ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TIMOTHY W. SMITH NEW YORK TIMES
AND SO ARE OPPONENTS who take the UMass All-American lightly.
The fire inside Marcus Camby was smoldering long before Massachusetts coach John Calipari came to ignite it during the warm-ups for the second half of the NCAA East Regional final against Georgetown. There were flashes in the first half, when Camby delivered a forearm to the chest of Jahidi White as the Hoyas' 300-pound center lumbered downcourt in transition.
During the warm-ups, Calipari told his 6-foot-11 center to play ``with passion and emotion.'' But Camby already had made up his mind in the locker room.
``Taken it upon myself,'' he said.
There were no outward signs. No smashed chalkboards. No kicked water coolers.
At the start of the second half, Camby scored three consecutive baskets - a layup, an eight-foot turnaround jumper and an 11-foot jumper. He blocked a shot by Othella Harrington. And UMass was off to a 12-2 run that put away the Hoyas.
It was a cool, precise performance. Only later, with 3 minutes, 9 seconds left and the Minutemen ahead 77-57 did Camby finally show much emotion. He took a feed from guard Carmelo Travieso, slammed home a dunk, punctuated it with a flurry of punches to the air and let out a yell.
``The thing about the kid is he shows very little emotion on the floor,'' said John Thompson, Georgetown's coach. ``He really hides within his personality. Yet, he's aggressive in his playing.''
With the graduation last year of Lou Roe, UMass' forceful forward, the Minutemen lost the player who made them tough. That leadership void has been filled by Camby, who isn't as likely as Roe was to get in a teammate's face.
But the team has taken on Camby's persona of controlled aggression, and it has taken the Minutemen further in the NCAA Tournament than it ever had been.
UMass (35-1) is hoping Camby can help carry the team past Kentucky in the Final Four on Saturday at the Meadowlands and to a national championship.
``There are good players and there are special players,'' Calipari said this week. ``Marcus is a special player, because he makes everyone around him better.''
Camby, who won the Naismith Award this week as the country's top player, is averaging 20.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 blocks. His scoring average could be higher if he were the focal point of the UMass offense. Consider that in the season opener against Kentucky, Camby scored 32 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked five shots in a 92-82 victory.
He is an exceptional shot-blocker (122 this season for a UMass record) and his presence allows the Minutemen guards to be more aggressive on defense. On offense, Camby plays as well facing the basket as he does with his back to the basket.
``A 7-foot guard'' is the way Calipari describes him.
Camby's future was clouded when he collapsed before the start of a game against St.Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y., on Jan. 14. He spent five days at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, undergoing a series of tests that ruled out problems with his heart and brain.
Although he was cleared five days after the collapse, Camby, a junior from Hartford, Conn., sat out until Jan.27 against St.Bonaventure. He missed four games, all victories.
Now, he simply shrugs off the collapse. ``I feel just fine,'' he said. ``There's nothing wrong with me.''
On the court, few teams have been able to get to Camby.
Temple coach John Chaney, an Atlantic 10 Conference rival, whose teams usually are able to contain opposing centers with a matchup zone defense, said Camby presents special problems.
``The thing about Camby is that UMass has great balance,'' Chaney said. ``If he gets doubled or tripled inside, he just passes the ball outside to the guards.''
George Washington, another Atlantic 10 rival, is the only team to have beaten UMass this season. Camby did not have good games in the loss during the regular season or in the rematch during the conference tournament.
Both times he was frustrated by George Washington's 7-2 center, Alexander Koul. In the first game, Camby hit eight of 21 shots from the field, and in the tournament he was 6-of-23.
After the first game against Koul, Camby said, ``He had his way with me.'' During the rematch in the conference tournament, George Washington students taunted Camby by holding up signs with Camby's quote. Koul won the personal battle again, but UMass won the game.
Mike Jarvis, George Washington's coach, said he has noticed Camby doesn't like to be matched up against players who are bigger.
``It's not about being physical,'' Jarvis said. ``He's not bothered by the physical stuff. You have to have someone who is different and who, in his mind, poses a problem for him. Koul poses problems for him. When Yinka Dare was here, he posed problems for him.''
Whether Kentucky has anyone who can pose a problem for Camby is the question, especially after the Wildcats mugged 6-10 Tim Duncan while beating Wake Forest in the Midwest Regional final on Saturday.
No ducking the question. And no hesitating, either. ``I'm not Tim Duncan,'' Camby said.
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. UMass center Marcus Camby (right),by CNBbattling Virginia Tech's Myron Guillory and teammate Carmelo
Travieso for a loose ball, presents special problems for opponents.
color. Graphic: logo. color.