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Sollazzo's Dream Becomes Reality

Photo courtesy of East Tennessee State University

Adam Sollazzo, of Armwood High School, drives to the lane against Belmont University.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 17, 2009

Since he was a small child, as the son of a basketball coach, Adam Sollazzo has visualized the moment. Usually by himself in a gymnasium, he imagined hitting a game-winning shot, then celebrating as his fictional team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

"I've had that feeling in my head a thousand times, but it's not as good as real life," Sollazzo said. "The real thing is awesome."

Sollazzo, a 6-foot-6 freshman point guard from Armwood High, can barely remember the on-court celebration with his East Tennessee State Buccaneers after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The surreal experience drifted into several days of exhilaration.

Now comes the reality.

Hard reality.

The Bucs (23-10) were assigned a No. 16 seed - since the NCAA Tournament began its current format in 1985, No. 16 seeds are 0-96 in first-round games - and No. 1 Pittsburgh (28-4) awaits Friday afternoon in Dayton, Ohio.

"We don't want to be a one-and-done," Sollazzo said. "We want to upset somebody, keep playing."

Regardless of whether ETSU becomes one of the greatest stories in NCAA Tournament history or just another first-round casualty, it has been a memorable season for the Bucs.

And for Sollazzo.

"Adam has a really good feel for the game, an unusually good feel for the game," said Bucs coach Murry Bartow, formerly of UAB. "He has an innate ability to see the floor. At his size, he can see over a lot of point guards. He's always one pass ahead. As he's catching it, he already knows where he's going with the ball. That's pretty special."

Sollazzo has played in every game and started 12. He averages three points, three rebounds and two assists per game. He had a pair of 12-point efforts. He grabbed nine rebounds against Belmont and had 12 assists (10 in the first half) against Campbell.

It's the role ETSU coaches imagined for him - scoring, passing, working inside, doing the little things, filling up the box score.

"I believe Adam is going to develop into a first-team all-conference player," said ETSU assistant Scott Wagers, the former Robinson High coach who has cultivated a Tampa Bay area recruiting pipeline.

Former guard James Anthony (Armwood) was part of the No. 15-seeded ETSU team that lost a first-round NCAA game to Wake Forest in Tampa.

Shelden Cooley (Plant) and Lukas Poderis (Ridgewood) already have signed for next season.

"There are some real good players in the Tampa area," Wagers said. "We had high hopes for Adam, but I think he has worked out even better so far because he's just a freshman. There are so many highs and lows when you start out. Not everyone can make a successful transition this quickly."

But Sollazzo's basketball heritage has helped. His father, Paul, was a longtime coach in college and high school. Now he's a middle-school teacher and coach of an AAU team. He remains Sollazzo's primary basketball confidante.

"He'll always be my No. 1 coach," Sollazzo said. "I talk to him after every one of my games. He tells me to keep working hard, to always be ready for an opportunity.

"I've been in and out of the starting lineup, but it has been rewarding being part of this. We never won a championship at Armwood, so this is my first time. I was practically speechless once the clock ran out in the A-Sun final. I thanked all the seniors for giving me a chance to contribute. I always imagined something like this."

Now it's reality.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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