When Massachusetts struggled to a 6-5 start this season, the
Minutemen seemed to be in danger of missing the NCAA tournament
for the first time in seven years. But after last Saturday's
81-71 victory over La Salle, UMass (19-6, 11-1 in the Atlantic
10) had won 13 of its last 14, including six conference road
games, to virtually lock up another berth.
The turnaround is similar to one the Minutemen pulled off last
season, when Massachusetts put together a 14-4 run after having
dropped six of its first nine games. That slow start had been
expected. UMass was fresh off a 35-2 season and a Final Four
appearance but had lost Marcus Camby, the 1996 player of the
year, to the Toronto Raptors and coach John Calipari to the New
Jersey Nets. This season the Minutemen were slow to adjust to
the loss of guards Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso, both of
whom graduated, and at times it seemed that their departure
might be insurmountable. Instead, the Refuse to Lose! slogan
adopted by Calipari in '92 kicked in. "This team has a chance to
do great things, but we have a lot of young guys who are still
learning," says forward Tyrone Weeks, the only senior among four
juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen on the roster.
No player has learned more than Lari Ketner, a 6'10", 268-pound
junior center who has blossomed into an NBA prospect. He brought
back memories of Camby by scoring a career-high 33 points in an
85-69 victory over Dayton on Feb. 1. Last Saturday he had 15
points and nine rebounds against a La Salle team that many
Philadelphians had hoped he would play for after he graduated
from nearby Roman Catholic High in 1995. "Last year I didn't
have a lot of confidence, but now things are starting to click
for me," says Ketner.
Things are also clicking for Massachusetts, which is poised to
win its sixth Atlantic 10 title in the last seven years. The
Minutemen attribute their success mostly to defense—they are
holding opponents to 38.7% shooting—and to a young team that
has grown up. "I was a little worried at the beginning of the
season," says coach James (Bruiser) Flint, "but they grew up
faster than I thought."
Issue date: February 23, 1998
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