A Derby Classic
Future Cards shine in the Derby All-Star game
By: Brandon Pry
Issue date: 4/19/06 Section: Sports
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T-Will's 32 point MVP performance at last years Derby Classic must have been running through Edgar Sosa's mind when he came out to center court. He crouched to his knees, paid homage to the bird and bowed to the crowd.
The resulting cheers lasted well into the next two players introductions. That is when Duke signee Gerald Henderson's name was announced. The crowd booed (I imagine it was the numerous UK fans in attendance), he responded by stomping the Cardinal, and received an even larger jeer from the crowd.
His footsteps had barely left the logo when Derrick Caracter entered the building; spray bottle in hand. Caracter sprayed the bird clean and wiped it dry, he then kissed the center. Caracter's performance had one big fan.
"I think I started something," Terrence Williams said, adding "Edgar's was great but I have to give Derrick Caracter his props, coming out with the squeegee; that was very creative."
The game was won in overtime by the White squad by a final score of 118-106. The roster for the Black squad was: Edgar Sosa and Derrick Caracter, Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech, the #1 ranked point guard in the nation), Gerald Henderson (Duke), Antonio Pena (Nova), Stanley Robinson (UConn), Marreese Speights (Florida) and Duke Crews, Marques Johnson and Wayne Chism (UT).
For the White squad: Tre'von Willis, Pierre Niles and Willie Kemp (Memphis), Quincy Pondexter (Wash), Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez (Stanford's twin 7 footers), D.J. Augustin (Texas), and Jodie Meeks, Derrick Jasper, and Perry Stevenson (UK).
The first quarter of this game started off just like every other all-star game with a barrage of fast break plays and no defense (this is made worse by the fact that the teams are not allowed to press). On the second play of the game Edgar Sosa whipped a pass under the basket for a lay-up, his first of six assists (2nd behind Kemp).
It was clear early that Sosa was nervous shooting. He shot two threes early and missed them both badly. He didn't let this nervousness roll over into other areas of the game. He was the guy running the team for most of the first half , despite poor shooting he was very vocal and threw some rocket passes that were clearly unexpected by the other players. He finished the first half with only 2 points but 4 assists.
Derrick Caracter got on the board at the 9:21 mark making a soft touch baby hook over Pierre Niles. Niles was listed at 265 and Derrick at 295 lbs. but Niles clearly had 30 lbs. on Derrick. Just as it looked like Caracter was going to be banging down in the paint he took Niles out and drilled a 3-pointer. Three plays later he took the ball inside against Brook Lopez drawing a hard foul. Derricks play was a large reason why the Black Team led 22-21 at the end of the first quarter.
The first half of the second quarter was much like the first the teams played pretty even the slashing baskets of Jaravis Crittenton paced the Black squad while the Jodie Meeks paced the White squad.
Just to prove that his outside shooting wasn't an anomaly Caracter stepped out and hit another outside shot form the left wing. Derrick left in the second quarter after jamming his thumb. This is when the Lopez brothers began to let their presence be known.
Brook and Robin played the twin tower offense grabbing almost every rebound for the rest of the half. Brook had 7 rebounds and 10 points in the first half, while Robin had 3 rebounds and 6 blocks. The White team went into the half leading 23-29.
The third quarter continued much like the second did. The Lopez twins continued to show that they were a force on the floor. They combined for 8 blocks and 25 points, but altered more shots than the stat-line can account for; Brook even stepped out to hit a three.
Every player on the White team seemed to get more involved as the White squad ran out to an 80-66 lead with 28 seconds left in the third quarter. The only highlights from the 3rd quarter came from Sosa hit a three, threw an alley-oop from half-court and hit another three on consecutive plays.
In the fourth quarter Sosa and Caracter took over. Caracter had two consecutive threes, and a fancy around the back dribble fake out of Niles that that would have resulted in a three point play if he would've hit the free throw. He also clamped down defensively on the Lopez's (curiously the coach was only playing one Lopez at a time for most of the 4th quarter).
Caracter blocked a shot and threw the outlet pass, Sosa finished nicely on the other end. Shortly after he added another slashing drive to the basket and they trimmed the lead to 3 at 86-83. The White team remained in charge until 1:22 left in the game when Caracter grabbed a rebound and passed to Sosa for a wide open three, giving the Black squad their first lead of the second half at 95-94.
When Henderson hit 1 free throw to make the score 99-97 (Black) with less than two seconds left it looked like the game was over, but a questionable call for holding Jodie Meeks on the ensuing inbounds play sent the player to the free throw line. Meeks netted both free throws knotting the game at 99. A bad inbounds pass by Stanley Robinson gave the ball back to the White squad with a chance to win it, but Meeks missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to end regulation.
In the overtime it was all White. Pondexter, and Augustin led the team as they opened with a 13-0 run and the Black squad never had a chance. The Black squad was only able to muster 7 points as they watched the White team race out to the final score 118-106.
"We just didn't have it. The guys were still thinking about that terrible call," Edgar Sosa said.
The U of L fans have a lot to look forward in Derrick Caracter. He showed that he had a nice touch inside and out, and wasn't afraid to body up to anybody. He was the only player on the court who was able to buckle down and frustrate the Lopez brothers on defense. He does seem to be very lackadaisical. His moments of brilliance would be peppered with instances of him watching the action happen. He really only stepped up when he felt he was challenged. This is a quality that will need to be overcome when he enters the Pitino system.
"I think I showed a lot," he said after the game. "I showed I could shoot and I could pick up the dribble."
It is not the stature, but there sure are a lot of things in Edgar Sosa that remind me of Francisco Garcia. This kid plays with a lot of heart and a lot of toughness. He came out nervous, but didn't let that stop him from taking that next shot and when it cam down to crunch time he wanted the ball in his hands.
He has really good ball-handling skills and is very vocal. He impressed me most with his passing and intensity. He only finished with six assists but could have easily had six more if it wasn't for the Lopez brothers. He played hard every moment in the game and seemed to running at 110% the entire time, but most important he wants to be here which in the end can make all the difference in the world.
"It was great. I loved the fans. When I first came down I was a bit nervous but after I calmed down and got in the flow and fed off the fans," Edgar said and gladly added, "I love it here so much I don't even want to go home."
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