Meltdown memory helps Prahalis keep control
COLUMBUS, Ohio - It was just one moment, one ugly moment in a career that has featured some of the most beautiful and creative playmaking in women's college basketball.
It would be understandable if Samantha Prahalis wanted to forget her emotional meltdown in the NCAA Tournament last season. Instead, the Ohio State point guard from Commack has decided to embrace it.
Whenever Prahalis feels herself heading out of control - feels tempted to push her emotionally charged game dangerously close to the edge - she just thinks back to that moment. She thinks about the Buckeyes' upset loss to Mississippi State in the second round of the tournament and the technical foul with 4:22 left that sent her to the bench with five fouls.
"I watched the video a lot. It was gross,'' said Prahalis, who tore at her shorts and, after leaving the game, wore a look of anguish as assistant coach Debbie Black comforted her. "I wasn't thinking and I just freaked out. The camera was on me and I just lost it. I have to play with emotion. But when things go bad, I need to learn how to draw back in order to play my best."
Prahalis was whistled for the technical after Diamber Johnson appeared to hit her and was not assessed a foul. "The girl punched me in my head and it wasn't called,'' Prahalis, who had 10 turnovers, was quoted as saying in the Columbus Dispatch. "I said, 'Why didn't you call it?' and she blew the tech.''
In the same game, Prahalis broke the Big Ten record for single-season assists. When she is at her best, the No. 11 Buckeyes (8-1) believe they have the talent to beat almost anyone. That theory will be tested Sunday when they meet No. 1 Connecticut (9-0) at 2 p.m. in the second game of the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden.
A victory for UConn would give the Huskies their 88th consecutive win, matching the Division I record set by John Wooden's men's teams at UCLA from 1971 to 1974.
In addition to having historical significance, the game is a showdown between two of Long Island's finest point guards. Prahalis will go up against North Babylon's Bria Hartley, the UConn freshman who has started every game.
Prahalis, who averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 assists as a sophomore and is at 14.5 points and 9.7 assists as a junior, says this is a huge game for the Buckeyes, who had been hoping to advance deep enough in last season's tournament to meet Connecticut in the round of eight. The 5-7 junior had extra time to think about the fact that they didn't when her offseason was extended by the NCAA. She was suspended for the first three games of this season because of a secondary rules infraction.
Prahalis dates Evan Turner, the former Ohio State star whom the 76ers made the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft. Because of that, she had been the subject of TMZ-like speculation on the Internet in regard to the suspension. When asked in a recent interview what happened, Prahalis declined to talk about it.
This will be Prahalis' first trip to the Garden since she accompanied Turner to the NBA draft in June. This time, however, she won't be wearing a white silky dress with three-inch heels. And this time, she will be the focus of the basketball fans' attention.
Prahalis is an anomaly in the women's game that some think overly emphasizes fundamentals and features stagnant sets. Her no-look, behind-the-back passes are all over YouTube and have drawn comparisons to Pete Maravich. Jim Foster says Prahalis is "at times the most enjoyable and at times the most frustrating" player he has coached in his 33 years in the business.
"She has a gift. She sees things that others don't," Foster said. "She also has a work ethic . . . What she needs is to keep growing between the ears."
Prahalis isn't the biggest star on the Buckeyes. That honor goes to All-American center Jantel Lavender. But Prahalis is their emotional leader, and how well she plays generally has a lot to do with how well Ohio State plays against tough opponents.
In the Buckeyes' upset loss in Syracuse on Dec. 11, the Orangemen made their run after Prahalis missed two straight three-point shots.
"Emotion is a big part of my game," Prahalis said, "so I walk a fine line. I need emotion to play but I don't want to lose my head when things go bad. I'm learning to walk a fine line."
Though Prahalis is an emotional fireball on the court, her speech is thoughtful and measured off it. With her pitch-black hair, multiple tattoos, NBA boyfriend and edgy New York fashion sense, Prahalis looks a little exotic on a campus of midwestern blondes. But her life is anything but exotic. She spends most of her time in the gym, and when she isn't there, she has a small circle of friends, including Buckeyes team manager Kate Milazzo, who also happens to be her best friend from high school.
"She's not at all like what you see on the court," Buckeyes assistant coach Black said. "She's very mild off the court. I think it's just her stage and it's where she feels the most at home."
Sunday, that stage will be close to her home in Commack, and she'll be playing Hartley, a player she knows well. They faced off Feb. 25, 2008, in a Suffolk County Class AA semifinal, with North Babylon winning, 63-58.
With so many Connecticut fans expected to drive down for this game, it is expected to be a hostile environment. Said Prahalis: "It's a big, big game for us . . . It's going to be great."
