AP (SAN ANTONIO): Johni Broome of Auburn and Alex Condon of Florida had already engaged in a violent altercation, with Condon emerging triumphant but bruised.
In the NCAA Tournament final, the powerful Houston Cougars are now competing for the national championship. The Australian is a talented player in the rough and tumble world of Australian rules football, and now is the time to put those abilities to use.
At times, Broome’s tough play appeared to overwhelm the 6-foot-11 Gators sophomore forward, as he was backed against the basket or found it difficult to establish his position against Auburn’s powerful front line.
“That game was the most physical game I’ve had all season,” Condon said Sunday.
He scored just one point and missed all five shots, but he persevered, and was still on the court late, drawing a key charge on Broome and challenging shots.
And that’s where the Australian rules football comes in.
Condon was a rising prospect in that sport when he signed a deal with a professional club that he calls a fallback in case basketball “doesn’t work out.”
But for now, he’s taking the hard-knocks experiences of playing “footy” and the bodies crashing on the Aussie oval to the hardcourt.
“After I played football, it was the most physical basketball I´ve played because I wasn´t scared to get hit and I was able to initiate physicality with guys who are stronger than me,” Condon said. “Don´t be scared or back down.”
Enter Houston.
The Cougars’ J’Wan Roberts is a 6-foot-8, 23-year-old sixth-year center who gives up 3 inches to Condon but more than makes up for it in muscle and sheer determination to own every inch of space near the basket. Joseph Tugler is a sophomore carbon copy of Roberts and the Cougars’ shutdown defender.
Tugler had four blocks in Houston’s semifinal upset of Duke. Roberts disrupted Duke star Cooper Flagg’s potential game-winner in the final seconds.
“You look at a guy like Tugler, Roberts, they have incredible length and athleticism and physicality inside the paint,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “They wear you down, make it really hard on you.”
Condon won’t have to go it alone. The Gators counter with a rotation of 6-10, 260-pound Rueben Chinyelu, 7-1 Micah Handlogten, and 6-9 Thomas Haugh.
Despite being caught in a couple physical mismatches with Broome, Haugh played the most against Auburn, scoring 12 points in 25 minutes. Chinyelu pulled down nine rebounds, the most of any player.
“Our men are taller. All we need to do is play with the intensity and speed of an elite team,” Condon stated.
According to Chinyelu, he is prepared for that.
“You must approach this with the mindset that it is battle. “There are only two teams left,” Chinyelu stated.
Houston measures the Gators’ length and height, but the Cougars don’t appear to be that impressed. or anxious.
Roberts remarked, “Duke had size on us, too,” “I feel like we have heart.”
