Path to the Hall of Fame

[randy]

Very good run, coach.

Thanks Coach. Good luck on your new "ultimate" dynasty

[randy]

This is my 3rd season here at USC. We have managed to get at least one away win on every other team's home court, except at Washington St.

2/17/02: #16 USC (20-4, 12-3) @ Washngton St (11-13, 7-8)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: 2-3
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Previous meetings
   
   • 1/10/02 (Home): Won 62-38; it was a close, low-scoring game during the 1st half, until we managed to shackle them down to only 5 pts in the 1st 15 mins of the 2nd half

Tip off (1st Half)

We'll use a more balanced offense

15:36, Up 5-4
As expected, this will be a low-scoring affair.

11:54, Down 10-12

8:22, Down 10-16
Not only we're shooting poorly, we can't even make enough attempts. We were called for 3 consecutive traveling violations

3:31, Down 15-18
As bad as we are playing, we're only down one possession.

Teams traded 2 trifectas each to end the half


Halftime, Down 21-25

Highlights

• In a reversal of roles, WASHST controlled the interior, scored more inside pts (10 to 2), and grabed more rebounds (17 to 12).
• We need to regain control of the paint in the 2nd half. We may have to leave some open shooters of WASHST (3-7 3PT), but we'll take our chances

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use 2-3 defense exclusively

Start of 2nd Half

15:38, Down 24-32
WASHST's interior defense is airtight. C Antonio Forney has not even attempted a shot the whole game. Also, we added 3 more turn overs, which compounded our offensive woes

SG Kaniel Coley converted his 4th and 5th triple of the game, to lead an 8-2 run, getting us close to within 2, 32-34

On our 1st opportunity to tie, we turn it over. On our 2nd opportunity to tie, again another turn over. And we paid the price of those lost chances when WASHST's C Ricado Gunn scored 4 straight pts, and we trail by 6 again, 32-38. Gunn has completely outplayed our big men, with 15 pts.

Consecutive baskets by PG Antonio Parker and C Hasheem Bailey got us closer again, 36-38

We made a couple of stops. SG Kaniel Coley scored on a fast break layup to tie the game. Another stop. We go to SG Kaniel Coley again, who scores on his 6th trey! Coley has exploded for 22 pts!

8:25, Up 41-38

We missed at least 9 consecutive shots after that. In between, WASHST managed to convert on 3 FGs, including a 3, and we're down 4 again, 41-45

SF Sam Millar scored the last 4 pts of the game, and we are tied once again

3:30, Tied at 45

WASHST: Intercepted by SF Sam Millar.
USC: Fast break opportunity. Millar lobs it ahead to PG Antonio Parker who scores on the break

3:11, Up 47-45

WASHST: They scored. I call a timeout

2:51, Tied at 47

I bring back SG Kaniel Coley. On the perimeter now are Coley, SF Sam Millar and PG Antonio Parker; those 3 currently accounts for 41 of our 47 total pts

USC: Back and forth between PG Antonio Parker and SG Kaniel Coley. Ball eventually passed to SF Sam Millar. Millar shoots. Miss. C Antonio Forney with the off rebound. The scoreless Forney shoots. Miss. Forney gets the rebound again. Tries again. Forney scores! Forney with his first 2 pts of the game

2:06, Up 49-47

WASHST: They break our press, and scores on the break. Timeout again

1:54, Tied at 49

USC: Parker shoots a quick 3. Miss. What a bad possession for us
WASHST: Turnover
USC: We pass the ball around. Nobody wants to shoot. 0:03 in the shot clock. PG Antonio Parker no choice but to throw a shot. Miss. 0:48 left
WASHST: Traveling called
USC: We dribbled to the front court and called a timeout

0:42, Tied at 49

We'll call an isolation for SF Sam Millar. Make sure we get a 2-for-1

USC: SF Sam Millar gets the ball, but he's too far. He launches a 3. Miss. Out of bounds. WASHST ball. 0:32 left
WASHST: Their starting PG Jarvis Kasper has the ball. He takes matters into his own hands. Kasper drives. Kasper scores! Those were Kasper's 1st 2 pts of the game.
USC: We get to the front court again, and called for my last timeout

0:14, Down 49-51

Do we go for 2 or 3? We'll try to win it with a 3. SG Kaniel Coley to shoot it. Coley is 6-14 3PT today

USC: PG Antonio Parker throws the ball away. It's Parker's only turn over for the game. We have no choice now. Foul intentionally. And we go for 3s. No timeouts left. 0:11

WASHST effectively dribbled the ball away from our defenders. And they even got a 3 at the buzzer.

3 trips to WASHST in the last 3 years. 0-3 record. Try again next year


Final score: USC - 49, Washington St - 54

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 22, 1, 1, 6-14 3PT
Millar 12, 3, 4, 3 stls, 4 tos
Parker 7, 1, 3
Bailey 4, 1, 0
Forney 2, 11, 0
Bryant 2, 1, 1, 3 stls, 2 blks, 4 tos
Dare 0, 8, 2, 2 blks
Wheat 0, 0, 4
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 38-44%
REB: -5
AST: +2
TO: Even
Paint: -6
2nd Chance : Even
Fast Break: -1
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. WASHST beating us in almost all major categories. Our 9-27 3PT shooting kept us in the game. Both teams with 15 turn overs, but the last one we committed was crucial
2. PG Antonio Parker's turn over at that crucial play wasn't the issue here. It's the inability of our big men to score against the 2-3 zone. This is something that will become more apparent during the NCAA tournament.

Pac 12 Conference Standings

1. #16 USC, 12-4 (L1)
2. Arizona, 11-5 (L1)
3. Colorado, 11-5 (W2)
4. Stanford, 9-7 (W3)
5. UCLA, 9-7 (W1)
6. Arizona St, 9-7 (W2)
7. Washington St, 8-8 (W1)
8. Oregon, 8-8 (W1)
9. Oregon St, 6-10 (L2)
10. Washington, 5-11 (L4)
11. California, 4-12 (L1)
12. Utah, 4-12 (L2)

[randy]

The following seniors are playing the last home game of their collegiate career:

1. C Antonio Forney (JuCo recruit last year)
2. SF Antonio Bryant (Jr transfer from Notre Dame)
3. SF Sam Millar (JuCo recruit last year)

Aside from celebrating Seniors' day, this game has a lot of implications in the Pac 12 standings. There are only 3 teams who can win the Pac 12 regular season title:

1. USC: 12-4
2. Arizona: 11-5
3. Colorado: 11-5

We take on Colorado today, and our last game is at Arizona 3 days from now. A win for us today, couple with an Arizona loss (@ Oregon), would clinch us the regular season title.

2/17/02: Colorado (16-9, 11-5) @ #16 USC (21-4, 12-4)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key Player: Sr SF Andrea Thompson (19.8 ppg, 48% 3PT, 3-time All Conf); Thompson is enjoying his best season, and a leading candidate for the Conf POY award
4. Previous meetings
   
   • 1/10/02 (Away): Lost 67-77; COL dished out 22 assists, en route to shooting 54% FG; they were on fire from the outside, going 8-11 3 PT

Tip off (1st Half)

15:46, Down 8-12
COL's SF Andrea Thompson a hot start, 8 pts, 2-2 3PT

11:04, Up 16-14
We had success reading their passing lanes; 5 steals already

7:50, Up 22-21

3:50, Up 32-24
We built this lead by winning the rebounding battle, now at +7


Halftime, Up 40-30

Highlights

• Our big men dominated their counterparts, and it clearly shows in the halftime stats - 28 inside pts (+20), 11 2nd chance pts (+8), and 9 off rebs (+5). The troika rotation of C Antonio Forney, C Elliott Dare, and C Hasheem Bailey combined for 25 pts, 10-18 FG
• Both teams had troubles handling the ball; we had 8 turn overs, while COL with 11

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use m2m defense exclusively

Start of 2nd Half

11:59, Up 57-53
COL's Andrea Thompson starting to heat up again, now with 16 pts, but he is not getting enough support from his team mates

6:56, Up 73-49
SG Kaniel Coley has just converted his 4th triple of the 2nd half (5 in total) to give us our biggest lead of the game, and crush any hope of any rally by COL

2:32, Up 80-54


Final score: Colorado - 62, USC - 82

Box Score

[INDENT]Forney 22, 10, 1, 2 stls (*)
Coley 20, 0, 0, 3 tos, 6-12 3PT
Millar 19, 3, 4
Dare 8, 11, 0, fouled out
Bailey 7, 4, 3, 2 stls
Bryant 5, 5, 2
Parker 1, 1, 6, 2 blks
Wheat 0, 0, 4
Owes 0, 1, 1
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 53-42%
REB: +13
AST: +8
TO: -4
Paint: +24
2nd Chance: +4
Fast Break: +8
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. A good win against one of the better teams in the conference. We executed well on all aspects of the game, offense (21 assists), defense (10 steals), and rebounding. At this stage of the season, it is clear that we have 3 main scorers in this team - C Antonio Forney, SF Sam Millar, and 6th man SG Kaniel Coley; if all of them click at the same time just like today, we'll make some noise in the tournament.
2. Aside from scoring 8 pts in each of the 1st 4 minutes of both halves, COL's SF Andrea Thompson was relatively quiet for most parts of the game. He finished with 16 pts, 5-9 3PT

Arizona lost to Oregon, so we clinch our 3rd straight Pac 12 regular season title!

Pac 12 Conference Standings

1. #16 USC, 13-4 (W1)
2. Arizona, 11-6 (L2)
3. Colorado, 11-6 (L1)
4. Stanford, 10-7 (W4)
5. UCLA, 10-7 (W2)
6. Arizona St, 10-7 (W3)
7. Washington St, 9-8 (W2)
8. Oregon, 9-8 (W2)
9. Oregon St, 6-11 (L3)
10. Washington, 5-12 (L5)
11. California, 4-13 (L2)
12. Utah, 4-13 (L3)

[randy]

This would have been a much more crucial game had Arizona won their last game against Oregon. But still a lot at stake for both teams in this game. Aside from ranking, we want to get back the confidence that we can win away from home, which is important heading to the Conf and NCAA tournament games (we're currently 4-4 on the road in Conf play). Arizona wants to bounce back from tough back-to-back losses (combined losing margin is just 7 pts).

2/20/02: #16 USC (22-4, 13-4) @ Arizona (17-9, 11-6)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Previous meetings
   
   • 1/17/02 (Home): Won 68-52; we limited ARIZ to only 3 2nd chance pts.

Tip off (1st Half)

15:04, Down 3-8
Not exactly the way we wanted to start, 1-7 FG

11:59, Down 7-9
We turned the ball over 6 times already. I wasn't please during the huddle

7:12, Up 16-13
We're beginning to dominate the boards, and that allowed us to take a small lead

3:12, Up 21-20
We missed a lot chances to extend our lead, because of turn overs again, now at 11


Halftime, Down 25-26

Highlights

• Our defense is not bad, holding ARIZ to 38% FG and committing 9 turn overs
• The isse is, weve done worse than ARIZ in the above categories, shooting 34% FG and 11 turn overs. The fact that we only had 3 assists in teh 1st half means some of our pts were scored on "broken" pays, e.g. 2nd chance pts

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use m2m defense exclusively

Start of 2nd Half

15:49, Down 32-36
ARIZ beginning to get more pts from the FT line, now at 6-6 FT in the 2nd half

11:31, Down 42-44
Back-to-back turn overs resulting in 2 baskets by ARIZ put us in an 8-pt deficit. I immediately yanked out PG Antonio Parker (4 turn overs) to the bench in disgust. SG Kaniel Coley buried his 3rd trey of the night, and it started a 8-2 run to get us back to within 2

SG Kaniel Coley hits hist 4th trey to finally give us the lead. Turn overs by ARIZ, and we scored two more FGs, to extend the lead 5. ARIZ bounced back to cut the lead to 1.

We get a steal and hit Coley for a break away layup. Another steal, results in another basket for us. ARIZ forced to call a timeout. SG Kaniel Coley played a huge role in this uprising

6:54, Up 53-48

I had to give some of my main players a short rest. Fortunately, the players on the floor scored enough points to keep ARIZ at bay. SG Kaniel Coley (20 pts) and C Antonio Forney (13 pts) both back on the floor now. Both teams in penalty

3:48, Up 59-52

USC: C Antonio Forney got fouled. Split his charities. Up 8
ARIZ: They score. Up 6
USC: Miss. But C Hasheem Bailey grabs the off board. Bailey shoots the follow up and scores. Up 8
ARIZ: We got called for a foul. They hit both FTs. Up 6
USC: SG Kaniel COley launches a 3. Miss
ARIZ: They scored an inside basket. Up 4. Timeout

1:53, Up 62-58

We'll go 2-3 zone on our next defensive possession

USC: We go to C Antonio Forney. Forney scores on a short jumper from the left side. Up 6
ARIZ: Miss. We secure the rebound. Timeout

0:54, Up 64-58

We'll slow down the game

ARIZ elected to foul intentionally the rest of the game. We were able to hit our FTs. A big win for us, to get us ready for the tournament games!


Final score: USC - 69, Arizona - 62

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 22, 3, 2, 4-11 3PT (*)
Forney 16, 6, 1, 2 stls
Dare 14, 5, 0, 2 blks
Bailey 6, 7, 0, 2 blks
Bryant 4, 4, 0, 2 stls, 3 tos
Wheat 3, 2, 5, 3 stls
Millar 2, 7, 2, 2 stls, 3 tos
Owes 2, 0, 0
Parker 0, 0, 2, 5 tos
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 41-44%
REB: +10
AST: +1
TO: -1
Paint: +6
2nd Chance: +7
Fast Break: +8
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. We didn't play well for the most part (41% FG, 16 turn overs), but we didn't let ARIZ to pull away with a big lead. We kept the score close with our rebounding (11 off rebs) and pressure defense (11 steals), until we had the chance to regain the lead.

Pac 12 Conference Final Standings

1. #16 USC, 14-4 (W2)
2. Stanford, 11-7 (W5)
3. Arizona St, 11-7 (W4)
4. Arizona, 11-7 (L3)
5. Colorado, 11-7 (L2)
6. UCLA, 11-7 (W3)
7. Washington St, 10-8 (W3)
8. Oregon, 10-8 (W3)
9. Oregon St, 6-12 (L4)
10. Washington, 5-13 (L6)
11. California, 4-14 (L3)
12. Utah, 4-14 (L4)

[randy]

3/10/02: (8) Oregon (18-12, 10-8) vs (1) #15 USC (22-5, 14-4)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Outside
3. Previous meetings
   
   • 1/27/02 (Away): Won 66-54

Tip off (1st Half)

14:18, Up 9-5
OR 1-5 FG. We've been called for 4 fouls already, twice on C Antonio Forney

11:18, Up 12-9

7:11, Up 25-17
SG Kaniel Coley 10 pts, 2 triples

3:52, Up 33-19
OR's 9 turn overs allowed us to extend our lead


Halftime, Up 47-33

Highlights

• A high scoring 1st half. SG Kaniel Coley hitting 5 3pt shots, but as we are just about to break this game wide open, OR coming back with baskets to keep their deficit manageable. OR shot well, 50% FG, but they committed 9 turn overs
• We shot a bit lower, at 47%, but we got more FGAs, not only from OR's turn overs but also our 8 off rebounds. OR also got into penalty, and we capitalize by shooting 14-16 FTs

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use 1-2-2 defense exclusively

Start of 2nd Half

15:18, Up 52-40

11:01, Up 59-46
We took a 17-pt lead on the heels of SG Kaniel Coley's 6th triple of the game, but back-to-back turn overs leading to easy transition pts for OR pulls them closer again

7:18, Up 70-50
SG Kaniel Coley drains back-to-back-to-back triples! 9 3pt shots! Coley-mania is back!

3:53, Up 75-54
And another triple by Coley. That's 10. Game over. Rest key guys


Final score: Oregon - 65, USC - 80

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 34, 2, 1, 10-16 3PT (*)
Dare 14, 13, 0
Millar 10, 2, 1, 3 stls
Forney 7, 11, 0
Bryant 7, 7, 0
Parker 4, 2, 2, 6 tos
Wheat 2, 1, 5, 4 tos
Owes 2, 1, 0
Bailey 0, 5, 2, 2 stls
Perry 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 44-47%
REB: +22
AST: -7
TO: +4
Paint: +8
2nd Chance: +17
Fast Break: -2
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. Rebounding allowed us to maintain our lead from the start of the game. We had 19 off rebs, 10 of which were grabbed by C Elliott Dare. And then, SG Kaniel Coley took over.

[randy]

3/11/02: (4) Arizona (18-10, 11-7) vs (1) #15 USC (23-5, 14-4)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Previous meetings
   
   • 1/17/02 (Home): Won 66-52
   • 2/24/02 (Away): Won 69-62

Tip off (1st Half)

15:58, Up 6-0

10:51, Up 21-8
Immediately after SG Kaniel Coley checks in, he erupted for 11 pts (3-4 3PT) in less than 4 minutes. Crowd goes wild!

7:36, Up 31-8
Coley has only scored 2FTs since that initial explosion of his earlier, but our fans have once again energized our team, and might have sapped out any hope that ARIZ might have

3:50, Up 31-12
We go on a cold spell as well, including Coley who has missed 5 straight shot; time to replace him just to relax him


Halftime, Up 36-21

Highlights

• The cold shooting continued until the end of the half; now both teams are shooting 35% FG
• SG Kaniel Coley's streak hot shooting grabs the headline of the 1st half, but a more important fact that can't be overlooked is that we took care of the ball extremely well, committing only 1 turn over.

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use m2m defense exclusively

Start of 2nd Half

15:31, Up 46-26

11:32, Up 51-30

7:58, Up 58-35

3:14, Up 68-43
Clear the bench. Good job to every one on defense


Final score: Arizona - 49, USC - 71

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 25, 2, 1, 7-16 3PT (*)
Dare 13, 9, 1
Forney 12, 9, 1
Millar 6, 6, 1 3 tos
Bryant 6, 5, 2, 2 stls, 2 blks
Bailey 6, 3, 0
Rein 3, 0, 0
Owes 0, 1, 0
Parker 0, 0, 6, 3 tos
Wheat 0, 0, 2
Perry 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 41-39%
REB: +10
AST: Even
TO: -5
Paint: +24
2nd Chance: +12
Fast Break: +14
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. Percentage-wise, both teams' offense are almost equal. So it all boils down on who can get more possessions, and we won the possession battle convincingly with a +19 FGA

[randy]

Stanford is riding high on a 7-game win streak

3/12/02: (2) Stanford (20-10, 11-7) vs (1) #15 USC (24-5, 14-4)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced (slow)
3. Previous meetings
   
   • 12/30/01 (Home): Won 73-43
   • 2/7/02 (Away): Won 80-59

Tip off (1st Half)

15:36, Up 10-8
STAN aggressive early, attacking the basket at every opportunity

11:57, Down 16-17
C Hasheem Bailey has come up big off the bench with 6 pts, but STAN keeps coming back and took the lead with a 3pt shot

7:12, Up 25-22
STAN momentarily took a 4 pt lead. This is a completely different team than the one we beat twice this season, with an average margin of 25 pts. We regained the lead with a 3 from SG Kaniel Coley. Coley missed 6 straight before nailing hist 1st triple

3:45, Down 27-29
Momentum swinging back to STAN


Halftime, Down 31-35

Highlights

• We had more off rebs, less turn overs, more fast break pts, and shot more FTs. And yet, we find ourselves by by 4 at the half. Despite having 7 less FGAs, STAN has maximized more on the opportunities they got, shooting 54% FG
• I'm not worried with our 32% FG. What we need to do is better individual defense on their shooters

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use m2m defense exclusively
• Defense intensity: Increase to 8

Start of 2nd Half

15:18, Up 39-37
We buckled down on defense, and made it difficult for STAN to get easy shots; so far in the 2nd half, STAN is 1-5 FG, 4 turn overs

10:49, Up 48-41
The commitment on defense continues

6:15, Up 61-47
SG Kaniel Coley, who shot 1-8 FG in the 1st half, scored 9 (all on 3s) of our last 13 pts

3:34, Up 63-51

STAN was able to cut it to 8. I called a time out

2:02, Up 64-56

We'll slow down

We took up a lot of our shot clock in our next 2 possessions, and that was enough to secure the win

3rd straight Pac 12 Tournament Title!!!


Final score: Stanford - 61, USC - 66

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 15, 2, 1, 4-14 3PT
Dare 12, 9, 0
Forney 11, 5, 0
Millar 10, 7, 9, 2 stls (*)
Bailey 8, 6, 1
Bryant 6, 3, 0
Wheat 2, 3, 2
Parker 2, 0, 3
Perry 0, 0, 0, 2 blks
Owes 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 38-46%
REB: +3
AST: +2
TO: -4
Paint: +10
2nd Chance: +3
Fast Break: +7
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. Hats off to STAN. Their game plan of slowing things down on offense to find the open guy, allowed them to shoot efficiently (even with less possessions). We had to grind it out on defense in the 2nd half to hack out this win

[randy]

Our RPI is 16, and ranked #14

We're in the Midwest Regionals (Lexington)

1st round matchup:
- (3) #14 USC vs (14) NC-Asheville

Teams in the Midwest Regionals
- (1) #3 St. John's - 6 Final 4
- (2) #12 Arkansas - 1 National title, 7 Final 4
- (3) #14 USC - 1 Final 4
- (4) #15 Kansas St - 1 National title, 12 Final 4
- (5) #5 UNLV - 1 National title, 9 Final 4
- (6) #20 Xavier
- (7) Syracuse - 1 National title, 2 Final 4
- (8) Purdue - 2 Final 4
- (9) Minnesota - 4 Final 4
- (10) Colorado
- (11) Florida - 1 National title, 6 Final 4
- (12) Play-in
- (13) Middle Tennessee St
- (14) NC-Asheville
- (15) Western Illinois
- (16) Youngstown St

Other Ranked Teams
East:
- (1) #1 Kansas
- (2) #4 Butler
- (3) #7 Southern Illinois
- (4) #17 Villanova
- (5) #21 Michigan
- (6) #16 Iona

South:
- (1) #2 Gonzaga
- (2) #10 Seton Hall
- (3) #9 Temple
- (4) #22 LSU
- (5) #11 Memphis
- (6) #19 Wagner

West:
- (1) #6 Georgia Tech
- (2) #13 Indiana
- (3) #23 Georgetown
- (4) #18 New Mexico
- (5) #25 Brigham Young
- (6) #24 Maryland

On Probation:
- #8 Houston


Pac 12 teams appearing on post-season tournaments

NCAA:
- Play-In: (12) UCLA vs (12) Fordham
- Midwest: (3) #14 USC vs (14) NC-Asheville
- Midwest: (7) Syracuse vs (10) Colorado
- South: (7) Kentucky vs (10) Oregon
- West: (7) Stanford vs (10) Weber St

NIT:
- East: (1) Arizona vs (8) Kennesaw St
- Midwest: (3) Arizona St vs (6) Portland
- South: (1) Florida Atlantic vs (8) Washington St

[randy]

Points
#1 Kaniel Coley, 559 (19.3 ppg - #26 Nat'l)
#6 Antonio Forney, 431 (14.4)
#17 Sam Millar, 320 (10.7)
#20 Elliott Dare, 305 (10.2)
#42 Anthony Bryant, 223 (7.4)

Rebounds
#1 Antonio Forney, 259 (8.6 rpg - #17 Nat'l)
#2 Elliott Dare, 220 (7.3 - #38 Nat'l)
#21 Sam Millar, 143 (4.8)

Assists
#3 Shea Wheat, 114 (3.8 apg)
#9 Sam Millar, 93 (3.1)
#12 Antonio Parker, 82 (3.0)

Steals
#1 Shea Wheat, 48 (1.6 spg)
T#3 Antonio Forney, 43 (1.4)
#7 Sam Millar, 36 (1.2)

Blocks
#3 Antonio Forney, 29 (1.0 bpg - #33 Nat'l)
T#6 Elliott Dare, 25 (0.8)

FG%
#4 Antonio Forney, 53.5%

Turnovers
#10 Antonio Parker, 79 (2.9 topg)

3PT Made
#1 Kaniel Coley, 160 (#1 Nat'l)

[randy]

3/16/02: (14) NC-Asheville (22-8, 12-4) vs (3) #14 USC (25-5, 14-4)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: 2-3 zone
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key players:
   
   • Sr PG Andre Ward (13.5 ppg, 1-time All Conf)
   • Sr PG Gary Harris (12.0 ppg, 46% 3PT, 1-time All Conf)
   • Sr(R) C Michael Shell (10.3 ppg, 50% FG, 1-time Conf DPOY, 1-time All Conf)
4. Notes:
   
   • They start with an all-senior lineup
   • They shoot more than 20 3PAs per game
5. Strengths:
   
   • FG shooting - 46.6% (#1 Big South, Top 30 Nat'l)
   • Rebounding - 35.3 rpg (#2 Big South, Top 15 Nat'l), 80.4 DR% (#1 Big South, #5 Nat'l)
6. How they got here:
   
   • Finished 1st Big South; Won Conference Tournament

Strategies

1. Defense: (1st half) 50:10:40 ratio; (2nd half) adjust

Tip off (1st Half)

15:56, Up 7-2
UNCA 0-3 FG, 3 turn over

10:29, Up 12-6
We're finding it difficult to break their zone. We'll go to a more balanced offense

7:45, Up 14-10

3:34, Up 25-18
Our lead went down to 1, 14-13, as UNCA goes on a 7-0 run. Several offensive put backs, and a triple each by SG Kaniel Coley and SF Sam Millar helped put us back on track

Another 3 by Coley, and back-to-back inside FGs by C Antonio Forney completed our offense in the 1st half


Halftime, Up 32-23

Highlights

• UNCA shot just 30% FG, got out rebounded, missed 3 FTs, and yet they are down by only 10. They must be feeling confident going in to the 2nd half, knowing a slight improvement on their shooting can get them back in the game

Adjustments

• Defense sets: Use m2m defense exclusively

Start of 2nd Half

15:07, Up 36-33
UNCA beating us on our own game, grabbing off rebounds and scoring on put backs. They also connected on 2 3s in the 2nd half. I reminded the team to box out more. We'll increase off pace to 5

10:13, Up 47-41
We got several FGs from 2nd chance opportunities. SG Kaniel Coley also hit his 3rd trey of the game. And yet, UNCA still keep s on coming, hitting clutch jumpers.

7:33, Up 47-44
Our offense went on hiatus again. What I'm worried more is that we have 6 team fouls already. UNCA can easily chop off this lead via FTs

SG Kaniel Coley's pass was intercepted and it lead to a fast break layup by UNCA. Our half time lead of 9, was now down to 1! Crowd sensing a possible upset here

7:15, Up 47-46

USC: PG Antonio Parker is looking to make a pass. The pass is taken by SG Kaniel Coley. Coley made a mistake in the previous play, and he is thinking of redemption. Coley takes a shot from beyond the arc. Coley hits a three ball from DEEP!

7:05, Up 50-46

UNCA: SF Joe Layne has the ball. Layne shoots from way outside. Layne sinks the triple try! What a game. How will this finish?

6:48, Up 50-49

USC: SG Kaniel Coley receives the pass. Without hesitation, Coley shoots. Coley with a beautiful looking three pointer. What a response by Coley

6:33, Up 53-49

UNCA: Missed
USC: SG Kaniel Coley receives the pass. Coley shoots again. Coley sinks the triple try! Coley's 3rd in a row, and 6th trey of the game

5:49, Up 56-49

UNCA: Traveling
USC: SG Kaniel Coley missed this time
UNCA: Foul called. 2 FTs. Split charities. Up 6
USC: Traveling
UNCA: Another foul. C Antonio Forney's 4th. 1-and-1. Makes the 1st. Miss the 2nd. UNCA is 8-14 FT today. Up 5. I go with a small lineup, taking out Forney
USC: Another miss by Coley
UNCA: Shot blocked
USC: SF Sam Millar missed a 3
UNCA: They score! They keep coming back

3:44, Up 56-53

USC: Miss again. Ball out of bounds. Our ball says the ref. I have to take out Coley for a while. I bring back C Antonio Forney (4 fouls)

This is a crucial possession for us

USC: We immediately go to C Antonio Forney. Forney shoots. Forney fills it up

3:10, Up 58-53

UNCA: Another foul! 1-and-1. Hits both. Lead down to 3. Timeout

I bring back Coley; small lineup

USC: SG Kaniel Coley with the ball. He makes the pass this time. C Antonio Forney receives the pass. Forney lets one go. Forney gets it to fall, plus a foul! Hits the bonus. Forney scoring our last 5 pts

2:46, Up 61-55

UNCA: We steal the ball
USC: SG Kaniel Coley gets a great pass from Anthony Bryant and lays it in on the break

2:24, Up 63-55

UNCA: They miss. But they get the offensive rebound. They reset the play. PG Gary Harris shoots a 3. Harris connects on a 3! UNCA refuses to give up.

1:53: Up 63-58

USC: SG Kaniel Coley with the ball. He fakes a 3, but instead pass again to C Antoni Forney. Forney puts up a shot. Forney scores again! Forney, a senior, must be saying to himself that his collegiate career will not end today

1:35, Up 65-58

UNCA: Their center, C Michael Shell gets the pass from about 19 feet. Shell shoots over 2 defenders. Shell rattles one home. Timeout

1:06, Up 65-60

Lets slow down. Eat some clock

USC: Foul called. Only their 3rd team foul. 0:49. 4th foul called. 0:44. 5th. 6th. 7th. 0:35. SG Kaniel Coley for 1-and-1. Hits both. Up 7. 3 possession game. Almost impossible now for UNCA

An escape act for us. UNCA showed great character today.


Final score: NC-Asheville - 63, USC - 71

Box Score

[INDENT]Coley 24, 3, 3, 3 tos, 6-15 3PT (*)
Forney 17, 6, 0, 3 blks
Millar 9, 5, 4, 3 tos
Bailey 8, 5, 0
Dare 6, 7, 0, 3 tos
Parker 5, 3, 3, 2 stls
Bryant 2, 2, 2
Wheat 0, 4, 2
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 43-39%
REB: +7
AST: Even
TO: +3
Paint: +18
2nd Chance: +1
Fast Break: +3
[/INDENT]

Notes

1. Game was much closer than the final score indicates. UNCA matched our intensity in off rebounding, thus the almost identical output on 2nd chance pts. Plus, they committed less turn overs than us.
2. Only difference is C Antonio Forney came to our rescue in the end, scoring clutch baskets after another. More importantly, Forney was able to keep himself from getting his 5th foul, to keep himself in the game and delivered those baskets.