They’ll Ask the Post Men to Deliver

Michigan State beat Duke in an Austin regional semifinal and it was an upset.

Michigan State beat Kentucky in a regional final and it was an upset.

Now Michigan State prepares to take on North Carolina today in an NCAA Final Four semifinal, and if the Spartans were to win again it would be another upset.

“No one thinks of us as one of the great programs,” Spartan guard Shannon Brown said Friday afternoon, “even though we’ve been right up there for a while now. But that’s OK. We’ll just keep being the underdogs.”

The Spartans under Coach Tom Izzo have appeared in four of the last seven Final Fours, a record that upper-crust programs such as Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina don’t have. Izzo has a national title, in 2000, while North Carolina Coach Roy Williams is chasing his first.

Many college basketball fans can tick off the names, talents and accomplishments of North Carolina’s stars:

Center Sean May has a soft shooting touch and a father, Scott May, who played on the last undefeated national championship team, at Indiana in 1976. Guards Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants have fabulous speed and skills with a touch of brashness that sometimes needs to be reined in. Forward Jawad Williams has become a mighty defensive presence. Freshman Marvin Williams jumps off the bench filled with rookie energy and talent that makes it likely he’ll be in the NBA a year from now.

“Everybody’s heard of those guys,” Spartan center Paul Davis said, “but not as many people know about us.”

Indeed, Davis was invited to the same high school all-star games where May played. But until midway through this season, Davis was considered a laggard, an unassertive young man with a temperament and laid-back attitude that left him easily pushed around. May, though he was sometimes criticized about his penchant for carrying excess weight, has been considered a premier player since his freshman season.

Yet if there is a key matchup in today’s game, it will be Davis against May.

In the truest sense, these are two centers -- post men who use their height and weight to own the inside, but who aren’t great leapers ... or inclined to leave the lane to shoot three-point shots

Izzo said he looks forward to watching Davis, who is 6 feet 11 and 267 pounds, bump and push and shove with the 6-9, 260-pound May.

“No doubt,” Izzo said, “Sean May is playing the best basketball he’s played since he’s been there. At the same time, I think Paul Davis, in a different way, is playing some of his best basketball.

“They both rebound pretty well. What May has is incredible hands. What Davis has is more size. I think it is a critical matchup on who can run the court best because we’re going to try to run them; they’re going to try to run us. Sean gets phenomenal position down on the blocks if you let him get there early. So Paul can’t let him get to his spot.”

May agreed, saying, “I think I have a fairly good grasp on the history of basketball. Back when my dad played, the game was played through the post. The evolution of the game, it’s gotten more with guard play.

“This game, I think, will be a battle of the bigs. Davis and I, I think we both have an old-school type of game. We’re not really high-risers. We both have kind of a laid-back attitude. We play the game in the same type of way. We know the fundamentals. It will be kind of a throwback situation.”

Davis’ teammate, forward Alan Anderson, said it has taken time for Davis to believe in himself.

“Maybe when you’re not as acclaimed you don’t think you should be great,” Anderson said. “But finally I think Paul understands how good he is.”

Just like the Spartan team.

May has never had reason to doubt himself.

“Sean’s talent has always been evident,” Tar Heel senior Melvin Scott said. “Everybody knows that.”

Just like the Tar Heel team.