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Message: [QUOTE="BoomBoom, post: 2658696, member: 5759"] That was a clinical dismantling. The Gamecocks looked resigned to the dismantling almost the whole game. A'ja tried to settle the team down and certainly led by example. But wow. Even Holly Rowe's early bit about the Wilson family feeling at peace with whatever happens...Dawn's decline of timeouts...and so on. Nearly every aspect of the game had a feel of "Dead Man Walking." Geno endearingly looked like the cat that swallowed the canary during his in-game interview. Cutting Holly off to say he wanted to be in a Capital One commercial...LOL. HE. WAS. AMPED. UP. And rightly so. How many times have we seen Geno abruptly end an interview because he wasn't happy with how the team was playing? And here he was derailing the interview before it could even begin. Casting himself alongside Holly...now that was a merciful upgrade from Charles, Spike, and Samuel. Congrats to A'ja on a brilliant career (and to the Gamecocks for making the Elite 8). We often talk about the impact Kia has--even when it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. A'ja's impact certainly wasn't limited to the stat sheet. I was trying to think of other examples of star players who stayed local, ignited or exponentially accelerated the resurrection of a program, AND won a national championship in the process. I mean. Dang. Help with thinking of any? A couple of recent players come to mind, but they don't have all the elements A'ja's narrative has had. Skylar didn't need to resurrect ND, even as she catapulted ND to a new era of excellence. And there wasn't a championship. In A'ja's own class, Kelsey Mitchell could have been another such player. But didn't end up close. Regardless of how preordained NPOY has seemed this year, it would be hard not to give A'ja the award on career impact alone (yes yes yes...OY stands for "of the year" not "career" but still...tell that to the Oscars). The NPOY conversation may seem preordained, but A'ja's career hasn't been. In the end: SC back to Columbia. Huskies to Columbus! [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach