Atlanta notebook: Superman's lament

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara said nothing was wrong. He said he was healthy and wasn't bothered by the injury he had disguised so well during the Big East tournament one week ago.

Anyone who has watched McNamara the past four years knew he wasn't telling the truth. When everything is OK, McNamara doesn't take a three-point shot and miss the rim. When everything is OK, McNamara doesn't spend the final five minutes on the bench when his team is behind.

McNamara doesn't go 0-for-6 from the field, shoot 0-for-5 from three-point range and score his only two points – both from the free-throw line. He doesn't play 10 minutes in the second half and only 23 for the game.

After lifting Syracuse off the NCAA bubble and leading the Orange to the Big East championship last Saturday night, all of college basketball wanted to paint a big S on his chest. Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Arena, McNamara's outstanding career ended with a 66-58 first-round loss to Texas A&M.

It turns out his right groin injury was a little like a stick of kryptonite. Even Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim didn't know how bad it was.

"He couldn't get his shots," Boeheim said. "He couldn't make plays. He just couldn't do things that he normally can do. He's crushed. He's disappointed. He's the ultimate competitive kid that wants to win and wants to help his team win. He's devastated when something like this happens."

McNamara had practiced with the Orange very little since lifting the Big East tournament trophy in Madison Square Garden. How he got through those four games there, no one will ever know. Boeheim said he could tell early Thursday night that McNamara wasn't himself. His star player would never ask out, and words weren't necessary. They both realized McNamara couldn't push off and go by people.

Boeheim struggled with a solution. He knew Syracuse couldn't win without McNamara. But perhaps for the first time in four years, Boeheim realized the Orange wouldn't win with him in the lineup. Syracuse made a run with McNamara on the bench and got within four points. When he went back on the floor one final time and shot an air ball with 5:07 remaining, it was clear that was the end.

Give McNamara credit for coming to the postgame interview room. Understand that he didn't know how to cope with the greatest of all adversities, so he gave short answers and made no excuses.

If he was "all right," as he said over and over, how did he feel about his performance? How about the fact his two points were a career low?

"I feel great about it," he said. "I feel great. My last game and we lost, probably because of me. It's fantastic. A great feeling."

While his teammates and Boeheim answered questions in the locker room, McNamara was nowhere to be found. What could he say? Life isn't fair sometimes and this was not fair to Gerry McNamara.

Syracuse fans will still love him. Some probably fell asleep still chanting his name, the way they did on Senior Day at the Carrier Dome. He wasn't the greatest shooter. He wasn't the greatest athlete. But he made big shots, won big games and was always – always – a stand-up guy after tough losses. In so many ways, he was the perfect college basketball player.

No one saw this coming. But McNamara's legacy at Syracuse cannot – and will not – be called into doubt.

"If you don't know what his legacy is, you don't know anything," Boeheim said. "His legacy is pretty clear to anybody who follows the game of basketball. He gives you everything he's got from day one. He was an integral part of us winning the national championship. It wasn't just the Kansas game. It was the Oklahoma State game and every other game we played … It's winning the Big East tournament last year and winning it this year. It's winning a regular-season championship. He's won 103 games. In four years, that's a pretty decent legacy."

BIG BABY SAVES LSU

Glen "Big Baby" Davis wasn't ready for barbeque season. And his LSU teammates didn't want to hear all the talk about one-and-done again.

So halftime went like this: Senior guard Darrel Mitchell raised his voice and spoke his mind. Coach John Brady told his team it was time to turn up the power. Then Big Baby did the rest.

Davis scored 17 of his 22 points after halftime as the fourth-seeded Tigers outscored Iona 48-27 in the second half Thursday night and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Final score: LSU 80-64.

Good night, Iona. It was nice while it lasted.

Davis, LSU's big man on campus and the basketball court, missed eight of the first nine shots he took. That's when he decided he didn't want the season to end. Or as Big Baby put it, he "kept thinking about that barbeque."

"I don't want a barbeque now," he said.

Davis, a 6-foot-9 sophomore who is listed at 310 pounds (but admits to being closer to 315), was back in the locker room when someone asked about the barbeque. Davis seemed stunned nobody understood what he was talking about.

"Barbeques happen in springtime, when you've got nothing to do," Davis said. "Barbeque all day. That's what I do."

The baby back ribs and pulled pork sandwiches will have to wait. Davis and the Tigers still have some work to do. They will play a second postseason game, something no one on this roster has ever done.

In 2003, there was an 80-56 loss to Purdue in the first round of the tournament. In 2004, there was a 70-61 loss to Oklahoma in the first round of the NIT. And last season, an 82-68 loss to UAB sent the Tigers packing after just one NCAA tourney game.

That's why Mitchell had so much to say at halftime, with his team trailing 37-32 and Iona guard Steve Burtt playing the role of BMOC.

"We have been in the postseason three times, twice in the NCAA and once in the NIT, and we exited in the first round in all three of them," Mitchell said. "This was a big weight off of my shoulders."

Davis was proud of Mitchell. He said it was the first time he had ever heard Mitchell take the role of vocal leader. And Mitchell was just as proud of Davis, who scored 10 of LSU's first 18 points in the second half. Barely 90 seconds had passed when Davis scored on a layup and gave LSU a 38-37 lead.

Despite his size, Davis likes to float out on the high post and play a finesse game. He also loves dribbling the ball like a point guard and there were times in the second half that he did lead the LSU fastbreak. But Brady knows he has a weapon inside. That's why he called Davis' number over and over to start the second half.

"I think they did a real nice job of bothering him [in the first half] and I think he was rushing a little bit," Brady said of Davis and his 1-for-8 shooting performance in the first half. "Then we came out in the second half and went to what we call 'power.' Power is just what it is. You bring the ball up and center it with the high post, then we rub a guy off Glen as he steps into the paint."

There are a couple of different ways to get the ball to Davis and there's a down screen on the weak side that keeps the defense occupied. LSU ran the play the first 15 trips of the second half, by Brady's estimation.

"It got Glen involved," Brady said.

Boy, did it ever.

"Coach is old-fashioned," Davis said. "When something works, he likes to stick with it until they stop it."

LONG TIME COMING

Texas A&M hadn't won an NCAA tournament game since 1980. That was a 78-61 double-overtime victory over North Carolina. It also was the first NCAA win for Billy Gillispie as a head coach.

"This is a great win for us," Gillispie said. "Syracuse is one of the most respected, traditional basketball programs in the game. We came out and made a bunch of shots early. Then we got some confidence. I don't know how we do it, but we just keep trying very hard. These kids have a lot of try in them and that makes them fun to coach."

Ken Davis, a longtime college basketball writer for the Hartford Courant, is covering the NCAA Tournament exclusively for Yahoo! Sports from Jacksonville, Fla., this week and Atlanta next week.