Mercer Can’t Shake Defenders

If Ron Mercer was humming a tune during Monday night’s NCAA finals, it was surely “Me and My Shadow.” And it had a depressing beat to it.

Everywhere Kentucky’s sophomore star went, there was an Arizona defender breathing down his neck, sticking a hand in his face or fighting through a screen to deny him a pass.

“We knew (Mercer) would curl and cut a lot, and our objective was to fight around the screens and be there when he got the ball,” Arizona’s Miles Simon said.

How effective were the Pac-10 Wildcats in smothering Mercer?

The 6-foot-7 All-American got off only nine shots - four in the first half, five in the second - and scored 13 points, five below his average. It was the third fewest shots Mercer had managed in a game this season. He took eight against Iowa and seven against Arkansas.

“You can’t take any credit away from (Arizona),” Mercer said after closing his college career one victory shy of a second national championship. “They played outstanding defense. Every time I curled around, they had somebody waiting for me. They made it tough for me to score.”