Daugherty: Pain worth it for Cincinnati
Bearcats-Seminoles was physical toughness in its purest form
The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II
Cincinnati Bearcats forward Justin Jackson (5) waves his arm in the closing second as he celebrating as the Bearcats beat Florida State University Seminoles in the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament Sunday in Nashville,. Cincinnati won 62 to 56.
Written by
Paul Daugherty
While Cashmere Wright ponders his next aspirin and Dion Dixon walks like an 80-year-old man. . . as Yancy Gates rubs his neck that is sore from all that looking up at 6-foot-10 guys. . . and JaQuon Parker dreams of spending a week on a beach, but only if it comes with a hot tub and 24-hour, on call, full body massages. . . we pause to take a second look at what happened very late Sunday night.
When it comes to attitude, gratitude and all-around sore-itude, nothing has topped it.
Not this year, or last, or the past 20. Those who witnessed the entire 16 years of Bob Huggins thought they’d seen physical toughness in its purest form. And maybe they had. But if you live long enough, you’ll see just about anything. The standard inched up a bit Sunday.
“Two defensive teams collided,’’ Wright decided at way past midnight early Monday morning, after UC 62, Florida State 56. “Our backs were against the wall. We played like it.’’
The one constant in the Madness is the effort expended. The one-and-done desperation plays out in skin donated to the cause of loose balls. It’s revealed in the tangle of bodies whenever a ball is available, even for the smallest moment.
Everyone plays like it’s his last game because, well, it could be his last game.
Somehow, Bearcats-Seminoles crossed even that threshold. “By far, the most physical game I’ve ever been in,’’ Parker decided. If you’re looking for a player who defines UC right now, Parker will do. Watch the 6-foot-3 guy mix it up in the lane, with Seminoles seven, eight, nine inches taller than he is. Parker had 11 rebounds.
“Add up the inches,’’ Mick Cronin said. Compare the height differences. “They might be three or five feet taller than us.’’ Florida State started a 6-10 guy, a 6-11 guy and a 6-5 point guard. UC started Yancy Gates, who is 6-8. Every possession was a little war. I’ve never seen a game in which every trip down the floor was a 10-car pileup. The Bearcats seemingly used 34 seconds of the shot clock every time they had the ball in the last 10 minutes.
The players downplayed the ferocity of the game. They said Big East games were similar. “We just went out and got another tough win,’’ Gates said. Then he ticked off some battles: “West Virginia, we lost down the stretch. UConn we won by three at the end, battling. South Florida, we end up losing at the free throw line.
Georgetown was this way, Syracuse was this way, Louisville. . .’’
The difference was, this was March and there are no do-overs.
A day later, I’m still not sure exactly how UC overcame the ACC champion. It was like watching a middleweight win a 15-round decision over a heavyweight. Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Muhammad Ali. Somehow.
I asked players and Cronin a simple question:
“Why did you win this game?’’
The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II
Cincinnati Bearcats fan celebrate as forward Yancy Gates shoot free throws in the closing second as the Bearcats beat Florida State University Seminoles in the second half.
It could have gone either way. Neither team made a run, neither led by more than a couple points. Each played as hard as possible. Why did the Bearcats win?
“We just played hard,’’ Parker said. “I don’t know. They were so difficult to guard. They got big dudes, shooters, drivers. Every time we went to huddle, (Cronin) preached defense. We took his words and ran with them.’’
Cashmere Wright: “I guess we wanted it more. We kept pushing, we didn’t give up on ourselves. We can’t let nobody tell us we can’t win.’’
Yancy Gates: “The confidence we have in each other and in ourselves. The mental toughness we’ve built at the end of the season.’’
Mick Cronin: “This is nothing new. We’ve been in must-win mode since December 10th. We were 5-3. We couldn’t see the tournament with a set of binoculars.’’
There are games when nothing matters so much as a desire to keep playing. Somehow, the Bearcats had just a little more of that Sunday night. Dixon got a steal, Wright made a floater in the lane. Everyone cashed in at the free throw line. Florida State blinked in the last minute. That was all it took.
There will be games more significant to the UC program than that one. Maybe none more telling. At least not for awhile. The win was as beautiful as the knot atop Cashmere Wright’s head, collected after he ran into a 6-10 guy’s screen in the last few, frantic minutes.
“I got a headache right now,’’ he said an hour after the game.
The pain was glorious.
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