ATLANTA (AP) – When Ohio State needed leadership the most this season, one of the team’s youngest and smallest players raised his hand.

Then he raised his voice.

It was a rare low point for the Buckeyes. Coming off an 86-60 loss at Florida on Dec. 23, their confidence was shattered. It was only the 12th college game for freshman Mike Conley Jr., but as the team’s point guard he knew it was time to be heard.

“We didn’t come to play that game,” Conley said. “A lot of players were down and getting down on themselves, and I tried to step up and get in their faces a little bit.”

It’s not easy for a first-year player to lead, especially one as small as the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Conley.

“They kind of stepped back and just looked at me like it was kind of weird seeing me talk like that,” Conley said. “I hadn’t talked like that before. I was upset. I think after that people really started listening to me when I said something.”

Conley’s teammates did more than just listen. They followed – all the way to the Final Four.

Ohio State (34-3) has lost only one game since and now is only one game away from a possible rematch with Florida, this time for the national championship. The Buckeyes play Georgetown in the first semifinal today, and Florida plays UCLA in the other.

Without Conley’s bold reaction, the Buckeyes might be back home in Columbus this weekend.

“I remember that,” said senior Ivan Harris. “We needed him to step up and that’s what he’s been doing all season, stepping up and making big plays.”

Among those who accepted Conley’s leadership was junior Jamar Butler, a two-year starter who moved from point guard to make room for the freshman.

“Coming in as a freshman to run the team, be a leader the way he’s done all year, you know, really has been big for us,” Butler said.

Conley hasn’t received as much publicity as fellow freshman and former high school teammate Greg Oden, the 7-foot center. He hasn’t scored as many points as Ron Lewis, who has averaged 21.8 points in the NCAA tournament.

Even so, Conley may be the Buckeyes’ most valuable player. He has set team records with 226 assists and 83 steals while averaging 11 points per game.

“Without him, I don’t think we’d be here right now,” Butler said.

Conley was named the most outstanding player of the South Region. Slowly he is earning recognition for reasons other than being Oden’s longtime teammate and the son of 1992 Olympic triple jump champion Mike Conley.

“His poise is beyond his years,” said Georgetown coach John Thompson III. “You watch him play. He’s an extremely poised player. He doesn’t make that many mistakes. He does a very good job of knowing when it’s his turn to get baskets as well as when it’s his turn to help and assist his teammates.”

The calm leadership could be crucial for the Buckeyes’ chances before 50,000 fans in the Georgia Dome.

“I’ve never been in the Final Four before, but I just think that’s my kind of pressure,” Conley said. “I don’t get fazed by a lot of things. I don’t get too excited about a lot of things. I just let the game come to me.”

Conley says he may have inherited his ability to thrive under pressure from his father.

“He just told me to keep my head through the whole situation,” Conley said. “‘Don’t let anything get to you. Don’t watch too much TV and let the praise get to you or let the negative attention get to you.”

Stay focused on what your goals are.”‘

Conley has focused on increasing his scoring during Ohio State’s run through the NCAA tournament. He scored 21 points against Xavier for only his second 20-point game of the season, followed by 17 points against Tennessee and 19 against Memphis.

In the three games, Conley has made 24 of 30 free throws.

“I’ve been a lot more offensive-minded and aggressive on the offensive end, trying to get to the free-throw line,” he said. ” … That’s where a lot of points are earned.”

The production has been a bonus. Skeptics said Conley was recruited not for his own skills but to lure Oden to Columbus, and even though coach Thad Matta denies that, he admits that Conley has exceeded his expectations.

“I thought he was going to be a special talent,” Matta said. “I didn’t know that he was going to come in and play as well as he did, as quickly as he did.”