Posted on: Thursday, February 17, 2005
'Little Matt' has taken control
| • | Second-half surge spurs 'Bows, 81-67 |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
It wasn't just the game-high 21 points that guard Matt Gibson put up that caught your eye last night, as remarkable as some of them, like the spin dribble and reverse lay-in, were.
Nor was it that 14 of them came in the second half when the game was very much on the line for the University of Hawai'i basketball team.
It was that Gibson played most of his 32 minutes under control and, for the most part, emotion in check in helping the Rainbow Warriors get past Boise State, 81-67.
The 'Bows' "Little Matt" is growing up. Maturing right before our very eyes, it seems.
A process we feared might be a while in coming — if it ever happened — is showing signs of beginning to come right along.
"He still makes a bone-head play, or two, but you have to admit he's playing much more under control than he did earlier," coach Riley Wallace said, seemingly as amazed at the statement as anyone. "He's maturing."
The 'Bows' wild child, their rebel without pause, still carries the self-assured smirk and killer jump shot, only now he's picking his spots and making better decisions as 7-of-9 shooting (3 of 5 from 3-point range), just two turnovers and three fouls last night attest.
The smooth jump shot from the corner, the nothing-but-net bomb from beyond the top of the key, are still there as the oohs and aahs of the 4,589 on hand at the Stan Sheriff Center underlined but so, too, is a sharper, more lasting focus.
After a season-long test of wills and full-throated bench-side conversations, Gibson and Wallace have found a common ground, the hard way.
"They were things you don't like and don't want to hear but you just have to accept them and say, 'Yes, sir!' " Gibson said.
The moment of this meeting of dissimilar minds occurred on this just-past road trip from which Gibson had entered in a painful funk putting up a combined 12 points over four games. Hardly what he had imagined contributing or what the 'Bows needed.
"It wasn't working my way," Gibson said. "Everything was going wrong. So, I said, 'What the heck. I'll do it this man's way.' He's the old guy and he's been around a long time and seen it all. I just know it couldn't get any worse, so what did I have to lose?"
Gibson even went with the conservative hair cut favored by his coach, the final barrier it seemed. "It wasn't like he couldn't get any lower," Wallace said.
"It wasn't my skills but my attitude, my adrenaline and the way I carry myself, sometimes," Gibson said. "I play with a lot of intensity and run on all my emotion and coach told me to calm down, stay in focus and use my energy as a weapon and not let it be my downfall.
"So, that's what I'm trying to do. It gets away from me sometimes, but I'm getting better at controlling it."
And, the results don't lie: four consecutive double-figure performances and a longer leash.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
