Outstanding Okafor caps off solid career

The senior was named Most Outstanding Player for the tournament.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Emeka Okafor powered between a pair of defenders and slammed home a rebound, electrifying the Connecticut cheering section.
At the center of everything, Okafor put on an All-American performance and punctuated it with that rim-shaking dunk late in the Huskies' win over Georgia Tech.
And somehow, up in the stands, Pius Okafor managed to stay relaxed. With fans around him standing and shouting, he stayed in his seat and politely applauded his son's jam while 10 other family members looked on.
"I'm very calm," Okafor's father said in the closing minutes. "I'm so proud of him and so excited that he's playing at this level."
Oh, wait a minute. Dad also said: "He's played better than this."
Maybe, but certainly not in a game of this magnitude.
The most dominant player in college basketball was picked as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 24 points and getting 15 rebounds. He controlled the glass at both ends by setting up shots on offense and altering attempts on defense.
"I don't think it's hit me yet," Okafor said. "When's practice tomorrow?"
Okafor raised his arms high after corralling the final carom. Later, he coaxed the game ball out of teammate Rashad Anderson's hands.
"He figured I'd get the ball either the friendly or the forceful way," Okafor said.
Celebration
Wearing a championship hat, Okafor helped cut down the net to chants of "One more year! One more year!" and then wandered around the court. He perused a stat sheet, borrowed a camcorder to mark the moment and slapped hands with Connecticut fans on his way to the locker room.
"It was a great season," the 6-foot-10 center said. "We had our ups and down. This moment makes it all worthwhile."
Slowed by back spasms during a November loss to Georgia Tech and limited by a right shoulder stinger in the Phoenix Regional, Okafor was overpowering at the end.
"He had his way with us out there," Tech center Luke Schenscher said.
The Yellow Jackets simply had no answer for him, despite trying to give the 7-foot-1 Schenscher as much double-team help as they could.
Tech tried to go at him, hoping to get him in foul trouble as Duke did in the semifinals. Okafor picked up his second foul just five seconds before halftime and it looked as if he got No. 3 only 21/2 minutes into the second half.
But as Okafor slammed his hands in frustration, the officials said the foul was on Josh Boone.
It was that kind of night for Okafor -- everything went his way.