ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 29, 1997 TAG: 9703310140
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tim Duncan won after staying four years, and Clem Haskins won for persevering at Minnesota.
Tim Duncan won't deny he occasionally thought about leaving Wake Forest early to cash in on the NBA dollars that have lured many underclassmen away from college basketball.
He just never thought about it for very long.
``At some point, I did,'' Duncan said Friday as he accepted The Adolph Rupp Trophy presented by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky to The Associated Press player of the year. ``That's in the past. I'm a lot stronger and my game has steadily improved.''
And there are no regrets, even as he watched the others flee.
``I had my own reasons for staying,'' he said. ``Others might have different reasons. I can see that. It's not good or bad. It's what you want at that time.
``It's been a great four years for me. I've had a lot of fun outside of basketball and won a lot of games.''
Clem Haskins also has won a lot of games. He led Minnesota to its first Final Four berth and first Big Ten title since 1982, and Friday he received the AP's coach of the year award.
Hard work and dedication, traits Haskins learned growing up on a small Kentucky farm, were the traits he credited most with his success.
``There's nothing free in life,'' Haskins said after accepting the award. ``If you give me a dime, I'll give you a dime back. I don't take charity.''
Haskins, whose Golden Gophers play Kentucky in the national semifinals today, finished 16-2 in the Big Ten and 31-3 overall. Last season, Minnesota finished 19-13 and lost in the second round of the NIT after being spurned by the NCAA tournament for an at-large berth.
Haskins joked that he deserved the award more in his first two seasons at Minnesota, 1986-87 and 1987-88, when his teams struggled through a 21-game Big Ten losing streak.
``I deserved coach of the year those years,'' he said. ``We didn't have any talent in those years. This year we have talent.''
He received 37 votes from the national panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Eddie Fogler of South Carolina was second with 22 and Roy Williams of Kansas was third with 10.
Duncan was the first player of the year since Calbert Cheaney of Indiana to play four years of college basketball. The last three winners - Marcus Camby of Massachusetts, Joe Smith of Maryland and Glenn Robinson of Purdue - all left for the NBA as undergraduates.
While they were leaving, Duncan was rolling up big numbers at Wake Forest, turning the Demon Deacons into a force in the ACC. Coach Dave Odom thought he knew why Duncan stayed.
``Tim's not one to rush his life,'' Odom said. ``He's a thoughtful person. He knew his time would come.''
Duncan received 72 votes in nationwide balloting. The only other player in double figures was junior Raef LaFrentz of Kansas, who had 11.
A unanimous All-America choice and the first player selected for two consecutive years since 1992, Duncan was college basketball's most prolific rebounder in 25 years. He averaged 20.8 points and 14.7 rebounds, finishing his career with 2,117 points and 1,570 rebounds.
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