Saturday, March 20, 2004
MIAH GETTING HIS PROPS FROM THE NATIONAL MEDIA
CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd "Little-known Pacific makes biggest noise of tourney"
IMO, this is the story of the NCAA Tournament so far. Am I biased? Yes. But let's be honest, America loves the little known teams come tournament time. Manhattan is one of those teams. But tonight, Miah Davis made Pacific "that team".
Davis dropped in Thomason's lap after stops at Modesto (Calif.) Junior College and Division II Cal State-Stanislaus. Davis had qualified out of Bremerton (Wash.) High School but ...
"I didn't know him at all," Thomason said.
After a transfer year in 2001-2002, he averaged 10.1 points in 2002-2003 and led the Tigers this year with 14.7 points per game.
It's hard to replicate the kid's handle and speed on film. That's why Thomason has been able to ride the talents of Davis, the Big West player of the year, to get to this point. The 6-footer stepped back and stuck a three in the face of a Providence defender with 93 seconds left to push the lead to an insurmountable 61-54.
"I didn't think they respected us too well," Davis said. "It's a shot you practice every day, go to the gym and shoot by yourself. It went in, thank God."
I was watching the Pacific game off and on between the CBS affiliate here and AOL Broadband. Hell, when the game wasn't on either of those outlets, I went to Pacific's website and listened to their radio feed. I was able to see that clutch three pointer with 1:33 left. What a shot. Folks, that's the Miah Davis Bremertonians know and love. It was nothing new to me. He did those things throughout his high school career. It's just that he did this on the national stage.
As for the respect issue, I wouldn't worry about it, Miah. They're just an overrated Big East team.
Pacific has won 16 in a row, second only to Gonzaga's 21 game winning streak. They were 17-1 in the Big West Conference in 2003-2004, losing only to Utah State in Logan. This isn't a team that was lucky to be here only because Utah State lost in the Big West Tournament. Pacific is for real. It's not just Miah. It's guys such as Christian Maraker, who averaged over 20 points a game this season. And he's only a sophomore. I would be remissed if I forgot about Guillaume Yango, who scored 19 points in the Tigers' victory. For the first 10 minutes of the second half, he was the only Tiger who was able to score.
Pacific plays Kansas Sunday afternoon in Kansas City's Kemper Arena. It should be a great game. And in this tournament, where there really aren't too many lower-seeded teams, the stage could be set for Miah and the Pacific Tigers to make some more noise. Game time is TBD.
I may not be in Bremerton or the state of Washington tonight, but I'm damn proud of Miah Davis. He's a class act who deserves nothing but the best. I hope he can make this run last a little longer. He's a great ballplayer and I'm just happy that the nation is getting to see him play.
We salute you, Miah, and the rest of the Pacific Tigers. Beat Kansas Sunday.
IMO, this is the story of the NCAA Tournament so far. Am I biased? Yes. But let's be honest, America loves the little known teams come tournament time. Manhattan is one of those teams. But tonight, Miah Davis made Pacific "that team".
Davis dropped in Thomason's lap after stops at Modesto (Calif.) Junior College and Division II Cal State-Stanislaus. Davis had qualified out of Bremerton (Wash.) High School but ...
"I didn't know him at all," Thomason said.
After a transfer year in 2001-2002, he averaged 10.1 points in 2002-2003 and led the Tigers this year with 14.7 points per game.
It's hard to replicate the kid's handle and speed on film. That's why Thomason has been able to ride the talents of Davis, the Big West player of the year, to get to this point. The 6-footer stepped back and stuck a three in the face of a Providence defender with 93 seconds left to push the lead to an insurmountable 61-54.
"I didn't think they respected us too well," Davis said. "It's a shot you practice every day, go to the gym and shoot by yourself. It went in, thank God."
I was watching the Pacific game off and on between the CBS affiliate here and AOL Broadband. Hell, when the game wasn't on either of those outlets, I went to Pacific's website and listened to their radio feed. I was able to see that clutch three pointer with 1:33 left. What a shot. Folks, that's the Miah Davis Bremertonians know and love. It was nothing new to me. He did those things throughout his high school career. It's just that he did this on the national stage.
As for the respect issue, I wouldn't worry about it, Miah. They're just an overrated Big East team.
Pacific has won 16 in a row, second only to Gonzaga's 21 game winning streak. They were 17-1 in the Big West Conference in 2003-2004, losing only to Utah State in Logan. This isn't a team that was lucky to be here only because Utah State lost in the Big West Tournament. Pacific is for real. It's not just Miah. It's guys such as Christian Maraker, who averaged over 20 points a game this season. And he's only a sophomore. I would be remissed if I forgot about Guillaume Yango, who scored 19 points in the Tigers' victory. For the first 10 minutes of the second half, he was the only Tiger who was able to score.
Pacific plays Kansas Sunday afternoon in Kansas City's Kemper Arena. It should be a great game. And in this tournament, where there really aren't too many lower-seeded teams, the stage could be set for Miah and the Pacific Tigers to make some more noise. Game time is TBD.
I may not be in Bremerton or the state of Washington tonight, but I'm damn proud of Miah Davis. He's a class act who deserves nothing but the best. I hope he can make this run last a little longer. He's a great ballplayer and I'm just happy that the nation is getting to see him play.
We salute you, Miah, and the rest of the Pacific Tigers. Beat Kansas Sunday.
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