• Season: 1995-96
• Date: Wednesday, December 6, 1995
• Opponent: Wake Forest
• Start Time: 9:30 PM ET
• Site: William D. Mullins Center
• Special Event: none
• Television: ESPN
• Radio: WHMP

• Result: UMass (#3) 60, Wake Forest (#10) 46
• Attendance: 9,493 (sellout)

Duncan, Demon Deacons duel Minutemen
By Justin C. Smith, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 6, 1995

When the 1995-96 Massachusetts men's basketball schedule was announced, and college basketball fans would run their fingers down the list of dates and opponents, they stopped on tonight’s match-up and smiled widely.

The No. 10 Wake Forest Demon Deacons will be at the Mullins Center tonight to take on the No. 3 Minutemen. What seems to intrigue fans even more is the battle that will ensue between pre-season All America selections, Tim Duncan and Marcus Camby.

Who could argue their enthusiasm?

Both Duncan and Camby would have been selected in the NBA draft had they chose to declare themselves eligible. Instead, they rule the college hardwood scene as they continue to torch opponents with their superlative talent.

Duncan, a 6-foot-10, 240-lb. junior, has averaged nearly 36 minutes in the Demon Deacons first three games, all of which they won. He accounts for almost 40 percent of the team's scoring and rebounding.

Along with those lofty statistics, the 19-year-old leads the team in blocked shots (5 blocks per game) and assists (5 assists per game) as well.

Camby has looked equally, if not more impressive in his play this season. Though he doesn't play the amount of minutes (29 mpg) that his counterpart does, he still contributes 25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists per game for the Minutemen.

Though the two players have similar numbers on paper and mean the most to each of their respective teams, they are decidedly different players on the court.

“Tim has a variety of good low post moves,” Camby said. “Where I like to run the floor and beat my man for easy baskets, play on the perimeter more, and be more of a slasher.”

What seems to be forgotten with all the hype is the play of each big man's supporting cast.

In UMass' claiming the championship of the Franklin National Bank Classic, the team defense and steady half-court offense play of Dana Dingle and Edgar Padilla were exemplary. Without those such players as well as help the of Inus Norville and Tyrone Weeks off the bench in Camby’s absence, UMass would not have been as successful.

“Dana Dingle played outstanding. He should have been on the All Tournament team along with Edgar Padilla,” Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. “Donta Bright also played well, got a double-double against Maryland and he didn’t play well in the first half.”

Junior Ricky Peral is the other main scoring threat, besides Duncan from Wake Forest as he cashes in with 15 points a contest, with a remarkable shooting percentage on three-pointers at 70.7 (12 of 17). Sophomore Tony Rutland also drops in 12 ppg.

Both big men acknowledge the excitement surrounding the game and are downplaying the showdown between them.

“This game is five-on-five, not one-on-one,” Duncan said. “My teammates and I will have to be aware of Marcus Camby at both ends of the floor, but there are four other guys on that team we have to be aware of too.”

“This game has been hyped since the beginning of the season,” Camby added. I want to play, play my hardest and get it over with. After it, I'm not going to look at how I did and how Tim played. We just want to hit our stride around tournament time.“

Dickie V is “Holding Court” today in the Campus Center
By Matt Vautour, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 6, 1995

He's all over the place. He a celebrity. He's a media mongrel. He's a coach. He's an author. He's loud. He's enthusiastic. He's arguably the most recognizable voice in sports. He's Dick Vitale and he's coming to the University of Massachusetts today.

Vitale. the color commentator for both ESPN and ABC's college basketball, will be signing copies of his new book Holding Court: Reflections on the Game I Love at the University Store between 11:30 and 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. Copies of the book will be available at the Campus Store for $22.95.

Vitale is the former coach of the University of Detroit and the Detroit Pistons and has been working as a broadcaster for ESPN ever since. He will be in Amherst tomorrow to broadcast the basketball game between Massachusetts and Wake Forest, in what will be one of the most heavily media covered games in the history of the William D. Mullins Center.

The book is Vitale's fifth and in it he discusses: coaching, who's the best in the business, and how the profession has changed; academics, and has the increased emphasis on them really helped; players leaving school early; and the NBA salary cap.

The book, like his four other offerings, is written entirely in Vitalespeak. the unique hybrid of English that has turned Vitale from an ex-coach into a legend in the broadcasting industry.

Centers towering over game
Many won't be able to see UMass-Wake Forest for the trees
By Joe Burris, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/6/1995

In basketball, all the world loves the center. That is why some of the sport's most eagerly anticipated matchups feature teams with dominating big men. And that's what the hoopla surrounding tonight's Massachusetts-Wake Forest contest in Amherst is all about: the matchup between Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan.

Both teams are 3-0. UMass is ranked third in the nation, Wake Forest 10th. But many watching tonight wouldn't care if the teams were a combined 0 for the season. It would still be one of the most anticipated clashes of titans in recent college basketball history.

There will be more than 20 NBA representatives – including Toronto's Isiah Thomas and Cleveland's Wayne Embry – at the Mullins Center, and with good reason. Duncan, a 6-foot-10-inch, 235-pound junior, is averaging 21.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 4.7 assists, and was practically everyone's preseason pick for national player of the year. Camby, a 6-10 junior, is averaging 25.3 points, 8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks, and was practically everyone's pick for first-team All-American. If the two were to enter next year's NBA draft, they would be gone by the fifth pick.

Despite all of this, Camby and Duncan – both quiet, reserved and unassuming – are downplaying the matchup.

“I'm just going to take it as any other game,” said Camby. “I'm not going to get into a personal battle. I'm going to stay within the team concept.”

“It should be a great game played in a great atmosphere,” said Duncan. “But it's five against five rather than one against one.”

Camby said he will be able to make this just another game despite the presence of so much NBA brass.

“I'm going to go out and play for myself, not for NBA scouts,” he said. “This is my junior year and I still have another year left. I need to improve on my game as well as improve myself as a person.”

Duncan was equally noncommittal about the next level. He uses the same standard line when asked about it: “When I'm ready, I'll know, and I'm not ready now.”

UMass coach John Calipari said too much is being made of the center matchup.

“It's about Wake Forest against UMass,” he said. “We're just trying to play a tough opponent and see how we do.”

“I think it's going to be a good matchup against him,” said Camby. “He's the best center in college basketball.”

Said Duncan, “He's very good. He plays hard, he's tough and he knows how to help his team win. That's what great players are supposed to do. He's fearless.”

The two have contrasting styles. Duncan is a pure center, the complete package – fundamentally sound, quick, good feel around the basket.

Camby has a center's height but a small forward's frame. He blocks like a center but also can shoot pull-up jumpers like a forward and run the floor like a guard.

The teams are scheduled to meet next year at Wake Forest. Unless both centers come back, that game will not have the same level of anticipation and excitement as tonight's.

“This game was put together by television,” said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. “Normally, you don't see these kinds of games this time of year, except for those on TV, but that's OK. We're looking forward to it.”

Tonight the focus will be on Duncan-Camby, a clash of titans.
There are few precedents, but they always create great commotion.
They're . . . big duels, bid deals
By Bob Ryan, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/6/1995

ll that remain are the yellowed clippings. Hardly a man alive can bear eyewitness testimony to the days when Joe Lapchick and Tarzan Cooper played their furious games-within-games as the Original New York Celtics and the New York Rens battled for basketball supremacy in the '20s and '30s.

“They were the first two great 'big' men,” points out Richard Lapchick, son of the basketball immortal. “Big,” of course, is relative. Joe Lapchick and Tarzan Cooper each stood 6 feet 5 inches.

“They are both Hall of Famers,” continues Lapchick, “and both their teams are in the Hall of Fame. It was a special confrontation, because no white team could beat the Celtics and no black team could beat the Rens. The only teams that could beat them were each other.”

There will be no such lack of corroboration when Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan lead their teams onto the floor at the sold-out Mullins Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts tonight. There will be upwards of 25 NBA representatives in attendance. And the entire affair will be televised to an awaiting basketball nation on ESPN. This is a primo circle-the-date-on-the- calendar event, because everyone knows we could be looking at No. 1 vs. No. 2. Draft choices, that is (if not this year, then surely the next).

Though Wake Forest coach Dave Odom and UMass mentor John Calipari are trying desperately to downplay the individual aspect of this intriguing intersectional clash, make no mistake: There is more going on here than a simple matchup of an Atlantic Coast Conference team and an Atlantic 10 titan. People everywhere care about this game because in Duncan vs. Camby, we have the first true Big Man vs. Big Man arranged basketball marriage in 13 years. Not since Ralph Sampson/Virginia and Patrick Ewing/Georgetown got together in a similarly brokered TV pairing on Dec. 11, 1982, has college basketball had such a Big Man Happening.

Marquee big man matchups in college basketball are very rare. The defining big man duel of all time was Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain, but it should be noted that during their collegiate careers, neither man ever had a serious personal challenge. Nor, alas, are there any Bill Walton vs. Whomever battles to savor.

In the entire history of college basketball, there have been only three truly epic big man showdowns, in addition to one (Patrick Ewing vs. Hakeem Olajuwon) with an asterisk.

1. BOB KURLAND vs. GEORGE MIKAN

Here, arguably, are the first two legitimately skilled “big” men in basketball history, and their sensational collegiate careers overlapped gloriously, each man graduating in 1946.

Bob Kurland, nicknamed “Foothills,” played for Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). Billed as a 7-footer, he now confesses to having been an exaggerated 6-10. However tall he was, Kurland was mobile and athletic in a way extremely tall people had not been previously, and he led Oklahoma A&M to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1945-46.

George Mikan was a bespectacled 6-9 kid from Chicago who became the ultimate project for a young DePaul coach named Ray Meyer. Though gifted with no apparent grace, the hardworking Mikan learned to use his bulk in a positive manner, and he also worked ceaselessly on a hook shot. With Mikan in the middle, DePaul finished second in the prestigious NIT in 1944 and won the tournament a year later.

The schools met five times from an NIT semifinal clash in March 1944 through a regular-season match in Chicago Stadium in February 1946, and right from the start, the focus was on the two behemoths in the pivot.

” 'Freaks,' “ says the alive-and-kickin' Meyer, who plans to be camped in front of his TV set tonight. “That's what people called them. Those two, and Don Otten of Bowling Green, were the only big men in existence. George Mikan was ashamed of his size. He used to walk around with his shoulders hunched over when I first got him. I remember going to Philadelphia and the paper calling him a 'freak' and a 'gargantuan.' The next day, the story started off, 'My apologies to George Mikan.' ”

Kurland started out strong in that first NIT game, according to reports. “Kurland had the early advantage defensively,” reported the AP man on the scene. “He knocked out at least eight shots that appeared headed for the basket.” It is Kurland, in fact, who is primarily responsible for the prohibition on goaltending. (“He was the better defender; Mikan was the better all-around player,” maintains Meyer.)

By far the most ballyhooed of the five games was the affair in Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1945. This was a special benefit for the Red Cross between NIT champion DePaul and NCAA champion Oklahoma A&M, and it was billed as the “mythical national championship.”

Mikan was hot-hot-hot, coming off a record 53-point game in the NIT semis against Rhode Island State, but he quickly ran into foul trouble in the Red Cross game. He fouled out in just 14 minutes, having scored 9 points. Kurland's 14 led Oklahoma A&M to a 52-44 victory, and $50,000 was raised for the Red Cross.

There was no professional follow-up. Mikan went on to become the “Player of the Half-Century” as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers, but Kurland never turned professional. He went into amateur ball and won gold medals on both the 1948 and 1952 Olympic teams.

Together as collegians, they made basketball history. “True gladiators,” recalls Meyer.

2. LEW ALCINDOR vs. ELVIN HAYES

Elvin Hayes made this battle, as Yogi Berra would say, necessary, by scoring 25 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in a losing cause during an otherwise by-the-book 73-58 Houston loss to UCLA in the 1967 NCAA semifinals.

Until then, no one had even remotely challenged the 7-3 Alcindor.

Eddie Einhorn of TVS got the idea to put the teams together in the Astrodome the following January in college basketball's first made-for-TV special. What he got for his efforts was an epic.

The prelude began Jan. 12, eight days before the game, when a California player accidentally poked Alcindor in the eye, causing an irritation of the iris. He missed the next two UCLA games, and his availability was in question until game day.

This game had everything, starting with the fact that both teams came in undefeated. As for the mano-a-mano between Alcindor and the 6-9 Hayes, Elvin tried to put it in perspective. “For one thing,” he said, “we don't figure to be playing head to head. I'm a forward. If he's covering me, he's going to have to come to the corners, and I don't think he'll do that.”

He didn't. Hayes came out shooting – and hitting. By halftime, he had 29. He wound up with 39, plus the deciding free throws as Houston won it, 71-69, to snap UCLA's 47-game winning streak before a record crowd of 52,693 for college basketball.

Alcindor, bothered by what was described as “vertical double vision,” shot 4 for 18.

A non-alibiing Alcindor was gracious: “We lost to a better team.”

There was a rubber match a little over two months later in the NCAA semifinals. This time a flustered Hayes had 24 fewer points at the half. Hounded by Mike Lynn and a four-man diamond defense, Hayes could not get going. Alcindor's 19 led a balanced UCLA machine to a 101-69 revenge victory.

“That,” said Houston coach Guy Lewis, “was the greatest exhibition of basketball I've ever seen.”

As for the big man battle, Gordon White of The New York Times opined, “The match within a match was no more a contest than the game had been.”

3. RALPH SAMPSON vs. PATRICK EWING

The idea of 7-4 senior Sampson vs. 7-foot sophomore Ewing had enormous appeal to the television matchmakers (in this case Turner Broadcasting, plus a syndicate).

A veteran Virginia team, featuring guards Othell Wilson and Rick Carlisle, should have won, and it did, 68-63. Senior Sampson should have outplayed sophomore Ewing, and he did (23 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks, to 16-8-5), and he did.

Explained Georgetown coach John Thompson, “Center is a dependent position, and our inexperienced guards did not do an outstanding job of getting Patrick the ball.”

Buried deep in the game there was a Moment. With about 5 1/2 minutes remaining, Sampson threw one down. Ewing went down to the other end and he threw one down. They went to the UVA end and Sampson went up. Ewing blocked it. Sampson got it back, and Ewing blocked it again. Sampson wound up at the foul line, but the arena was buzzing.

“He's the best center I've ever played against,” said Ewing.

“Patrick is an excellent ballplayer,” responded Sampson. “There's not enough words to describe the guy.”

4. PATRICK EWING vs. HAKEEM OLAJUWON

It just happened to be the 1984 NCAA championship game.

Ewing was Ewing, but Olajuwon wasn't the Olajuwon we now know. He was just a young Nigerian work-in-progress.

Ewing hardly posted big numbers (10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks), but he did what he had to do to help Georgetown beat Houston, 84-75. Olajuwon? He had 15 points but picked up his fourth personal 23 seconds into the second half and basically stopped playing.

Said Lewis, “I told him if he wasn't going to play, he might as well come sit on the bench by me.”

We've had a 13-year wait for a headlined big man regular-season duel, and we can again thank TV – in this case, ESPN – for making it happen.

“We were extremely lucky,” says ESPN college basketball programmer Dave Brown. “We set this up with both schools way before the 1995 NBA draft. If the big guys had decided to come out, we'd still have an ACC school coming to Amherst, but we know how lucky we are.”

How lucky they are? How about how lucky we are?

Camby a Demon to the Deacons
Massachusetts (#3) 60, Wake Forest (#10) 46
From The Associated Press, 12/6/1995

AMHERST, Mass. – Marcus Camby outplayed Tim Duncan in a battle between the nation's premier centers and Donta Bright scored 22 points to lead third-ranked Massachusetts to a 60-46 victory over 10th-ranked Wake Forest on Wednesday night.

Camby had 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots but hit just 6-of-19 shots from the field. Duncan finished with only nine points on 4-of-18 shooting and added 12 rebounds and four blocks.

”(Duncan) treated this matchup like it was just another big game,“ Camby said. “After the first few minutes, I settled down and hit the shots that were open. I tried to play physical and keep a hand in Duncan's face.” (click for video clip 319k AVI)

Duncan said: “Marcus played a great game. He affected my shot and on the offensive end, he took the shot when he had it. The pressure of the matchup wasn't a factor.”

Wake Forest scored just 19 points in the second half and shot 30 per cent from the field (15-of-50) for the game.

“UMass bothers opponents on every trip down the court,” Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. “Donta Bright and Dana Dingle were definitely factors. The pressure of the buildup of the game was not a factor in how the two centers played.”

Massachusetts (4-0) has beaten Kentucky, Maryland, Florida and Wake Forest. The Minutemen also will play Boston College, Georgia Tech, Memphis and Louisville in non-conference games this season.

Wake Forest (3-1) suffered its first loss after opening the season with wins over Mount St. Mary's, Oklahoma State and Lehigh.

Rusty LaRue, the starting quarterback for the football team, led Wake Forest with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four three-pointers. Tony Rutland had 15 points for the Demon Deacons, but hit just 3-of-13 shots from the field.

“We didn't make the shots that we needed to down the stretch,” LaRue said.

The game was billed as the best regular season confrontation between college centers since Virginia's Ralph Sampson battled Georgetown's Patrick Ewing in December of 1982. But this was not really the case since Duncan went head-to-head with Maryland's Joe Smith and North Carolina's Rasheed Wallace last year in Atlantic Coast Conference regular season games. Smith was the first pick and Wallace the fourth overall selection in the 1995 NBA Draft.

“Marcus was a little nervous in the beginning,” UMass coach John Calipari said. “Both centers were made out to be (Hakeem) Olajuwon. In order for Marcus to be effective, he has to flow around the court. He's more of a swingman than a center.”

The game was tied at 34-34 with 13 1/2 minutes remaining. But UMass outscored Wake Forest 18-5 over the next 11 minutes to open a 52-39 lead.

A three-pointer by Duncan pulled Wake Forest within 54-46 with 1:15 left, but one free throw apiece by Camby and Bright and a steal and layup by Edgar Padilla opened a 58-46 advantage for UMass with 37 seconds remaining.

Massachusetts defeats Demon Deacons, Duncan
Bright and Dingle help lead Minutemen to victory
By Justin C. Smith, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 7, 1995

In what was supposed to be the Marcus Camby - TimDuncan show, the Massachusetts men's basketball team showed it can win without depending on its superstar.

Senior co-captain Donta Bright scored 22 points, including 6-for-7 from the free throw line, as the No. 3 Minutemen (4-0) shut down Duncan and the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (5-1), 60-46 at the William D. Mullins Center last night.

“We need Donta Bright to score 15-20 points,” Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. “If we want to win basketball games, he needs to score and finish. He is a finisher. I was so happy to see Donta show what a great finisher he is.”

The match-up between Duncan (nine points, 12 rebounds) and Camby (17 points, nine boards) wasn't necessarily the difference in the game, as much as how the supporting cast picked up the slack when the players were off.

“If anybody thought that these two guys were going to come in and dominate,” Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said, “they were barking up the wrong tree.”

“Marcus was a little nervous,” Calipari said. “As much as we didn't want to say he wasn't worried about Duncan and Duncan wasn't worried about him, that was a factor in the game.

“Marcus is a swing-power forward, he is not a center. I think he showed that tonight.”

Thirty-five of the other 37 points that Duncan didn't score were by two Demon Deacons. The two starting forwards for Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, Sean Allen and Ricky Peral, were in foul trouble all game and never got in the scoring column. All five UMass starters scored at least five points a piece.

After a Tony Rutland three pointer brought Wake Forest back to within three with just over 11:30 left to play, UMass went on a 12-2 run, in effect putting the game out of reach with a 52-39 lead with just 2:24 left in the game. The spurt was ignited by the defense and hustle of the Minutemen all over the court.

“That defense was just hustling, just playing with passion, just playing with emotion.” Calipari said. “That's a habit of how we play and it's the only way we know how to play.”

The hustle part of the UMass game was best exhibited by the other Minuteman co-captain. Though his offensive numbers will not impress many, (five points) Dana Dingle's tenacity on the offensive boards and denying his man to drive to the hoop were keys to UMass holding its opponent under 20 points in a half for the third straight game.

Dingle alone caused three jump balls with his hard work on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. He finished with 10 rebounds, two steals plus three assists, two of which were from the seat of his pants.

Junior guard Edgar Padilla also played terrific defense for UMass, grabbing eight boards and making four steals, including picking Wake Forest guard Rusty LaRue's pocket and going in for two of his nine points on a breakaway dunk.

“I don't know if they're the best or most talented,” Odom said of UMass guards Padilla and Carmelo Travieso. “But if you ask me who understands what their coach wants them to do, and is able to execute that better than any other pair I've seen this year. I think they do that.

“They bother opponents on every trip because they are feisty. During the meat of the game they definitely were factors.”

Though the UMass bench did not score a point for the second time this season, Inus Norville and Tyrone Weeks did play effective defense for the Minutemen. Norville blocked Duncan cleanly, sending the crowd into a frenzy, during the second half run that put the game away for UMass.

After UMass built a 30-18 lead after a 14-1 stretch late in the first half, LaRue hit three-consecutive three-pointers to cut the Wake Forest deficit to 30-27 heading to the locker room.

Rutland led the way for the Deacons with 20 points, 12 of them coming in the first half. LaRue contributed 15 points, including four of six from downtown.

The Minutemen return to action when they meet Danya Abrams and the Boston College Eagles at the FleetCenter Saturday at 1 p.m.

Highly-anticipated duel overshadowed
By Candice Flemming, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 7, 1995

It was billed as the battle between Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan — a duel between two players who many think will go No. 1 and No. 2 in next year's NBA draft.

The signs in the stands displayed the magnitude of the matchup as well — “See Marcus Stop Duncan”. “No Duncan in Cambyland” and “Hey ESPN! Camby knows a little something about Duncan” were just a sample of the many signs popping up throughout the William D. Mullins Center

The highly-anticipated match-up didn't disappoint, but it was the play of UMass' supporting cast that helped the No. 5 Minutemen win the game, 60-46.

Donta Bright continued to open it up offensively. Dana Dingle continued to play stingy defense, and guard Edgar Padilla continued to play heavy minutes.

“If anybody thought (Camby and Duncan) would come here and dominate, they were barking up the wrong tree,” Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said.

With all of the early attention on the Camby-Duncan duel, Bright was able to take advantage. He scored the Minutemen's first four points on a jumper and two free throws, and then connected for four more points in the half, one on an assist where Edgar Padilla found him open underneath the basket.

“I was just so happy to see Donta be the play finisher that he is, not try to start plays but just keep finishing them,” Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. “He rebounded the ball and played good defense. Donta needs to score for us to win.”

Dingle had a relatively quiet first half but did pull down four rebounds.

It was in the second half where Dingle hurt the Demon Deacons. With 7:06 left in the game, Duncan pulled down what seemed to be an easy board, but Dingle surprised the 6-foot-10-inch junior by swiping the ball away. While on the floor, Dingle was able to find Bright open for an easy basket off the glass, giving UMass a 46-39 lead. That basket came in an 8-0 run by the Minutemen that seemingly put the game away.

Dingle finished with just five points, but it was his rebounding and overall hustle that made the difference, as he finished with three assists, two steals and no turnovers.

“Dana Dingle has just been playing great basketball,” Calipari said.

Padilla didn't put up the same kind of offensive numbers as Wake Forest guards Rusty LaRue (20 points) or Tony Rutland (15 points) but he made things happen. He played almost the entire 40 minutes and grabbed eight boards, all on the defensive end, and dished out four assists while notching four steals. On one sequence in the first half, Padilla stole the ball on the defensive end and then went the distance of the court for a two-handed dunk, making it 14-7 at the time.

As for the duel between the two future lottery picks, it was Camby who won the battle, scoring wise, as the Hartford native scored 17 points to Duncan’s nine (Duncan was held to just six points for almost 39 minutes until he sank a three with 1:15 left). Duncan, however, held the advantage in rebounds (12-9) and blocks (4-3).

“Marcus Camby is an excellent, excellent basketball player — excellent,” Odom said. “He has a lot of skills. We have even more respect for him now.”

”[Camby] played a great game tonight,” Duncan said. “He affected my shots. I think I had a few shots that I could have made but I just didn't. He played great, he got his shot, and hit his turnarounds. He took his shot when he had the chance and made them.”

“I thought Marcus did a tremendous job, but he got help,” Calipari said. “It was a team effort, but Marcus did a fine job.”

Vitale signs books for UM hoop fans on CC Concourse
By Matt Vautour, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff, December 7, 1995

The line-stretched from the Campus Center concourse all the way to the parking garage. On the basketball-crazy campus of the University of Massachusetts, students continued lining up from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for a chance to meet ESPN commentator Dick Vitale.

The Campus Center store hosted a signing of Vitale's newest book, Holding Court: Reflections on the Game I Love, and the students arrived in droves.

Vitale signed copies of his books as well as a variety of other items. Over 400 books were sold at the event yesterday.

Vitale is excited about the book's early success.

“The book is really doing phenomenal.” he said. “I'm really ecstatic. We're in our third printing and it's only been out four weeks.

“It attacks all the issues of the game: Should players get paid?; Players leaving college early; the impact of television; the personalities that make up the game; the pressures of coaching: kids chasing dreams of being Michael Jordan when they should be chasing dreams of being a doctor.”

Vitale played the crowd throughout the two hours talking and joking with each person that came through the line. He drew a loud cheer from the crowd when he teased a girl who admitted to being a Connecticut fan.

Most fans spoke highly of Vitale after meeting him.

“I think he's great for the game. I love Dick,” said Dave Dec, a UMass alum (class of 1971). “He jumped on the college basketball bandwagon when it was taking off. I've always been a fan of the college game and I think he's great for the game.”

“He was a friendly guy. he made jokes.” said Himanshu Patel, a senior political science major. “It's exciting. Look at the turnout. The line goes to the parking garage. Having him here shows we've made prime time now. He usually does North Carolina or Duke. Now he's here.”

While the crowd at UMass was clearly a fan of Vitale. the broadcaster expressed his admiration for UMass coach John Calipari.

“I think Calipari is without question, the biggest architect and builder of a program that I've witnessed in my 17 years on ESPN,” he said. “It's amazing the job he's done, to think that Mass. has been able to get to the winner's circle against Kentucky, Arkansas and North Carolina.

“Its amazing the job he's done to take Mass. to that level. Its great for the school. He's a tremendous teacher. I don't think people realize what a great teacher he is in practice. He develops game plans. He's constantly stressing work ethic and never letting the kids get a big head. I think he's one of the premier coaches in the country.”

While Vitale enjoys the writing and the books, he has no delusions of where his real strengths lie.

“I am not truly a writer per se,” he said. “I work with a writer and I talk into a tape recorder and do what I do best.”

After the book signing Vitale headed to Mullins last night to do what he does best. He ranted about Marcus Camby. He ranted about Tim Duncan and when it was all over he moved to Louisville and started the routine all over again.

UMass delivers rude awakening
Supporting cast spoils Deacon show
By Joe Burris, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/7/1995

AMHERST – It was one of the most hyped, most eagerly anticipated matchups between centers in college basketball history. It turned out to be just a quality basketball game.

The two lead characters did nothing special, nothing brilliant to deposit in your memory bank. Their teammates? That was another story.

Anyone who wondered if Massachusetts center Marcus Camby had a supporting cast need only to look at the third-ranked Minutemen's 60-46 victory over No. 10 Wake Forest last night at the Mullins Center. While many figured center stage would belong to Camby and Wake center Tim Duncan, Camby's supporting cast outdueled Duncan's scrappy teammates at both ends of the floor. Those two groups, both coming up with crucial play after play, staged the real battle of the evening. UMass was simply deeper and better in its execution.

Led by senior forward Donta Bright (a game-high 22 points), the Minutemen held Wake to just 30 percent shooting, including 25 percent in the second half, while forcing 15 turnovers. Wake got a bitter taste of UMass' claw-and- scrap play and trailed most of the way.

“Make no mistake, UMass is not a one-man team,” said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. “Their guards are excellent. Their forwards are terrific. And their coaching is equal to their play.”

“That was a terrific effort by our ball club,” said UMass coach John Calipari. “I think we worked hard. I was happy to see Donta be the great finisher he is. We rebounded the ball well and played great defense.”

Guard Edgar Padilla had 9 points, 8 boards and 4 assists, and forward Dana Dingle had 10 rebounds and 2 steals to help UMass (4-0), which shot 36 percent in the first half but improved in the second (46 percent) when it made its biggest plays. Not to be outdone was Wake guard Rusty LaRue, who tallied a team-high 20 points, going 4 for 6 from the 3-point line. Teammate Tony Rutland added 15 points, but Wake fell to 3-1.

As for the ballyhooed center matchup, Camby was the clear victor. He scored 17 points, had 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Duncan had 9 points, 12 boards and 3 blocks.

Wake trailed, 30-18, with 1:55 left in the first half before LaRue drained three 3-pointers.

The Demon Deacons outplayed UMass over the first six minutes of the second half and tied the game, 34-34, on a jumper by Steven Goolsby. But UMass countered with its best run of the evening, an 18-5 surge (including 9 points by Bright), to go ahead, 52-39, with 2:24 left in the game. Wake cut it to 8 with 1:15 remaining but could come no closer.

“I was able to take some open shots and I hit them,” said Bright, who was guarded by Duncan on some of his scores. “I was just playing the game and allowing it to come to me, and that's what happened.”

“We were out of it a little when Wake tied it,” said Calipari. “We made a couple of stops and were able to get a nice-size lead. But still Wake would not go away.”

Both Camby and Duncan were jittery early. But Camby snapped out of it late in the first half and pulled away from his counterpart. A turnaround jump shot that hit the front rim in the early going began rattling in. In the second half, it was nothing but net.

“I just cooled down,” said Camby. “I was so hyped up at the start of the game because of all the hype that I was missing shots I normally hit. But the coaches told me to calm down. I got a couple of rebounds and a couple of blocked shots, and after a while, I was able to get going.”

Duncan appeared ready to break out of his shooting woes in the second half, but his charge was short-lived. With a raucous Mullins crowd cheering Camby's efforts, Duncan withered in the late stages of the game and became a nonfactor.

“Camby affected my shot,” he said. “He played great. He hit his shot, that turnaround. He took his shots and he made them. Every shot I took was one I thought I could make.”

Star turns not central to plot of this installment
By Bob Ryan, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/7/1995

AMHERST – The Big Man confrontation was exactly what history said it would be – a mildly entertaining subplot, and nothing more.

What mattered to everyone concerned was the final score, which was Massachusetts 60, Wake Forest 46. Just going by that, Marcus Camby outplayed Tim Duncan in the anticipated matchup of the two best collegiate big men in the US of A.

“Marcus Camby is an excellent, excellent basketball player,” declared Wake Forest mentor Dave Odom. “He showed tonight he's a person with a lot of skills on the basketball floor. We had, and now we have, even more respect for him.”

The line score battle read like this: Camby had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Duncan had 9 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Anyone looking for Lew- Elvin Redux would have gone home disappointed.

Not that anyone should have expected such a thing. While there is no doubt that Camby and Duncan are the best big men playing in college basketball today, no one has yet suggested they are on the verge of being players for the ages.

Camby, as coach John Calipari was quick to point out, isn't even a classic center. “He is a swing power forward, not a center,” Calipari said. “You saw that tonight. He's the kind of player who has to float around the floor. You're looking at a skill player, and we should take advantage of his skills. But a basket is a basket is a basket, whether it's a 1-footer or a 5-footer. And when Marcus had to make a big play, he made it.”

Neither man shot well, almost undoubtedly because of the other's haunting presence on defense. Camby was 6 for 19. Duncan was 4 for 18. But the offensive edge was Camby's, and solely because Camby did make a couple of key baskets in a game whose final point spread does not justify its basic tenor. Camby was the better offensive force because when he has the basketball in his hands, he can do more with it than merely shoot it.

When Coach Cal lauds Camby's “skills,” high on the list is his passing. Camby is a major weapon as a passer. Though the stat sheet credited him with just two assists, he made at least four beautiful passes in the game. Duncan made none. That's not a knock, merely a statement of fact.

Camby didn't shoot well, but he still played a Camby game. He grabbed seven rebounds in the second half, and they were all in heavy traffic. He came up big at a critical juncture, changing a 34-34 game into a nonrefundable UMass lead with (a) a sensational high-low drop-down pass to Donta Bright for a layup and (b) a mid-lane turnaround in Duncan's face.

Here's another fact. Camby guarded Duncan every second he was on defense, while Duncan seldom guarded Camby. Odom started off with 6-foot-10-inch Spaniard Rick Peral on Camby and the 6-10 Duncan on the 6-5 Bright, then quickly switched to a 1-3-1 zone which he employed for a great percentage of the evening.

But there were times when Duncan did guard Camby, and they seemed to fire up the UMass junior. On one such occasion, Camby took Duncan into the lane for successive facials.

Each man took a bad shot or two, but hey, they're only human. Each tried to stay within his personal parameters for the most part.

Camby's ability to contain Duncan straight up was a huge key to the entire UMass defensive effort. “I did not want to double-team Duncan and make some other guys better,” explained Coach Cal. “Marcus did a tremendous job, but he got help from both the guards and the forwards. At the start of the second half, I thought he was letting Duncan get the ball where he wanted to, and I was afraid he would get it going. But then Marcus started to kick it in.”

For the record, Duncan hit one right baseline half-jump hook, half- turnaround (remember Larry Bird's “throw shot”?), but that represented the only damage in that stretch.

Please keep in mind that Duncan is a definite work in progress. Though a junior, the Virgin Island native won't turn 20 until April. Camby is older and more experienced, and some of that experience showed through.

At any rate, playing against Camby at this point in the season can only help Duncan when he wades into Atlantic Coast Conference play. “He affected my shot,” Duncan admitted. “But I got enough good shots.”

Camby likewise admitted that he doesn't see a Tim Duncan every night. “People usually have their hands in my face when I shoot,” he said, “but the arm usually isn't as long as his.”

Though everyone concerned on both sides tried desperately to downplay the matchup, the players could not possibly put the thing on the side. Their personal pride, not to mention their curiosity, wouldn't permit it.

“Marcus was a little nervous,” maintained Calipari. “As much as we say he wasn't going to worry about Duncan and as much as Duncan said he wasn't going to worry about him, we all know this was a factor in the way the game started out. We were making Duncan out to be Hakeem Olajuwon, and they were making Marcus out to be Hakeem Olajuwon.”

Neither one is. But we have no idea what they will become, because that will be up to them, and no one else. Let's put it this way: There were representatives from 19 pro clubs present, and there was enough talent on display from the two matquee big kids to send the pro folk out into the night needing a hankie to wipe away the telltale signs of drooling.

Triumph was a real piece of work
By Mark Blaudschun, The Boston Globe Staff, 12/7/1995

AMHERST – It was a game without glitter. A lunch-bucket game. The kind of game John Calipari loves to see his team play. Each night. Every night.

“We don't know how to be cool,” said Calipari after last night's 60-46 win over Wake Forest at the Mullins Center. “We're always hustling, playing hard. It was a terrific effort.”

So it was. Again. Last night might have been billed as Camby vs. Duncan for most of the country who tuned in to ESPN. But for UMass, 4-0 and headed toward Saturday's showdown in the FleetCenter with Boston College, it was just another old-fashioned victory.

And if you check what BC has done this season, including last night's 55-53 victory over Pitt, anyone expecting a laser show of high scoring Saturday may be disappointed.

UMass is not winning games with offense. The Minutemen shot 40 percent against Wake. But the 10th-ranked Demon Deacons made only 30 percent of their shots. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective.

Nor was it just Marcus Camby, who had a workmanlike game, scoring 17 points, pulling down 9 rebounds and blocking 3 shots while holding Tim Duncan to 9 points.

It was guards Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso flicking away at the ball every time a Wake Forest player was foolish enough to bring it below waist level. It was Padilla, who played 39 minutes 53 seconds, coming up with four steals.

It was an entire rotating defense, not just Camby, bothering Duncan whenever he touched the ball, forcing him into a horrendous 4-for-18 shooting night.

Nor was this a one-game turnaround. Check out what UMass has done since its 92-82 win over Kentucky in the Great Eight tournament. The Minutemen went to Landover, Md., over the weekend and won a pair from Maryland and Florida.

That was almost expected. But check out the scores. 50-47 over Maryland. 80-58 over Florida.

Then last night. Wake Forest, a Top 10 team, a team with a legitimate Player of the Year candidate in Duncan, comes into Amherst and is held to its lowest point total in nine years. Not since Virginia walked away with a 59-45 victory near the end of the 1986-87 season had a Wake team scored fewer points.

The Deacons scored 19 points in the second half. Duncan has had better halves by himself.

“It was a terrific effort by our entire team,” said Calipari, who is in midseason form with his coaching histrionics.

“I'm on them like it's midseason,” he conceded. “I demand a lot and get a lot.”

Wake Forest coach Dave Odom thinks UMass has gotten quite a bit already. “I would say they are in for a wonderful season,” said Odom. “The only thing they have to worry about is peaking too early, if that's possible.”

That probably won't happen. The Minutemen are focused on a mission. Last week it was No. 1 Kentucky and then winning the tournament in Maryland. This week it was Wake Forest and now BC.

Next week will bring another challenge. And then another. And then still another.

But that is the way UMass always has played under Calipari. Offense and points may come and go. Defense is what will win games for you. Defense will carry you through shooting slumps that are sure to come.

As important as last night was in the grand scheme of things, it's over. Just like Kentucky is over.

Now BC awaits Saturday. The Eagles have garnered little respect thus far. But they are 4-1 and playing with the same grit and determination as UMass.

UMass and BC Saturday. It should be quite a show. But bring your lunch bucket.

BATTLE ROYAL
UMASS'S MARCUS CAMBY WAS KING OF THE BIG MEN AFTER OUTPLAYING WAKE FOREST'S TIM DUNCAN
By Tim Crothers, Sports Illustrated, 12/18/1995

See original layout on SI.com

Two minutes before the opening tip of the megahyped summit between Massachusetts's Marcus Camby and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan last week in Amherst, Mass., Minutemen coach John Calipari walked up to Duncan and said, “Why don't you and Marcus just play one-on-one and we'll watch, and then afterward we'll all go grab a pizza?”

Calipari couldn't resist the sarcasm after reading in the local newspapers all week that this meeting of the two premier college centers would be comparable to the legendary wars between Lew Alcindor and Elvin Hayes, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing, the colonials and the redcoats. To be sure, Duncan came into the game as everybody's All-America (SI, Nov. 27), and Camby was rated as the next best big man in the land, a status he solidified with a brilliant both-ends-of-the-floor performance in UMass's 92-82 defeat of then No. 1-ranked Kentucky on Nov. 28. But the hype started getting to Calipari as the game approached. By the time he had watched a dozen plugs on ESPN the night before the big matchup, he had even been moved to phone at 11 p.m. to check on Camby's emotional state, only to discover that it was too late–Camby had already bought into the frenzy. When the phone rang, Camby was staring at an index card tacked to the wall over the extra-large bed in his dorm room. Scribbled in black Magic Marker were the words DECEMBER 6. TIM DUNCAN. #1 PLAYER IN COLLEGE. “You couldn't go anywhere in my room without seeing it,” said Camby after the game. “I put it up there as added motivation because he's got it and I want it.”

Photo by Manny Millan / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images.¹⁾

Though Massachusetts's 60-46 defeat of Wake Forest didn't absolutely settle who has the best-of-the-big-men title, it constituted a victory for Camby, since nobody believed when the 1995-96 season began that the title was even up for grabs. Camby, a junior, scored 17 points and held Duncan, also a junior, to a measly nine, and all of a sudden both surnames were being mentioned in the same bated breath of the 15 NBA scouts who were on hand for the center summit. “This summer I think most teams would have had Camby slotted to go anywhere from 6 to 10 in the draft,” said Vancouver Grizzly director of scouting Larry Riley. “But after just a few games this season his name is on the lips of every NBA scout. If both guys declare for the draft this spring, I believe Camby has put himself in a position to challenge Duncan for the Number 1 pick.”

Said Calipari, “I think all the people around the country watching Marcus so far this season are scratching their heads and saying to themselves, Who the heck is this guy?”

Well, who is Marcus Camby? Camby will tell you that labeling him a basketball player doesn't do him justice. He'll insist that the real Camby showed up about eight hours before the Wake Forest game at nearby South Hadley Middle School, where he somehow folded his wispy 6'11” frame into a chair built to fit a fifth-grader. As part of his classwork as an education major he tutors special-education students twice a week. So there he was, before the biggest game of his young season, helping a group of kids with their long division and rewarding those who came up with the solutions to particularly difficult problems by giving them his autograph, which sure beats the daylights out of a gold star. “That's the real me,” said Camby. “I don't need the spotlight to be happy. Last week I met a kid whose father had died not too long ago. The kid was depressed and wasn't working very hard, but I helped to get him studying again for the first time in weeks.” Camby's dream is to become a school principal when his basketball career is over.

Until this season Camby wanted to be anything but the principal on the basketball court. During his first two years at UMass, Camby was overshadowed by fierce forward Lou Roe, who now plays for the Detroit Pistons. He spoke rarely and gained a reputation for squeezable softness. A slightly sprained pinkie meant two days of missed practice. Calipari tried everything short of a hotfoot to get a rise out of Camby. “That first year the conditioning was pure misery for him,” Calipari says. “He'd be running sprints with the other guys, and all of a sudden he'd drop to the floor like he'd been shot in the back. He wasn't used to dealing with adversity, because everything had always come so easy to him. I had to literally drag him, push him, prod him along while he kept telling me, 'Coach, I can't do it.'”

Camby's game matured through two seasons, but his attitude wavered until the Minutemen were eliminated in last season's East Regional final by Oklahoma State. Bryant (Big Country) Reeves, the Cowboys' 290-pound center, had manhandled Camby in the post, limiting him to just 2-of-10 shooting from the floor before Camby fouled out midway through the second half. Camby then considered fleeing to the NBA rather than face another year in Calipari's boot camp. “If you're not going to work hard, go steal their money,” Calipari told Camby after the season. “Take it and go.”

Camby decided to reenlist. He worked out nearly every day this summer at the YMCA in his hometown, Hartford, with his close friend, Missouri guard Kendrick Moore. He concentrated on ball handling and developing a turnaround jumper, and his confidence increased exponentially. After one afternoon session, flush with his swelling self-esteem, he visited a local tattoo parlor and acquired a red-and-green etching on his left shoulder, a basketball swishing through a net with an inscription underneath that reads, MR. CAMBY.

“When I got to school this fall, I knew that everybody would be looking to me to be The Man,” Camby says. “I'm really a laid-back guy, so to be a leader, I knew I'd be forcing it a little. I asked myself all kinds of things: Am I ready to fill Lou Roe's shoes? Am I ready to meet all the high expectations? A lot of questions had to be answered.”

It didn't take long. In that season-opening defeat of Kentucky, which was the third time in three years that the Minutemen had upset the nation's top-ranked team in November, Camby had 32 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and a newfound swagger. As Massachusetts huddled in the final minute with the game in hand, Camby looked Calipari in the eye and said, “Coach, don't act like this wasn't supposed to happen.”

“That was the kind of controlled arrogance I've been looking for from Marcus all along,” says Calipari. “Everybody in the gym knew he was getting the ball at crunch time, and he scored anyway. That's big.”

As Maryland coach Gary Williams prepared his team to face Camby on Dec. 2, he sat in his office and reviewed a play from UMass's game with Kentucky, in which Camby grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled out of traffic and up the court before dishing a textbook bounce pass for a layup. “You couldn't make a better play,” said Williams. “Every dribble was perfect. If you didn't know he was 6'11”, you'd swear he was a guard. There aren't many people that big who can do that.” Camby scored the clinching basket against the Terps as the Minutemen prevailed 50-47.

The next day, after Camby scored 30 points in an 80-58 blowout of Florida, hitting turnaround jumpers from 15 feet, running the court like a guard, throwing passes to slashing teammates and swatting away two shots, Gator center Dametri Hill admitted what all of Camby's opponents have been thinking: “He's so good that I caught myself watching him a little bit out there, and he made me pay for it.”

Sports Illustrated photo

In front of that platoon of NBA scouts in attendance to watch the nation's best centers, Camby stumbled a bit in the early going. He forced several shots in the first half against the Wake Forest zone and told Calipari at halftime that it was his fault that UMass led by only 30-27–the kind of admission that would have been rare in seasons past. Camby showed more patience in the second half, concentrating on defense, where he played Duncan man-to-man most of the night. Duncan had entered the game shooting a robust 76.7% from the floor, but he made only 4 of 18 shots against UMass. Camby shot just 6 for 19 from the field himself but had nine rebounds and three blocks and generally dazzled the assembled judges. “You can tell Camby has worked very hard on his low-post moves,” said Jon Jennings, the Boston Celtics' director of basketball development. “He's always been good at creating off the dribble, but now he shoots off his right and left shoulders. On defense, when he blocks the ball, it comes back to him. Bill Russell did that.”

As the final buzzer sounded, Duncan sought out Camby, gave him a brief hug and whispered in Camby's ear, “I'll see you at the draft.” Duncan may or may not have been kidding. UMass and Wake have a rematch next season on the Deacons' floor, but neither center has declared whether he will be on hand for it. What does seem likely is that once Duncan and Camby do graduate to the NBA, it will spell the end of their head-to-head confrontations. Despite his height Camby weighs only 220 pounds, giving him the body of an NBA small forward with the potential to grow into a power forward. Duncan, a 6'10“, 240-pound shot blocker with more limited range on offense, is projected as a center, one of the few prospects at that position in college basketball. “Marcus has a more well-rounded game, with a combination of height and quickness that will provide plenty of matchup problems in the NBA,” says Chuck Douglas, an assistant general manager with the Washington Bullets. “But Duncan may have the edge when it comes to which guy gets drafted higher, because he's only 19, and there's a real scarcity of true centers in the NBA.”

Will last week's meeting prove pivotal in their battle to become the NBA's No. 1 pick? “It's a rare treat for a scout to see two players of that quality go toe-to-toe, but you don't judge any player on one game,” says the Grizzlies' Riley. “I think that each met his match. It wasn't quite like watching Ewing and Sampson out there, but I still like both of them.”

Indeed, in the end it was not Alcindor-Hayes or Sampson-Ewing but more Abbott-Costello, at least as far as the shooting percentages were concerned. “It's rare that a game like this lives up to the extraordinary buildup,” said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, who sat on the Virginia bench as an assistant coach when Ewing dueled Sampson 13 years ago this week. “The way to have made this a great game would've been to have invited Camby to practice with us this week so that these two tall guys could've gotten accustomed to each other. It looked like it was startling for each of them to have someone staring him straight in the eye whenever he turned around, but that made for a spectacular defensive show.”

“Marcus played great defense, bothering me to a point where I let myself get frustrated and disappointed out there,” Duncan said after the game. “He beat the crap out of me, but I learned a lot, and I think it was fun for both of us.”

After Duncan was long gone from the arena, Camby headed back to his dorm room, where he had tacked up another index card for last Saturday's game against intrastate rival Boston College, in which he would score 19 points and make a pivotal block in the Minutemen's 65-57 win. As he strolled out of the arena, he encountered six friends from Hartford. Camby crowed about his victory over Duncan, but his confidence was sincere. “Duncan's soft,” said Camby, his warm breath rising into the freezing Amherst night. “He's scared of me. After the game was over, he said, 'You got me.'”

A moment later a UMass fan yelled from a passing car, “You schooled him, Marcus.”

That's Mr. Camby to you.

Recording of ESPN broadcast, some commercial breaks excluded, 480p
Highlights from ESPN, Camby vs Duncan, UMass Athletics, Season banquet video

WAKE FOREST (46)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Peral           18   0-3   0-0   1-2  1  4    0
Allen           25   0-1   0-2   2-4  1  4    0
Duncan          40  4-18   0-2  4-12  1  2    9
Larue           39  7-10   2-2   1-4  1  1   20
Rutland         40  3-13   6-8   0-2  1  2   15
Goolsby         23   1-3   0-0   1-3  2  2    2
Amonett          1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Wilson           1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Jackson         12   0-2   0-1   0-2  1  2    0
Stringfellow     1   0-0   0-0   0-1  0  0    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 15-50  8-15  9-30  8 17   46
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.300, FT-.533. 3-Point Goals:
8-19, .421 (Peral 0-2, Duncan 1-2, Larue 4-6,
Rutland 3-8, Goolsby 0-1). Team rebounds: 4.
Blocked shots: 5 (Duncan 4, Allen). Turnovers: 15
(Allen 4, Rutland 4, Larue 3, Duncan 2, Peral 2).
Steals: 4 (Allen, Duncan, Jackson, Rutland).

MASSACHUSETTS (60)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Dingle          36   0-2   5-6  4-10  3  1    5
Bright          28  8-14   6-7   1-4  1  3   22
Camby           37  6-19   5-8   1-9  2  1   17
E Padilla       39   4-9   0-0   0-8  4  2    9
Travieso        37   3-6   0-0   0-1  2  3    7
Maclay           1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Weeks           13   0-1   0-0   2-5  0  3    0
Nunez            5   0-1   0-0   1-1  0  0    0
Norville         4   0-1   0-0   0-1  0  3    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 21-53 16-21  9-39 12 16   60
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.396, FT-.762. 3-Point Goals:
2-11, .182 (Bright 0-2, Camby 0-2, E Padilla 1-4,
Travieso 1-3). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 5
(Camby 3, Norville, E Padilla). Turnovers: 9
(Bright 3, E Padilla 2, Travieso 2, Camby,
Weeks). Steals: 7 (E Padilla 4, Dingle 2,
Norville).
__________________________________
Wake Forest        27   19  -   46
Massachusetts      30   30  -   60
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None.  A: 9,493. Officials: Dick
Paparo, Larry Rose, Frank Scafolati.