Tournament upsets nothing new to Giddy Potts

Published 6:45 am Thursday, March 16, 2017

Before he became a household name by helping his team pull off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history last season, Giddy Potts was a star in Alabama high school basketball.

During his senior season in 2014, Athens pulled off an equally big upset at the high school level in the state playoffs by beating three-time defending champions Wenonah.

Facing a team that just set a state record by scoring 154 points in a playoff game, Athens didn’t back down. Instead, Potts and the Golden Eagles attacked No. 2 Wenonah then held on for a dramatic 76-72 win to advance to the Northwest Regional final.

Athens jumped out to an 18-2 lead within the first five minutes of the 5A boys Northwest Regional semifinal to shock the three-time defending state champions.

“Coach told us, ‘Don’t be surprised if we come out 10-0 and we came out and all of a sudden we were up 12-2,’” said Potts after the game. “We just had to keep our head up and stay focused against that press. It was fun.”

Playing against two-time All-State and Alabama-signee Justin Coleman, Potts showed everyone in Tom Drake Coliseum who was the best player on the court. He finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds to lead all scorers.

“He was good. I thought he was good going in,” said Wenonah head coach Cedric Lane. “He’s a little better than I thought he would be.”

After a slow start to the third quarter, Wenonah made the run everyone was waiting for. The Dragons outscored Athens 33-15 using a full-court press and some sharp shooting from 3-point range.

“Great teams are going to make runs, and they made a heck of a run, but they withstood it and battled back,” said Athens head coach Stace Tedford after the game. “Last year, we don’t win this ball game. A year later, with Giddy Potts and the other seniors, it’s another story.”

Middle Tennessee State coach Kermit Davis hopes his team will be able to do the same thing in their second-consecutive NCAA appearance. This time around, the Blue Raiders are a 12-seed and take on fifth-seeded Minnesota this afternoon.

Upset pick

Despite being an underdog again, MTSU isn’t going to sneak up on anyone this time around. The Blue Raiders are a trendy upset pick in a 12 vs. 5 matchup. But many experts think they are better than their seed indicates.

Middle Tennessee State was ranked 25th in the final coaches poll and ranked 31st in RPI and KPI (college basketball analytical rankings) entering the postseason. In the ESPN “Tournament Challenge” contest, 42 percent of the public picked MTSU to upset Minnesota — 20 percent more than the other three 12-5 match-ups.

And with good reason. The Blue Raiders won 30 games and boast a formidable trio of stars in Potts, Reggie Upshaw and Arkansas transfer JaCorey Williams. All three were named to last week’s C-USA All-Tournament team, led by Potts, who was the tournament MVP.

The Athens native scored 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead his team to a second-straight conference title. A first-team All-Conference selection a year ago, Potts was named to third-team All-Conference in 2016.

It did not go unnoticed.

“Last week, we were talking about how the conference put me on the third team,” Potts said after the conference title game. “[My teammates] were telling me I just have to go out there and play my game and I would get MVP. I just came out and played, and I thank my coach and my team for this.”

MTSU and Minnesota will tip at approximately 3 p.m. today, following the Butler-Winthrop game.