TOOEARLY: As much as Jackson struggled Friday, he’s
still playing ahead of former Duke star William Avery, who jumped to the pros after his
sophomore year even though coach Mike Krzyzewski cautioned him he wasn’t ready.
Avery, the third-team point guard, played four minutes and
shot 0-for-2 against the Pacers.
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SUDDEN SAM: UNC’s Sam Perkins has fashioned a pro
career even longer than his legendary arms.
Perkins, part of UNC’s championship run in 1982 —
along with icon Michael Jordan,CBS analyst James Worthy and Notre Dame coach Matt Doherty
— is finally winding down, but is still a factor in the planet’s top league.
An NBA player since 1984, Perkins is still the Heels’
all-time leading rebounder. Now with the Indiana Pacers, Perkins made a surprise
appearance at UNC’s practice on Friday, delighting coach Bill Guthridge and the
current Heel players.
“Wow!” exclaimed UNC freshman Jonathan Holmes.
“Sam Perkins at practice. That’s the kind of thing that only happens at
Carolina.”
Perkins was inspired in turn by having the Tar Heels in
town. He had a season-high nine rebounds as the Pacers whipped Minnesota. He also blocked
three shots after having blocked only 12 all season.
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HOOPSHEAVEN: How crazy are Indianans about their hoops?
Some 4,000 manic fans showed up Friday at Butler’s
Hinkle Fieldhouse and paid $10 apiece to watch current and former Hoosier legends like
Damon Bailey, Steve Alford and Dan Dakich play in a charity game.
The $40,000 raised in the event went to the Emily Hunt
Foundation. Hunt is a 7-year-old who suffered spinal injuries in an amusement park
accident.
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RUNNINGSCARED: The Tar Heels lit it up in one shooting
drill on Friday in the RCA Dome, reaching a level at which the coaching staff was forced
to run laps as their reward.
It’s happened before, just not in front of 20,000 or
so people.
“It was hilarious,” said Kris Lang, who
momentarily forgot about a tender ankle. “That’s the fastest they’ve ever
run. A lot of folks were watching.”
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BRAGGINGRIGHTS: Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about
that Durham-based Carolina Warriors 18-under AAU team that had Lang, Peppers and Brendan
Haywood on it a few years ago — along with Wake Forest players, Craig Dawson, Josh
Howard, Antwan Scott and Ervin Murray.
“We must have won 97 out of 100,” boasted
Peppers, who claims that he, not Haywood or Lang, was the team’s go-to guy.
That got a rise out of UNC teammate Jason Capel, who played
for a rival Virginia AAU team, the same one, by the way, that produced Allen Iverson and
Joe Smith.
“You guys weren’t anything whooped Capel.
“We beat you by 30.”
That exchange precipitated a good-natured trash-talking
session that lasted the rest of the interview period.
Apparently, if everyone has their stories straight, the
Warriors whipped Capel’s high school team, but his AAU team did somehow beat the
Warriors.
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HOOK, LINEANDSINKER: Lang says he developed his trademark
jump hook by tying one hand to his waist. That made him roll the hook off his fingertips.
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DOMEIMPROVEMENT: Don’t expect teams to shoot the
lights out in the Final Four.
Utah coach Rick Majerus said that the RCA Dome has the
worst shooting background in dome history.
The Dome also has some of the worst seating in history.
Spectators in the upper area of the facility, which holds 43,299, are a long, long way
from the action and will need binoculars just to see the floor.
That hasn’t stopped tickets for this week’s fun
from going anywhere from $300 to a reported $8,000.
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PRACTICEMAKESPERFECT: All the Final Four teams put on a
pseudo-practice for fans in the RCA Dome on Friday, but they were really nothing more than
glorified shoot-arounds.
The real practices take place at local colleges and high
schools where no one is watching.
Ironically, Florida practiced at Butler’s Hinkle
Fieldhouse, just two weeks after the Gators sent Butler home from the NCAA Tournament on
Mike Miller’s buzzer-beater.
“They had a lot of class to let us practice
there,” said Miller.
“It’s a nice old barn,” said Florida’s
Brent Wright.
“I don’t mean to be funny,” said Gator
Udonis Haslem. “But Butler really prepared us for the Final Four.”
In more ways than one.
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HOOSIERHOOPS:Some reporters figured that while they were in
Indiana, they’d take a tour of tiny Milan, Ind. Milan’s improbable 1954 Indiana
state high school championship run was the basis for the movie “Hoosiers.”
When they found Milan, though, they were disappointed.
There was no “Welcome to Hoosiersville” sign.
Instead, the sign at the town limits read: “Welcome to Milan, home of Jenny Johnson,
first lady of softball.”
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WHERE’SBOBBY? The No. 1 topic in papers and talk shows
in Indiana, of course, is Hoosier coach Bobby Knight.
Knight’s under a little fire because of recent player
accusations and his team’s lackluster performances in recent NCAA Tournaments.
Two Big Ten teams are in the Final Four this season and
five Big Ten teams made the second round this year. None of them was named Indiana.
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NOTUS: The Badgers may be lousy dunkers, but don’t
make the mistake of calling them “plowboys” like one columnist did recently.
“That’s ridiculous,” said Badger guard Mike
Kelley. “Two of us played high school ball in Milwaukee. One guy’s from Detroit
and another’s from Minneapolis.”
“Ain’t never even been on a farm,”
deadpanned Kowske.
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BOILINGPOINT: Only one team played all of the Final Four
participants this season.
Purdue.
The Boilermakers went 3-4 against the elite. They split
with conference foe Michigan State and won one of three with Wisconsin.
The Boilermakers ran into UNC and Florida in the Maui
Tournament. Purdue beat Florida by 11, but got thrashed 90-75 by the Tar Heels in the
title game.
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