INDIANAPOLIS -- Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins had a handshake for everyone on the Kentucky team. Coach Tubby Smith and his assistants. Power forward Chuck Hayes and his teammates. Huggins had a handshake for everyone but the last Wildcat in line, Rajon Rondo.
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| Rajon Rondo takes the fewest shots among UK's starters, but is second in points Saturday. (Getty Images) |
First time all night someone from Cincinnati contained Rondo.
Rondo wasn't just the story of the second-seeded Wildcats' 69-60 victory Saturday night. He was the headline, the photo, the caption, the ... Rondo was all of it, because Rondo did all of it.
He scored 16 points. He passed out seven assists. He had two steals. He played 38 minutes. If it hadn't been for several late free throws by teammate Kelenna Azubuike, Rondo would have led both teams in all four categories.
He also led both teams in another category: point guards. Rondo was the only one on the floor, which explains the difference in shooting percentages. Cincinnati shot 32.8 percent from the floor, a figure dragged down by the 5-for-17 shooting of its "point guard," Jihad Muhammad, who would be called a scoring point guard if he were a better scorer.
Kentucky shot 51 percent from the floor, a figure lifted up by Rondo's 5-for-7 day. Every Kentucky starter took more shots than Rondo. Only Azubuike (19 points) scored more. Forget what Dale Carnegie wrote. That is how you win friends and influence people.
"He just does what he does," Kentucky center Shagari Alleyne said. "You tell him you want the ball, and he gets it to you."
Midway through the first half, the 7-foot-3 Alleyne saw Cincinnati was defending him with 6-6 freshman Roy Bright. Alleyne found Rondo during a break in the action and asked for the ball. Rondo asked him where he wanted it. Alleyne told him he wanted it up high. Rondo told him to put his hand in the air when he was ready.
Next time down the court, Alleyne had Bright on his hip and held up his hand. Rondo drove the lane and flipped a pass into the air. Alleyne grabbed it and dunked.
"I asked for it, and I got it," Alleyne said.
It was that easy Saturday for Rondo -- even if he was, at 19 years old and 171 pounds, the youngest and lightest player on the court. Cincinnati's backcourt was older, and with forward-sized guards like 6-8 Armein Kirkland and 6-7 James White, Cincinnati's backcourt was bigger.
Rondo was better. Simple enough.
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