03-25-2006, 11:50 AM
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Everything we do is dictated by motive
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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DDN
3/25/06
Quote:
COMMENTARY
Tom Archdeacon: Pogue draws inspiration from coach
By Tom Archdeacon
Dayton Daily News
COLUMBUS | Forget facts. Perception is reality and Aaron Pogue is proof.
Before Friday's Division II state semifinal with Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary — the No. 1 team in the state —the 6-foot-8, 285-pound Dunbar center said he was inspired by the long talk he had with Wolverines' assistant coach Renaldo O'Neal before they left the hotel for the Schottenstein Center.
O'Neal was one of the starters on the 1987 Dunbar team that was the only Wolverines hoop squad ever to claim the crown. For the past two seasons, people have tried to link that team with this one and Friday Pogue said O'Neal made the connection.
"He's always telling us stories about that team and today he was teasing us with that ring he has on.
He put it in my face and said 'Oooh, don't this look nice? Don't you want one, too?' And he was right. It looked sooo good. I want a title ring just like his."
Told that story — after Pogue scored 18 points, had 10 rebounds and never missed a shot in Dunbar's 74-48 demolition of SVSM — Mark Baker, one of the stars of that '87 team, chuckled.
"Championship ring? We never got any rings," Baker grinned.
Later, O'Neal admitted: "Actually the ring's from the Mid-Continent (conference) Championship at Wright State .... But the idea is for them to make this a special moment like we did."
Dunbar — which meets Wooster Triway for the title today — did so Friday, especially Pogue, for whom SVSM coach Dru Joyce said, "We just didn't have an answer."
While the Wolverines' All-American Daequan Cook finished with 26 points and nine assists, it was Pogue who Dunbar coach Pete Pullen said did "the yeoman's job."
A year ago —when Dunbar was upset in the state semifinal —Pogue was in foul trouble early. This time he opened the game with a rousing dunk and kept the imposing presence all game, making all eight shots and bullying SVSM on both ends of the court.
"From the start, I wanted them to know they had nothing for me," said Pogue in a tone more honest than braggadocios. "Sometimes when that happens, other teams try everything. I've had punching, clipping, guys grabbing me in places they shouldn't be grabbing.
''Sometimes the crowd will say stuff. Other times, like today, the team tries to double or triple team me. By the end today, all they did was flop and hope the ref would give 'em a call."
As for Pogue — a still growing 17-year-old junior — he's getting calls too.
From college recruiters.
He said teams like Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Michigan State and Illinois have shown interest, but he hopes to be part of a package deal with the two stars of North College Hill — O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker: "We're all trying to look at the same schools."
Everyone senses big things to come from Pogue, which is why he, like Cook, was mobbed by autograph seekers at game's end. To many of them he was "Baby Shaq," while one of Friday's refs kept calling him "Big Man." To Dru Joyce , he was "a beast."
With a bit of a self-conscious giggle, Pogue admitted he has another nickname: "The girls call me Daddy Love."
He shrugged: "Hey, away from the game I'm different. They think I'm sweet, the sweetest thing you ever could meet."
Perception is reality — though SVSM might offer other facts.
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