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Message: [QUOTE="LStudfellow, post: 3004172, member: 5436"] Actually, if it was not for Josh Boone in the National Semi-Final game against Duke, we would not have won our 2nd title in 2004. To recap: not only did he have 9 points and much more importantly 14 rebounds (14 rebounds... In a Final Four game... as a freshman!), he helped keep us within shouting distance while Emeka sat out much of the first half with 2 fouls. Furthermore, during our amazing comeback at the end of that game, he made several awesome BB IQ plays that led directly to us winning... the fact Calhoun even had him in the game over Charlie Villanueva throughout that run says a heck of a lot right there, as Calhoun would rarely play a freshman at the end of big games: 1. With the score 75-72 Duke and 1:35 left, he dove on the floor (on defense), grabbing a loose ball off of a block by Emeka and called timeout before sliding out of bounds or allowing a Duke player to get their hands on the ball causing a tie up and a jump ball (the possession arrow was in Duke's favor at that point). 2. With score 75-74 he played excellent D against Luol Deng on a 3-pointer, forcing Deng to alter his shot just enough so that it hit iron. Good guys rebound with 45 seconds left. 3. Then, on that next trip down the floor, on our most important offensive possession of the game, Emeka misses a contested 6-foot fade away... but who is johnnie on the spot? Josh Boone, who out-positions Deng to tip the ball back over to Emeka, who makes a strong move to the hoop off the scramble and hits a lay-in to give us our first lead since early in the first half. In fact, going back and re-watching it reminded me of just how important Josh Boone was to us winning that 2nd National Title. 3 HUGE plays in that game against Duke, all of which illustrated his high level of skill and mental acuity. So, I would say yes... in fact, EMPHATICALLY YES, we would all love it if Wahab were to be like Josh Boone, particularly next year in his freshman year. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach