Kobe Bryant, arguably the greatest of those who took the limo from their prom to the draft, admitted that his mind often wanders when the Big Dance begins.
While he said he always planned on going from Lower Merion High outside of Philadelphia to the NBA, Duke was his college of choice.
"I went to a Duke game not long ago actually in New York, they were playing Gonzaga," Bryant said. "I went and sat in the Duke section and was just looking at the fans and how passionate they are and all that stuff and I miss it. I miss it."
But how could you miss something you never experienced? "I loved Coach K, I still talk to Coach K," Bryant said of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It would have been fun to go there."
Instead, Bryant is reduced to having a rooting interest in the Aces of Lower Merion High while being ribbed by Pennsylvania high school rival Richard Hamilton, who won rings at UConn (1999) and in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons (2004), beating Bryant's Lakers.
"Yeah, but I got three world championship rings," Bryant countered with a smile.
With the influx of so many foreigners and high school players in the NBA of late, you'd think school spirit would be ebbing.
Consider: the Warriors on Jan. 20 fielded the first starting lineup in league history comprised entirely of guys that did not go to college in Monta Ellis (Lanier High in Jackson, Miss.), Stephen Jackson (Oak Hill Academy in Virginia), Mickael Pietrus (France), Al Harrington (St. Patrick's in Elizabeth, N.J.) and Andris Biedrins (Latvia).
Meanwhile, just 90 miles away, the Kings are the only team in the NBA whose roster is made up completely of players who spent at least one year in college.
"Really? It's 2007, the league has changed a lot," Williamson said. "When I first came into the league, you noticed it a lot more. You had the NCAA pools going around, guys would compare how their schools were doing. I don't think that's the case anymore. ... Some guys, you talk about an NCAA championship and they don't even know what you're talking about."
Still, with the NBA now requiring players to be out of high school for at least one year, that old school spirit could be making a comeback.
"No matter how long they stay," Duhon said, "they're going to have some sort of school pride." Like when Michael Jordan famously wore North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls trunks.
"I think the spirit is still there as far as giving back to the school," Williamson said. "Some make extravagant gifts, others do something and don't get as much publicity for it.
"I think we all realize, the ones that went to college, that they did provide us an opportunity to better ourselves as people and also to play at this level."