Sports: With little in common, UF duo shares goal: greatness

With little in common, UF duo shares goal: greatness

By JOANNE KORTH

GAINESVILLE -- One glides, one grinds.

One darts, one barrels. One whispers, one barks. One goes around, one drives through.

But if one can't, surely, the other can.

Steering No. 11 Florida into the post-season, Brandi McCain and Tombi Bell comprise one of the most diversely talented backcourts in women's college basketball. The Gators (23-4) open play as the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament Friday in Memphis, Tenn.

"Brandi and Tombi complement each other as well as any two guards could," UF coach Carol Ross said. "Brandi is low-key; Tombi is rah-rah. Brandi is selective; Tombi is kamikaze.

"The common threads that link them are they both love to win, both love to compete, both love challenges and they love each other. There is a sisterhood between them."

The first thing anyone should know about McCain, who averages a team-high 19.8 points at shooting guard, is that she detests contact. From there, everything else makes sense. Picture the Road Runner in high tops, with a stutter-step move. That's McCain.

"She's a handful to guard," Ross said.

The first thing anyone should know about Bell, who averages 12.5 points, 5 assists and, remarkably, 5 rebounds at point guard, is that she is among the last college players to wear knee pads. From there, everything else makes sense. Picture the Tasmanian Devil in high tops, with a ponytail and a face guard. That's Bell.

"She'll never model panty hose," Ross said.

The two even view their differences differently.

"Wow, let's see. Differences. Brandi is short and I'm tall," said Bell, who at 5 feet 5 towers over McCain by 2 inches. "She wants to be a ballplayer and I want to coach. But our personalities are so alike. Did she say we had differences?"

A whole list of them.

"Tombi is one on end of the Earth, and I'm on the other," McCain said. "We're two totally different people. I'm laid-back off the court; Tombi is outgoing 24/7. She's a vocal leader; I lead by example. I'm more of a scoring guard; she sets things up. I don't like contact; she is physical."

Well?

"Yeah, that's all true," Bell said.

McCain, a junior from Silsbee, Texas, was among the nation's most sought-after recruits for her blazing speed, deadly three-point shot, quick hands and creativity. Her every move is silky. The only thing gritty is her determination.

In July 1999, McCain tore her right ACL while playing in Japan with the U.S. World University Games team. In December 1999, she fractured her left fibula. For the past three weeks, she has played with plantar fascitis, a chronic condition in her right heel that feels as if she is playing with a rock in her shoe. The only cure is rest, which won't come until April.

"I've missed too many games already," said McCain, an All-SEC pick as a freshman limited by injuries to 15 games as a sophomore. "It hurts all the time, but I'm not going to sit out now."

McCain's absence last season allowed Bell, a senior from Miami, to blossom. A reserve her first two seasons, Bell started all 34 games last season and has become UF's barometer for toughness.

As a freshman, she played with a sprained ligament in her left thumb. As a sophomore, she wore a plastic shield to protect a broken nose. In December, she finished a game in which she broke her left pinky. On Feb. 18, she clanked heads with a Mississippi State player with 1:17 to play but finished the game before doctors could diagnose a concussion.

"Yeah, I kind of wish I had some football pads on in a few of these games," Bell said. "It's either aggressiveness or stupidity. I'm going to go with aggressiveness."

Forced to sit out UF's senior night Feb. 22, Bell played the season finale Sunday at Alabama wearing a protective mask to guard against another blow to the same spot above the bridge of her nose. She had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

"I hated to spoil their senior night, but I had to do it," said Bell, who has plans for a fifth tattoo to match her jersey No. 5. "It felt like my senior night, too, since I missed mine."

For all their differences, McCain and Bell have plenty in common. Both want to take Florida to heights it has never reached: an SEC tournament championship and the Final Four. With guard play at a premium in the post-season, the Gators have quite a dynamic duo.

"There is a strong sense that if one can't get it done, the other one can," Ross said. "It's fun to watch them work together, because you know it's special."