Smith
proves unstoppable in second half
By Seth Schwartz
Staff
Writer
After limiting him to only
two points in the first half, the second toughest defense in the nation
could not find a way to stop Rodney Smith Wednesday night.
The Big Ten conference's
sixth leading scorer (16.4 points per game) led Purdue on a 10-2 run
after a quick field goal by Wisconsin's Roy Boone to start the second
half. All 10 points were attributed to Smith.
Smith finished eight for
14 from the field for 19 points, including seven out of 10 for 17 points
in the second half, en route to Purdue's 73-67 victory.
"At halftime, that was the
only thing that Coach (Gene Keady) stressed, somebody has to make a
shot," said Smith. "In the first half, I wasn't getting the ball in
a position where I could score. So in the second half I wanted to get
it in the low post to start off, because once I hit inside shots, then
I feel that I can make a lot of outside shots. Then that opens up my
dribble game where I can then just take somebody off the dribble and
pull up."
Smith did all of that working
for him Wednesday night. After making his first two 3-point shots, Smith
excitedly threw a few uppercuts into the air as he ran back up the court.
Two minutes later, after a nice crossover dribble, Smith dropped in
another 3-pointer to which he again threw some uppercuts in the air.
"I always feel like I can
hit my shots," said Smith. "Coach tries to tell me not to shoot it so
much, but forget that. I just put that out of my head and I know that
I'm going to hit my shot."
Keady said, "At the half
he came out and really gave us a lift offensively. He's probably one
of the most improved forwards in the league. He's really made great
strides in developing his game."
Smith's determination played
a large role in the Boilermakers’ victory.
"I wasn't going to let my
team lose," said Smith. "We had come too far and fought too hard against
Wisconsin because they're a tough team. Once they get a two-point lead
on you, it’s like a 20-point lead on any other team."
Although Keady disagreed,
Smith thought that last year's NCAA Tournament loss to Wisconsin played
a role in the team's motivation, as well as his own.
"That's the reason we play
the game," Smith said. "To go to the Final Four, and they took that
away from us and that was in our head all year. We wanted to come out
and play as hard as we could and we did."
|
