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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Bennett sat in front of the microphone and immediately stated the obvious.
"I haven't been here before," he said. "So I'm not used to giving general comments."
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| Tony Bennett has pointed WSU to its first back-to-back NCAA tourney appearances. (AP) |
Which school, in November 2006, would've been most unlikely to play in the 2008 Sweet 16?
A.) Davidson
B.) Western Kentucky
C.) Washington State
Correct answer: C.) Washington State.
Explanation: It's never unreasonable to expect Davidson to win the Southern Conference or Western Kentucky to win the Sun Belt Conference and in turn make the NCAA tournament and then possibly make a run. With an automatic bid and a lucky draw, a Davidson or Western Kentucky is always capable of escaping the first weekend. Seems to happen every few years for a program from a similar league with similar attributes. Just check the record book.
But Washington State?
Washington State making the Sweet 16 is silly.
Washington State was a lifeless program with no expectations when Bennett took over before last season, an afterthought in the powerful Pac-10. And a program fitting that description has little chance of ever making the NCAA tournament, much less advancing, because a team representing what is generally regarded as the ninth-best program in a 10-program league will always find it difficult to earn a bid -- which is why the Cougars had appeared in just four NCAA tournaments before last season compared to Western Kentucky's 19 and Davidson's eight.
So from a big-picture standpoint, what Bennett has accomplished at Washington State is more impressive than what Bob McKillop has accomplished at Davidson and what Darrin Horn has accomplished at Western Kentucky. Simply put, this stuff isn't supposed to happen at Washington State. It was impossible to imagine even two years ago, and perhaps that's why the Cougars seemed completely out of place during Wednesday's interview session -- though the real reason might be because, well, they are completely out of place.
For those who didn't notice the dateline, I'm in Charlotte.
Which is in the South.
And the host city for the East Region.
Joining me here is Louisville, a power from the South. And North Carolina, a power from the South. And Tennessee, a power from the South. I mean, everybody here is from the South, including myself (raised in Mississippi). And then there's Washington State, a non-power from the West. Or the North. But certainly not the South. So the Cougars' first trip to the Sweet 16 has them in an unfamiliar part of the country (2,656 miles from home) surrounded by unfamiliar schools from unfamiliar leagues while talking to unfamiliar reporters, almost all of whom want to ask about that unfamiliar style of play.
You know, the style Roy Williams doesn't like too much.
"I'm a fan of basketball going up and down the court," the North Carolina coach said Wednesday before later adding that "the number of people who enjoy seeing 19-18 (scores at the half) is not as many as the number of people that like to see 61-60. If you were to take a poll you would pick 61-60."
No argument here.
But Washington State doesn't mind 19-18 at the half, so long as it is the one with 19. And if you want to call it boring, that's fine. But don't expect the Cougars to apologize, even though they're the outsiders in this region and surrounded by three schools that love to push the ball and score in transition.
"People say it's boring, but we shouldn't have to apologize for getting back on defense," said Washington State's Derrick Low. "That's what we have to do to win. And we shouldn't have to apologize for taking good shots even if it takes the whole shot clock to get a good shot. That's how we play whether you like it or not. And it's working."
Yes, it is indeed working.
At a place where little has ever worked before.
At a place where basketball isn't supposed to work.
At a place far away from this East Region, where these boring Cougars have emerged ... with no apologies.