Colleges

Son leaps into crucial role

Ohio State's offense starts with Mike Conley, son of an Olympic long jumper.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published March 22, 2007

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Over the years, Mike Conley occasionally has caught his father beaming with pride as he steals a glance at the Olympic gold medal that hangs on the basement wall.

"I can tell it means a lot to him," he said.

For Mike Sr., the prize he won in the triple jump isn't merely a cherished symbol of accomplishment from that day in 1992, it's about all the days and months and years of practice and pain, of guts and glory, of defeat and disappointment, leading up to it.

It's a lesson he has tried to pass along.

The Conley Golden rule, if you will.

"I'd give speeches when he was 8, 9 years old, speeches you would give an NBA team, so he would understand about dedication and hard work," Mike Sr. said. "And he truly gets it. Mike understands what you need to do to prepare; what you need to do to be a winner."

He sure has shown that.

Conley, a freshman point guard, might not get the media attention at Ohio State that his 7-foot teammate Greg Oden does, but he's a big reason the Buckeyes 32-3, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament South Region, are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999 (when they reached the Final Four in St. Petersburg, but had that participation purged from the record books in the wake of NCAA violations). They meet No. 5 seed Tennessee (24-10) tonight at the Alamodome.

"He is amazing," Xavier coach Sean Miller said after Conley took over in overtime and led the Buckeyes to a dramatic 78-71 win Saturday in Lexington, Ky. "He has great ability and great confidence. Like all great point guards, he can make people better. He's fun to watch ... unless you're coaching against him."

On the fast track

Conley seemed well on his way to following his father's track spikes, long jumping more than 22 feet and running the 100 meters in 10.7 seconds as a high school sophomore. But he loved basketball more and left track and field behind. That's not to say he didn't learn some valuable lessons from his dad's sport.

"It's the same kind of preparation when it comes to the offseason in basketball and you're lifting and running and trying to get in shape," he said. "A lot of that carried over."

Dear old dad hammered home the point, too.

"He understands that you can't ever make up the day," said his father, who won a silver in the long jump in the 1984 Games. "He understands that what he does on July 1, long before the season starts, is going to impact March Madness."

Or the prep equivalent. That helps explain why during his four high school seasons, Lawrence North went 103-7 and won three Indiana state championships.

Okay. It didn't hurt that he had Oden as a teammate. But Conley always has been the consummate playmaker, more interested in running the show and igniting the defense than in launching shots.

"He finds open guys and does a lot of things," Oden said. "He's very aware; he sees a lot of things."

On and off the court.

"If you think you're by yourself and nobody's watching you, you turn around and Mike's sitting there," Oden said, feigning annoyance with his longtime friend (the two played in the summers for a team Mike Sr. coached). "He is very sneaky."

"Yeah, I'm always catching the little things," Conley added, "like if he's talking to himself or is dancing in front of the mirror. I'm always around to make fun of him."

Results are the payoff

With Oden on the bench after fouling out in overtime against Xavier, Conley raised his game offensively. He already had scored seven to put the Buckeyes in control, blowing past defenders so easily he actually blew apart his left sneaker.

"I didn't know what was going on," he said with an embarrassed smile. "The padding on the bottom just ripped off and was just hanging."

During a timeout, a teammate loaned him another shoe so he could continue without fear of tripping. He then hit four free throws to seal the win, finishing with 21 points. In the stands, his father, who usually is stoic and watches with arms folded, jumped up and high-fived some fellow OSU fans.

"Someone asked me if I was proud of him, based on what he's doing, and I said, 'I'm more proud of the work he's put in to get to this point while maintaining good grades and (a spot on the) honor roll,' " Mike Sr. said.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta said Conley is the classic example of a player any coach wants to see excel for that reason.

"Every day, he is the last one to leave the practice floor," he said.

"It's gratifying for me to see a kid work as hard as he does and progress as well as he has."

Displaying his quickness, both with the ball and in thinking during the game, the 6-1 left-hander has set the OSU single-season record for assists (218) and steals (79). He also averages 10.6 points.

"He's just got a great feel for and a great read on the game," Matta said. "And if we need him to score, he's shown he can do that. ... He just wants to win basketball games and he's done a great job of that."

For his part, Conley would like to have something worthy of framing, like his father's medal - perhaps a piece of net from an NCAA championship; something he might smile at from time to time as he remembers all the moments that made it possible.

"I want to have that same kind of pride and dignity about what I've done in basketball when I'm done (playing) as my dad has (for track)," Conley said. "I look up to him for that."

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 00:22:47]