Injured Camby Sparkles
College basketball
An injured Marcus Camby was just as good as a healthy Marcus Camby.
Syracuse learned that Saturday night when the 6-foot-11 junior, injured in a game 24 hours earlier, stepped on the court 4 minutes into the championship game of the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, and proceeded to take over for top-ranked Massachusetts.
It resulted in the Minutemen (10-0) posting a 65-47 victory over the 13th-ranked Orangemen (11-1), with Camby scoring 20 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking three shots.
For good measure, he added two steals.
Camby had been listed as doubtful because of a deep knee bruise sustained in the game against Southern California. As it turned out, he played 33 minutes.
Having a pesky floor leader like Edgar Padilla also helped. He scored only eight points, but orchestrated the Massachusetts half-court offense to ease the pressure on Camby and then led a harassing defense that forced Syracuse into 24 turnovers, including 14 steals.
UMass coach John Calipari focused on the team’s defense before anything else.
“I thought the difference undoubtedly was our defensive pressure,” he said. “The kids played hard for 40 minutes straight and they never stopped playing hard.”
He added, “We didn’t hit a 3 tonight (0 for 8). But when our offense starts to click, I’ll sit down and say we’re a really good basketball team. You know why? Because we defend well, we rebound well and we play with passion.”
On Camby decision to play, Calipari said, “Marcus told me this morning that, if we needed him, he could go. After I found out it was bruised and there was no damage to his knee, I felt a lot more comfortable with the decision.”
Camby had a slight slight limp as he moved up and down the court and admitted it was sore after the game.
“Right now, it’s throbbing,” he said. “But, last night, I had a gut feeling. This morning, I told coach that if he needed me, I could play. I got it loosened up and ran a little.”
(21) Virginia Tech 62, Wright St. 46
Damon Watlington scored 20 points and Ace Custis added 16 and grabbed 17 rebounds, leading the Hokies over the Raiders for the 500th win of coach Bill Foster’s career.
Tech (6-1) used a 16-0 run to close the first half and open the second half, holding the Raiders (6-4) without a field goal for 8:17. The spree was highlighted by consecutive dunks off steals by Custis.
The game, originally scheduled for Blacksburg, Va., was moved to New Orleans to accommodate Tech fans attending the Sugar Bowl, where the Hokies met Texas on Sunday night.
The victory made Foster the 16th active coach and the 40th in NCAA Division I to reach that plateau. Foster, in his 28th season as a coach, has a 500-304 record.