Down with the King

Down with the King

by Dan Hauptman

We don’t need him.

Let him keep wearing his NBA headband, his socks with the silhouette of Jerry West on them, and worst of all, the “King James” label on his teeth. College basketball is better off without the prospect of LeBron James gracing Chapel Hill, Durham, Columbus or anywhere else with his exaggerated presence.

James has taken all of the media hype surrounding his high school play and believed it to be true enough to change the way he lives.

It is amazing that we are even discussing the way he lives, as he is only 18 years old, barely old enough to drive the Hummer that somehow he rolls in, and at a time in his life when most kids his age are finding out which colleges they got into and where they will be spending the next, and probably best, four years of their lives.

But no, LeBron is out there traveling in limousines, signing autographs for celebrities, and appearing in newspapers and on television every time he touches the orange ball or acts like your not-so-average teenager. It has become more than a joke at this point. The collective amount of attention that James has gotten thus far in his life is bordering on apocalyptic.

As a result, I have 18 (one for each year that he has been alive) words of advice from the college basketball world to the man known to himself as King James: Just drive your SUV to the NBA, and try not to get into another accident on the way.

He does not deserve to play in our game.

Hauptman’s Hits

• Enough already with the fans rushing the court. It is happening a few times a night these days. I can see fans storming the court once in awhile, but like the goalpost-jumping phenomenon that has had an awful and dangerous impact on college football, this silly act has become way too overplayed on hardwood courts all across America. When will it stop!? When a player or coach is trampled by a horde of drunk, delirious fans? I hope we never see that day, but unfortunately, it will probably be upon us sooner than later.

• I know it means nothing in terms of the NCAA Tournament or anything else, but what Tommy Amaker has done with his Michigan Wolverines is simply mind boggling. It reminds me a little of what Frank Robinson did with the Montreal Expos in baseball last season. Robinson had a team that was left for dead playing hard and playing the role of spoiler all season long. Amaker has done the same thing in Ann Arbor the last thirteen games. After beginning the season 0-6, with losses to schools such as St. Bonaventure, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, the Wolverines have not lost since and are currently sitting on top of the Big Ten with a remarkable 6-0 mark in conference games.

If Michigan, which is on self-imposed probation and barred from appearing in the NCAA Tournament this year, continues its conference domination and wins the Big Ten postseason tournament, then the Big Ten’s automatic berth into March’s big dance would go to the school with the best record in the regular season, or second best if Michigan wins the regular season championship as well. Let the ridiculousness continue in the Midwest.

• Of the top 10 teams in the latest Hoopville poll, the only school with a virtually unknown coach is No. 2 Pittsburgh with Ben Howland. Howland is currently in his fourth season at Pittsburgh, and the school has improved every year that he has led the Panthers. In 1999-2000, Howland’s boys finished 13-15. The next season, the Panthers went 19-14 and lost in the second round of the NIT. Last season, Pittsburgh won a school-record 29 games and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. This season, Pitt is 15-1 and on the verge of bring ranked No. 1 in either poll for the first time in school history.

Needless to say, Howland has done a great job at Pittsburgh and his team should be a real candidate for the Final Four come April. However, in order to go from a good team to an elite team, the Panthers have to dramatically improve their free throw shooting. The team is only hitting 61% of its foul shots this season, and the figure goes down to a conference-low 56% in Pittsburgh’s five Big East games. Also, two of Pitt’s best two players, Chevon Troutman (54%) and Brandin Knight (43%), have been absolutely awful from the foul line this season. As Duke and Jason Williams showed the world in last year’s third round tournament loss to Indiana, poor free throw shooting can take down a good team and send the players back to school a lot sooner than expected.

The Winning Lifestyle

The Winning Lifestyle

by Dan Hauptman

A collective deep breath is needed to be taken all around the college
basketball nation this week.

This action is needed for two reasons: the coaching fraternity thankfully
avoided losing one of its most notable members last weekend and Bob Huggins’
health problems should hopefully have a positive impact on coaches all across
this country.

Huggins, the Cincinnati coach who isn’t even 50 years old, suffered a heart
attack while at a Pittsburgh airport last Saturday morning. During a time of
year when a coach should theoretically be taking it easy and preparing for
the start of basketball practices later this month, Huggins was at the
airport after a Pennsylvania recruiting trip and en route to a coaching
clinic in Milwaukee. He is not alone.

In the ultra-competitive world of leading a big time collegiate hoops
program, there are very few free moments in which to relax and recuperate. A
minute not spent helping your team is viewed as a minute in which your
competition got the advantage over you. That is exactly why the lifestyles
of these coaches are so hectic and frankly, bad for the health of themselves
and everyone around them.

The biggest health risks to these men are heart problems. In recent years,
the list of coaches who have suffered some type of heart ailment, albeit in
most cases not as severe as the near-death attack that Huggins endured in
late September, reads like a who’s-who of basketball generals: Jerry
Tarkanian, Rick Majerus, Charlie Coles and unfortunately many others.

If you include college football coaches on that list, then who can leave off
former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, who suffered a heart attack the night
before his Wolverines played in the 1970 Rose Bowl and then underwent
quadruple bypass surgery and missed the end of the 1987 season.

In addition to the constant travel and lack of sleep that plagues these
coaches, the diets and flamboyant personalities are also to blame and
hopefully open to improvement in the future. This is proven, thanks to a
1996 study by Harvard Medical School professor Ichiro Kawachi. He confirmed
an earlier study that “grumpy old men” are about three times as likely as
others to have heart disease. Hoops coaches, almost all between the ages of
40 and 65, would definitely be classified as “grumpy old men” when on the
sidelines of a basketball game.

But what is so alarming about Huggins’ attack is that it happened during the
offseason, when the pressure to win is not quite there yet. His doctors
cited two main reasons when explaining the possible cause for his sudden
chest pain. Family history was mentioned as the primary culprit, especially
because his father, Charlie, a high school basketball coach, had a heart
attack when he was 36 and then had quadruple bypass surgery when he was 60.

The other cause that was cited involves everything that is a part of his
coaching lifestyle. His weight has fluctuated in recent years, he travels as
if he never learned how to dribble, his get-in-your-face emotional style on
the sidelines is extremely pressurized and his late nights and lack of sleep
are endangering. If he does not want to return to the Beaver Medical Center
again, then he must drastically take control of his work life.

Former Florida football coach Steve Spurrier often is criticized for his
minimal amount of time spent on the job, but he may be the only smart one of
this whole group. As shown by his unbelievable success (122-27-1 record in
his 12 years as head coach of the Gators, including the 1996 National
Championship), Spurrier was clearly able to win and lead the life that he
wanted to live, not the one that is dictated by the grueling schedules of his
colleagues at other universities.

Although Spurrier is now coaching in the National Football League with the
Washington Redskins, his lifestyle would wisely be followed by Huggins and
his other former fraternity brothers in the college basketball and football
ranks. Recruiting, scouting and all other activities that go into running a
Division I program are important, but not nearly as vital as time spent with
your family, your mind and your body.

Huggins is now in stable condition and looks like he will be back to his old
self within the next few months, but his old self will not be good enough
anymore. The events of last weekend were hopefully a wake up call for
himself and for his coaching brethren. Tone down the lifestyle, keep
yourself in better shape and most importantly, never forget to take a deep breath.

The Final Six

Saturday, March 23rd, 2002

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes
According to CBS SportsLine’s Dan Wetzel, Bob Huggins has decided to leave Cincinnati to coach at his alma mater, West Virginia. However, Huggins told Cincinnati’s WCPO-TV on Friday, “I have not made a decision.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino announced on Friday that guard Carlos Hurt was dismissed from the team. In a statement released by the school, the coach said that the freshman violated team rules. Hurt played 14 games for the Cardinals and had 8.1 ppg and 3.4 apg this past season.

John Pelphrey was named head coach at South Alabama on Friday. The 33-year-old played at Kentucky under Eddie Sutton and Rick Pitino and was the top assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida the past six seasons.

The NCAA Division I Basketball Committee will meet next week in Atlanta to discuss the post-game altercation between Duke’s Matt Christensen and referee Bruce Benedict. After Duke lost on Thursday to Indiana, the 6-foot-10 senior blocked Benedict from leaving the court. Christensen had to be pulled back by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. The NCAA released a statement on Friday saying it was aware of the confrontation and that it would not comment until its investigation had finished.

In Saturday’s West Regional Final, two key players will be hampered by injuries. Missouri’s Clarence Gilbert dislocated his left ring finger in the opening seconds of the Tigers’ win vs. UCLA and Oklahoma’s Hollis Price hurt his right ankle in the 1st half of the Sooners’ win vs. Arizona. Both are expected to play on Saturday.

Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson’s father, John, remained in intensive care Friday. The elder Sampson, known as “Ned”, remains at a San Jose hospital after emergency surgery to drain blood from his brain.

The No. 2 seeds are 10-1 through the first three rounds. Three No. 2 seeds have advanced to the Regional Finals (Oregon, Oklahoma and Connecticut). The other No. 2 seed, Alabama, lost in the 2nd round.

The Big 12 is 11-3 overall. In the West Regional Final, two Big 12 teams (Missouri and Oklahoma) will play for a chance to go to the Final 4. The Sooners beat the Tigers 84-71 on January 21st in Norman, Oklahoma.

The SEC is out of the tournament, as the conference finished 5-6. For the second straight year, the SEC will not be represented in the Regional Finals.

In the South Regional Final, Kent State will play Indiana. In the first round of last year’s Tournament, No. 13 Kent State defeated No. 4 Indiana 77-73.

In the East Regional Final, Maryland will play Connecticut. On December 3rd in the BB&T Classic in Washington D.C., the Terrapins beat the Huskies 77-65.

No. 12 Missouri becomes the lowest seed ever to advance to the Regional Finals.

On Thursday, three of the four lower seeds won (No. 2 Oklahoma was the only higher seed to advance). On Friday, all four higher seeds won, with two No. 2 seeds (Oregon and Connecticut) and two No. 1 seeds (Maryland and Kansas) advancing to the Regional Finals.

Five coaches advanced to their first Regional Final appearance as a head coach: Ernie Kent (Oregon), Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma), Stan Heath (Kent State), Mike Davis (Indiana), Quin Snyder (Missouri). Gary Williams, Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun all are heading back to the Regional Finals.

Maryland is the only team from last year’s Regional Finals that returned to the final 8 in this Tournament.

Conference Breakdown
Big 12 (11-3): 3rd round Win – Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas. 3rd round Loss – Texas.
Pac-10 (9-5): 3rd round Win – Oregon. 3rd round Loss – Arizona, UCLA.
ACC (7-3): 3rd round Win – Maryland. 3rd round Loss – Duke.
Big Ten (7-4): 3rd round Win – Indiana. 3rd round Loss – Illinois.
Big East (6-5): 3rd round Win – Connecticut. 3rd round Loss – Pittsburgh.
SEC (5-6): 3rd round Loss – Kentucky. DONE after 3rd round.
MAC (3-0): 3rd round Win – Kent State.
MVC (3-2): 3rd round Loss – Southern Illinois. DONE after 3rd round.
A10 (1-1): DONE after 2nd round.
WAC (1-2): DONE after 2nd round.
CUSA (1-3): DONE after 2nd round.
MWC (1-3): DONE after 2nd round.

Seeds Breakdown
2 (10-1): 3rd round Win – Oklahoma, Connecticut, Oregon.
3 (6-4): 3rd round Loss – Arizona, Pittsburgh. DONE after 3rd round
4 (5-4): 3rd round Loss – Kentucky, Illinois. DONE after 3rd round
5 (3-3): 3rd round Win – Indiana.
6 (3-4): 3rd round Loss – Texas. DONE after 3rd round
7 (3-4): DONE after 2nd round
8 (5-4): 3rd round Loss – UCLA. DONE after 3rd round
9 (0-4): DONE after 1st round
10 (3-3): 3rd round Win – Kent State.
11 (3-4): 3rd round Loss – Southern Illinois. DONE after 3rd round.
12 (5-3): 3rd round Win – Missouri.
13 (1-4): DONE after 2nd round
14 (0-4): DONE after 1st round
15 (0-4): DONE after 1st round
16 (0-4): DONE after 1st round

UConn: First Regional Final since 1999 (the Huskies won the title that year). 3rd appearance in last 5 years.

Indiana: First Regional Final since 1993.

Kansas: First Regional Final since 1996.

Kent State: First ever Regional Final.

Maryland: Second straight Regional Final.

Missouri: First Regional Final since 1994 (the appearance was later vacated).

Oklahoma: First Regional Final since 1988

Oregon: First time the Ducks won three games in the same tournament since 1939 (Oregon won that title).

Friday’s Heroes
Caron Butler, UConn: 19 points (6/16 FGs) and 4 rebounds in win vs. Southern Illinois.

Rolan Roberts, Southern Illinois: 24 points (11/16 FGs) and 8 rebounds in loss vs. Connecticut.

Luke Ridnour, Oregon: 20 points (4/9 3-pt FGs) and 5 assists in win vs. Texas.

Luke Jackson, Oregon: 25 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in win vs. Texas.

Drew Gooden, Kansas: 15 points and 13 rebounds in win vs. Illinois.

Juan Dixon, Maryland: 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in win vs. Kentucky.

Oklahoma and Indiana are in

Sunday, March 24th, 2002

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes
ESPN.com’s Andy Katz is reporting that Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins told staff members on Saturday that he was in the process of working on a contract with West Virginia. The report also says that the deal is not completely done and that there are a number of details that need to be finalized.

The Big 12 is 12-4, with Oklahoma in the Final Four and Kansas playing on Sunday in the Midwest Regional Final.

Both coaches (Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma and Mike Davis, Indiana) that won on Saturday are going to their first Final Four as head coach.

Indiana is 3-1 all-time (2-0 in NCAA Tournament) vs. Oklahoma. In the last meeting between the schools, No. 7 Indiana beat No. 10 Oklahoma 94-87 in OT in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.

Indiana guard Tom Coverdale re-injured his left ankle in the second half of the Hoosiers’ win vs. Kent State. With 9:35 remaining, the junior stepped on the foot of a Kent State player and then immediately grabbed his ankle. He was taken into the locker room for x-rays and did not return to the game. There is no word on the severity of the injury or his status for next weekend’s Final Four. Coverdale scored 14 points and was named the South Region MVP.

This is Indiana’s first Final Four since 1992. Oklahoma, who extended their winning streak against Missouri to nine games, is in their first Final Four since 1988.

Saturday’s Heroes
Quannas White, Oklahoma: 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7assists in win vs. Missouri. Helped hold Clarence Gilbert to 7 points on 1 of 16 FGs.

Hollis Price, Oklahoma: 18 points and 4 rebounds in win vs. Missouri. Named West Region MVP.

Kyle Hornsby, Indiana: 16 points (4/5 3-pt FGs) and 7 assists in win vs. Kent State.

Dane Fife, Indiana: 17 points (5/6 3-pt FGs) in win vs. Kent State.

Duke Goes Down

Friday, March 22, 2002

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes
University of Arkansas president B. Alan Sugg upheld the dismissal of basketball coach Nolan Richardson. Sugg said on Thursday that after reviewing 80 pages of material submitted by Richardson and interviewing a number of people, he concluded that he agreed with Chancellor John White and that Richardson should be replaced.

West Virginia has offered Bob Huggins its vacant head coaching job. The Cincinnati coach was in Morgantown, W.Va. this week and is now back in Ohio and deciding whether to remain with the Bearcats or return to coach at his alma mater.

Radford coach Ron Bradley quit on Thursday to take an associate coaching position at James Madison. Bradley is the winningest coach in Highlanders history with 193 wins in 11 seasons.

The Big 12 is 10-2 overall. In the West Regional Final, two Big 12 teams (Missouri and Oklahoma) will play for a chance to go to the Final 4. Also, the Big 12 is 3-0 in head-to-head games vs. the Pac 10 this Tournament. Kansas beat Stanford in the 2nd round, Oklahoma beat Arizona in the 3rd round, and Missouri beat UCLA in the 3rd round. The two conferences will face off again on Friday when Texas plays Oregon.

No. 12 Missouri becomes the lowest seed ever to advance to the Regional Finals. Also, with No. 10 Kent State and No. 12 Missouri in the Regional Finals, it is the first time that two double-digit seeds advance to the Regional Finals in the same Tournament.

In the South Regional Final, Kent State will play Indiana. In the first round of last year’s Tournament, No. 13 Kent State defeated No. 4 Indiana 77-73.

Oklahoma was the only higher seed to advance on Thursday. In the other three games, No. 1 Duke, No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 8 UCLA all lost to lower seeds.

Conference Breakdown
Big 12 (10-2): 3rd round Win – Oklahoma, Missouri.
Pac-10 (8-5): 3rd round Loss – Arizona, UCLA.
Big Ten (7-3): 3rd round Win – Indiana.
ACC (6-3): 3rd round Loss – Duke.
Big East (5-5): 3rd round Loss – Pittsburgh.
SEC (5-5):
MAC (3-0): 3rd round Win – Kent State.
MVC (3-1):
A10 (1-1): DONE after 2nd round.
WAC (1-2): DONE after 2nd round.
CUSA (1-3): DONE after 2nd round.
MWC (1-3): DONE after 2nd round.

Seeds Breakdown
1 (7-2): 3rd round Loss – Duke.
2 (8-1): 3rd round Win – Oklahoma.
3 (6-4): 3rd round Loss – Arizona, Pittsburgh. DONE after 3rd round
4 (5-2):
5 (3-3): 3rd round Win – Indiana.
6 (3-3):
7 (3-4): DONE after 2nd round
8 (5-4): 3rd round Loss – UCLA. DONE after 3rd round
9 (0-4): DONE after 1st round
10 (3-3): 3rd round Win – Kent State.
11 (3-3):
12 (5-3): 3rd round Win – Missouri.
13 (1-4): DONE after 2nd round
14 (0-4): DONE after 1st round
15 (0-4): DONE after 1st round
16 (0-4): DONE after 1st round

Indiana: First Regional Final since 1993.

Kent State: First ever Regional Final.

Missouri: First Regional Final since 1994 (the appearance was later vacated).

Oklahoma: First Regional Final since 1988

Thursday’s Heroes
Jared Jeffries, Indians: 24 points and 15 rebounds in win vs. Duke.

Aaron McGhee, Oklahoma: 21 points (19 in 2nd half) and 9 rebounds in win vs. Arizona.

Hollis Price, Oklahoma: 26 points (22 in 1st half), 4 rebounds and 3 assists in win vs. Arizona.

Kareem Rush, Missouri: 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in win vs. UCLA.

Antonio Gates, Kent State: 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in win vs. Pittsburgh.

2nd Round Summary

Monday, March 18th, 2002

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes

On Sunday, Fran Fraschilla announced his resignation as head coach at New Mexico. At the news conference in Albuquerque, N.M., Fraschilla said that he feels that he “let down” New Mexico A.D. Rudy Davalos. The Lobos finished the season 16-14 after losing to Minnesota in the 1st round of the NIT.

The six major conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10) placed 14 teams into the Sweet 16. The only teams not from those conferences to advance to the 3rd round were Kent State and Southern Illinois.

The Big 12 sent 4 teams to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever. In the previous four NCAA Tournaments, the conference sent a total of four teams to the 3rd round.

For the first time since 1986, there have been two 2 OT games in the same tournament. #8 UCLA beat #1 Cincinnati in 2 OT in the second round and #12 Creighton defeated #5 Florida in 2 OT in the first round.

The 105-101 2 OT #8 UCLA win vs. #1 Cincinnati marked the first time that both teams scored more than 100 points in the same game since 1994, when UCLA lost to Tulsa 112-102. The 206 total points scored in the UCLA-Cincinnati 2nd round game was the most scored since that 1994 1st round game (214 points).

In the 3rd round, UCLA and Missouri will play for the first time since the classic game in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. In that 2nd round game, the Bruins defeated the Tigers 75-74 en route to winning the title. The game featured a memorable coast-to-coast drive by UCLA guard Tyus Edney to win it in the final seconds. Also, Missouri forward Kareem Rush’s brother, JaRon, played at UCLA in 1999 and 2000.

UCLA senior Rico Hines strained his left knee in the first half of the Bruins’ 2 OT win vs. Cincinnati. He didn’t play after halftime and his status is questionable for next Friday’s 3rd round game vs. Missouri.

In the Maryland-Wisconsin 2nd round game, Terrapins guard Juan Dixon became the all-time leading scorer in Maryland history. The senior passed Len Bias with a 3-pointer in the 1st half of the contest.

Conference Breakdown
Big 12 (8-2): 2nd round Win – Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma.
Pac-10 (8-3): 2nd round Win – Oregon, Arizona, UCLA. 2nd round Loss – Stanford, California.
ACC (6-2): 2nd round Win – Duke, Maryland. 2nd round Loss – Wake Forest, NC State.
Big Ten (6-3): 2nd round Win – Indiana, Illinois. 2nd round Loss – Ohio State, Wisconsin.
Big East (5-4): 2nd round Win – Connecticut, Pittsburgh. 2nd round Loss – Notre Dame
SEC (5-5): 2nd round Win – Kentucky. 2nd round Loss – Alabama, Miss St, Georgia.
MVC (3-1): 2nd round Win – Southern Illinois. 2nd round Loss – Creighton.
MAC (2-0): 2nd round Win – Kent State.
A10 (1-1): 2nd round Loss – Xavier. DONE after 2nd round.
WAC (1-2): 2nd round Loss – Tulsa. DONE after 2nd round.
CUSA (1-3): 2nd round Loss – Cincinnati. DONE after 2nd round.
MWC (1-3): 2nd round Loss – Wyoming. DONE after 2nd round.

Seeds Breakdown
1 (7-1): 2nd round Win – Duke, Kansas, Maryland. 2nd round Loss – Cincinnati.
2 (7-1): 2nd round Win – Oregon, Connecticut, Oklahoma. 2nd round Loss – Alabama.
3 (6-2): 2nd round Win – Arizona, Pittsburgh. 2nd round Loss – Miss St., Georgia.
4 (5-2): 2nd round Win – Kentucky, Illinois. 2nd round Loss – Ohio State.
5 (2-3): 2nd round Win – Indiana.
6 (3-3): 2nd round Win – Texas. 2nd round Loss – California.
7 (3-4): 2nd round Loss – Wake Forest, NC State, Xavier.
8 (5-3): 2nd round Win – UCLA. 2nd round Loss – Notre Dame, Stanford, Wisconsin.
9 (0-4): Done after 1st round
10 (2-3) 2nd round Win – Kent State.
11 (3-3): 2nd round Win – Southern Illinois. 2nd round Loss – Wyoming.
12 (4-3): 2nd round Win – Missouri. 2nd round Loss – Tulsa, Creighton.
13 (1-4): 2nd round Loss – UNC-Wilmington. DONE after 2nd round
14 (0-4): Done after 1st round
15 (0-4): Done after 1st round
16 (0-4): Done after 1st round

Arizona: Fifth Sweet 16 in last seven years.

Connecticut: First Sweet 16 since the Huskies won the title in 1999.

Duke: Fifth straight Sweet 16. 13th in last 17 years. Coach K 14-0 vs. former assistants (all-time).

Illinois: Second straight Sweet 16.

Indiana: First Sweet 16 since 1994.

Kansas: Second straight Sweet 16.

Kent State: First ever Sweet 16.

Kentucky: Seventh Sweet 16 in last eight years.

Maryland: Fourth Sweet 16 in the last five years.

Missouri: First Sweet 16 since 1994. The Tigers have trailed for only 45 seconds in the two wins.

Oklahoma: First Sweet 16 since 1999.

Oregon: First time the Ducks won two games in the same NCAA Tournament since 1960.

Pittsburgh: First time the Panthers won two games in the same NCAA Tournament since 1974.

Southern Illinois: First time the Salukis have won two games in the same NCAA Tournament.

Texas: First Sweet 16 since 1997.

UCLA: Fifth Sweet 16 in last six years.

Sunday’s Heroes
Dan Gadzuric, UCLA: 26 points (career-high) and 13 rebounds in 2 OT win vs. Cincinnati.
Leonard Stokes, Cincinnati: 39 points (career-high) and 10 rebounds in 2 OT loss vs. UCLA.

Caron Butler, Connecticut: career-high 34 points (12-12 FTs) and 9 rebounds in win vs. NC State.

Frank Williams, Illinois: 20 points (all in 2nd half), 5 rebounds and 5 assists in win vs. Creighton.

Jermaine Dearman, Southern Illinois: 25 points (career-high) and 8 rebounds in upset win vs. Georgia.

Juan Dixon, Maryland: 29 points and 5 rebounds in win vs. Wisconsin. Set school career scoring record.

Aaron McGhee, Oklahoma: 25 points and 5 rebounds in win vs. Xavier.

2nd Round, Day 1

Tournament Summary – Sunday, March 17, 2002

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. We’re not about to change the color of the site to green.

On Saturday, about 125 NAACP protesters marched to the steps of the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, S.C. The protest at the NCAA Tournament site was part of a continuing fight to remove the Confederate flag that sits atop the South Carolina Statehouse.

Wake Forest lost to Oregon, due in part to the shoulder injury sustained by Craig Dawson. The senior guard hurt his left shoulder in the second half and returned to the bench late in the game with his arm in a sling. Dawson injured the same shoulder a year ago and missed the NCAA Tournament and was forced to have surgery in the offseason.

Two double-digit seeds have advanced to the Sweet 16 (#12 Missouri, #10 Kent State). Last year, three double-digit seeds advanced to the 3rd round. The record is five double-digit seeds in 1999.

Conference Breakdown
Pac-10 (7-2): 2nd round Win – Oregon, Arizona. 2nd round Loss – Stanford.
Big 12 (6-2): 2nd round Win – Missouri, Kansas.
ACC (5-1): 2nd round Win – Duke. 2nd round Loss – Wake Forest.
Big Ten (5-2): 2nd round Win – Indiana. 2nd round Loss – Ohio State.
SEC (5-3): 2nd round Win – Kentucky. 2nd round Loss – Alabama.
Big East (3-4): 2nd round Loss – Notre Dame
MVC (2-0): No games on Saturday
MAC (2-0): 2nd round Win – Kent State.
CUSA (1-2): No games on Saturday
WAC (1-2): 2nd round Loss – Tulsa. DONE after 2nd round
MWC (1-3): 2nd round Loss – Wyoming. DONE after 2nd round

Seeds Breakdown
1 (6-0): 2nd round Win – Duke, Kansas.
2 (5-1): 2nd round Win – Oregon. 2nd round Loss – Alabama.
3 (5-0): 2nd round Win – Arizona.
4 (4-2): 2nd round Win – Kentucky. 2nd round Loss – Ohio State.
5 (2-3): 2nd round Win – Indiana.
6 (2-2): No games on Saturday.
7 (3-2): 2nd round Loss – Wake Forest.
8 (4-2): 2nd round Loss – Notre Dame, Stanford.
9 (0-4): Done after 1st round
10 (2-3) 2nd round Win – Kent State.
11 (2-3): 2nd round Loss – Wyoming.
12 (4-2): 2nd round Win – Missouri. 2nd round Loss – Tulsa.
13 (1-4): 2nd round Loss – UNC-Wilmington. DONE after 2nd round
14 (0-4): Done after 1st round
15 (0-4): Done after 1st round
16 (0-4): Done after 1st round

Arizona: Fifth Sweet 16 in last seven years.

Duke: Fifth straight Sweet 16. 13th in last 17 years. Coach K improves to 14-0 vs. former assistants.

Indiana: First Sweet 16 since 1994.

Kansas: Second straight Sweet 16.

Kent State: First ever Sweet 16.

Kentucky: Seventh Sweet 16 in last eight years.

Missouri: First Sweet 16 since 1994. The Tigers have trailed for only 45 seconds in the two wins.

Oregon: First time the Ducks won two games in the same NCAA Tournament since 1960.

Saturday’s Heroes
Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky: 41 points (career-high), 9 rebounds and 4 assists in win vs. Tulsa. Most points in a NCAA Tournament game since Wally Szczerbiak scored 43 for Miami (Ohio) in a 59-58 OT win vs. Washington on March 12, 1999.

Daniel Ewing, Duke: 18 points (career-high) and 6 rebounds in win vs. Notre Dame

Rickey Paulding, Missouri: 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in win vs. Ohio State

Luke Jackson/Luke Ridnour/Freddie Jones, Oregon: Combined for 81 points (26/49 FGs), 18 rebounds and 12 assists in win vs. Wake Forest. The rest of the team combined for 11 points.

Channing Frye, Arizona: 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks in win vs. Wyoming

Day 2 Recap

Tournament Wrap-Up – First Round

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes
After four decades of coaching college basketball, Jerry Tarkanian is throwing in the towel. The 71-year-old announced his decision at a press conference on Friday afternoon. He will stay at Fresno State and serve as a consultant for his alma mater. Tarkanian won a NCAA title with UNLV in 1990 and is the fourth winningest coach in major college basketball (778-202 in 31 years in Division I).

Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson made his first public comments since his dismissal. He issued a statement to the AP saying that he would fight a buyout of his contract. He is scheduled to meet with University of Arkansas system president B. Alan Sugg on Monday.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said on Friday that he will need right hip replacement surgery following the season. The 55-year-old had the surgery on his left side following the 1999 Tournament.

Larry Shyatt will be behind the bench at Clemson next year. Clemson athletic director Bobby Robinson said Friday that he has given Shyatt a two-year contract extension. The new deal will keep the coach at the university through 2005.

Tennessee junior Marcus Haislip will enter June’s NBA Draft. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds this season.

Oklahoma guard Hollis Price hurt his left ankle and strained his right hamstring in the Sooners’ win vs. Illinois-Chicago.

Indiana guard Tom Coverdale didn’t practice on Friday. The junior injured his left ankle in the first half of the Hoosiers’ win vs. Utah. He returned to the game but was limping noticeably. He says that he is going to play on Saturday, but he feels a sharp pain when he tries to cut on the ankle.

Kansas is preparing for its 2nd round game as if guard Kirk Hinrich will not be available. The junior sprained his left ankle in the 1st half of the Jayhawks’ win vs. Holy Cross. He didn’t participate in Friday’s practice and coach Roy Williams said that had the game been on Friday, Hinrich would not have been available.

Missouri forward Kareem Rush is optimistic that he will play on Saturday vs. Ohio State. He needed 21 stitches to close a cut on his lip that occurred in Thursday’s game and also strained his neck in the victory.

Teams from the six big conferences (ACC, Big 10, SEC, Big 12, Pac 10, Big East) were 24-9 in the First Round.

For the first time in Tournament history, three 12-seeds advanced to the 2nd round (Tulsa, Missouri and Creighton). The lowest seed to win was 13-seed UNC-Wilmington. Double-digit seeds won seven games in the 1st round. Last year, nine double-digit seeds advanced to the 2nd round.

There were two overtime games in the 1st round. In each game, the lower seed won. 13-seed UNC-Wilmington defeated USC on Thursday, and 12-seed Creighton beat Florida in double overtime on Friday.

Ohio teams are 4-0, with wins by Kent State, Ohio State, Cincinnati and Xavier. The state of Florida didn’t fare nearly as well, going 0-3 with Florida, Miami and Florida Atlantic going home after one game in the tournament.

Of the eight sub-regions, only the Midwest lower bracket saw all four top seeds advance to the 2nd round. Sixth seed Texas will meet No. 3 Mississippi State and second-seeded Oregon faces No. 7 Wake Forest.

Bob Knight and his Texas Tech Red Raiders lost to Southern Illinois on Friday. Knight’s teams have now lost 5 of their last 7 1st round NCAA Tournament games.

Conference Breakdown
Pac-10 (5-1): Win – Oregon, Arizona, Stanford. Cal, UCLA. Loss – USC
ACC (4-0): Win – Wake Forest, Duke, NC State, Maryland Margin of victory: 20.5 ppg
Big Ten (4-1): Win – Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin. Loss – Michigan State.
SEC (4-2): Win – Kentucky, Alabama, Miss. St., Georgia. Loss – Florida, Ole Miss
Big 12 (4-2): Win – Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas. Loss – Oklahoma St, Texas Tech
Big East (3-3): Win – Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, UConn. Loss – Miami, St John’s, Boston College
MVC (2-0): Win – Creighton, Southern Illinois.
WAC (1-1): Win – Tulsa. Loss – Hawaii.
MWC (1-2): Win – Wyoming. Loss – Utah, San Diego State.
CUSA (1-2): Win – Cincinnati. Loss – Charlotte, Marquette.
WCC (0-2): Loss – Gonzaga, Pepperdine. DONE after 1st round

Seeds Breakdown
1 (4-0): Win – Kansas, Duke, Cincinnati, Maryland
2 (4-0): Win – Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, UConn
3 (4-0): Win – Arizona. Pitt. Miss. St, Georgia
4 (3-1): Win – Kentucky, Ohio State, Illinois Loss – USC
5 (1-3): Win – Indiana. Loss – Miami, Marquette, Florida
6 (2-2): Win – Cal, Texas. Loss – Gonzaga, Texas Tech
7 (3-1): Win – Wake Forest, NC State, Xavier. Loss – Oklahoma State
8 (4-0): Win – Notre Dame, Stanford, Wisconsin, UCLA
9 (0-4): Loss – Charlotte, Western Kentucky, St. John’s, Ole Miss
10 (1-3): Win – Kent State. Loss – Pepperdine, Michigan State, Hawaii
11 (2-2): Win – Wyoming, Southern Illinois. Loss – Penn, Boston College
12 (3-1): Win – Missouri, Tulsa, Creighton. Loss- Utah. 1st time three #12 seeds advanced to 2nd round.
13 (1-3): Win – UNC-Wilmington. Loss – Valparaiso, Davidson, San Diego State.
14 (0-4): Loss – UC Santa Barbara, Central Conn State., McNeese State, Murray State
15 (0-4): Loss – Florida Atlantic, Montana, Ill-Chicago, Hampton
16 (0-4): Loss – Holy Cross, Winthrop, Boston University, Siena

Cincinnati: Coach Bob Huggins won his 500th game on Friday vs. Boston University.

Connecticut: 10-0 in 1st round games under Jim Calhoun.

Kansas: 19 consecutive 1st Round wins.

Kent State: Won in 1st Round for 2nd straight year. The Golden Flashes have never been to the Sweet 16.

Kentucky: 12 straight 1st Round wins. Tubby Smith will face his old team, Tulsa (1992-95), in the 2nd round.

Oregon: Won first NCAA Tournament game since 1960.

UNC-Wilmington: 1st ever win in NCAA Tournament.

Pupil vs. Mentor: Former Duke assistant Mike Brey and his Notre Dame squad will battle Coach K and Duke in the second round. Last year, another former Krzyzewski protege, Quin Snyder, and his Missouri Tigers lost to the Blue Devils 94-81 in the second round.

Friday’s Heroes
Terrell Taylor, Creighton: GW 3-pter and 28 points (all after halftime) in 2 OT win vs. Florida.

Aaron McGhee, Oklahoma: 26 points and 12 rebounds in win vs. Illinois-Chicago.

Frank Williams, Illinois: 25 points and 8 assists in win vs. San Diego State.

Steve Logan, Cincinnati: 27 points and 8 assists in win vs. Boston University

Juan Dixon, Maryland: 29 points and 4 assists in win vs. Siena.

Jarvis Hayes, Georgia: 31 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in win vs. Murray State.

Day 1 Notes

Day 1 Tournament Wrap-up

by Dan Hauptman

News and Notes
According to reports, Jerry Tarkanian will announce his retirement from coaching on Friday. Tarkanian and his attorney met with Fresno State president John Welty on Thursday and the three were expected to meet again later in the day to finalize the details of the retirement.

Nolan Richardson’s lawyer said on Thursday that if Richardson is not restored as basketball coach, he might seek an injunction that would attempt to block Arkansas from searching for a new coach. According to lawyer John Walker, Richardson still considers himself as the coach at the school. University president B. Alan Sugg and Richardson are scheduled to meet 10 a.m. on Monday at the university’s system office in Little Rock.

Also on Thursday, the AP reported that in February, the Arkansas Razorback Foundation tried unsuccessfully to get Richardson to sign a new television contract that contained conduct clauses.

St. John’s sophomore guard Willie Shaw did not accompany the team to Washington DC and will not play in any NCAA Tournament games for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Coach Mike Jarvis refused to give a reason for the suspension. Shaw played in 29 games and averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 rebounds this season.

Pittsburgh guard Brandin Knight practiced on Thursday despite a strained right quadriceps and an injured right little finger. The junior wore protective padding on his finger during the practice.

Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich sprained his left ankle in the first half of the Jayhawks’ win vs. Holy Cross. He returned to the bench in the second half and was wearing an air cast with a heavy wrap and using crutches. X-rays were negative and the team said he is questionable for Saturday’s game.

With 20:00 to go in the 1st half, Western Kentucky was already beating Stanford 1-0. Before the game started, the Stanford bench was assessed a technical foul for failure to produce the starting lineup to the scorer’s table on-time. Patrick Sparks hit one of the two free throws for the Hilltoppers.

Double-digit seeds won five games on Thursday. Also, 12-seeds were 2-1, with wins by Tulsa and Missouri. The lowest seed to win was No. 13 UNC-Wilmington against USC in OT. Last year, nine double-digit seeds advanced to the second round.

Conference Breakdown
Pac-10 (3-1): Wins – Oregon, Arizona, Stanford. Loss – USC
SEC (2-0): Wins – Kentucky, Alabama
Big Ten (2-0): Wins – Ohio State, Indiana
ACC (2-0): Wins – Wake Forest, Duke
Big 12 (2-1): Wins – Missouri, Kansas. Loss – Oklahoma St
WAC (1-0): Win – Tulsa
Big East (1-1): Win – Notre Dame, Loss – Miami
MWC (1-1): Win – Wyoming, Loss – Utah
CUSA (0-2): Losses – Charlotte, Marquette
WCC (0-2): Losses – Gonzaga, Pepperdine. Done after 1st round
MVC: (No games so far)

Seeds Breakdown
1 (2-0): Wins – Kansas, Duke
2 (2-0): Wins – Oregon, Alabama
3 (1-0): Win – Arizona
4 (2-1): Wins – Kentucky, Ohio State, Loss – USC
5 (1-2): Win – Indiana, Losses – Miami, Marquette
6 (0-1): Loss – Gonzaga
7 (1-1): Win – Wake Forest. Loss – Oklahoma State
8 (2-0): Wins – Notre Dame, Stanford
9 (0-2): Losses – Charlotte, Western Kentucky
10 (1-1): Win – Kent State. Loss – Pepperdine
11 (1-0): Win – Wyoming
12 (2-1): Wins – Missouri, Tulsa, Loss – Utah
13 (1-2): Win – UNC-Wilmington, Losses – Valparaiso, Davidson.
14 (0-1): Loss – UC Santa Barbara
15 (0-2): Losses – Florida Atlantic, Montana
16 (0-2): Losses – Holy Cross, Winthrop

Kansas: 19 consecutive 1st Round wins.

Kent State: Won in 1st Round for 2nd straight year. The Golden Flashes have never been to the Sweet 16.

Kentucky: 12 straight 1st Round wins. Tubby Smith will face his old team, Tulsa (1992-95), in the Second Round.

Oregon: Won first NCAA Tournament game since 1960.

UNC-Wilmington: First-ever win in NCAA Tournament.

Pupil vs. Mentor: Former Duke assistant Mike Brey and his Notre Dame squad will battle Coach K and Duke in the second round. Last year, another former Krzyzewski protege, Quin Snyder, and his Missouri Tigers lost to the Blue Devils 94-81 in the second round.

Thursday’s Heroes
Mo Williams, Alabama: career-high 33 points in win vs. Florida Atlantic.
Brian Brown, Ohio State: career-high 33 points in win vs. Davidson.
Keith Bogans, Kentucky: 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in win vs. Valparaiso.
Josh Davis, Wyoming: 11 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 steals in win vs. Gonzaga.
Craig Callahan, UNC-W: 21 points and 6 rebounds in win vs. USC
Jason Gardner, Arizona: 28 points (12-14 FTs) and 5 assists in win vs. UC Santa Barbara.

Respect

No R-E-S-P-E-C-T

by Dan Hauptman

In each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have advanced to at least the Sweet 16. Only Michigan State and Duke have accomplished this feat the past three years, something that speaks volumes about the success of the West Coast Conference team from Spokane, WA. One would think that this history, as well as the stellar play of Mark Few’s team this season, would propel the Bulldogs to at least a top four seed this time around. Obviously, the selection committee does not think this way, as Gonzaga is seeded an insulting sixth in the West region of the 2002 Big Dance.

This seeding trend has been quite evident in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tournaments, as Gonzaga was seeded 10th, 10th and then 12th in the respective championships. Why? Maybe it is because of the mid-major conference that the Bulldogs play in. Maybe it is because they play their games late at night in the middle of Washington, with very few selection committee members staying up to watch the exciting squad compete. Maybe it is the bias that the committee has shown through the years to teams playing in the six major conferences (ACC, SEC, Big East, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10). Whatever the reason, there are questions of respect, or lack of, that need to be answered by the nine men and a woman on the selection staff.

This year, the Bulldogs had the best regular season in their history, as Gonzaga won a school-record 29 games and only lost three contests, all to Tournament teams (Illinois, Marquette and Pepperdine). Also, the school won its last 14 games, including capturing its fourth consecutive West Coast Conference tournament title with a 96-90 win against Pepperdine. No school lost fewer overall games than Gonzaga did, and the same holds true at home, as star guard Dan Dickau capped a perfect home career by winning every contest at the Kennel this season. There was very little that this squad could have done during the 32-game season to be more desirable in the committee’s eyes.

But evidently there was a whole lot more that Few’s team could have done, as according to the powers-that-be, this top ten team did not deserve to be in the top 20 in the field of 65. Also, Gonzaga was placed in perhaps the toughest region in the entire Tournament. The West bracket contains Conference USA winner Cincinnati (No. 1 seed), Big 12 champion Oklahoma (No. 2), Pac 10 crown-wearer Arizona (No. 3) and Big 10 title-holder Ohio State (No. 4). The road to the regionals in San Jose will undoubtedly be difficult, but as was the case in years past, expect the Bulldogs to be among the final 16 teams, maybe even playing in Atlanta as one of the last four teams alive. Think of it as poetic justice.

Tournament Tidbits:

• Unlike many others, I actually don’t mind the new “pod” system of assigning games, but there are some examples that clearly do not make any sense. Take UCLA, the No. 8 seed in the West region has to travel across the country to play its first two rounds in Pittsburgh, PA. Similarly with Cal, which is in the South bracket yet has to fly from Berkeley to Pennsylvania to play its first couple of games.

• Most intriguing first round matchup: No.10 Michigan State vs. No.7 North Carolina State. As Jason Drucker writes in his region preview, this game has “Classic” written all over it.

• Worst seed with the best chance at winning a game: No.15 Hampton vs. No. 2 Connecticut. Just ask the Iowa State Cyclones, which lost to 15th-seeded Hampton in last year’s first round.

• Sleeper, besides Gonzaga: Kent State. In the last six Tournaments, a double-digit seed has advanced to the Sweet 16. The 10th-seeded Golden Flashes may be this year’s representative.

Ohio Valley Recap

Ohio Valley Recap

Racing past Tech
Entering Saturday’s OVC Championship game, Tennessee Tech was hoping that what did not kill it only made it stronger. The Golden Eagles were in a similar position as they were one year ago, sitting as the tournament’s top seed after winning the regular season championship. In 2001, Tech was not able to win the OVC tourney, as it lost to Austin Peay in the semifinals.

This year, Tech got revenge on Austin Peay by beating the Governors by nine points in the semifinals. Saturday’s final pitted Jeff Lebo’s Tech squad against the Murray State Racers. The Golden Eagles were seeking more revenge, as their only conference loss this season was a 75-56 drubbing at the hands of Murray State. In the finals, the back and forth game came down to the wire. Once again, Tech came up on the short end of the stick, as Murray State guard Justin Burdine (tourney MVP) hit a jumper with less than 10 seconds left to put the Racers ahead to stay.

In perhaps the most consistently competitive conference in America, the 70-69 final score marked the sixth time in the past nine years that the OVC championship game was decided by three points or less. Congratulations to the Racers and coach Tevester Anderson. Murray State advances to its first NCAA Tournament since 1999, and wins its 11th OVC tournament title. Look for the Racers to be seeded 15th or 16th in the Big Dance, as they are an abysmal 147th in the RPI rankings. For Jeff Lebo and his Golden Eagles, maybe three times will be a charm and next season will be the year that they finally make the tournament.

Player of the Year – Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois
(Hoopville preseason prediction – Domercant)
Domercant becomes the first Panther to win this award. The 6-foot-4 guard led the OVC with more than 26 points per game, ranking him second in the nation, three points behind VMI freshman Jason Conley. The junior from Lisle, Ill. led his team in scoring in 29 games this season, including a career-high 40 points against Loyola on 12/15, the most points scored in a game in the conference this season. Domercant finished sixth in the OVC in rebounding (7.2 per game), was second in the conference with an 89 percent free-throw clip and led the league with 3.35 made 3-pointers per game. He was also chosen as the Player of the Week three times this season.

Freshman of the Year – Derek Winans, Sourtheast Missouri
(Hoopville preseason prediction – Roshaun Bowens, Tennessee State)
Winans had a great rookie year, as he ranked in the top 20 in nine different OVC categories. The 6-foot-2 guard led Southeast Missouri and was eighth in the league in scoring at 14.9 ppg, and tallied double figures in 21 of his 27 games this season. The freshman from East Cape Girardeau, Ill. becomes the first Indian to capture this award.

Coach of the Year – Jeff Lebo, Tennessee Tech
(Hoopville preseason prediction – Rick Samuels, Eastern Illinois)
Lebo, the former North Carolina guard, becomes the first coach in OVC history to win this award three years in a row. He was able to coach Tennessee Tech to the OVC regular season championship, but was not able to take his team to the field of 65, leaving a sour taste in his mouth that will last the next 12 months. The Golden Eagles were an offensive juggernaut, as they led the OVC in points per game (79.7), scoring margin (+11.5), field goal percentage (48%), 3-point percentage (38%), rebounding margin (+8.7), and assists (518 total, 17.3 apg). Lebo likely would trade this award for a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but maybe next year he can have both.

Final Regular Season Standings
Tennessee Tech – 24-6, 15-1 in the OVC
Morehead State – 18-11, 11-5 in the OVC
Murray State – 19-12, 10-6 in the OVC
Austin Peay – 14-18, 8-8 in the OVC
Tennessee-Martin – 15-14, 7-9 in the OVC
Eastern Illinois – 15-16, 7-9 in the OVC
Tennessee State – 11-16, 7-9 in the OVC
Southeast Missouri – 6-22, 4-12 in the OVC
Eastern Kentucky – 7-20, 3-13 in the OVC

First Team All-OVC
Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois
Nick Stapleton, Austin Peay
Damien Kinloch, Tennessee Tech
Justin Burdine, Murray State
Ricky Minard, Morehead State

ACC Tournament Preview

ACC Tournament Preview

Happy Tournament! (Soon to replace Happy Birthday and New Year as the most popular Happy phrase)

Conference tournament time is here, and the ACC will stage its 49th annual bash starting Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. Without further ado, here are Hoopville’s predictions as to who will win the games, the tournament and also which ACC teams will advance to this month’s Big Dance. Projections are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Play-in Game – Thursday, March 7
7 p.m. – #9 Clemson (13-16, 4-12) vs. #8 Florida State (11-16, 4-12)
Winner – Florida State 68-64
Why? – Each team won by single digits at home during the regular season, something that should make this game extremely competitive. Also, both teams have played horribly as of late, with Florida State losing nine of its last ten games and Clemson only winning two of its last thirteen contests. There are rumors flying around both places about the fate of the respective head coaches, but look for the Seminole players to extend Steve Robinson’s reign by one day, while Larry Shyatt may go out with an appropriate loss in the play-in game.

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 8

Noon – Florida State* vs. #1 Maryland (25-3, 15-1)
Winner – Maryland 93-67
Why? – The Terps are just too good for the Seminoles, who will be playing only 15 hours after defeating Clemson. Maryland probably will cruise into the finals, as its senior leaders – Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter – are trying to capture their first ACC tournament crown. The regular season champions may have already clinched a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but a good showing here may get the Terps top billing in the coveted East bracket.

2:30 p.m. – #5 Virginia (17-10, 7-9) vs. #4 NC State (20-9, 9-7)
Winner – NC State 84-72
Why? – Pete Gillen and his Virginia squad have by far the most to gain or lose this weekend in Charlotte. A few wins will clinch the Cavaliers an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, but a loss to the Wolfpack will probably force the team to punch its ticket to the N.I.T. A loss would mean a 7-10 conference record, probably not strong enough to keep Virginia’s bubble intact. The win last Thursday against Duke kept the bubble from bursting for a few days, but this team just is not good enough to beat NC State and earn a trip to the NCAA’s. Expect the Wolfpack, who are guaranteed to make the Big Dance, to make it a trifecta and sweep the Cavaliers in 2002. The crying will continue in Charlottesville, as the early-season top five team will be mad in March, but for the wrong reason.

7 p.m. – #7 North Carolina (8-19, 4-12) vs. #2 Duke (26-3, 13-3)
Winner – Duke 90-69
Why? – The only reason the Tar Heels avoided the dreaded play-in game is because of winning a 3-way tiebreaker against the Tigers and the Seminoles (a rare win for UNC this season). Last Sunday, Duke closed out the regular season by pounding North Carolina for the second time this year. The third meeting between the Triangle rivals will not be any closer, as this game means more to Duke than either of the first two contests. Look for Duke center Carlos Boozer to have his way down low with UNC big man Kris Lang, which should create open looks for lethal Blue Devil 3-point specialists Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Chris Duhon.

9:30 p.m. – #6 Georgia Tech (15-15, 7-9) vs. #3 Wake Forest (19-11, 9-7)
Winner – Georgia Tech 82-80
Why? – Wake Forest has already locked up a spot and will be a sleeper in the NCAA Tournament, but in this event, the young Georgia Tech team is playing too well to lose after only of 40 minutes of action in Charlotte. GT has won its last 5 games, and is 8-2 in its last 10 contests, with the two losses coming against Duke and Maryland. Also, the game means a lot more to the Yellow Jackets, because all that the Demon Deacons are really playing for is a better seed in the field of 65. Paul Hewitt and his team from Atlanta are here to play for their lives, or at least extend their expiration date by a day or two.

Semifinals – Saturday, March 9

1:30 p.m. – Georgia Tech* vs. Maryland*
Winner – Maryland 93-74
Why? – At least Hewitt and his players will be able to say that they got to the final 4, albeit the one in Charlotte rather than the real one in their hometown of Atlanta. A Duke-Maryland, one vs. two, Gary Williams against Mike Krzyzewski matchup is destined to be played Sunday afternoon, and the Yellow Jackets will not be the ones to challenge fate and prevent the teams from facing off. Maryland will glide past the young, but talented Tech team.

4 p.m. – Duke* vs. NC State*
Winner – Duke 87-73
Why? – Four of the players from the All-ACC first team will be playing in this contest, but unfortunately for Herb Sendek, he only coaches one of them. While senior guard Anthony Grundy made the five-man imaginary team, Duke is represented with a remarkable three players: Boozer, Williams and Dunleavy. The Blue Devils easily handled the Wolfpack in the two regular season meetings, and a win here should give Coach K a well-deserved No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

Championship Game – Sunday, March 10

1 p.m. – Duke* vs. Maryland*
Winner – Duke 86-76
Why? – The rubber matches of all rubber matches. First team All-ACC guard Juan Dixon will try and tally a win to put Maryland up 2-1 in the season series, but Duke may be too talented to lose on a neutral court in North Carolina. Who knows, maybe Maryland will get the ultimate revenge and even the score in the biggest way possible, by beating Duke in the Final Four on its way to the national championship.

ACC Notebook

ACC in Action

With Selection Sunday just three weeks away, it is quite evident that the Atlantic Coast Conference will send five teams to the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Here is a breakdown of the five teams that, unless something extraordinary happens, will be among the field of 65 in March.

Maryland (21-3, 11-1 in ACC, 2 RPI)
After crushing Duke 87-73 on Sunday, Maryland controls its own ACC destiny. If the Terps win the rest of their conference games, they will win the league and be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament (played March 7-10 in Charlotte). Gary Williams’ team has played great in the last season of the historic Cole Field House, winning all 13 games at home. In addition to stellar play by seniors Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter, junior guard Steve Blake has done a great job captaining the offense. The Oak Hill graduate has led the team in assists in 22 games this year and is second in the conference with 7.7 apg. If Maryland can keep up its dominating play, then the team from College Park should receive a No. 1 seed in either the South or the East region of the NCAA Tournament.

Duke (23-2, 11-2 in ACC, 3 RPI)
This team is an absolute scoring machine. Three juniors – Jason Williams (1st with 21.3 ppg), Carlos Boozer (3rd with 18.3 ppg) and Mike Dunleavy (5th with 17.8) – rank in the top 5 in scoring in the ACC. Also, the Blue Devils score the most points per conference game (91) and allow the least points per league contest (72). The talent on this team is scary, and after spending much of the season as the top-ranked team in the country, it is almost a lock that Coach K’s team will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South or East region.

Wake Forest (18-8, 8-4 in ACC, 21 RPI)
This team is the unheralded squad of this group. Duke and Maryland are elite national teams, NC State and its fabulous freshmen have been the talk of the league, and Virginia has been ranked in the top 10 for most of the year. So where are the Demon Deacons in all of this ACC chatter? They should be mentioned right after, if not in the same breath, as the Blue Devils and the Terrapins. That is how deep and balanced this team is.

Five different players have led Skip Prosser’s team in scoring, with Josh Howard and Darius Songaila leading the team in eight games apiece. Six different players have led the Deacons in rebounding, with Songaila collecting the most boards in 15 games. Seven different players have led Wake Forest in assists, with Broderick Hicks dishing most often in 11 games. Deep teams like this one are very dangerous in the NCAA Tournament. Also, the veteran players in Winston-Salem are getting more and more comfortable with their new coach’s offensive and defensive systems. If the Demon Deacons get worse than a No. 5 seed, then the committee is making a big mistake.

NC State (19-7, 8-5 in ACC, 27 RPI)
In the last notebook, we focused on the Wolfpack seniors. On the other end of the spectrum, the NC State freshmen – particularly Julius Hodge, Josh Powell and Ilian Evtimov – have really turned around a once-struggling ACC bottom feeder. “We have gotten invaluable contributions from our entire freshmen class,” said NC State coach Herb Sendek. “We knew we would have to rely on them heavily before the season began and they were thrust into important roles and have responded very well.”

The team from Raleigh has started more freshmen than any other school in the conference, with rookies starting 58 games. Freshmen have also accounted for more than 41 percent of the team’s total minutes played. The youth, along with the fact that none of the players on the roster has ever played in the Tournament, may hurt the team once the calendar turns to March. NC State’s consistent play all year long should earn the team a No. 4 or 5 seed in the Big Dance.

Virginia (16-7, 6-6 in ACC, 33 RPI)
Even though the Cavaliers have spent all season in the upper echelon of both top 25 polls, their recent play is jeopardizing their once-guaranteed NCAA Tournament slot. Pete Gillen’s squad has only defeated two ranked teams this year (No. 16 Georgetown and No. 14 Wake Forest) and quite frankly has not warranted being ranked anywhere close to the top 10 at any point during the 2001-2002 season. The team has four remaining conference games – including contests against Duke and at Maryland – and it must improve on its .500 ACC record in order to avoid sweating when the brackets are released on March 10. If Virginia is able to hold on and make the field of 65, it probably will not be seeded better than 6th in a region.

ACC Quote of the Year
“I’m thinking about going to buy a dog so when I go home I can kick it.”

- UNC coach Matt Doherty on how he is handling his team’s consistent losing. This was said during the weekly ACC teleconference on 2/5/02. After getting criticized for his tongue-in-cheek comment, Doherty apologized later in the week.

Slamming Dunking

Slamming Dunking

by Dan Hauptman

The second-most overrated and useless aspect of college basketball is the slam dunk. It really serves no purpose other than to show off a player’s athleticism in front of fans who hoot and holler as if their team just won the national championship.

Think about it. What is the advantage of doing a 360-double-windmill jam when a simple lay-in or even a bank layup can get the job done? Also, the two latter-mentioned shots are made at a significantly higher percentage than an acrobatic slam. The dunk just serves an individual purpose for the person doing the jamming, and can actually lessen a team’s chances of winning a basketball game.

After all, isn’t winning the most important goal when competing in any sport, much less varsity basketball on the collegiate level? Team-oriented coaches must cringe when witnessing one of their players attempt a throwdown on a wide-open fast break. There just is no need for it.

This drive to dunk the ball in situations that don’t warrant this type of action is part of the SportsCenter generation that is surely here to stay. When watching a highlights show on any given night during the basketball season, there are two main plays shown: dunks and 3-pointers. As a result, players see that if a monstrous rim-rocking dunk is made, even if it has no bearing on the plot of the game, it will almost always be shown on television for fans all over to see.

It is all about “me”. How can I get on TV? How can I get my name known around the country by fans whose only hoops knowledge is from watching these highlights shows? The answer in this 21st century lies in the ability and creativity of a hoopster to dunk an orange ball as hard as possible through the rim. After all, television coverage leads to fame, which inevitably leads to money. And that, not always winning, is the bottom line for many that play the sport of basketball.

But it should not be that way on the college level. These players are amateurs, they don’t get paid, and the only thing that should be on their mind is the school name that is written on their chests. That is what is so perplexing about the sight of a player, such as UNC reserve Orlando Melendez shortly before the start of a big home conference game, practicing his dunking by himself on one half of the court. Maybe a player such as Orlando would play more than eight minutes a game if he practiced his shooting instead of his jamming. But he has obviously made a choice to be a fan-favorite known as little more than a slam dunker, not as a legitimate contributor to his struggling 6-15 team.

With Melendez and others like him around the nation, it is not always about doing what gives your team the best chance at winning a game. The goal is sometimes the thrill of watching yourself dunk on a television show the morning after a game. This is a very disturbing way of playing James Naismith’s game of basketball.

By the way, the most overrated aspect of college basketball? The starting lineup. As any coach will tell you, a player who finishes a game is many times more important than a player who starts one.

ACC Notebook

ACC Notebook

State Looks Great
With two senior guards leading the Pack, North Carolina State is on its way to its first NCAA Tournament since 1991.

“Anthony Grundy and Archie Miller are certainly not only providing us with outstanding play, but more importantly just great leadership,” NC State coach Herb Sendek said of his senior guards. “We all get excited about the young freshman we have, but there’s nothing like seniors.”

The dynamic duo is combining for 25 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists per game this season. Grundy is performing so well that he has a good chance of leading the Wolfpack in points, rebounds and assists. The latest ACC Player of the Week leads the team in all three categories. Miller is playing his best basketball despite not being able to practice because of edema in his left leg, a condition that could have led to a stress fracture in the bone. After not practicing for most of the month of January, the point guard’s leg now feels better and he is practicing again.

Opposing coaches are taking note of the stellar play of the senior pair.

“I think Grundy and Miller have done a great job throughout the season,” UNC coach Matt Doherty said after NC State beat the Tar Heels for the first time in four years. “They provide so much more than just points. You watch closely and you see Archie Miller talking during every dead ball. He’s a coach on the floor.”

Sendek has also earned praise for the way he persevered during the down years and into the good times that lie ahead for the Wolfpack. His team compiled a very impressive 6-2 record in January, with three of its wins coming on the road against ACC teams. Time away from Raleigh has been very successful for NC State, as the school has already won its most road games since 1990-1991, winning five of six road contests.

The next four games may determine whether the Wolfpack are able to advance to the field of 65. Three of State’s next four opponents are ranked (at Maryland, Virginia, at Duke) and the team will have to beat these teams without forward Levi Watkins, who is out for the year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.

Carolina Blue Sky
In the early 1980′s, Michael Ray Richardson of the Nets said this famous quote when asked about his struggling team: “The ship be sinking.” When asked “how far can it go?”, he had another creative response: “The sky’s the limit.”

Second-year North Carolina coach Matt Doherty has to be muttering the same words to himself in recent days. His Tar Heels are 6-13 overall and 2-7 in the ACC, perhaps on their way to the worst season in Carolina history. It cannot get much worse for the 39-year-old coach and his team. His hair is quickly turning whiter and whiter as the pressure to win in Chapel Hill intensifies after each unusual loss.

To make matters worse, the other two schools in the Triangle area in North Carolina – NC State and Duke – are both having fabulous seasons. NC State is on the verge of advancing to its first NCAA Tournament in 11 years and Duke has only lost once and seems to be destined to win its second consecutive title.

Fortunately for UNC, five top recruits are coming to Chapel Hill next season. Three of the prospects – Sean May, Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton – are in the top ten, according to many recruiting experts. Also, Carolina filled its big man void by recently snatching up 7-foot-1 Damion Grant. The 245-pound Jamaica-native has only been playing basketball for a few years since moving to New Hampshire, meaning that he is very raw, especially on the offensive end.

Blazin’ Blue Devils
Clark Kellogg, one of the best college basketball analysts around, has coined the term “spurtability” to describe a team that goes on many, quick runs. Duke is the perfect definition of a team with “spurtability”. As seen at Cameron recently against top 25 ACC opponents Maryland, Wake Forest and Virginia, the Blue Devils are able to put away opponents quickly and seemingly easily.

Against the Terrapins, an early second half spurt led by all-world guard Jason Williams put the vital game out of reach. After 30 lead changes in the first 23 minutes of the game, Williams scored seven points in one minute. His three baskets kick-started a stretch in which Duke scored on eight straight possessions to open the second half. The Blue Devils went on to score 26 of the final 34 points and stomp the Turtles 99-78. The game was seen by many, as it reached nearly three million TV homes, the largest audience ever for a regular-season college basketball game on ESPN.

Two days later, a similar spurt accelerated the top-ranked team past Wake Forest. After the Demon Deacons closed to within three points with a little more than 10 minutes remaining, it was Williams again who opened up the lead for the Blue Devils. The junior point guard started a 16-0 run by scoring on a driving layup that resulted in a three-point play. Later in the surge, Williams made two more layups less than a minute apart and Mike Dunleavy hit a 3-pointer as Duke closed the 103-80 win on a 27-7 run.

First-year Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser had this to say about the Blue Devils: “They are sharks. They see that blood in the water and all it takes is one drop and they’re ravenous.”

Duke’s second-half success continued last Sunday against the Cavaliers. With the score tied at 42 at halftime, the Blue Devils turned it up a notch and came out for the last 20 minutes recharged and refocused. In the opening five minutes of the second stanza, Duke hit seven of its first nine shots and led by 11 with a little more than 15 minutes to play. The Blue Devils hit 19 of 28 field goals in the period (68 percent) and rolled past Virginia 94-81.

The Blue Devils have rebounded from their loss at Florida State by winning eight straight games and have now won 20 games in a season for the 38th time in school history. If Duke’s “spurtability” continues during March Madness, then Coach K and his team should be cutting down the nets again when the calendar turns to April.

Tallahassee Turnaround
After playing half of its ACC schedule, Florida State has already won more total games than it won last season. The Seminoles are 10-10 and 3-6 in the ACC. This follows a miserable season in which Steve Robinson’s team finished 9-21. Although the season probably will not conclude with a postseason appearance, the Seminoles and their fans can be proud about beating Duke and North Carolina in back-to-back home games in early January.

The key player thus far for Florida State has been senior co-captain Delvon Arrington. He is second on the team in scoring with almost 11 points per game. The point guard leads FSU and is third in the conference with 6.95 assists per game. He also leads the Seminoles and ranks fifth in the ACC with 2.11 steals per contest. Arrington has done this while turning over the ball less than four times per game. Without him, it is likely that Florida State would not be having close to the success that it has had so far in this 2001-2002 campaign.

Adios ACC
Wake Forest recently announced that backup point guard A.W. Hamilton has transferred to Marshall. The 6-foot-3 Hamilton attended Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy under current Marshall assistant coach Kevin Keatts. He will be eligible to play starting the second semester next season and has two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining.

Virginia swingman Maurice Young has decided to transfer to St. Bonaventure. Young was selected twice last season as the ACC Rookie of the Week and he averaged 2.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 6.7 minutes in 25 games as a freshman in 2001. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Young left the Cavaliers in November after seeing limited playing time in their first two games. He will have two seasons of eligibility left when he begins playing for the Bonnies at the end of the next fall semester.

Ohio Valley Notebook

Ohio Valley Notebook

The Big Three
At this early juncture of conference play, it appears there are clearly three top teams in the OVC: Tennessee Tech, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin. Anything can happen once the OVC Tournament rolls around, but it looks like these three schools are the class of the league.

Tennessee Tech has not lost a game since December 21st, winning its last six contests. Jeff Lebo and his team are 4-0 in the OVC and 11-4 overall. The Golden Eagles have won a school-record 20 straight games at home at the Eblen Center. Their problems have come on the road, where they have a 5-4 record. One key for Tech has been its shooting. The team is shooting 53 percent in conference games and is averaging more than 80 points per game this year.

It has been the Henry Domercant Show all season long for Eastern Illinois. OVC members knew that he was good – he was voted as the OVC Preseason Player of the Year – but this good? The junior has led the team in scoring in every game except EIU’s opener against St. Joseph’s (Ind.) College, and has scored more than 36 percent of the Panthers points this year. The team has played very streaky basketball en route to its current 12-7, 4-1 OVC mark. After beating St. Joseph’s in its first game, Eastern Illinois lost three games, then won six straight contests, followed by four consecutive losses, and now the school is riding a five-game winning streak. If the Panthers are hot again come March, they may make a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee-Martin is 11-5 and 3-1 in the OVC, with seven home OVC games remaining. UTM is off to its best start since joining Division I. Also, like Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois, the Skyhawks are perfect at home, with a 7-0 record at the Elam Center. UT-Martin may be the deepest team in the conference, with 10 players averaging double-digits in minutes played per contest. One thing that could hurt the Skyhawks down the stretch is their free throw shooting. The team is shooting a collective 68 percent from the line.

MVP Battle
Two players have established themselves as clear-cut OVC Player of the Year candidates: Tennessee Tech’s Damien Kinloch and Eastern Illinois’ Henry Domercant. There is no coincidence that the players play on teams ranked first and second respectively in the latest conference standings.

Kinloch, a 6-foot-8 forward, is fifth in the league in scoring with almost 17 points per game. The junior from Charleston, South Carolina, leads the OVC in rebounding with 9.4 boards per contest. He also ranks among the league elite in field goal percentage (2nd with 63 percent) and blocked shots (6th with 1.53 per game). Kinloch has led the Golden Eagles in scoring in seven of their fifteen games, and has led the team in rebounding in all but two contests. The transfer from South Carolina has also won four OVC Newcomer of the Week awards. It is fair to say that at the very least, he is a lock for the Newcomer of the Year award.

Domercant, a junior from Lisle, Illinois, is currently leading the OVC with more than 26 points per game. That average is second best in the nation, two points behind VMI freshman Jason Conley. Domercant, who has been chosen as the OVC Player of the Week three times this season, has scored more than 20 points in his last 11 games, including a career-high 40 points against Loyola on December 15th. The 6-foot-4 guard also leads the conference with 3.5 made 3-pointers per game and a 90 percent free-throw clip.

See Ya SEMO
Before even playing a game at Southeast Missouri State, Justin Smith has announced that he is transferring to a junior college. The 6-foot-3 guard, who transferred to Southeast from Arkansas State last January, was a non-scholarship player who would have become eligible to play for the Indians this semester.

“Justin indicated to me that he feels the best option for him is to transfer to a junior college where he can play next year and then have two years eligibility remaining at a four-year school,” said SEMO head coach Gary Garner said. “He is a fine young man and we wish him the best.” Another possible reason for the guard’s decision to leave Cape Girardeau might be the December decision by Garner to red-shirt Smith for the rest of this season.

Looking Ahead
The league will have eleven teams next season, the most schools in the 54-year history of the OVC. Jacksonville State and Samford are joining the conference in time for next year’s basketball season. Samford is tied for first in the Atlantic Sun with a 7-2 record, while Jacksonville State is eighth in the conference with a 3-6 mark.

All-OVC NBA Team
Coach: Clem Haskins, a three-time OVC Player of the Year at Western Kentucky
Guard: Trenton Hassell, Austin Peay ’01
Forward: Popeye Jones, Murray State ’92
Forward: Anthony Mason, Tennessee State ’88
Forward: Carlos Rogers, Tennessee State ’94

Unfortunately for the OVC, there are only 4 players in the NBA who played in the league. 4 on 4 anyone? Also, Clem Haskins is not coaching big-time hoops anymore, as a result of a massive academic fraud scandal during his reign at the University of Minnesota.

Part 1

The Junior Tar Heels – Part 1

by Dan Hauptman

The baby blue uniforms have “North Carolina” written in white on the players’ chests, but this is not the legendary team that has won four championships and advanced to 15 Final Fours. The backs of the hand-me-down uniforms don’t even have the names of the players on them, leaving only the friends and family members of the hoopsters to distinguish one from the others. That is appropriate because the majority of the smattering of fans in the Smith Center are there for one reason: they are either related to or friends of the players on the home Tar Heels or the visiting opponents.

For this Carolina basketball squad, the season opens with a minuscule amount of fanfare. There is no band playing, no cheerleaders flipping, and barely any fans sitting in the predominantly blue arena. The junior varsity men’s basketball team begins another season playing as the opening act for the much more famous University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill varsity squad.

Junior varsity games begin three hours prior to the varsity contests. This year, as is the case every year, all 12 JV games are played at the spacious Smith Center. The Dean Dome has never looked as empty during a game as it looks when the non-scholarship, primarily underclassmen, junior varsity players roam the court in front of a maximum crowd of a few hundred viewers. There is no problem for the players hearing the coaching advice from head coach Doug Wojcik, as there is very little noise in the historic arena besides the sounds of pure basketball being played on the floor.

The University of North Carolina is a very rare Division I school that boasts a junior varsity team. As a result, the schedule is comprised of a few prep schools – mostly those with recruited players on them – as well as post-graduate high schools and JV teams from Division II and III schools in North Carolina. The team does not belong to any conference, has no chance of playing in any sort of postseason tournament, and according to Wojcik and many of his players, the club’s biggest rivals are two military academies, Fork Union and Hargrave.

“The junior varsity team at Carolina has been a tradition for many years,” said Wojcik, who is in his second year coaching of the team. “With 80 percent of students at UNC from North Carolina, it is another way for them to continue their basketball careers past high school. It’s not a feeder program in the sense that it is going to help us win at the varsity level. It’s more for the kids and the opportunity to continue to play basketball.”

In addition to coaching the JV team, Wojcik is in his second year as an assistant coach for the varsity team. His duties for the varsity team consist of coordinating the recruiting as well as scouting opponents and prospects. Wojcik has a lot more power at the JV level, as he has the final say on all matters dealing with his 14-player team.

“It’s a lot of fun coaching the team,” said the 37-year-old coach. “It’s a great experience for me. It’s phenomenal. I get to call timeouts; I get to go through practice. There are long days, but it’s still good for me.”

The JV program is further enriched by the fact that at least one player per year is usually promoted to the varsity squad. On the 2001-2002 North Carolina varsity team, there are three players that previously played junior varsity basketball at the university. Sophomores Phillip McLamb and Damien Price both made the team after playing for Wojcik last season.

“By playing for the junior varsity team, there is always the possibility of someday making the varsity team, like two kids from last year’s team did this year,” Wojcik said. “Based on them (McLamb and Price) playing last year, I recommended them to initially start practicing with the varsity team because we were short on personnel. Their physicals from last year and the fact that they competed last year made them eligible to play right away. At the time we didn’t know they would make the varsity team. They did really well and so now they are staying on varsity and helping us out.”

The third varsity walk-on this year, senior Joe Everett, followed his older brother Jim’s footsteps and advanced to the varsity level after spending two years playing junior varsity basketball. Jim Everett graduated in 2001 after playing two years on the junior varsity team and two years on the varsity squad. A third Everett brother, Charlie, is a freshman forward on the JV club.

“This has been a great ride for the whole family, especially Charlie,” said Jim Everett Sr., who drives from Charlotte to all of his sons’ games. “He is the youngest and has been hanging around his brothers while they have played JV and varsity basketball the last few years. It has been a lot of fun for all involved. The players are treated great and are worked very hard. It is also a great experience for the opponents. They get to play North Carolina at the Dean Dome.”

In addition to the lure of possibly running out of the tunnel as a varsity basketball player, there are other perks that entice students to participate in the unique Carolina junior varsity program.

“I think a lot of them have always dreamed of wearing a North Carolina uniform,” Wojcik said. “They get to practice in the finest basketball arena in the country, they get to play three hours before varsity games, and they get tickets to varsity games. There are plenty of incentives.”

The current junior varsity team wears jerseys that varsity players wore about five years ago. In addition to suiting up in an outfit undoubtedly worn on a grand stage by a former Tar Heel, each JV player also receives two tickets in the student section to the varsity games, Nike sneakers and clothes and other more abstract rewards.

“The first reason I play is to wear North Carolina on my chest. I also just really love basketball,” sophomore center Bryan Bell said. “I have loved it since I was little and I wanted to pursue it and hopefully go onto varsity next year. This is a good stepping stone.”

Freshman forward C.J. Hooker agrees: “Wearing the Carolina uniform and stepping out in the Dean Dome; there is no greater feeling. It’s like a dream come true. When I was a kid I always wanted to come here and put on the uniform. When we first put them on in the locker room, we were all speechless.”

On to Part 2

Part 2

The Junior Tar Heels – Part 2

by Dan Hauptman

Back to Part 1

While almost all JV players consider wearing North Carolina uniforms in the Dean Dome as a top incentive, some student-athletes play for other reasons.

“I am playing to stay in shape, keep out of trouble, and keep my grades up,” said Doug Melton, a sophomore majoring in biology. “Students who play sports usually have better GPAs. My time is organized because I know I have practice and games. Also, there is a drug-free policy and a school attendance policy. Everything is just managed. Your life isn’t about going out every night.”

As is the case in most situations, along with benefits come costs. For Wojcik and the junior varsity players, the hands down biggest cost is time spent pursuing a dream. The team practices for two hours, four times a week, as well as plays an average of one game a week.

“It’s very time consuming,” said Wojcik, who routinely spends time with the varsity and junior varsity teams during long days at the Dean Dome. “At the most, ten percent of my time goes towards the JV team. I do my full-time job like everyone else does in the country, but on top of that I have the JV program.”

The players appreciate the time that Wojcik spends with the team.

“Coach Wojcik is the man. Enough said. He is so well-balanced,” said Melton, one of three returning players from last year’s 9-2 team. “He balances the varsity and JV practices so well. He is in here all day with the varsity and then he spends all night with the JV team.”

Junior varsity players also have some time-juggling to do. Like all student-athletes, they have to manage their school time, social time, as well as basketball time. “All the work you do and you don’t get all the benefits that a scholarship athlete would get,” said freshman center Tyler Lester. “[Coach Wojcik] treats us a little differently than he treats the varsity players because he knows that we are students above athletes. We got here on our academic honors and things. He probably understands a little more about the extra work we have outside of playing JV basketball.”

Melton agrees: “You have very little social life at the end of the first semester and beginning of the second semester. Especially if you are one of the managers, then you have no social life. If you are one of the JV players, then you have a little bit of a social life. That’s the only cost.”

Although Wojcik and the players spend a lot of time participating on the junior varsity team, the 14 JV managers spend even more time doing chores all over the Smith Center. The managers have the same goals as many of the players: get moved up to the varsity team. The three head JV managers and 11 other managers perform many unnoticed tasks to make sure that the team’s practices and games run as smoothly as Wojcik wants.

“We take care of the little technicalities so the coaches just have to worry about coaching and the players only have to worry about playing,” said sophomore Russ Lauten, who is a head JV manager along with Emily Cozart and Bradley Vanhoy. According to Lauten, the managers spend about 25 hours per week working for the team. Their duties include: setting up all the locker rooms prior to practices and games, cleaning and putting the towels out, filling the cups with water, controlling the clock and scoreboard and typing up and passing out the practice plans.

In addition to the managers, there is a “quasi-manager”, L.J. Hepp, who serves as Wojcik’s unofficial assistant coach during practices and games. Hepp is a graduate student taking classes in exercise and sport science while working as Wojcik’s right-hand-man on the basketball team. When Wojcik goes away on recruiting trips for the varsity team, he leaves Hepp and the captains to run practice.

“L.J. is a good coach,” said Nathan Davis, a freshman forward on the team. “He played here a few years ago and knows what he is talking about. I know he wants to be a coach someday.”

Coaching the junior varsity team provides Wojcik with a peek at what life may be like if he is able to fulfill his goal and become a Division I head coach. “Professionally for my own individual growth it’s a nice deal and you develop great relationships with the kids,” said Wojcik. “I want to be a head coach. I wouldn’t be in this profession for this long if I wasn’t striving to be a head coach.”

Wojcik is the latest varsity assistant coach at North Carolina to serve as head JV coach. Some notable former coaches include: Kansas head coach Roy Williams, former South Carolina head coach Eddie Fogler, former UNC head coach and longtime assistant Bill Guthridge, current Philadelphia 76ers and NCAA championship head coach Larry Brown, as well as the leading scorer in Carolina history, Phil Ford. The list is extremely long and filled with some of the greatest college and professional coaches of the modern era, something that speaks volumes about the importance that North Carolina and legendary former head varsity coach Dean Smith place on the JV program.

Although official records for the junior varsity team do not exist, it is believed that three decades ago the program took the shape that it is today. Before the 1972-1973 season, freshmen were ineligible to play Division I basketball. If a freshman wanted to play, then the only way he could participate in NCAA athletics would be on a freshmen team. The NCAA changed the rule that season, allowing freshmen to play varsity all four years and greatly limiting the appeal at a major university for having more than one basketball team.

While almost all colleges have gotten rid of their non-varsity teams, North Carolina has kept the tradition going into the 21st century. When the NCAA granted freshmen eligibility, UNC changed its program from a freshmen team to a junior varsity squad. Today, the team is made up of nine freshmen, four sophomores and one junior. The junior, Costen Irons, is allowed to participate because he is only a few credit hours away from being a sophomore. Wojcik does not allow seniors on his junior varsity team.

Everyone involved seems to enjoy the time spent participating in the JV program. “It was fun coaching JV,” said Ford, who coached the junior varsity team from 1996-1999. “The kids worked their tails off and I really enjoyed that. Also, the players got along very well and there was no complaining about not playing because everybody got a chance to play.”

For the players, they get to play in front of family and friends at the Smith Center. Also, they join the select few who can honestly claim that they wore a North Carolina uniform on the floor of one of the most legendary basketball arenas in the world. In addition, a few of the student-athletes get a chance to make a dream come true and one day suit up for the prestigious University of North Carolina men’s varsity team. Although there continues to be little hoopla surrounding the games, the longstanding junior varsity program at UNC will surely continue for as long as basketballs are dribbled and points are scored.

2001-02 UNC Junior Varsity Roster

30 C So Bryan Bell
31 G Fr Courtney Crawford
32 F Fr Nathan Davis
04 G Fr Doug Esleeck
34 F Fr Charlie Everett
41 C Fr Karl Herrmann
14 F Fr CJ Hooker
21 G Jr *Costen Irons
05 F Fr Rock Jackson
50 C Fr Tyler Lester
42 G Fr Nick Love
40 F So *Doug Melton
15 G So *Jonathan Miller
24 G So Jonathan Stout

Head Coach: Doug Wojcik (Navy ’87)
* = Returning player

2001-02 UNC Junior Varsity Schedule

Nov. 16 Broughton High School
Nov. 20 Methodist College
Nov. 28 Guilford College
Dec. 02 Blue Ridge School
Jan. 12 Fork Union Military Academy
Jan. 23 Christian Faith Center
Jan. 29 Laurinburg Institute
Feb. 10 Pfeiffer University
Feb. 17 Queens College
Feb. 20 TBA
Feb. 23 New Hampton School
Feb. 27 Hargrave Military Academy

ACC Notebook

Atlantic Coast Notebook

Seminole Shocker
WOW! That is the only word that comes to mind when describing the shockwaves that were sent across America last Sunday night when hoops fans witnessed the No. 1 team in the nation, undefeated Duke, lose on national television at Florida State. When Duke forward Mike Dunleavy missed a put-back shot at the buzzer, fans stormed the Leon County Civic Center court in celebration of the incredible 77-76 FSU win. In part due to its horrible free throw shooting (7-19), including Jason Williams’ 0-6 from the line, Duke lost for the first time since February 27, 2001, snapping a 22-game winning streak.

Monte Cummings led the Seminoles with 16 points, including the game-winning basket with 7.4 seconds left, earning him the ACC Player of the Week award. One thing that the folks at Florida State might want to work on is the security at the Civic Center. After the buzzer sounded, many of the 10,212 fans in attendance stormed the court, almost trampling Williams, who was on the ground in the lane, and other players in the process. Fortunately, disaster was averted and no one was seriously injured.

A Wheeling Reunion in Chapel Hill
Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser’s first game against North Carolina also marked a reunion with one of his former players, second-year UNC assistant coach Doug Wojcik. During Prosser’s six-year stint as head coach at Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, West Virginia, Wojcik was the only player who advanced to play at a Division I school. Wojcik was the starting point guard for the Maroon Knights when the school went 25-2 and won the state AA championship in 1982. He went on to play at the United States Naval Academy where he led the team to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Following the Demon Deacons 84-62 win at the Smith Center last Saturday, the coaches had high praise for each other.

“He was an outstanding player for me, a terrific coach and even a better person,” Prosser said. “Again you don’t like to coach or play against friends. Fortunately it’s not me playing against Doug, I wouldn’t win too many of those match ups.”

“Coaching against Coach Prosser is a great challenge and yet an extremely proud moment for me,” said Wojcik, who in the Tar Heel media guide lists Prosser as having a great influence on his playing and coaching career. “I have always felt that he was special so to have him in the ACC is no surprise. He has always been a mentor to me and always will be.” The next battle between mentor and pupil will be February 6, when the Tar Heels travel to Winston-Salem.

An Unhappy New Year
In Charlottesville, Virginia, the famous New Year’s anthem, Auld Lang Syne, is played over and over again, no matter what Virginia team is playing or what venue the game is held at. Thus far, it has not been a very happy New Year for the Cavaliers men’s basketball team. After going 9-0 in November and December, when the calendar changed to 2002, so did the fortunes for this Top 10 team. Last Saturday, UVA was upset at home by a pesky North Carolina State team. Three days later, Pete Gillen and his squad lost by 16 points at Clemson.

The Cavaliers are now 9-2 on the season, and more importantly, 0-2 in the ACC, as of this writing. The last time that Virginia lost its first two conference games was 1998-1999, a season in which the team started its conference slate with five straight losses. Things should pick up for Virginia. In its next game, the school will play at Chapel Hill against struggling North Carolina. The Tar Heels are 4-4 at home, and coming off a 22-point loss against Wake Forest, the worst defeat in UNC’s 16 years at the Dean Dome.

Also, it was officially announced on Friday that North Carolina will be without Ronald Curry, the quarterback and point guard, and Julius Peppers, the defensive lineman and power forward, the rest of the season. There was hope in Chapel Hill that the two footballers would join the basketball team after the Peach Bowl on December 31st, but that will not happen. Both players are opting to pursue professional football careers and bypassing hoops in the process.

Counting Down Cole
One of the most historic arenas in all of college basketball is counting down the days until it is replaced by a new state-of-the-art facility. Cole Field House, Maryland’s home for the last 46 years, has seven games remaining. Following North Carolina’s 33-point loss at College Park, the arena will host the other ACC teams over the next two months, capped off March 3 when Virginia plays the Terrapins. That is a fitting end for the 14,500-seat arena, as the opening game at Cole was on December 2, 1955, when Maryland beat the Cavaliers 67-55. Next year, the Terps will play at the Comcast Center, which will not be as cozy with its capacity of 17,100. Cole, the only on-campus arena to host two Final Fours (1966 and 1970), surely will be missed by many Maryland, ACC, and college hoops fans all over the country.

Tigers Sharpening Their Claws
Following horrible non-conference home losses to Winthrop and Yale, the start of conference action was looking like the beginning of the end for Clemson’s 2001-2002 season. Then the Tigers upset two good ACC teams, Georgia Tech and Virginia, improving their conference record to 2-1 and sending a message across the Atlantic Coast. Clemson, 11-5, will play all of its remaining games against ACC teams. If the team can continue its strong conference play, then Larry Shyatt and his crew will have the media eating crow for picking the Tigers to finish last in the league prior to the season.

An Illogical Weekend

An Illogical Weekend

For those of us who don’t remember what we learned in high school math, the Law of Syllogism states that if P is greater than Q, and Q is greater than R, then logically P is greater than R. After the wild weekend of hoops upsets that we just witnessed, this law is illogical and wacky when studying the current state of college basketball.

Over the weekend of January 5-6, all four previously undefeated teams (Duke, Virginia, Oklahoma State and Miami) suffered loss number one, and a remarkable eight of the top thirteen teams in the country were defeated in conference action. One team after another lost over the two-day span, capped off by the most shocking upset of this young season, Florida State’s win over top-ranked Duke. The Blue Devils had won 22 straight games entering Sunday night’s contest, with their last loss more than 10 months ago against Maryland. Also, how about this compelling stat: Prior to Duke’s defeat at Tallahassee, Coach K’s squad had won 53 straight games against unranked ACC teams, with the last loss five years ago against N.C. State.

In trying to logically piece together the events of this past weekend and the swell of upsets in the first two months of this season, one can try and use the Law of Syllogism to solve the mystery that is coded NCAA BBALL.

How about this chain of patriotic Syllogism:

On 12/22, American (P) defeated Florida State (Q). Then the Seminoles (Q) beat Duke (R), the No. 1 team in the country. So what we have is American, thanks to the results of two games in the capital of the state that decided the last election, reigning as the best team in the nation, very fitting during this time of war in the United States.

Here’s another one:

On 12/29, IUPUI (P) defeated Georgia Tech (Q). Thirteen days earlier, Georgia Tech (Q) beat a top 10 team, Syracuse (R). Both games were at Georgia Tech, and by using the Law of Syllogism, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, known by a few more fantatics as IUPUI, should be in the top ten on the next AP poll.

There are numerous other fun and interesting examples of the Law of Syllogism at work (or not at work) so far this season. This kind of logic, while mathematically proven, has absolutely no bearing on college basketball in the 21st century. Any team can beat any other team, as parity and the frequent occurrence of upsets are the only constants in the sport. Just look at last weekend’s action, there are sure to be more of those days to come as the 2001-2002 season progresses.