Many pieces, one outstanding whole

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ATLANTA -- At a level at which chemistry often trumps talent, perhaps Georgetown boasts the Final Four's ultimate compound.

Basketball coaches often refer to their players as parts they attempt to assemble into one successful machine. Georgetown coach John Thompson III has spent all season tweaking his blue-and-gray engine. And the product he's preparing to put on the floor in tomorrow night's Final Four semifinal against Ohio State runs with rarely a knock.

Seven principal pieces, each with a differing personality and role, operate as one to achieve a universally embraced goal. Here's a closer look at each.

The Dynamo

Every team needs a bona fide superstar, and the Hoyas (30-6) clearly have one in Jeff Green. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior forward from Hyattsville is the quintessential five-tool player. No other player in Atlanta can match Green's versatility as a shoot, pass, post, dribble and defend weapon.

"There's not another player in the nation that I've seen who can beat you in as many different ways as Jeff Green," Connecticut's Jim Calhoun said earlier this season. "And it's one thing to have all those tools and quite another to know how and when to use them. What always amazes me about him is how rarely he forces his game."

The final part of Calhoun's assessment touches on perhaps Green's greatest attribute. Green's ego, or lack thereof, has never blurred his team-first focus. Nothing fosters team unity and respect like an unselfish star.

That said, there's no question who will get the ball for the Hoyas in a one-possession situation. As he proved time and again by delivering last-second game-winners against Villanova, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, Green is the Hoyas' money player with the game in the balance. His right to that role is unquestioned among his teammates, and that certainty alone is invaluable in situations in which hesitation or conflicting egos can lead to disaster.

Arron Afflalo is UCLA's given go-to superstar, but can Florida or Ohio State claim such a consensus first option?

The Leviathan