se arent as easy to come by, neither is patience. Jimmie Johnso

At almost the same moment on an August afternoon that West Virginia played its season opener against Penn State, beginning a journey that now finds it two wins from its first national championship, the teams best player was otherwise occupied winning an Olympic bronze medal a hemisphere away.As the Mountaineers concluded that first week with a game against Buffalo, Kadeisha Buchanan instead soaked in the Olympic closing ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro. She even met Usain Bolt.Which is to say that from the outset this season, Buchanan ran in different circles than your typical college senior.Different circles than even your typical All-American, for that matter.But it is what Buchanan has done since arriving back in Morgantown from Rio that makes the defender espnWs national player of the year. After a tie in their opening game without her, the Mountaineers have gone 21-1-1 with her in the lineup. They shut out the Big 12 for an entire conference season, allowing nary a goal in eight consecutive games. They earned the programs first No. 1 seed and survived both snow and foes to reach their first College Cup.Center backs rarely get to be stars. The position is responsible as much for defusing highlights before they occur as creating them in their own right. But already a World Cup and Olympic veteran for Canada at the age of 21, Buchanan cant help but be the center of attention for West Virginia. Her command of a craft stands out like, well, Bolt sprinting away from the pack in Rio. None of her peers do it as well as she does it.She is a soccer mind, West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. Shes commanding. She knows where everyone needs to be. Shes directing, shes orchestrating. Coaches will always tell you that they need great leadership to be successful, and thats exactly what we have in Keisha back there.It is difficult to quantify what makes a defender special, let alone the best player in the nation. Though they may score goals, as Buchanan has three times this season, and make themselves useful on set pieces, compiling statistics isnt a center backs primary work. Beyond the mere eye test, assessing Buchanan is a process of deduction. West Virginia has the second-stingiest defense in the nation. Buchanan is the teams best defender, backed up by an international pedigree that includes being named the best young player in the 2015 World Cup and a member of FIFAs all-star team for that tournament.Someone to whom all that applies, who North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance suggested might be the best center back in the nation -- a few weeks into her freshman season -- must be pretty good, right?Yet no matter how brilliant her soccer mind or impressive her athleticism, a defender will struggle to excel alone. Maybe more than any other position, a center back is dependent on the collective. And it is in that regard that Buchanan has grown from an amazing talent into a world-class player. Gone is the quiet reserve of a 17-year-old freshman who just wanted to play, not speak or lead.When shes telling someone to move, theyre moving, Izzo-Brown said of what she sees now. And people respond so well to her, and understand that she knows the game so well, that she is our fourth coach out there. ...Its like having a coach behind your team coaching.Even if leading from behind isnt exactly what Buchanan hoped for in Morgantown. It may be a myth that a frustrated striker inhabits the soul of every great defender, but Buchanan wont help dispel it. She had already debuted for the senior Canadian national team by the time she arrived at West Virginia, having previously earned a reputation as an up-and-coming defender on youth national teams. So she knew her role in college would likely follow that same route. But with a veteran back line already in place for the Mountaineers, the former striker for her club team hoped she might get some of the goals for herself.Those dreams died very quickly, Buchanan said. I knew coming into West Virginia that I was going to play center back. I kind of wanted to play forward, but Coach didnt let me. I got over it.Her tongue-in-cheek tone made it clear it wasnt an entirely serious lament. Not entirely.But twice this season the Mountaineers have needed Buchanan to revive her old skills.Down 2-0 at halftime against TCU in the Big 12 tournament final, matching the number of goals they conceded in the 12 games immediately preceding that contest, the Mountaineers pushed Buchanan into the attack in the second half. With a little more than a minute remaining in regulation, she scored the tying goal that brought on overtime and teammate Ashley Lawrences eventual winner.That was a game the Mountaineers very much wanted, the opportunity to sweep the conference tournament and regular-season titles. Then, when Buchanan stepped to a snowy spot as the fifth and final Mountaineer in a Sweet 16 penalty shootout against UCLA, a goal was a necessity.In a shootout for the first time since the 2014 tournament, when West Virginia lost to Georgetown, Buchanan lined up an attempt. Izzo-Brown said she asked Buchanan if she wanted to be on the list of takers. Buchanan didnt hesitate. She drilled the ball into the net, turned and leaped into the air as onrushing teammates swarmed her.West Virginia is most comfortable when its season is at her feet.Although she knew of the College Cup growing up -- plenty of Canadian national team players were veterans of NCAA championships in the United States -- it wasnt until a second-round loss against Virginia Tech her freshman year that she fully felt its importance. It is the biggest prize she can win in this uniform.Ive got to get one before I leave, Buchanan recalled thinking.She has since starred in a World Cup on home soil and won a bronze medal in the Olympics.And in her final college season, the best player in the nation has done all she can to give herself a chance at a different trophy. Authentic Adidas NHL Gear . LOUIS -- St. Adidas NHL Jerseys Autographed . 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Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR:Turn 1: Will Jimmie Johnson reach 100 wins in his career?Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Its actually not impossible considering he could race nine more years, average two wins per year, and be knocking on the door at 50. But its a slippery slope for drivers in their 40s, and just assuming a couple of wins a year isnt practical. But having this discussion puts into perspective what an amazing career he has had.Ryan McGee, ESPN.com:?No, but its not that he couldnt. I think its entirely up to him. The number is reachable. Over the last five seasons, hes won 23. That same pace would do it. But I dont think theres any way he sticks around another five seasons.John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: It would be a great storyline for NASCAR, but its unlikely to happen. Johnson is 41 and needs 22 wins to hit the century. Among modern-era NASCAR greats, only Dale Earnhardt won that many races after he turned 42. Darrell Waltrip won 11, Mark Martin eight, Bill Elliott just four. Even Richard Petty claimed only 10 wins post-42. Johnson is athletically in better condition than those guys were, but the likelihood of him averaging three or more wins a year for the next seven years is pretty remote.Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: No. Hes at 78. I dont see him racing more than four more years after this one and dont see him winning five each year.Marty Smith, ESPN.com:?If he wants to. But hell have to race until hes at least 50. And I dont expect him to race until hes 50. He doesnt race for numbers or accolades, its just not what fulfills him. I still cant even fathom that hes six wins away from tying Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison. Thats inconceivable to me. And its inconceivable to him, too. At heart, hes still just a dirt-bomb kid from SoCal whose success is founded in love from his parents and their desire to spend time with their three sons in the desert, away from the static of heavy machinery and school buses. And Johnson got a shot from Ricky Johnson and Herb Fishel and the Herzogs and Ricky Hendrick and Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon. And now hes Tom Brady in Nomex. If hes not the greatest ever, hes in the final sentences of the conversation.Turn 2: Five Chase drivers (Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick) finished outside the top 30 at Charlotte. How many of them, and who, wont advance to the next round?Craven:?Im worried about Austin Dillon and Joey Logano the most. I believe Harvick will battle his way forward and Chase Elliott could surprise, as he has the speed to win this weekend in Kansas. Denny Hamlin is a toss-up, and someone in the top eight will fall; that could be Kurt Busch.McGee:?The two young guys are probably in the most trouble. Harvick is at the bottom and his Chase has been three awful finishes and one win, but no one has been better in the elimination format than Happy, so no way Im ruling him out until hes gone. He and Hamlin are weekly threats to win, and those two plus Logano are proven plate race winners. I really believe that Elliott and Dillon are both capable of winning at Talladega, too. But their sample size is tiny compared to the vets, so the older guys have the edge.Oreovicz: My guess is three of the five wont make it. Of that group, certainly Harvick has the best chance to advance because hes the guy who has shown the ability to flip the switch and win when necessary since the start of the elimination format Chase. Logano is the next best bet to move on to the round of 8, but Elliott would be the best story.Pockrass:?Three of them wont advance. Denny Hamlin wins Talladega and Chase Elliott scores enough points to get into the next round. Am I crazy to doubt Harvick? Probably.Smith:?Its almost impossible to speculate on this. Consistency may not apply to this equation, given such a short increment of time and the esteemed level of competition the drivers on the outside must supplant. There are 11 positions out there for the taking, and for drivers deep behind in points it may take wins to earn those spots. Harvick will win Kansas. Thats justt how that No.dddddddddddd 4 bunch operates. They wreck or screw up on pit road one week, and then they come back seven days later and win. So hes in. Logano and Hamlin are strong everywhere, so I expect theyll get in. Chase Elliott is among the most consistent drivers in the sport, and Austin Dillon, in my opinion, made great strides as a racer this year. But those guys havent yet won. Talladega is out there. Its anyones guess. A lot like this question.Turn 3: Did Richard Childress?Racing do the right thing in giving Ryan Newman a contract extension?Craven:?Ryan finished second in the Chase a couple years back, has a solid résumé, and is definitely worthy of the investment. Most importantly, they have funding, which controls this entire discussion.McGee:?Sure. I know some RCR fans probably wanted to see something more daring, but Newman is solid and, more importantly, hes funded. No bucks, no Buck Rogers.Oreovicz:?RC strikes me as a guy who isnt comfortable with a lot of change. Newman isnt likely to win a championship at this stage of his career, but he still has plenty to offer the organization. Until Childress is ready to hire a young gun without the last name of Dillon, this was probably his best option.Pockrass: Its the safe move. Newman is good as far as a consistent driver who can be a threat to win. But the sport needs more young stars, and this would have been a good opportunity for one of them.Smith:?Presuming the sponsors like Newman and the dollars are right, he did.Turn 4: What does the No. 48 teams competitive ebb and flow this season say about NASCAR racing?Craven: It illustrates how paper-thin the margins are between competing for wins and simply existing without much relevance. Racing today is more about fundamentals than ever before, Qualify well, have a perfect day on pit road, capitalize on restarts. Has anyone other than me noticed execute has become the key word in our sport? I prefer Drive the hell out of it, but Im afraid those days are gone.McGee:?You cant just throw a team out when it has a poor stretch of the season, even if that stretch covers half of that season. It used to be that if a team got off to a bad start in March and April, that was pretty much how it was going to be. Then it would work on its stuff for the next season and rebound. We just talked about RCR. That was the roller coaster forever. But these days not just drivers but entire organizations hit these slumps. In spring 2015 we were writing about how Joe Gibbs Racing couldnt get out of its own way and then it completely turned it around and won the Cup. We all said Hendrick was toast for 2016, and now it is bouncing back and the Chase hands everyone a reset button in September. Shorter in-season streaks that can be fixed? I like it.Oreovicz: It could validate the theory that once a team wins a race early in the season, it concentrates its development program on being competitive in the Chase races, even if it comes at the expense of the regular season. Or it could just mean that Johnson and the 48 team got everything 100 percent correct on race day for the first time in several months. The sport is more competitive than ever these days, and teams have to get things just exactly perfect to win.Pockrass: It says that the real season starts with Chicagoland and the Chase for the Sprint Cup.Smith:?Its damn hard. Thats what it says. Its hard to make it at all, and even harder to sustain it. Even the greatest team of its era -- and arguably the greatest sustained team ever -- is vulnerable to the inevitable fissures that can form when competitiveness wanes. Fast cars and trophies fix everything. But when those arent as easy to come by, neither is patience. Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are rivaled only by the late 90s Evernham/Gordon union, and maybe Inman/Petty among the premier driver/crew chief tandems in NASCAR history. And from the outset theyve had well-documented ups and downs. Through it all they manage to keep on winning. 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