Oden's longtime pal shines
ATLANTA - Two 7-foot Goliaths thundered across the floor in the Georgetown-Ohio State national semifinal Saturday night.
But the biggest difference-maker was only 6-foot-1. Dazzling Ohio State point guard Mike Conley Jr. directed his team to a 67-60 win in the Georgia Dome and a spot in the NCAA title game.
Conley was a high school teammate of Greg Oden in Indianapolis on a legendary prep squad. When the two went together to Ohio State, Conley's name was always mentioned second. He was the afterthought. The sidekick.
But in the first half Saturday, Oden picked up two fouls in the first 2 minutes 41 seconds and sat for the rest of the half. Conley was the freshman star. He was the one who made sure Ohio State never faltered and actually led by four points at halftime despite Oden's absence.
"When I first saw Michael Conley play," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said, "I thought he was the perfect point guard for our system. He has such a basketball IQ. When he gets the ball in his hands, he makes great decisions. And the biggest key -- he's the last one to leave the practice floor every day."
That first sentence, the one about being the perfect point guard for Ohio State's up-and-down system?
It's the same thing Roy Williams has said about Tywon Lawson at North Carolina. Tywon Lawson was also a highly-touted freshman point guard this season. But while Conley is one step slower than Tywon Lawson on an all-out fast break, he's better in the half-court offense and plays a more mature game.
Conley had 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and one turnover in 39 minutes Saturday. His decision-making was deft, his shot soft. Whenever possible, he pushed the ball Saturday, resulting in Ohio State scoring 14 points off the fast break compared to Georgetown's four.
"We knew if we were playing a half-court game, we were playing into their hands," Conley said. "They have a big front court. They can block a lot of shots. We didn't want to have to deal with that the whole game. Our style of play is to get up and down. Once we got our style established, that really helped us out."
Said Georgetown coach John Thompson III of Conley: "His poise is terrific. I mean, he just has an uncanny feel for the game."
Conley is the son of Mike Conley, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the triple jump. The younger Conley is a gifted athlete who can go to either hand and has great body control in the air. He has played on various teams with fellow freshman Oden--likely the NBA's No. 1 selection whenever he decides to enter the draft--since sixth grade.
"I don't really think about it too much, about me being overshadowed or anything," Conley said. "I just go out and play. Greg is deserving of all the attention that he gets. I'm happy for him. And I'm happy where I'm at. It's gotten me right here."
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