Several media outlets are reporting that North Carolina is hiring assistant Hubert Davis as its new male basketball coach. This is after Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams retired last week. The News and Observer is among several publications reporting that the UNC board of trustees will meet at this time to approve Davis’ hiring. In other sports news, the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks have been lost in a moving way. And we will have a preview of the most anticipated high school football games of the spring season. With “All Things Considered” presenter Gwendolyn Glenn, to talk about sports is Langston Wertz Jr., a longtime sports journalist for The Charlotte Observer.
Game audio Ryan Ruocco: And Brink loses. Boston has it! Press for Beal. Two seconds left! Beal … loses. Boston … NOOOOO !!!!! Aliyah Boston’s accompaniment only misses the bell.
Glenn: And so, the Lady Gamecocks season is over. Langston, what led to the last second bucket?
Wertz: Oh, man, that was heartbreak. You know, last year’s USC team didn’t get a chance to go to the tournament (NCAA). They may have been the best team in the school’s history. They went 19-0 in a conference game. They had 13 wins over ranked opponents. They beat UConn by 18. This year, they reach the semifinals. They had two attempts to win a championship. They dropped one. They stole the ball. Bria Beal stole it. She drove, took a Euro step … missed. All-American Aliyah Boston, got the rebound, straight to the right just in front of the rim, and hit the back of the rim as if he were entering. I was halfway out of my chair screaming, that game was so good.
Glenn: And, of course, coach Dawn Staley says she is proud of her team and how they played. Who will be back next year and how do you think their future will be?
Wertz: Oh, the starters are coming back, including Zia Cooke, who scored all points in the race. Aliyah Boston is back. And they also have the country’s number one recruiting class next year. And Gwen, I wouldn’t bet against them. I think they are the favorite chances to narrow them down next year.
Glenn: OK, no North or South Carolina teams were in the men’s NCAA. But we are going to slide into the Gonzaga and UCLA game this weekend that still has people talking.
Game audio Jim Nantz: “Juzang … again with the ball in his hands in the painting. Floater! Low! I took it back, tie it with three seconds left. Gonzaga has time to do something. Suggs for the win! Ohhhh. YES. YES. Unbelievable…”
Glenn: Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated UCLA Bruins 93-90 in a last-second shot by freshman Jalen Suggs. This was a swing game, Langston, until the last shot.
Wertz: Yes, I mean, Gonzaga has been training everyone throughout the season. I think, you know, a seed number one playing seed number 11. Everyone thought they would just play for UCLA, in the same way that Baylor won the semifinal against Houston, UCLA had the lead in much of that game. Gonzaga in a tight game or a little behind, goes down and goes into overtime. And Jalen Suggs made two phenomenal plays. You know, he had a robbery and an assist, and then, after Johnny Juzang took his rebound and put it in, and everyone started shouting, “Let’s go for a second overtime”. This guy goes down and up a step inside the half-block line and knows that she is entering. He ran out before she entered.
Glenn: It was a good game. We proceeded to high school football and Friday’s game between No. 2 at Hough High School and No. 1 at Vance. Tell us about the strengths and weaknesses, Langston, of these two powers.
Wertz: There are not many weaknesses. These are the two best teams in North Carolina. Hough lost, Gwen, as 11 players, 10 of them went to school earlier and one dropped out of the season. And when you lose 11 games and are still 6-0, you’re still the second best team in the state, it’s an incredible job that your coach did. Then I take my hat off to Hough. Vance is the killer program. They look like the dominant team in the state now. They are a young team, but they are battle tested. They are the state champions, but Hough beat them last year. And this is the game of the year in the state of North Carolina, it is the game of the year in Charlotte. These two teams are likely to play again, in the state playoffs at some point. But these are all marbles, here it is very important to get seed number one.
Langston Wertz Jr is a longtime sports journalist for The Charlotte Observer.