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Big man is growing into his role

By BRIAN LANDMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

Sophomore center Mike Mathews might have come of age Saturday against Wake Forest, giving Florida State the versatile big man it desperately has needed for years.

He hit all six field goals and finished with 15 points and three rebounds in 28 minutes against the Demon Deacons' talented frontline featuring junior Darius Songaila, a star for the bronze medal-winning Lithuanian Olympic team.

"It gives me confidence because Wake Forest, that's a Top 15 team in the country and they're big and good inside," said the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Mathews, who sat out last season as a partial qualifier. "Just to play smart and be in the right spot, I was able to make some big plays for us."

Some? He was a big reason FSU nearly pulled off an upset.

"I saw a guy who competed against what I think is a very good frontline in Wake Forest and he wasn't intimidated," said Maryland coach Gary Williams, whose Terrapins host FSU tonight. "It looks like he's grown up a little bit since the first time we played them."

For one of the first times against a rugged Atlantic Coast Conference rival, Mathews demonstrated a maturity that enabled him to play 28 productive minutes and not foul out. He has fouled out six times in 22 games, in 11 minutes against Maryland last month.

"I was very anxious to play after sitting out all last year, and I came in early in the season and I kept getting into foul trouble," Mathews said. "I'm just trying to start playing smarter. If I want to be able to help my teammates, I've got to stay in the game. If I get into foul trouble, I can't help them."

And they need him.

Not only is he averaging 6.9 points, he's adding 1.4 blocks, tied for sixth in the ACC.

"He's gotten better as a basketball player throughout the course of the year," FSU coach Steve Robinson said. "He's probably a lot more comfortable being out on the floor and has a better feel of what to do and when to do it, both offensively and defensively. He's playing smarter and he has to continue to do those things. He could be a tremendous player for us if he continues to make the kind of growth he's shown over the last two months of the season."

MOVIN' ON UP: After stunning Duke and Maryland on the road, the women's basketball team has taken over second place in the ACC (7-5).

Just one game separates second from seventh, but consider that FSU has never finished better than 6-10 in the ACC. In the past six seasons, the league has sent at least four teams to the NCAA Tournament, a destination FSU hasn't reached since 1991, the year before it joined the ACC.

"The most important thing is that we didn't press a magic button and find, "Ah, this is the key,' " coach Sue Semrau said. "These players, headed up by (senior forward) Brooke Wyckoff, have been doing the little things for a while and we've talked about reaping what we've sown, and if we don't get tired of doing the right thing, then we will reap a harvest when it's time. We're just starting to reap that harvest."

WHAT'S IN A NAME?: Women's soccer coach Patrick Baker and his wife, Kelly, welcomed their first child, Emma Louise, Saturday. For the record, they liked the name Emma long before freshman forward Emma Breland led the team to the NCAA Tournament.

-- Brian Landman covers Florida State athletics. He can be reached at (813) 226-3347 or by e-mail at Landman@sptimes.com.

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