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| | Monday, January 17 | |||||
ESPN.com | ||||||
| The decision doesn't have to be made for months, but Mark Karcher knows it won't be easy when he has to choose between financially supporting his two children and staying another year at Temple.
Sometimes the decisions to declare for the draft aren't about draft status. The word among scouts is that Karcher is gone. But that's not the case, at least not yet, he said. It's not that easy. "I don't want that to come between me and college," Karcher said. "I love this team. I want to stick this year out. I've got to keep doing what I'm doing on the court." Karcher doesn't see Equan until the season is over when he has a chance to return to his hometown. But he does check in with his daughter regularly. "I don't let the pressure get me down," Karcher said. "I'm always ready for a challenge. But this is always on my mind, especially with my two kids. They make me want to play harder." Karcher has weathered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the Wisconsin game, one of only three losses for the Owls. Karcher still leads the team in scoring (16 points a game), and is second in rebounding (5.8), but his free-throw shooting (58.7 percent) needs to improve for the Owls to stay on track for their ultimate goal -- a Final Four berth.
Remember the Owls? They lost to Indiana in Springfield, Mass., fell to Wake Forest in Winston Salem, N.C., and were defeated at Wisconsin, the latter without Karcher and Sanchez. But since Sanchez's return two weeks ago, the Owls are slowly getting in a groove to mount a serious campaign for a Final Four berth. "We're in our third game of the season," said Sanchez, who is averaging 5.5 points, but 10 assists in four games overall. "We're starting over again. We're far from being the team that we're supposed to be, but Temple basketball always start slow. It probably takes us half the season to get where we want to be." Sanchez doesn't understand why Michigan State lost four games and stayed in the top 10 while Temple (No. 20) nearly dropped from the rankings after losing three. "We're still the same team that a month or two ago people thought was top five and Final Four," Sanchez said. "We're not close to being a great team, but that doesn't mean we won't be. We've got great players." Temple coach John Chaney rode the Owls hard after they easily beat Fordham Wednesday night. He was guarding against complacency, especially with Saturday's game at St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies (11-2, 3-0 in Atlantic 10) are the Owls' (9-3, 3-0) toughest competitor for the A-10 East title. Temple still has to play Maryland at The Forum at The Apollo of Temple on Feb. 13 and have potential trouble spots at Dayton (Feb. 17) and Cincinnati (Feb. 20). But the difference is a healthy Sanchez. When he was gone, the Owls' offense was lost as Karcher had to be more of a ballhandler. The defense was missing Sanchez's anticipation in the passing lanes. In a four-game tournament (that's all it is to get to the Final Four), the Owls' matchup zone defense is stingy enough to win all four games (they went 3-1 last year). Sanchez isn't full strength but he's getting wiser each game. He seems to lull opposing guards to sleep by standing at the top of the key and then whipping a pass inside for a layup, usually right past the ear of the defender. "I learned sitting out to be more patient," Sanchez said. "I've been running this team for four years, which is a great advantage. My wind isn't bad. I can run. But I don't have a second speed yet to break anybody down. That's why I try to play more like a quarterback and get people open. I just need to make something happen. I always play my best the second half of the season. This is just my third game." And, really, Temple's third, too.
Bearcats still dominant While most pundits are waiting for the Bearcats to wilt, few seem to recognize that they are cruising along as the most dominant team in the nation. Their only loss -- to Xavier -- was a game in which they simply didn't give a complete effort. It was easy to tell that they weren't into the game by the pregame comments that lessened the importance of the game (Pete Mickeal essentially said the Bearcats don't get into the game as much as the Musketeers). Friday night at midnight Eastern time, Cincinnati plays host to Ohio University. Coach Larry Hunter isn't expecting a college team to show up at the arena. He's convinced these players are as good as an old NBA team. "I think it's the old Cincinnati Royals disguised as the Bearcats," Hunter said. "We'd love to get them at our place instead of Shoemaker, but that won't happen."
UCLA looking for a center Instead of going to Rutgers he spent the first semester back in New Jersey and is now taking college prep classes at Long Beach City College. The former St. Anthony's center would be a coup for the Bruins. He's a wide-body with raw skills who would allow Dan Gadzuric to play a more natural power forward. Jerome Moiso, who would like to bolt to the NBA but isn't ready, could offer a nice rotation at center. Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Draft: Mihm's the word | |||||
