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QUOTE(Butter Parque @ Feb 27, 2005 -> 06:16 PM)
Think about how hard it will be for them to keep this streak alive and get into the final four. How many teams do that? I don't think, from watching numerous games of their's this year, that they are the best team I've seen in years or decades.

Someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but i think Illinois only has to be the best team this year...and when you get down to it, for 6 games in March. I had no idea we had to be the best team in the past 30 years to win a NC.

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http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/8236785/1

 

Killingsworth's might makes White right in Indiana

By Gregg Doyel

SportsLine.com Senior Writer

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- We can see the numbers. We can see the progression. We can see that since December, 6-foot-9 forward D.J. White has evolved from an inconsistent, timid freshman into the best all-around player at Indiana, the best freshman in the Big Ten and one of the best young prospects in the United States.

 

We can see all that. We just can't see how it happened.

 

Marco Killingsworth has more than seen it. He has done it.

 

This is one of the reasons why Killingsworth ended up at Indiana, at least from the perspective of Hoosiers coach Mike Davis. After three years at Auburn, Killingsworth came to Indiana this past fall to finish up his degree at a school that would promise plenty of playing time in 2005-06. Davis let Killingsworth come because White, who was skinny and 17 when he reported to campus in August, needed a tutor.

 

Killingsworth is sitting out this season as a transfer, but he has earned every penny of his scholarship. Even if he enters the 2005 NBA Draft and never plays one game for the Hoosiers -- which is a possibility, Killingsworth concedes -- he will have earned his keep in anonymity.

 

No, none of us has seen Killingsworth's handiwork. But we've all seen the results.

 

"I'm just so proud of him," Killingsworth says, referring to White. "That's my son!"

 

Killingsworth has helped birth a monster. White reported to campus with skills and athletic ability, but with no clue about the speed of the college game, no idea about the brutishness waiting in the lane. That's where Killingsworth came in. White is 225 pounds, all arms and angles. Killingsworth is 6-7, 265 pounds, all shoulders and thighs.

 

"Coming out of high school, I could overpower people," White says. "Here, I've got to use my head more. I learned that from Marco."

 

Class has been in session since August, when Killingsworth made sure to join White in the gym whenever the freshman was going. They'd head to Assembly Hall at night and go at it, one-on-one, sometimes with teammates shooting on other goals and sometimes in privacy. Just them and 17,456 empty seats.

 

It was ugly at first. Killingsworth has all kinds of skills, drawing comparisons to versatile ex-NBA forward Anthony Mason, and, like Mason, he has power to spare. He spared none of it with White, bumping the freshman, throwing him around, dunking on him. And refusing to let White dunk on him.

 

"Coach Davis told me when I got here, 'I want you to make D.J. better,'" Killingsworth said. "I've been showing him little tricks of the trade, but at first it was just about being physical. I'd come to the gym and I'd say, 'D.J., you better not let me dunk on you today.' And then I'd dunk on him."

 

Somewhere along the line, something clicked for White. Killingsworth remembers the day it happened. It was at a practice in mid-December, and on this particular day, White took 10 shots and made all 10. Most of them were of the can't-miss variety.

 

"He was just dunking on everybody," Killingsworth said. "He was dunking and laughing and making all this noise. I'd never seen him like that. He had just become confident, and he became a different player. He went to a whole new level."

 

The numbers tell the story. Six games into his career, White was averaging 8.5 points and had failed to reach double figures three times. Beginning with the Hoosiers' 56-53 loss at Missouri on Dec. 19, White scored in double figures 12 straight times, averaging 16.7 ppg to replace shooting guard Bracey Wright as the focal point of the Indiana offense.

 

All told, White averages 13.6 ppg and 2.2 blocks. He is shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and 74.2 percent from the line. He is the Big Ten's freshman of the year by a wide margin, and he's not a bad candidate for any freshman All-America teams out there.

 

With White and Wright becoming an inside-outside anchor, Indiana has gone 12-5 since its six-game losing streak in December. Despite being one of just six Division I teams to start three freshmen regularly -- Indiana has started four freshmen in three games this season -- the Hoosiers enter the regular season's final week in the mix for third place in the Big Ten and an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

 

That makes White one of the most valuable players in the conference -- and Killingsworth a candidate for best transfer in a supporting role.

 

"I go against him every day," White said. "He's just a huge help for me. He's probably one of the best players I've ever faced, so if I can do what I do in practice, I feel I can do it against anybody. He's a spectacular player, and everyone will see that next year."

 

Will we? Killingsworth isn't sure. He says he will consider his NBA options after this season, and although he expects to play for the Hoosiers next season, he's too realistic -- and too honest -- to guarantee it.

 

"When I picked Indiana, I was picking Indiana over the NBA," Killingsworth said. "I came back to graduate, and I did that, but I also came back to play ball. You can't turn down a million dollars, but I think I'll play here with D.J. next year."

 

And what if D.J. starts looking at the 2005 NBA Draft for himself?

 

"No, no, no," Killingsworth said. "If I stay here, D.J. is definitely going to stay here."

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Guess Duke is a 2 seed again. I actually think the toughest game in that bracket would be Syracuse. That zone is tough to go against on short preparation time, and they have some weapons. I just don't think Duke can beat them on a neutral court unless Redick has somewhere around 30, which I don't think they will let happen.

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QUOTE(Brian @ Feb 28, 2005 -> 06:33 PM)
SIU as a #6 seed against Minnesota! Wow! I love the Salukis, but for some reason imagined them as a 8 or 9.

I look through those bracketology things every week and atleast to me, I don't think there is going to be as many upsets in the first round as usual this year. A lot of these mid majors who use to be 11's and 12's are now 6's and 7's such as SIU and Pacific.

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SIU in danger of being upset AT Indiana State. Salukis up 1 with 3 minutes left and can't any good looks. Sycamores defense is swarming. On Comcast SportsNet if anyone is bored.

 

SIU usually does this, they clinch the conference than lay an egg either before or during the conference tourney.

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Valpo lost a hearbreaker by one tonight. UMKC hit a three with 6 seconds left and Valpo came down, missed a layup and tipped it in, but the tip didn't count because it was a split second after the buzzer. :angry: Now we should be on a mission to take the Mid-Con tourney and get a bid to the dance.

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QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Feb 28, 2005 -> 09:43 PM)
Valpo lost a hearbreaker by one tonight. UMKC hit a three with 6 seconds left and Valpo came down, missed a layup and tipped it in, but the tip didn't count because it was a split second after the buzzer. :angry: Now we should be on a mission to take the Mid-Con tourney and get a bid to the dance.

 

UMKC Kangaroos :lolhitting:

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QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Feb 28, 2005 -> 09:56 PM)
Well I was wrong about McCants. They still aren't sure what exactly is wrong with him. They are thinking it is Colitis now, but still aren't sure. Probably not going to play against FSU as it stands right now.

 

This is starting to sound like a Jason Giambi type situation. I hope they figure this out pretty quickly.

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QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Mar 1, 2005 -> 01:24 PM)
kentucky will get it over kansas at this point

 

And they deserve it. They scheduled real teams and left Lexington once or twice before 2005, unlike Kansas did.

 

But these next two weeks will be really telling as the confrence tournies come and go. There have got to be about 10-12 different teams who could still end up as #1 seed.

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