Technician Online

March 4th, 2007

Not a Latta respect

By nick on March 4th, 2007

To North Carolina fans, senior guard Ivory Latta is an icon.

When she puts her hands up to excite the crowd, the Tar Heel faithful cheer. When she makes a free throw or hits a three-point basket, the crowd erupts. And when she yells at the refs, so do the fans.

But Latta is far from a role model – she happens to be one of the most annoying and arrogant players in college basketball.

If her personalized license plate on her car, which boasts her name and number isn’t enough, then maybe her on-the-court antics will do.

She whines, complains, pouts and stomps around on the court when things don’t go her way.

Before the ACC Championship game against N.C. State, the referees had to warn her before the game to keep it low key. But knowing Latta, that’s impossible. Minutes into the game, the same ref had to go to her and tell her to calm it down.

Opposing fans have taken note. One sign during Sunday’s game read “Ivory stop whining.” Ironically, the sign was held by a 10-year-old kid.

But North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell thinks her guard is a perfect representation for the University.

“All the little kids were calling her name,” Hatchell said. “She’s done so much for the game of basketball and every little kid in American thinks they can play Division I basketball.”

Maybe these kids should model her language. The multiple F***’s during Saturday’s game were nice. So are her traditional attempts at getting in fights – all with less than a minute remaining in the game.

On Saturday, she tried to get in a Maryland player’s ear, then on Sunday when senior guard Marquetta Dickens fouled her, she quickly jumped at Dickens. During the Tar Heels season finale loss against the Blue Devils, she tried to go after Duke’s Abby Waner.

Well, OK. She’s just a little aggressive.

Maybe she’s humble? Nope, try again.

“I get it from Chris Paul,” Latta said of her spin move. “I watch Chris Paul and Raymond Felton…I definitely got it from him.”

Later, she explained how she did a fantastic job motivating her team.

“I had to get my teammates into it, hype and ready,” Latta said. “I think I did a great job.”

When I think of a role model, I actually picture the complete opposite of Latta. I envision a team player, a carefully-spoken person and one who respects opponents.

So for all of the people who look up to Latta, she’s too short for that. Start looking elsewhere.

Posted in Women's ACC Tournament | No Comments »

March 4th, 2007

State has three players named to All-Tournament teams

By justin on March 4th, 2007

At the conclusion of today’s women’s ACC Tournament championship in which No. 24 N.C. State (23-9, 10-4) lost to No. 4 North Carolina (30-3, 11-3) 60-54, the ACC All-Tounament first and second teams were announced.

The Wolfpack, although bittersweet after losing minutes earlier, had three players named to the teams.

Both senior guard Ashley Key and junior forward Khadijah Whittington were named to the first team while senior center Gillian Goring was included on the second team.

Key finished the tournament averaging 16.3 points per game, including a personal ACC Tournament career-high 21 points in State’s upset of No. 1 Duke in the semifinal round. Key led the Pack in scoring in both the Duke and Carolina game, where she scored 14 points.

Whittington battled through several bumps and bruises over the weekend, including a busted lip and twisted ankle, to average 9.3 points per game and grab 36 rebounds, the fifth most in tournament history. The record is held by Maryland’s Vicky Bullet who pulled down 40 rebounds in teh 1989 tournament.

Joining Key and Whittington on the first team were Duke sophomore guard Abby Waner who made 11-of-18 three-point shots in two games, Carolina senior center Erlana Larkins and tournament MVP senior guard Ivory Latta.

Latta finished the tournament with 12 three pointers, a record for a three-game run. Also, the 12 three pointers pushed her career tournament three-point total to 36, the best all-time.

Goring finished the tournament averaging 12.7 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. Goring scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds in the quarterfinal game against Florida State. Goring played a limited role in today’s championship game due to illness, scoring only four points in 22 minutes.

Goring was joined on the second team by Carolina senior forward Camille Little, Duke senior center Alison Bales, and Maryland sophomore guard Marissa Coleman and junior center Crystal Langhorn.

Posted in Women's ACC Tournament | No Comments »

March 3rd, 2007

State upends Duke in 70-65 upset

By justin on March 3rd, 2007

Here are some of the developments of today’s tournament action:

1) Atmosphere - Today the Greensboro Coliseum had a sell-out crowd with 11,538 fans in attendance. Of those in attendance, there were plenty of Wolfpack faithful cheering on the women along with many fans from North Carolina, Duke and Maryland. Interestingly a large proportion of Tar Heel and Terrapin fans cheered religiously for State to pull the upset over the Blue Devils. Whether the motivation for this cheering was a result of the Pack being the underdog, support for coach Kay Yow or simply because Carolina and Maryland fans would rather face State in the championship game is for you to ponder.

2) Physical Play - You can tell March Madness is in the air by the style of play so far in the tournament. All players are playing with an inspirational sense of determination - and have the bruises to prove it. Junior forward Khadijah Whittington sustained a busted-lip in yesterdays win over Florida State and aggrivated that ailment in todays game against Duke. Also, Whittington sprained her ankle in today’s game when going for a rebound, and missed the final minutes of the first half. Senior forward Keisha Brown also incurred a busted-lip in the game when Duke freshman forward Joy Cheek elbowed her in the mouth after a play was over. The referees did not catch the jab by Cheek.

3) Senior Leadership - The play of the six seniors on State’s roster has been incredibly valuable during the close of the regular season and the current run in the tournament, but no performance was more important to today’s game than that of senior guard Ashley Key. Key scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half, including a couple of key baskets in the closing minutes of the game.

4) Championship Game - State, with its upset over Duke, earned a spot in its fifth ACC Tournament championship. Facing State will be North Carolina, who won 78-72 against national defending champions Maryland in the other semifinal game. The game will mark the third meeting between the two teams this season, with each team having defeated the other once. The last meeting was the last home game of the season for State, who won the contest 72-65. It should be interesting to see how the Pack hold up physically and emotionally after playing the emotional game against Duke today.

Posted in Women's ACC Tournament | No Comments »