Sports

In the NCAAs, Time Doesn’t Always Fly When You’re Having Fun

Published

9 years ago

March 26, 2015

In this March 22, 2015, file photo, Iowa’s Aaron White, left, and teammates rest during a timeout against Gonzaga in the second half of an NCAA tournament college basketball game in the Round of 32 in Seattle. In the NCAA tournament, more frequent stoppages in play– leave coaches and players with time on their hands. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) — The whistle sounds. The horn blows. And the madness grinds to a halt.

Another stoppage in play. Another lengthy timeout. Another chance for folks at home to grab something from the fridge or be subjected to the 50th iteration of Samuel, Charles and Spike’s geography fail across the U.S. on their way to the Final Four.

If it seems like time stands still during the NCAA Tournament, maybe that’s because it does.

The television breaks are stretched to a seemingly interminable 2 minutes and 30 seconds, a good half-minute longer than the regular season. And that doesn’t include the 20-minute halftimes — five minutes longer than usual — or the additional 15 seconds or so the guys in the TV truck occasionally request to fit in one more commercial that helps CBS recoup the billions the company invested to televise the magic of March.

What you don’t see at home? Coaches milling about talking among themselves. Players trying to stay focused. Benchwarmers taking in the band or the crowd when they’re not serving as de facto student managers.

Yeah, for nearly all involved, the tournament is the biggest moment of their athletic lives. And during those all-too-frequent lulls, it’s kind of a drag.

“Sometimes coach just kind of sits there and looks at us and we don’t really know what to say,” Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker said.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams is in the Hall of Fame and has a pair of national title rings at home. He’s an expert motivator and an in-game tactician. That doesn’t mean he’s going to fill up the extra time with another homespun tale or a reminder about assignments.

“Don’t just speak to hear yourself talk,” Williams said. “I start it, and then I end it, and we get rid of them because I really do tell them all the time, ‘We just had a timeout two minutes ago, I don’t have anything else to say to you.'”

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall tries to keep the routine the same as the regular season. As his players plop down on the stool or grab a swig of water, he huddles with his assistants while his players collect themselves.

The lengthier breathers are a boon to guys like Shockers assistant Steve Forbes, though. He’s in charge of keeping track of substitutions then pointing out new defensive assignments before the team heads back on the floor.

Rather than rat-a-tatting names and numbers, he can actually grab players and offer a bit of instruction.

“You try to time it so where as you’re finishing up the first buzzer is going off,” Forbes said.

When exactly that buzzer comes, though, depends.

Can the network fit in one more ad or promo the local news or next week’s episode of “CSI?”

The NCAA encourages coaches to keep their teams seated until the producer that lets officials know the commercial is over drops his hand and signals ready for play. West Virginia has given up trying to keep up appearances. When coach Bob Huggins is done, the Mountaineers pop up and start stretching.

“He says what he has to say, tells us to fix what we need to fix and after that we just kind of wait around,” freshman forward Elijah Macon said. “He makes sure everybody gets up and gets loose because you get stiff sitting around too long.”

At least, that’s the danger for those actually playing. For the benchwarmers, the timeouts bring their own set of challenges.

NCAA regulations limit the number of seats on the bench, forcing some teams to thrust rarely used reserves into the unusual position of equipment managers. Kentucky senior guard Sam Malone may not get much run — he’s been on the floor a total of 26 minutes in four years for the unbeaten Wildcats — but he’s a deft assist guy when he shuttles his teammates toward the bench.

“You’ve got get out before the team gets back to the bench for sure, then it’s a quick whip,” Malone said with a laugh, mimicking the motion of opening a stool. “You have to make sure it’s in the right space, make sure the chairs are set up in a circle. The last thing you want is to open up the stool the wrong way and have them fall.”

It’s not the One Shining Moment that Malone has in mind.

In their own way, the respites can help fuel the bracket-shredding upsets that make the tournament so alluring.

Wichita State regularly has four players log at least 30 minutes a night. Another handful of seconds here or there can help, though as Forbes points out, it was Kansas coach Bill Self who burned all of his timeouts during the Shockers’ 78-65 win in the round of 32 last weekend.

“He needed to,” Forbes said with a laugh.

Nothing could blunt Wichita State’s momentum, though if given the choice, the Shockers — like every other team — would prefer to just get back on the floor when they have it rolling. Frequent whistles and potentially mojo-deadening conferences on the middle of the floor with coaches running out of things to talk about can make putting away an opponent difficult.

The way Macon figures it, though, the game is the final arbiter. Do whatever you can to take some of the juice out of West Virginia’s frenetic full-court defense. Eventually the ball is going to go live and you’re on your own.

“As soon as that timeout is over, the press is going to come back,” Macon said. “You’re really going to get tired. You’re going to feel it.”

___

AP Sports Writers Beth Harris in Los Angeles, Tom Withers in Cleveland, Aaron Beard in Raleigh, N.C., and Joedy McCreary in Durham, N.C., contributed to this report.

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Rajah Caruth: Young Trailblazer of NASCAR

Imagine you’re only 22 years old and already making a name for yourself in NASCAR, one of the most thrilling sports in the US. That is the life of Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver.

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver. (File Photo)

By Tamara Shiloh

Born June 11, 2002, in Washington, DC, he was drawn to the sport as a child after seeing the Disney Pixar film “Cars.”

Caruth dreamed of tooling around the track like the main character in “Cars,” Lightning McQueen. His enthusiasm grew when his parents surprised him with a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway when he was 12.

In 2018, while keeping busy with school, sports and a summer job, Caruth and his family held fundraisers so that he could buy an iRacing simulator. Then, at age 16, he traded a real driver’s license to race virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, which led to him being recruited by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

His first big opportunity came in 2019 when he competed in a “Legends” car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Bojangles’ Southern Shootout and recorded two top-third in the semi-pro points.

People began to recognize Caruth’s talents. In 2020, he stepped up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and became the first African American to win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a late model race. The next year, he won at Tri-County Motor Speedway and picked up his fourth overall late model victory.

Then, he became the first person of color to win at the South Carolina track.

In 2021, Caruth announced he would compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he finished third in the standings, including a series of top-five finishes. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on a bigger stage as well.

Then, in 2022, thing really took off. A new chapter found Caruth at NASCAR’s unofficial Triple A league with GMS Racing, where he drives full-time for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with a sponsorship from The Wendell Scott Foundation. After a few setbacks, he broke into the top 10 several times, finishing at a career-high 6th at Darlington Raceway.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Caruth’s took the third major step in his career. He is now driving full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports and has been making the news for putting on stellar performances. Oh, and he won at Las Vegas: his first career victory.

From an impressionable young racing fan to a professional NASCAR driver, Caruth is charting a new path, creating history, and inspiring people to always remember that if you have the talent, the drive, and most of all, the heart, anything can be achieved.

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Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com