Palladium-Item from Richmond, Indiana • Page 11

www.pal-item.com Sports Saturday, March 31, 2012 iPalladium-ltenrnPage B3 Kentucky's Davis chosen top player Boilermakers' Hummel wins Senior CLASS Award fit mel said. "The air will eventually come out of the ball, and how we conduct ourselves on and off the court is extremely Robbie Hummel Purdue important. Missouri's Haith selected best coach by Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) Anthony Davis was busier than any of the other players in the Final Four. The Kentucky freshman had to make the circuit of Player of the Year presentations Friday, not that he was complaining. "There were a lot of awards yesterday and today," Davis said with a big smile.

"It's a great feeling, especially as a freshman. I've been working hard and now it's rewarding." Davis became the first Kentucky player and second freshman to be selected The Associated Press' Player of the Year. He picked up his latest trophy, along with Coach of the Year Frank Haith of Missouri. It was Davis' second ceremony of the day, and he national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Balloting was done before the NCAA tournament.

Thomas Robinson of Kansas was second with 20 votes, and Draymond Green of Michigan State received the other two votes. Jimmer Fredette of BYU won the award last season. Haith's first season at Missouri got off to a rough start and ended with a second-round thud in the NCAA tournament. Missouri won 30 games and the Big 12 tournament and was ranked in the AP poll the entire season, reaching second for one week and was third in the final poll. Haith received 21 votes from the media panel, while John Calipari of Kentucky and Tom Izzo of Michigan State tied for second with 10 votes each.

The voting was done before the NCAA tournament. Purdue star Robbie Hummel won the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Friday, beating out nine other seniors, including Ohio State guard William Buford. The award is given to the player who demonstrates excellence In the community, on the court, in the classroom and whose character makes a positive impact on those around them. "I've always tried to do things the right way," Hum-had to make a quick exit to get to practice, part of the preparations for the national semifinal matchup against Louisville today. "This is great to be here and hopefully we can win the national championship and accomplish our goal," he said.

"Even if we come up short we still had a great season." have asked for a better representative of our program." The other finalists were Michigan State's Draymond Green, Butler's Ronald Nored, Zack Rosen of Penn, Tyler Zeller of North Carolina, Ashton Gibbs of Pittsburgh, Zack Novak of Michigan, Belmont's Mick Hedge-peth and Quinn McDowell of William and Mary. The award is voted on by Division I coaches, national media and fans. them getting beat off the dribble for all those blocked shots. Without them there are no awards." No Kentucky player had won the award which started in 1961, and the only other freshman to win it was Kevin Durant of Texas in 2007. Davis received 43 votes from the 65-member Hummel returned from two devastating knee injuries to lead the Boilermakers in scoring and rebounding this season.

Purdue lost to Kansas in the third round of the NCAA tournament. "Guys like Rob Hummel don't come around very often, but as a coach, you wish you had 10 of him," Purdue's Matt Painter said. "He showed up every day wanting nothing more than to help Purdue win, and we couldn't Freshman and Defensive Player cf the Year. "My expectations were nothing like this; I wasn't planning on any awards," he said of how he approached his first and what many project will be his only season in college basketball. "I have to thank my teammates for those lob passes for easy baskets and for It feels great to be recognized with a great group of people for living up to that standard." The 6-foot-10 Davis sure did.

He averaged 14.3 points on a team with six double-figure scorers 10.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks while shooting 64.2 percent from the field. His block total is a school record and third-best ever for a freshman. He was the Southeastern Conference's Player, Lopresti Continued from B1 No, it's 1987. That's Indiana's Keith Smart, with the Hoosiers down to their last bullet, hitting the baseline jumper to beat Syracuse 74-73 the moment that would define him the rest of his basketball life, even now as he coaches the Sacramento Kings. The end of an inexplicable journey, for Smart was a junior college transfer, and since when did Bob Knight win titles with those? It's Friday, and there's Kentucky's Marquis Teague racing up court with the basketball.

No, it's 1993. That's Michigan's Chris Webber, losing his focus or his memory or something, picking up his dribble and calling If Louisville wins, it will be as underdogs whose deeds will never die in their city, which is a red island in a blue sea. Though, as Pitino said, to accept being the underdog can be dangerously close to accepting being inferior, and Kentucky has teams like that for breakfast. "It's a good pressure because you've got the goods to deliver," he said of Kentucky's might. "But as we all know, anything can happen in a basketball game." If Kansas wins the title, Bill Self will own the remarkable feat of being a champion in his first two Final Fours.

Look at all those who did not win in their first John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Adolph Rupp, Tom Izzo, Knight, Smith. If Ohio State a timeout that the Wolverines don't have, with North Carolina ahead 73-71 and 11 seconds left. Technical foul, game, set, match. "I cost my team wins, it will show the value of perseverance, and Jared Sullinger sitting in a beaten locker room last March, vowing to ignore the green-backed wooing of the NBA, to return for this the game," would Thad Matta be Webber's words Ohio State 1 i i -i" i' Track Continued from B1 sprinter working back from injury, junior Tyler Klein (thrower) and senior Tyler Burke in sprints and hurdles. Sophomore James Newton will run in sprint races, and freshmen Trevor Gabbard and Ben Singer are expected to contribute.

Hagerstown Coach Kent Gray is working with 45 athletes in the high school boys track program at Hagerstown, including 14 freshmen and two upperclass newcomers from Hagerstown's winning varsity boys basketball team. The hoop newcomers are senior Josh Gregory in the distance races and sophomore Tyler Black in the high jump, sprints and throwing field events. Among the distance runners, Gregory joins junior Clay Clark and senior Ryan Houghton as leading contenders. Black is added to junior Kain Grose and senior Tyler Hoodlebrink in throwing events. As for the top team jumpers, Gray points to senior Matt Wilson, plus juniors Cody Bailey and Cole Watson.

Wilson is also a top returning hurdler, along with classmate Ely Briar. Bailey and junior Steven Glover will be looked to in the sprint races. Another senior, Travis Muller, is expected to run well in middle-distance races. He will be joined in these races by freshman Peter Hellworth. The Tiger Booster Invitational will be staged May 4 at Cory Field Hagerstown will host the TEC meet on May 1.

Northeastern Northeastern boys track will compete with 13 athletes this season, and third-year head coach Victor Berger will have senior distance runners to lead the way. Distance runners Bryson Stevens and Dustin Rice return, as does a versatile runner in junior Andy Scripture. Scripture is expected to compete in the 400 dash, as well as the 400 and 1,600 relay teams. Junior Cody Logston is a returning thrower, but a group of newcomers has been added to the mix in all events. "We have some good young sprinters, and an overall group of freshmen, who I think will help us this year," Berger said.

NHS opens the season April 9 at Lincoln. The team will host the Knight Invitational on April 27. Union County Head coach Cindy Schienbein will work with 10 athletes, but her son TJ. Schienbein returns to bid for state honors again. The Purdue-bound distance ace was fourth in the 3,200 meters at state last spring and will seek to add to his records and personal Union County's TJ.

Schienbein races to the Tri-Eastern Conference championship in the 1,600 meters during last season's league meet at Northeastern High School, joshua smith PALLADIUM-ITEM FILE tap) b3 bzl Andy Scripture Northeastern Kain Grose Hagerstown through tears. It's Friday, and there are the Kansas Jayhawks working on defense, and Bill Self spending jovial minutes with the media. No, it's 2003. The defense is not by Kansas but against it Hakim Warrick's blocked shot at the end preserving an 81-78 Syracuse victory. And Jayhawks coach Roy Williams is anything but jovial, with a CBS interviewer pressing for answers on his interest in the North Carolina job, even as his Kansas kids hurt in the locker room.

"I don't give a (bleep) about North Carolina," Williams would say on the air. That was the end of the interview, and also the last we would see of the Final Four from the Superdome. Until now. Knight won his last championship here. Dean Smith won his first, and his last.

All four championship games here were decided by crucial plays in the final 20 seconds. All four produced moments that live forever in replay heaven. It has been a place that inspired memories, or at least was lucky enough to be the site where they happened. So here we are again. Somewhere in Kentucky, today will live in infamy.

Two lineups must defend the honor and sanity of their schools within their state, though not one of the 10 starters was born a son of the Commonwealth. If Kentucky wins, it will be the expected display of their manifest destiny, proving how much youth can rise above pressure, amid a state running a high fever. "If you want to buy into the drama, then you buy into it," John Calipari said Friday. "The physiology in your body if it's hate, anger, meanness turns to fear within your body. I don't think any of us are doing that." very chance.

Surely, the Superdome can add a suitable new ghost from all that. There is a presumption that any magic this weekend will be built with bricks, since shooting can be so difficult in the expansive vistas of the Superdome. Not that Louisville considers a low percentage anything more than a minor inconvenience. The Cardinals have gone 8-0 through the Big East and NCAA tournaments shooting under 42 percent. Actually, scoring here has been a problem for nearly nobody.

The four Superdome national championship games produced shooting just under 49 percent. This is where Freddie Banks once hit 10 3-pointers for UNLV, and the Rebels still lost to Indiana 97-93. Now here are four names of stature, and just which player might be decide the day is hard to know, since all thrive on balance. Ohio State's Thomas is the only player in the top 30 scoring of this year's NCAA Tournament who is in uniform at the Final Four. Thomas was born nine years after Jordan's game-winner.

But he has seen it, and the impact means something at this moment. "It's great being here because one of the greats did it," Thomas said. "I'll be glad if I would be one of those players to make a game-winning shot, or I'll be glad if any of my teammates did. It's everybody's dream." That's what makes the best ghosts dreams delivered, or sometimes denied. "I think this season," Kansas guard Elijah Johnson said, "is going to end with a nice bang." It's in the right place for it.

Mike Lopresti of Richmond writes for Gannett. Contact him at com. Brady Peters Union Co. Nate McKinney Randolph So. meters.

His classmate Nick Molinaro is slated for the 200 and 400 meter races. Competing in the sprint races of the 100 and 200 meters are sophomores Alberto Salazar and Santiago Velandia. "This group works hard, and it is a developmental year in working toward better results in the sectional," Wells said. Winchester The Falcon boys team will feature a similar look to the girls. Hard work and senior leadership should be the keys to success at Winchester.

More than 20 boys are at practice with Andy Legg, Jacob Ullom, Laz Smiley and Derek Phenis among the seniors. Drew Croyle, Devin Grilliot, Alex Myers, and Angel Rascon are also among the returnees with experience, while freshmen Avery Walker and Allen Brutchen look to make a quick impact. The Falcons get under way Tuesday with a tri-meet at Lincoln. Jesus F. Jimnez contributed to this story.

To comment on this story, contact the sports department at (765) 973-4462 or sportsSpal-item. com. and Winchester. "Our numbers are down, not what we expected," said Cindy Schienbein. "But the kids we have will compete well and do well." Randolph Southern Shawn Kennedy leads the Randolph Southern high school boys track team of seven athletes, with his background as a competitor and coach, experience with both the Connersville and Franklin County programs.

Rebel seniors are Daniel Trent in the 3,200, Kyle Slick in the 400 and 800 meters, and T.J. Brown in the hurdles. Sophomore Nate McKinney is expected to compete in the discus, freshman Josh Sterling in the shot put, and junior newcomer Tim Schlaubach is on the team. Trevor Wise is a junior runner in middle-distance races. The team first competes Tuesday at Cowan.

Seton Catholic Coach Brandy Wells is working with four boys track athletes for the Seton Catholic high school team. Freshman Patrick Marsee joins the program, and is expected to run in both the 800 and 1,600 bests in races from 800 meters up. Other competing Patriot athletes are junior J.C. Roark and freshman Evan Felton, plus sophomore Mitch Snyder, the team's top returning hurdler. Senior Nick Bass will compete in sprints and the high jump, and classmate Brady Peters in the high jump.

Senior Nate Albright also is in the picture. The team's three remaining competitors are Kolton Rich, sophomore Kyle Hart man and freshman Tex Mitchell, a sprinter. Union County's season begins Tuesday with a road meet versus Lincoln.