Conference Call

Sporting News, The, Jan 1, 2001

                                  Hits

ATLANTIC     Donald Hand, Virginia. Playing in his
COAST        native New Jersey, he put up 21 points
             and nine assists in an 18-point whipping
             of Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic at
             the Meadowlands.

BIG          Bill Self, Illinois. At this rate, he'll win
TEN          more games this year than predecessor
             Lon Kruger will in the NBA. After back-to-
             back wins over top-10 foes, he treated
             fans to a rare win over Missouri.

SOUTH-       Rod Grizzard, Alabama. The sophomore
EASTERN      guard averaged 26 points in the Tide's
             three Puerto Rico Holiday Classic games,
             including a career-high 29 against
             Northern Iowa.

BIG          Troy Murphy, Notre Dame. He broke out
EAST         of a three-game slump with 29 points and
             15 hoards in the Irish's 99-71 defeat of
             Canisius. After averaging 17 points on a
             sprained ankle, he had 14 the first half.

PACIFIC-     Stanford. Can Cardinal basketball
10           replace the 49ers in the pro-minded
             hearts of Bay Area fans? Probably not, but
             overcoming a late, 15-point deficit to
             Duke made alums positively giddy.

BIG          Iowa State. A win over Drake gave the
TWELVE       Cyclones 26 consecutive victories at Hilton
             Coliseum--the second-longest active
             home-win streak in the nation, behind
             Michigan State's 33.

ATLANTIC     Lloyd Price, Xavier. His recovering from
TEN          an ankle injury was key in the team's wins
             against Cincinnati and Marquette. That
             two-game win streak re-established the
             team as a strong tourney contender.

CONFERENCE   Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles enter
USA          conference play as the best team no one
             knows about. Led by talented G David Wall
             and paced by fierce defensive play, they
             were 9-1 entering last weekend.

WESTERN      Tito Maddox, Fresno State. The guard's
WAC          debut was a smash. After sitting out last
ATHLETIC     season and the first eight games of this
             one, he averaged 19.5 points and 11
             assists in W's vs. Toledo and La.-Lafayette.

MOUNTAIN     San Diego State. The team already has
WEST         won more games this season (six) than last
             (five). F Randy Holcomb, a transfer from
             Fresno State, got his act together at Los
             Angeles CC and is putting up big numbers.

                                 Misses

ATLANTIC     Duke. The team's thin rotation and lack of
COAST        frontcourt depth were exposed in its
             second-half collapse against Stanford.
             Duke led by 15 in the second half, when it
             shot just 29 percent.

BIG          Jerry Dunn critics. The Penn State
TEN          coach, who's in the final year of a
             contract, has made a strong case for an
             extension with a 7-1 stud and a win at
             Kentucky.

SOUTH-       Tennessee. Before beating Syracuse, UT
EASTERN      was outerbounded in four consecutive
             games against smaller teams, including
             an embarrassing loss to Virginia. Against
             Syracuse, it won the boards, 46-19.

BIG          Seton Hall. The youngsters got pushed
EAST         around by Michigan State. Seton Hall was
             outrebounded, 58-32, and took 41
             percent of its shots from beyond the arc,
             where it was only 4-of-25.

PACIFIC-     Freddie Jones, Oregon. Jones has put
10           up solid number, but the Ducks still need
             more consistency from their top perimeter
             threat, He was 2-of-12 vs. Auburn and hit
             1-of-5 3s in a scare at Northern Arizona.

BIG          Texas Tech. The team, which went 30-2
TWELVE       in 1995-96, lost at home to Texas A&M-
             Corpus Christi, a second-year program
             under the direction of former South
             Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow.

ATLANTIC     Massachusetts. The Minutemen had it
TEN          going--for a minute. They beat Boston
             University but fell to 2-7 after a loss to
             Boston College three days later. Next up,
             Friday's game at North Carolina.

CONFERENCE   Saint Louis, in their league opener,
USA          against DePaul, the Billikens scored 43
             points and shot 27.4 percent in a 25-point
             loss, PG Marque Perry was 3-of-13 and
             the only Billiken who hit double figures.

WESTERN      Derrick Davenport, TCU. The senior was
WAC          supposed to be TCU's low-post threat. But
ATHLETIC     JC transfer Marlon Dumont, who had a
             double-double in 20 minutes against
             Texas-Arlington, is starting in his place.

MOUNTAIN     Ugo Udezue, Wyoming. The 6-8 junior
WEST         hasn't been the same since major knee
             surgery last year. A three-game suspension
             for violating team policy hasn't helped. He's
             still starting. He needs to stud producing.

                                Coaches'
                                 Corner

ATLANTIC     Larry Shyatt suspended his best
COAST        player, Will Solomon, against Wofford and
             used Tony Stockman in a three-guard
             lineup. Stockman had 23 points, three
             steals and three assists for Clemson.

BIG          Mike Davis made Kirk Hasten a starter
TEN          again and got rid of Indiana's traditional
             shod sheds. "Our (underwear) doesn't
             show anymore when we get down in a
             defensive stance," Hasten says.

SOUTH-       Tubby Smith would like to see son
EASTERN      Saul, Kentucky's senior point guard, be
             more assertive to take some heat off
             Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince, who
             are taking 41 percent of the team's shots.

BIG          Pitt coach Ben Howland sent freshman
EAST         Julius Page to the free-throw line for one
             shot after Duquesne received a technical
             with 2.2 seconds left. Page missed. Pitt
             lost 71-70. Pitt was 6-of-15 from the line.

PACIFIC-     Maybe an OT loss to Ole Miss will prod
10           USC to develop the killer instinct Henry
             Bibby seeks. The Trojans edged four D-I
             teams by a total of 19 points and even let
             BYU-Hawaii stick around for a while.

BIG          Texas coach Rick Barnes started
TWELVE       G Darren Kelly against Houston, even
             though Kelly missed the first eight games
             because of academic suspension. He had
             23 points in 37 minutes in the win.

ATLANTIC     Expect La Salle coach Speedy Morris to
TEN          look a tot smarter with C Garrett Bragg's
             (fractured hand) return. Now Rasual Butler
             can start at off-guard with Victor Thomas
             and James Jordan at the forwards.

CONFERENCE   Bob Huggins wins shirt of the year for
USA          the "island" button-down he wore at the
             Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, where he
             used three starting lineups in three wins
             en mute to the Classic title.

WESTERN      After losses to Kansas and Creighton,
WAC          Tulsa coach Buzz Peterson drilled the
ATHLETIC     team on nothing but defense, it worked,
             with Tulsa holding Wichita State to 49
             points and 36.5 percent shooting.

MOUNTAIN     Fran Fraschilla made Arizona transfer
WEST         Ruben Douglas a starter in his first game
             for New Mexico, kicked Malcom Battles
             off the team and suspended Wayland
             White. Battles won t be missed.

                                  Week
                                 Ahead

ATLANTIC     Virginia at Wake Forest (Tuesday). A
COAST        year ago, Wake got off on the wrong foot
             in ACC play with a devastating home loss
             to Florida State. North Carolina also visits
             Georgia Tech in a dangerous game.

BIG          Penn State at Michigan State
TEN          (Wednesday). Joe Crispin, the Big Ten's
             top player, vs. the Spartans, the league's
             top team. Can you think of a better way to
             ring in a new conference season?

SOUTH-       Vanderbilt at Boston College
EASTERN      (Saturday). Are the Commodores for real?
             They're a surprising 10-1, but nine of
             these wins came at home. A trip to
             unbeaten BC will be the toughest test yet.

BIG          Georgetown at Houston (Sunday).
EAST         Houston is only 2-6 but played Texas and
             LSU tough at home. The Hoyas haven't
             played the toughest of schedules. A win
             gives them a perfect nonleague record.

PACIFIC-     UCLA at Purdue (Saturday). Say what
10           you want about Steve Lavin, but the UCLA
             coach doesn't pad schedules. After North
             Carolina, the Bruins face the resourceful
             Purdue team of mentor Gene Keady.

BIG          Montana at Hazier (Saturday). OK, it's
TWELVE       not exactly a battle of the titans, but if the
             Bears win as expected against North Texas
             and Rice, a win over Montana would make
             them 10-0 for the first time.

ATLANTIC     Fordham vs. Stanford (Friday). The
TEN          Rams stumbled vs. Holy Cross but are
             playing good ball. They'll find out how
             good when they open against Stanford in
             the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara.

CONFERENCE   Kentucky at Louisville (Tuesday, 7 p.m.
USA          ET, ESPN2). The Cardinals have struggled
             with a tough schedule but should fare
             better on the boards now that 6-11
             Muhammed Lasege is playing.

WESTERN      San Jose State at SMU (January 14).
WAC          The Spartans, who revamped their lineup
ATHLETIC     with transfers, get a chance to prove if
             their 7-3 stud is for real in the league
             opener at conference-favorite SMU.

MOUNTAIN     Long Beach State at Utah (Wednesday).
WEST         Rick Majerus is expected back on the
             sidelines for the Utes, who have missed
             Majerus' teaching in practice more than
             anything.

                                  Best
                                 Tattoo

ATLANTIC     Julius Peppers, North Carolina. The
COAST        Tasmanian Devil on his left biceps is
             obscured when Peppers takes the football
             field as a defensive end, but it's there for
             the world to see on the basketball court.

BIG          Sergio McClain, Illinois. After winning
TEN          four state championships as a prep, he
             felt he deserved some respect. To that
             end, he had a local artist sketch the
             words "Bow down" on his biceps.

SOUTH-       Del Baker, Tennessee. He has a large,
EASTERN      head-and-shoulders likeness of Jesus on
             his left arm. Brother and teammate
             Vincent Yarbrough responded with a
             tattoo of his own--a crucifix.

BIG          Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall. On his left
EAST         biceps, he has "The Truth" written out
             above a pit bull with a spiked collar. But
             that's not all--four aces, one from each
             suit, are drawn at the top of the design.

PACIFIC-     Eugene Edgerson, Arizona. To honor
10           his service-oriented fraternity, Phi Beta
             Sigma, he pressed a red-hot wire hanger
             in the shape of a sigma into his left arm.
             The result is an eye-catching raised scar.

BIG          Jason Keep, Oklahoma State. It's not
TWELVE       clear exactly how it happened--a
             shortage of funds, or perhaps a mistake by
             the artist--but one of his seven tattoos
             reads "Big Dady."

ATLANTIC     Wayne Smith, Duquesne. On the inside
TEN          of his left forearm is a scroll with the
             inscription, "To the woman who dedicated
             her life to Rising me. I appreciate your
             love, Momma's boy."

CONFERENCE   LeAndrew Bass, UAB. The senior is a
USA          team player--in more ways than one. On
             his left shoulder is an etching of the
             Blazers' mascot--a dragon. Talk about
             loyalty to your school.

WESTERN      Damon Hancock, SMU. He has a
WAC          powerful set of tattoos on each shoulder,
ATHLETIC     the signature piece a drooling bulldog on
             one shoulder that reads, "Beware of
             Hancock."

MOUNTAIN     Kaspars Kambala, UNLV. Teammate
WEST         Dalron Johnson has a fist grabbing a
             cross coming out of a ball. But Kambala
             has a picture of of Casper the Friendly
             Ghost over a basketball with "Kaspars."