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Basketball: Christopher not worried about fatigue vs. Huskies — `It’s what I’m built for’
By Jeff Faraudo
Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 12:50 pm in Basketball, Gameday.
Mike Montgomery rested his players Thursday against Oregon, but went just seven deep on Friday night to assure an 85-72 win over UCLA in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals.
Could the Bears fall victim to fatigue in today’s tournament final against a Washington team with a deeper bench?
No chance, said senior Patrick Christopher.
“This is college basketball, this is what we do,” Christopher said. “I’ve said it before: I love playing back-to-back, whatever.
“It’s what I’m built for.”
Christopher and Jerome Randle each played 39 minutes against UCLA while fellow seniors Jamal Boykin and Theo Robertson spent 32 minutes apiece on the floor.
Christopher said everything the Bears have worked all season for is right in front of them.
“We’re putting ourselves in a position I believe we set ourselves up for. Right now it’s just about focusing and continuing to build on the momentum we have so far. We played well in spurts (against UCLA), but the main thing is we got the win,” he said.
Just two seasons ago, the Bears finished ninth in the Pac-10. Now they’re on the cusp of completing a regular-season/conference tournament sweep of Pac-10 honors and securing a second straight NCAA Tournament bid.
“I really think it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. It says so much about our seniors,” he said. “We have great talent and now everything’s coming together pretty well.”
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March 13th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Just looking at the four starting Cal seniors, they look really fit. In the UCLA game, UCLA players ran out of gas. The FOUR amigos looked like they could have played another game right away. So Patrick Christopher is right… fatigue will not be a factor for the Bears.
March 13th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I don’t like games where the motivation isn’t the same.Washington has to win to get a berth, Cal doesn’t. Ijust watched UTEP lose its final vs Houston and Purdue is greeting creamed v Minn while Miss St is up v Vandy with 2 min left. Same dynamic in all of thses matches.
March 13th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Sorry for the typos- Sam Houston looks good in its final live on EPN 2 but both teams either win or go home.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
well, Christopher clearly didn’t step up. Gimpy and throwing up off balance bricks early in the game isn’t how one steps up. Disappointing loss, no defense early till a few minutes into the 2nd. Randle handcuffed by tight defense, and Christoper a non factor. I’d rather see Christopher sit and throw in Amoke, or go big and play both Max and MSF. But tough to win with only 4 contributors on the court