Lonnie Walker’s ‘pineapple’ is all the rage at NCAA tourney
DALLAS — Miami forward Lonnie Walker IV’s hairdo has taken on its own identity at the NCAA Tournament.
“I kind of get that question at least twice a day. … People are truly surprised at how different it is,” Brown said of his unique hair, which he has twisted in an upward-type of spiral. “People have been calling it a pineapple.
“I kind of let it grow by itself. It’s its own person at this point because ever since my freshman year, it was a regular flat-top … then senior year, it just became it’s own. … The student section definitely has a fun way of pleasing and telling me what type of names to call it.”
There’s no chance, however that anyone will ever catch veteran Miami head coach Jim Larranaga of trying to pull off the hairdo.
“Just in case you’re interested and wondering if I’m going to try to change my hairstyle to the pineapple look like Lonnie has, the answer is no,” Larranaga said. “My wife told me I wouldn’t look good that way.”
Walker, however, pulls it off nicely, and it has become a large part of who he is.
“It’s my thing. I define who I am, just being a different person and a different kid,” Brown said. “It’s pleasing that other people are truly delighted to look at my hair.”
Wednesday
Texas Southern 64, N.C. Central 46: Texas Southern got its first ever NCAA Tournament win, a rout of North Carolina Central in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.
Damontrae Jefferson, a 5-foot-7 guard, scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lift No. 16 seed Texas Southern (16-19), which became the first team with a losing record to win a tournament game. The Tigers started the season 0-13 and didn’t win a game until Jan. 1. Now they move on face No. 1 seed Xavier on Friday.
A historically black college in Houston, Texas Southern slipped into the First Four by getting hot and winning the Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament. The Tigers then were paired with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament winner N.C. Central, another historically black school that was making its second-straight appearance in Dayton for a play-in game.
Both conferences get an automatic bid but rarely have to play each other.
N.C. Central (19-16) was led by Raasean Davis with 19 points, part of a starting five that included a pair of true freshmen guards and a walk-on.
Texas Southern led by 10 at the half on Jefferson’s 17 points. The sophomore, who along with Miami’s Chris Lykes is the shortest player in the tournament, tied the score at 10 with a jumper. He then fed an alley-oop pass to Trayvon Reed for a monster dunk and followed with a layup to cap an 8-0 run.