Article published March 10, 2008
Buford has the look of royalty
BOWLING GREEN - It wasn't easy being William Buford yesterday at Anderson Arena. And we're not even talking about the officiating.
It took Buford about 45 minutes to make his way off the court following Libbey's 65-51 win over Lexington in the Division II regional championship game.
He took his turn at cutting down the nets, gave every TV station its own sound bite, and answered questions from every old man with a notepad and a pen. Then he worked the ropes that were holding fans back at the side of the court.
You had to see it to believe it. Little kids shrieked for autographs. One guy wanted Buford's signature on his shirt. An old lady wanted a hug. So did a teenage girl, which Buford seemed to find more to his liking. Dozens of folks brought out their camera-phones and asked him to pose with a friend or family member. It went on and on.
"It's OK," Buford said. "Whatever they want."
What they wanted was to touch or be touched. Buford may not be King James, but the fans treat him like royalty, fully aware that they are in the presence of someone special.How special? Well, Jimmy Jackson is the standard by whom all Toledo high school basketball players are judged. And Libbey coach Leroy Bates has been around long enough to know just what that standard means.
"If we win the state championship, then I'd say he would rank right up there with Jimmy," Bates said. "You know, William scored his 2,000th point today. Not many players in the city have done that."
Not many have been capable of scoring 20 points in 21 minutes either, which is what Buford did yesterday. No disrespect to Lexington's Minutemen, who fought gamely, but there were only three people on the court who could slow down Buford, and let's just say there was no lack of whistles.
The 6-foot-5 senior, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers and then made a steal and took a return lob from Brad Sandridge for a thunderous dunk as the Cowboys broke to a 10-2 lead, sat out the final five minutes of the first half with two fouls, and Lexington fought back to within one point at the break.
Libbey went to a disruptive zone press, and Buford totally dominated the offensive action early in the third quarter as the Cowboys exploded for a 17-point lead, but his third, fourth, and fifth fouls all breathed new life into Lexington's upset bid.
The Cowboys nonetheless held on for their 23rd win in 25 games, getting a huge game from Julius Wells (15 points, 12 rebounds, six assists), 11 points and seven rebounds from Sandridge, and a big, nine-point lift off the bench from Tony Brown. Next stop, Columbus.
"There wasn't any panic," Buford said. "I just had to stay aggressive and play as hard as I could. And when I fouled out, I knew my teammates had it under control. They didn't want to go home either."
Before he fouled out, his teammates knew he had their backs.
"Sometimes, when William's on the court, our guys have a tendency to do what everybody else is doing, watching a great player do his thing," Bates said, smiling. "Twenty points in 21 minutes? That's phenomenal. You watch him play, and you don't realize he's scoring like that."
But you do realize you're watching an extraordinary talent.
"State, baby, state," Buford yelled at his teammates as they finally ran off the court. "Time to make some Libbey history."
Or, in his case, some more Libbey history.
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