Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 30, 1990 TAG: 9007300067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SEATTLE LENGTH: Medium
With the absence of Nevada-Las Vegas' Stacey Augmon, considered the nation's top defensive player, Day, the slender swingman from Arkansas, has stepped up and filled the role admirably.
Sunday night's gold-medal game against Yugoslavia was to be Day's third straight with the assignment of shutting down the other team's top scorer. All three have different styles.
"These foreign teams play one guard and four big men, even if you do want to call those 6-8 guys guards," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our guards have a hard time covering them because of their size, so there is a need for Todd to do that, and because of that need, he was able to get into the starting lineup."
Day's first start came against Italy, the game after the U.S. team's loss to the Soviet Union.
Day was assigned to cover Antonella Riva, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who had scored 34 and 29 points on a combined 21-for-38 shooting. Day harassed him into a 6-for-16 effort and 21 points - and a couple of temper outbursts - in the United States' 113-76 victory in the final qualifying game.
Next was the semifinal against Brazil and 6-9, 225-pound Oscar Schmidt, probably the world's best scorer.
"Every defense in the world had been tried on him and we told Todd to make him put it on the floor and not get inside and to the foul line," Krzyzewski said.
Schmidt did score 38 points, but his first points didn't come until more than five minutes had been played. Again, there were fits of frustration against Day and the officials in the 112-95 U.S. victory.
"I hope people realize how tough that assignment was for Todd," Krzyzewski said. "Oscar is a legitimate 225 pounds and Todd doesn't have much meat on his bones."
Against Yugoslavia, Day was to go against Toni Kukoc, a 6-9 1/2 guard who was the Chicago Bulls' only draft choice this year.
Day was not Arkansas' stopper on the way to the Final Four last year. Lee Mayberry, also a U.S. national team member, handled the smaller assignments and forward Lenzie Howell took the big men.
Krzyzewski noticed Day's defensive abilities in one of the national team's scrimmages at Duke.
"I think he can be a great defender," Krzyzewski said. "He's been a good defender here. I saw that at the exhibition where, for a while, he was matched up against Johnny Dawkins. He can spread himself out at 6-8, and when he did Johnny couldn't get by him. I think we can use him a number of ways, but we don't want to take away from his offensive skills."
Day, averaging 20.5 points per game, is the third-leading scorer behind Billy Owens of Syracuse and Kenny Anderson of Georgia Tech. He is averaging 3.8 rebounds and has seven assists and just two turnovers in four games.
"Todd has adjusted to what we need from him," Krzyzewski said, "and he hasn't let it knock him off his game."
Sergei Bazarevich scored 24 points and added 12 assists, and the Soviet Union scored the game's final six points for a 109-103 victory over Brazil and the bronze medal Sunday afternoon.
The Soviets led 84-74 with 8:46 to play, but Brazil, led by Schmidt's 44 points, went on a 19-8 run for a 93-92 lead with 4:30 to play. Andrei Lopatov broke a 103-103 tie with a jumper in the lane with 1:40 left. Bazarevich made it 107-103 with a bank shot with 55 seconds left and Viktor Berezhnoi ended the scoring with a dunk with five seconds to play. Schmidt finished as the tournament's high scorer with 183 points, 36.6 per game. Valeri Tikhonenko led the Soviets with 30 points.
Andrew Gaze hit for 44 points, including 29 in the first half, as Australia claimed fifth place by beating Puerto Rico 116-92. Jimmy Carter scored 25 points and Ramon Rivas 16 for Puerto Rico. Gaze, the second-leading scorer at the Seoul Olympics and a starter on Seton Hall's Final Four team in 1989, finished with 178 points in his five games, an average of 35.6.
by CNB