ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-- They often find themselves occupying an unusual place on college basketball's biggest stage. Their names often fade with time, along with the spotlight they found at the Final Four.
Who can remember what Loy Vaught and Sean Higgins did for Michigan in helping the Wolverines beat Seton Hall for the national championship a decade ago? Or what Michael Graham did in Georgetown's title run in 1984?
The coaches in today's first NCAA tournament semifinal between Connecticut (32-2)and Ohio State (27-8) here at Tropicana Field are in agreement about who might decide the outcome.
It's not the star-studded backcourts featuring All-American Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin for the Huskies, and Big Ten Player of the Year Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd for the Buckeyes.
It's the matchup between blue-collar centers Jake Voskuhl for Connecticut and fast-improving Ken Johnson for Ohio State, as well as the one of undersized power forwards, Kevin Freeman for the Huskies and Jason Singleton for the Buckeyes.
"If Johnson plays like he did against St. John's," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said yesterday, "the Voskuhl-Johnson matchup maybe becomes the single most important matchup of the game."
Said Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien, "We are very concerned about Kevin Freeman on the blocks. I think you tend to spend so much time worried about Khalid and Hamilton that you forget about the abilities of some of the other guys."
Johnson, a 6-foot-11 junior, had a breakthrough performance in the South Regional final, collecting 12 points and blocking seven shots in a 77-74 victory over the Red Storm at Knoxville, Tenn.
Freeman, a 6-7 junior, continued to show why he is one of the most underrated players in the Big East, if not the country. He had a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with 13 points in a 67-62 win over Gonzaga in the West Regional final at Phoenix.
"I am ready to go out there and treat it like another game," said Johnson, who averages 6.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks a game. "I just have step it up and go out and play my game."
After failing to meet NCAA academic guidelines coming out of Henry Ford High School in Detroit, then sitting out his freshman year at Ohio State, Johnson became a starter early last season for the then-woeful Buckeyes.
In terms of his confidence, Johnson was more a farce than a force in the middle.
"Last year, I would play tougher guys and I'd think I was going to get beat up," said Johnson. "That was a downfall there. I wasn't too strong. This year, I've played against everyone and haven't been dominated yet."
At least not so far in the NCAA tournament. The biggest difference between Johnson's play in March, as compared with the rest of the season, is the fact that he hasn't been in foul trouble.
"I'm always concerned about his ability to stay in the game," said O'Brien. "What we've started to do the last 10 games or so is when he picks up a foul, we're a little quicker to take him out to make sure he stays available to us in the end."
But O'Brien sees a change in Johnson's approach, as well.
"I think he has matured a little bit," said O'Brien. "He's gotten a little more experience and understands, I hope, that he doesn't have to block every single shot, that sometimes it's OK if they score."
Calhoun has similar concerns about Voskuhl, who has committed a team-high 98 personal fouls but has fouled out only once this season. Voskuhl, a 6-11 junior, fouled out six times last season and nine times as a freshman.
"When Jake is out of the game, I can give you all the stats you want, but he's setting screens, being the anchor on defense, providing us muscle and size. Every game he's played well, we've played well," said Calhoun.
From the moment he showed up in Storrs, Freeman has helped the Huskies. After playing his senior year in high school in the shadow of phenom Tim Thomas in Paterson, N.J., Freeman has been in Hamilton's shadow, then El-Amin's.
Relegated to being a rebounder and defensive presence, Freeman thought he'd have a chance to become more of a scorer had Hamilton left for the NBA after last season. When Hamilton returned, Freeman stayed at power forward.
"A 'W' is more important to me than having my name in the paper," said Freeman, who has been a part of 82 wins and 22 losses in his three seasons.
Freeman is capable of putting up big numbers, as evidenced by his 24 points and 11 rebounds against Villanova earlier this season. Freeman has been one of Connecticut's most consistent players, scoring in double figures in 23 games, including the last six.
It will be Singleton's job to keep Freeman off the boards. Singleton might also see some time trying to slow down Hamilton should Redd pick up an early foul or two. The 6-5 senior has gained a reputation throughout the Big Ten for his defense.
Asked yesterday about Hamilton, Singleton said. "He's very aggressive and athletic. He's a good player, one of the best in the country. We're going to come out and match his intensity and try to stop him."
Singleton knows that it will still be up to Penn and Redd to lead the Buckeyes offensively, just as the Huskies have counted on Hamilton and El-Amin. But two-man teams don't get this far in March.
Pub Date: 3/27/99