Tar Heels’ Revenge Is Complete

An hour before the game Antawn Jamison couldn’t play, and then he did.

When he came out for the pregame shootaround late Sunday morning, it still looked bleak. Jamison didn’t run at all, and he had a pained expression and appeared to have trouble even standing up straight as he launched jump shots.

Jamison apparently recovered from his groin injury enough to score 22 points and grab 18 rebounds to lead No. 4 North Carolina to an 83-68 victory over No. 1 Duke for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship and the right to become the top-seeded team in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament.

Duke’s consolation prize was top seeding in the South.

“We may find out what that injury is and give it to everybody,” joked Coach Bill Guthridge, who spent a good part of Sunday afternoon giving credit to his predecessor and good friend.

“This is still Dean’s [Smith] team,” said Guthridge, 60, who became only the third coach in ACC history to win the tournament title in his first season. “He was the one who recruited them all and trained them all. I know he’s smiling.”

The Tar Heels (30-3) said Guthridge, the third coach in NCAA history to win 30 games in his first season, was being too modest.

“For us, we know it’s Coach Gut’s team,” said point guard Ed Cota. “He’s done a great job for us. He doesn’t want to take any credit, but we owe all of this to Coach Gut. Part of it is also owed to us--we’re a veteran team--but he’s the man behind the scene.”

North Carolina got through the tournament by beating all three of the teams it had lost to during the regular season.

Shammond Williams, the tournament most valuable player after making 27 of 49 shots and grabbing 34 rebounds in wins over N.C. State, Maryland and Duke, had 19 points against the Blue Devils as North Carolina defended its ACC title and won consecutive crowns for the first time since 1981-82.

Roshown McLeod led Duke (29-3) with 24 points and Chris Carrawell had 18.

After the game a spent guard Steve Wojciechowski, who has been fighting flu and a fever, collapsed in the shower.

“Steve became dehydrated from the effects of the flu,” team doctor Kevin Speer said. “He was a little woozy but he never lost consciousness.”

BIG 12

No. 3 Kansas 72, Oklahoma 58--Paul Pierce, a likely hero, and unlikely ones Ryan Robertson and T.J. Pugh helped the Jayhawks finally solve Oklahoma’s collapsing zone defense and beat the Sooners at Kansas City.

With three-point specialist Billy Thomas sitting out a third consecutive game because of a groin injury, Oklahoma’s zone collapsed on All-America center Raef LaFrentz, holding him to two points in the first half.

But Pierce scored 26 points overall and took charge in the second half to lead a 23-6 run that gave Kansas (34-3) its second consecutive Big 12 tournament title.

Robertson scored 10 points and made two three-point baskets to help break the Sooner defense.

“We were going to force them to shoot from the outside,” Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “What hurt us was that they stepped up and made the three-pointers. The factor we could not overcome was Ryan hitting the two [three-pointers]. Pierce was not the difference in the game. It was Ryan.”

Robertson disagreed.

“Paul [Pierce] is the story of the game,” he said. “I think I got two good looks [on three-pointers] and I was fortunate they went in.

“I’m the second-best shooter on this team, and it’s tough to fight a zone defense without any outside play.”

It was the Sooners’ (22-10) first time in the league tournament championship game since 1990.

Kansas became the 19th team in NCAA history to win 34 games in a season.

With Thomas out, Robertson was shifted from his normal point guard position to off-guard for much of the first half, and the Jayhawks desperately tried to generate some outside shooting.

Pugh, a 6-foot-8 defensive specialist averaging 5.9 points a game, scored 12 points.

LaFrentz finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

SOUTHEASTERN

No. 7 Kentucky 86, No. 15 South Carolina 56--Allen Edwards scored 15 points, had five assists and made three steals at Atlanta on the day after missing a game to attend his mother’s funeral, and sparked the Wildcats to the conference tournament championship for the sixth time in seven years.

“This has been a tough time in my life,” said Edwards, who flew back to Atlanta after the funeral in Holly Hill, S.C. “But I’m an adult. I’ve got to go on in my life. I couldn’t let my mother’s passing stop my life.”

He combined with tournament MVP Wayne Turner to thoroughly outplay South Carolina’s backcourt of BJ McKie and Melvin Watson.

Turner scored 18 points as Kentucky (29-4) won its 21st SEC tournament championship.

The Wildcats won three tournament games by an average of 22 points, the biggest blowout coming against South Carolina (23-7).