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Rick Pitino unearths another unlikely hero as Louisville surges into Elite Eight

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Rick Pitino was getting a workout in last week before the NCAA tournament started. As usual, his mind was percolating.

He asked director of basketball operations David Padgett to send backup Anton Gill into the workout room for a pep talk.

The sophomore wing was having a miserable season – he couldn't make shots, and his playing time had plummeted since late December. He was averaging 2.4 points per game and hadn't scored a point in the month of March. But Pitino knows as well as any coach how this month works – sometimes you need to find contributors in unexpected places.

So he told Gill a story from 1987.

Pitino was coaching Providence then, and the Friars had made it to the Sweet 16. They were matched up against Alabama in that round and then had Georgetown in the regional final.

Pitino needed one of his role players, a forward named Darryl Wright, to step up in those games. Wright delivered 13 points in 12 minutes against Alabama, then 20 points in 22 minutes against Georgetown to unexpectedly help the Friars to the Final Four.

Pitino told Gill something similar could happen to him this tournament.

"You're going to get this opportunity," Pitino said.

Anton Gill (1) hugs guard Terry Rozier (0) during the second half of Louisville's win over N.C. State. (USAT)
Anton Gill (1) hugs guard Terry Rozier (0) during the second half of Louisville's win over N.C. State. (USAT)

"I got you, coach," Gill answered. "I'll be ready."

Pitino liked the answer. If Gill had been any less affirmative, any less sure, he likely wouldn't have inserted him (out of position) in a pressurized second-half situation Friday night against North Carolina State. He would have gone with freshman Shaqquan Aaron, the usual sub for three-man Wayne Blackshear.

But Pitino did play Anton Gill. And his startling seven points in a 2:18 span are a huge reason why Louisville will play in the East Region final Sunday after beating North Carolina State 75-65.

"This," said a beaming Pitino in the Louisville locker room, "is what makes the tournament great."

What makes it great is a guy who was shooting 34 percent from the floor and 24 percent from 3-point range making three straight shots with the season on the line.

There was a baseline drive with a spin toward the middle of the floor and a difficult finish in the paint – a shot that bounced around the rim before dropping and giving Louisville the lead for good, 55-54. Next possession, there was a Gill 3-pointer from the wing off a feed from Terry Rozier to make it 58-54. And then, after two Rozier free throws and a steal by Mangok Mathiang, there was one more wing drive from Gill that he finished amid traffic.

At this point, everyone who had watched this Louisville team all season was stunned. Anton Gill, seemingly a transfer candidate, was winning the game.

"You kind of dream about stuff like this," Gill said. "I didn't necessarily think it would happen like this, but it's great when it happens."

The added twist: Gill was doing this against his hometown team. He's a product of Raleigh, N.C., and one of his first scholarship offers was from North Carolina State.

"It's funny how things work out," Gill said.

For Pitino, things so often work out this way. This is his 11th regional final appearance in 20 years as a college coach – his team is more likely to still be playing in the Elite Eight than not.

Anton Gill (1) shoots the ball over North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Ralston Turner (22). (USAT)
Anton Gill (1) shoots the ball over North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Ralston Turner (22). (USAT)

Pitino has a way of bringing the best out of role players at the right time. Two years ago in the Final Four, it was walk-on Tim Henderson banging in two 3-pointers to ignite a comeback from 12 points down to beat Wichita State. In the regular-season finale, it was Mathiang calmly dropping a 17-foot jump shot to beat Virginia – his only shot of that game, and likely his longest shot of his college career. Friday night it was Gill – off the scrap heap and into the hero's role.

"Coach tries to build confidence," Padgett said. "And it's funny how confidence works. You see a shot go in and it's off to the races."

It's off to the regional finals for a team many gave up on at multiple points in the season, mostly because the Cardinals couldn't shoot. Louisville lost to this North Carolina State team on Valentine's Day, part of a three-loss February that included the dismissal of starting point guard Chris Jones. When the Cards also lost by double digits to Notre Dame and North Carolina in March, it seemed quite likely that they would have a short stay at the Big Dance.

Three victories later, Louisville is 40 minutes away from a third Final Four in four years. For a coach who has done some amazing March work, this tourney run ranks among his best.

"The surprise of March Madness, I look so forward to this time of year," Pitino said. "Watch every game. Everything is so exciting. And it's built. Every year I've been in the business it has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger because it's gotten more publicized. I don't really know what I would do without it."

Rick Pitino lives for this time of year, and thrives in it. And the Anton Gills of March make it all the more enjoyable.