On Dean’s List, This Is Hardly Important

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina Coach Dean Smith is two wins shy of breaking one of college basketball’s most hallowed records but acting as though he has just been called before an NCAA infractions committee.

It’s difficult to understand.

Let’s face it, some records need to be broken.

Adolph Rupp’s mark of 876 wins in 42 seasons at Kentucky is one of them. Rupp was a great coach, but rest assured he won’t be remembered for his contributions to civil rights. Rupp won four national titles, yet his legacy to many will be tied to the 1966 national title game he lost, when his white-supremacy theories were put to rest against an all-black team at Texas Western. Rupp retired in 1972, having never advanced a team to the Final Four after basketball fully integrated.

So here comes Smith, human being exemplar who--barring one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history--will tie Rupp’s record tonight against 11-18 Fairfield in the opening round at Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum.

And Smith puts out a gag order . . . on himself.

“It’s not that I’m ashamed of the players we’ve had that produced those nice numbers,” Smith said during a Tuesday conference call with reporters. “But certainly, at every possible turn, the players aren’t going to talk about anything and I’m not going to talk about anything other than this team trying to win its 25th game of the season Thursday night. I’ve never been into coaches’ records anyway.”

Those close to the North Carolina coach say the prospect of breaking Rupp’s record in the NCAA tournament is Smith’s worst nightmare, that he might be taking this better if he were chasing the mark against Valparaiso in the Great Alaska Shootout.

John Lotz, an assistant under Smith for eight years in the 1960s and now assistant athletic director at North Carolina, says he thinks the NCAA brackets were manipulated so that Smith might break Rupp’s record on Saturday against Indiana and Bob Knight.

“Personally, I think it’s a setup,” Lotz said.

Smith watchers insist the coach truly does not care about Rupp’s mark and worries that the attention will detract from his team.

“Whether he breaks the record, that’s inconsequential to him,” said former Tar Heel Bobby Jones, now the boys’ basketball coach at Charlotte Christian High School. “His team is all consuming.”

Lotz recalled the fit Smith threw a few years ago when the university decided to name the new basketball arena in his honor.

“And they said, ‘Tough, we’re going to name it whether he wants it or not,’ ” Lotz said.

Smith was said to have been even considering retirement to avoid Rupp altogether until several former players begged him to go for the record, if not for himself, then for them.

It just doesn’t make sense. Why not bask a little bit, savor the moment?

It’s not as if Smith is trampling on hallowed Carolina ground. We’re talking Kentucky, Carolina’s archnemesis in hoops since the hoop skirt.

Smith and Rupp were coaching contemporaries only nine seasons and were not particularly close. Once, Smith met Rupp in a Charlotte hotel room for a chat as “the Baron” lounged in his red pajamas.

So why the publicity barricade?

“He’s very funny about himself,” Lotz said of Smith. “He’s just funny that way.”

You really couldn’t get a better trade-in on record holders. Smith not only was 5-2 against Rupp, he was infinitely more enlightened.

“Let’s be honest,” Lotz said of Rupp. “He never had many black players at Kentucky. It was a different league.”

It was Smith who, in 1958, walked into a Chapel Hill restaurant with a black man to challenge the eatery’s segregation policies.

“Doing what’s right isn’t something to brag about,” he said later.

It was Smith who tried to sign North Carolina’s first black player, Lou Hudson, in 1961, not succeeding only because Hudson didn’t score high enough on his SATs.

It was Smith who did recruit the Tar Heels’ first black, Charlie Scott, in 1966.

“His philosophy is, ‘In the eyes of God, every person is a person of worth,’ ” Lotz said. “He always fought for equality. His father, who was a high school basketball coach, had the first black player in Kansas.”

It is Smith who has never had a team on NCAA probation, Smith who never uttered a curse word anyone can remember. When a national writer recounted a courtside “cussing” match between Smith and Clemson Coach Rick Barnes last year, the scribe later wrote a letter of apology when it was confirmed that Smith did not, in fact, curse. So what better man than Dean Smith to seize history from Rupp, who piled up wins in a watered down Southeastern Conference as he occasionally invited officials to ride Kentucky’s team bus to away games.

Since becoming coach in Chapel Hill in 1961 at age 30, Smith has dominated one of the nation’s top conferences, the Atlantic Coast. In 36 seasons, he has averaged 24 wins a season, won two national titles, posted 27 consecutive 20-win seasons and is making his 23rd consecutive NCAA appearance.

“I think it’s great the guy who’s going to break Adolph Rupp’s record is legitimate,” Maryland Coach Gary Williams says. “He’s done it against the best teams in the country.”

There is no question Smith is the right man at the right time to supplant Rupp.

Someday maybe even Smith will believe it.

Smith’s power in dousing his story is only a testament to the power he commands in North Carolina. After stating before last week’s ACC tournament that he would not comment on Rupp, reporters did not dare ask a question pertaining to the record in three postgame news conferences.

“Everyone was afraid to be the first,” a Tar Heel spokesman guessed.

Smith dodged the question from national writers on two Tuesday conference calls. A Baltimore writer asked if Rupp’s record was a distraction.

“Your question may be a distraction,” Smith replied. “I’ve said it time and time again, the goal for this team, and only this team, is to advance one at a time.”

Smith then said he would be taking no other questions on the subject.

It’s a shame Smith can’t embrace the record the way Cal Ripken Jr. embraced Lou Gehrig’s.

“He’s just always been that way,” said Lotz, who has known Smith since 1961. “He’s never been one to look for records. He really is a teacher.”

So, it appears Smith really is going to let this record speak for itself.

HOPING FOR A STAG PARTY

Fairfield may be the most misunderstood team in the 64-team field. Yes, the Stags are 11-18 entering tonight’s first-round game against North Carolina. Yes, the Stags are going to lose. Yes, the Stags needed a miracle just to get here.

But . . .

“We’re not a typical 11-18 team,” Coach Paul Cormier said. “Or an 8-18 team. We were a dangerous team.”

The Stags were 8-18 until their storybook three-game winning streak in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament landed them an automatic NCAA bid.

Fairfield actually was one of the favorites to win the MAAC until a series of injuries derailed its regular season, namely the loss of Shane Miller, the team’s best shooter, to a season-ending back injury.

In the MAAC tournament, Fairfield’s fortunes changed. In the first round, the Stags upset top-seeded Iona, 80-71. In the second round, they beat St. Peter’s.

Fairfield played the title game against Canisius without two starters: Didier Boucard was out because of an ankle sprain suffered in the semifinals, and point guard Kyle Commodore had strep throat.

Fairfield beat Canisius anyway, 78-72.

“I can’t explain why we won that game,” Cormier said.

Fairfield is not considered the worst 16th-seeded team in the tournament, or it would have been matched against No. 1 Kansas. (Jackson State, at 14-15, got that honor.) The Stags, remember, took Boston College to overtime before losing this season. Cormier thinks an upset against North Carolina is possible.

“I think anything’s possible,” he said. “That is what’s great about college athletics and March Madness. I’m a realist, but I’m also a competitor. I’m not preparing my team to go down there to lose. I’m trying to prepare to pull off an unbelievable upset.”

Fairfield hopes to duplicate the back-of-the-pack charge North Carolina State made in the ACC tournament, when an undermanned Wolfpack team made a four-game run to the final before losing to North Carolina.

The Wolfpack trailed the Tar Heels by only two points, 47-45, with 6:25 left.

Expect Fairfield to borrow the Wolfpack’s game plan.

“There are a lot of similarities there,” Cormier said. “They were very disciplined, and they used the clock to their advantage, they didn’t go for the jugular. You have to cherish each possession, cherish your opportunities to score.”

Fairfield’s only chance is to milk the 35-second clock on each possession.

“We’re going to emphasize the shot that you take early in possession, it better not be a good shot, it had better be an outstanding shot.”

LOOSE ENDS

Here’s the record breakdown on first-round NCAA games since the bracket was expanded to 64 teams in 1985: No. 1 vs No. 16 (48-0); No. 2 vs. No. 15 (46-2); No. 3 vs. No. 14 (38-10); No. 4 vs. No. 13 (38-10); No. 5 vs. No. 12 (34-14); No. 6 vs. No. 11 (32-16); No. 7 vs. No. 10 (33-15); No. 8 vs. No. 9 (20-28). . . .

Sweet 16 forecast: West--Kentucky, St. Joseph’s, Wake Forest, Utah; Midwest--Minnesota, Boston University, Cincinnati, UCLA; East--North Carolina, Villanova, Massachusetts, South Carolina; Southeast--Kansas, Arizona, Georgia, Duke. . . .

Maryland Coach Gary Williams on his team’s first-round matchup against College of Charleston in Memphis: “They are higher ranked than we are, yet they’re the No. 12 seed and we’re the fifth. I find that very interesting.”

Charleston was ranked No. 16 in the final regular-season poll; Maryland was No. 22. . . .

Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins says the college game is being poisoned by players who think they’re ready for the pros. “Just because you can make a jump shot once a week doesn’t mean you’re going to be an NBA player,” he says. Haskins says he recruits players who will play four years for him and has signed only four junior college players in his 20 years as a college coach. Haskins: “You have to beat the bushes to find guys who want to get their degrees.”

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Dean’s List

A comparative look at Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp, college basketball’s all-time leaders in victories:

*--*

Rupp Smith Years 41 36 Wins 876 875 Winning percentage .822 .776 Head to head 2-5 5-2 Wins per year 21.4 24.3 30-win seasons 4 2 20-win seasons 23 30 Consecutive 20-win seasons 14 27 Conference titles 26 13 NCAA tournaments 20 27 NCAA tournament wins 30 61 NCAA Final Fours 6 10 NCAA titles 4 2 NIT titles 1 1

*--*

SMITH vs. RUPP

Dec. 17, 1962--North Carolina 68, Kentucky 66

Dec. 9, 1963--Kentucky 100, North Carolina 80

Dec. 7, 1964--North Carolina 82, Kentucky 67

Dec. 13, 1966--North Carolina 64, Kentucky 55

Dec. 12, 1967--North Carolina 84, Kentucky 77

Dec. 7, 1968--North Carolina 87, Kentucky 77

Dec. 8, 1969--Kentucky 94, North Carolina 87