The NCAA East Regional notebook …
PHILADELPHIA— Arguments surface every March over which region is the best, or most difficult to conquer.
When it comes to picking the bracket with the most tradition, though, this weekend’s East Regional looks like an ESPN Instant Classic wish list.
UCLA, with its unprecedented 11 national championships; Kentucky and its record 42 NCAA Tournament appearances; and Duke, with the all-time best NCAA tourney winning percentage (.758).
Oh, yeah — the University of Southern California is here, too.
“Everyone is looking at the other big three and it’s like we’re the spoke in the wheel that is broke,”Trojans head coach Henry Bibby said Wednesday. “I kind of like that.
“I don’t care who’s here. They’re no bigger than other people,”Bibby added. “We respect all the teams here. We don’t fear them, they don’t fear us.”
The only frightening thing about USC is its NCAA Tournament history. When the sixth-seeded Trojans take the court tonight against No. 2 Kentucky, it will mark their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since the event expanded to 64 teams.
USC last advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1961, when 32 teams competed for the title. The Trojans’ overall tournament record stands at 8-12 — not the sort of number to inspire awe in an opponent.
Just ask Bibby, who won three of those UCLA titles as a point guard from 1970-72.
“When you go to UCLA, you don’t think there are any other basketball programs in the country,”Bibby said. “We never thought highly of USC.”
Since UCLA’s fantastic run ended in 1975, the Bruins have won the championship just once, in 1995. That’s allowed Duke and Kentucky to creep up the charts and stake their claims among the nation’s elite.
The Wildcats own seven championships, the last coming in 1998. Duke holds two titles in the 1990s, the last coming in ’92 after the Blue Devils topped UK in the Elite Eight — right here in Philly — on Christian Laettner’s miracle shot at the buzzer.
Much of the buzz since the pairings were released has centered on that potential rematch. Not everyone has that in mind, though.
“I think the East Coast media wants that Duke-Kentucky,”Bruins point guard Earl Watson said. “Back home in L.A. and the West Coast, they want to see that USC-UCLA rivalry. Last time we faced each other there were a couple fights in the stands.”
The Trojans would relish the chance.
“Winning games like this will help us because we are trying to change the perception in Los Angeles that maybe there are two good basketball schools,”USC’s Brandon Granville said.
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barking up the wrong tree: UCLA, despite a solid 23-8 record and the No. 4 seed in the East, finds itself a double-digit underdog to the No. 1 Blue Devils entering tonight’s late game.
Not that anyone cares.
“We don’t really talk about underdogs … overdogs … topdogs … lowdogs,”Duke forward Shane Battier said slowly, thinking up as many new breeds as possible. “Any dog, really.”
UCLA’s Watson took a different approach when asked about the spread.
“I’m not even worried about it,”Watson said. “I don’t bet on games. It doesn’t help me.”
No doubt the NCAA was pleased to hear the anti-gambling stance it works so hard to enforce.
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don’t forget a No. 2 pencil: In addition to figuring out the Blue Devils, the Bruins have the added pleasure this week of taking exams.
The UCLA academic calendar picked a rather rough couple of weeks as far as the basketball players are concerned. The team brought exam proctors to Philadelphia, as players have been mixing hoops and homework every night this week.
“We had to go back Monday, ironically, to take a constitutional history class, so it’s appropriate that we’re in Philadelphia in terms of the Founding Fathers,”UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. “The kids kind of got a kick out of that.
Duke’s players are on spring break this week and have enjoyed the lighter load. When asked about the demands placed on today’s student-athlete, Battier deflected the question.
“I have the senior schedule,”he said with a laugh. “Not to say I’m taking Baking 101, but my academic demands are considerably less this year.”
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take that, mom! Battier also was asked if players leaving early for the NBA — or skipping college altogether — diluted the game.
For the follow-up question, a reporter asked Battier if winning Player of the Year honors had been tainted by the absence of preps-to-the-pros superstars Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, who would’ve been seniors this year.
“Any award you can get in life, you have to be happy and thank your lucky stars for it,”Battier said. “I don’t care if I won player of the year with my mom and my sister as the only competition, I’m going to be happy that I won.”
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Homecoming: Bibby is no stranger to the City of Brotherly Love.
After graduating from UCLA, he played in the NBA, winning a championship with the New York Knicks in 1973. But he lost two when he joined the Philadelphia 76ers from 1977-80.
“In the latter part of my career I got booed here a lot,”Bibby said, adding that he’s not sure if the Philly fans are still mad about Portland beating the 76ers in the 1977 Finals. “I hope the people of Philadelphia don’t think I owe them one.”
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thanks, coach! The final question put to Bibby on Wednesday asked about his team’s athleticism.
“I don’t think we’re that athletic,”he said. “Brandon can barely touch the net.”
Granville and two teammates waited just off stage to start their part of the press conference, and the the 5-foot-9 point guard wasn’t going to let the fun insult pass unnoticed. When Granville and Bibby walked by each other on the podium stairs, Granville dismissed his coach’s remark, shooing him off the stage with a big smile.
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keep it positive: When one of the most storied basketball programs in the country starts the season 3-5, life can get tough for the coach.
To keep his spirits up, Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith called on a master motivator — legendary baseball skipper Tommy Lasorda. The two met at the Sydney Olympics.
“He’s Mr. Positive, Mr. Enthusiasm,”Smith said. “He said, ‘Every time you go to practice, Tubby, you’ve got to tell them how much you love them, how great they are.’
“There was a point there where they were really trying my patience and it was tough to do that, but I did it and I think it paid off.”
The Wildcats won their next seven games following the slow start, then rattled off an eight-game streak in the middle of the Southeastern Conference season.
Through the ups and downs, Smith doesn’t mind the pressure that comes with the job.
“You have to understand that Kentucky basketball is bigger than you,”Smith said. “It existed long before you and it’s going to exist long after you. You’re just a guardian, someone who’s maintaining the program.”
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insert joke here: Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski took his seat for Wednesday’s press conference only after exchanging a few words and a handshake with moderator Pete Kowolski.
His opening statement wasn’t about Duke.
“I’m a little bit excited, because there’s not too many NCAA press conferences that have two Polish people running it,”Krzyzewski said. “Beer and brats for everybody.”
Before the laughs had a chance to subside, Coach K pushed the issue a bit further.
“Actually, Kowolski is like a Smith or Jones,”he said, turning to the moderator, who was nearly laughing hard enough to bring tears. “The more consonants you have in a Polish name …
“Anyway, my team’s doing pretty well,” he finally said, getting down to business with a smile.
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Sportswriter Steve Hanf is covering Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
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