Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 31, 1991                   TAG: 9103310123
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL BRILL
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN THIS REFEREE'S CASE, 'T' STANDS FOR TERRIBLE CALL

First, North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith, of all people, was ejected from the NCAA Tournament semifinals by referee Pete Pavia.

Then Bill Guthridge, the longtime North Carolina assistant coach, had to be restrained by police in the hallway after the Tar Heels were beaten Saturday by Kansas 79-73.

But the upset by the Jayhawks was overshadowed by the problems at the end involving Smith, Guthridge and Pavia.

Pavia rapidly is becoming known as the officiating hit man. Just three days before he called two technicals on Smith, he called the disqualifying technical on Oklahoma's Billy Tubbs in the first half of the National Invitation Tournament final.

Pavia also gave Georgetown's John Thompson a technical in the Big East Conference Tournament final, so this completes his hat trick.

Tournament director and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said the second technical on Smith was because the North Carolina coach was out of the coaching box.

It may be a rule, but no official showing good judgment would have called it, especially with Kansas clearly in command and only 35 seconds to play.

But the scene afterward was really ugly.

As the Carolina team and the officials left the court together, Guthridge was screaming at Pavia, "That's bush, that's bush. Where did you learn to officiate?"

Then Guthridge stumbled into a police officer, who almost fell down.

Later, Guthridge said, "The policeman pushed me."

White-coated Hoosier Dome officials grabbed Guthridge, and immediately UNC reserve Matt Wenstrom rushed to his coach's defense.

Several police officers reached into the growing pile of humanity while frantic NCAA officials tried to break it up.

Calm was restored quickly, but not before the Final Four had been tarnished, Carolina's normally Mr. Clean reputation had been besmirched and Pavia had entered the record books as the official with not only the quickest whistle, but the shortest fuse.

The first technical on Smith, with 2:58 remaining in the first half, came after the Carolina coach rose and yelled, "They're pushing, too."

There is no question if Smith cussed out the official. The Dean of coaches may be guilty of excesses, but he simply doesn't use profanity. It's not in his vocabulary.

"That was not a classy call at all," UNC senior guard King Rice said of the first technical. "That was really ridiculous."

But the one that cast a pall over the night's proceedings simply shouldn't have happened.

With time running out and the desperate Tar Heels pressing madly, Rick Fox fouled out.

Smith led reserve Kenny Harris to the scorer's table, asking Pavia, "Pete, Pete, how much time do I have [to substitute]?"

Instead, Pavia calmly whistled the "T" and pumped his arm in the air, signaling that Smith was gone.

It was the third ejection of Smith's career and easily the most embarrassing. The others were against Clemson in 1972 and 1977.

NCAA officials, quick to defend the officials, insisted Pavia was within the rules.

That isn't the point.

A veteran official, and certainly Pavia qualifies, shouldn't have followed the rule book so closely.

This was no Terry Cooney-Roger Clemens screaming match.

Smith, who probably was unhappy with the officiating throughout, nevertheless appeared to have accepted the defeat to his former assistant coach.

He wasn't at midcourt shouting at the referees.

Pavia should have ignored the incident, or, at the least, gone to Smith and said, "Get back in the coaching box or I'll have to call a technical."

He did neither.

The normally placid Guthridge was enraged, surely as much because his longtime boss had been publicly humiliated as by the defeat.

He lost his cool, hardly unexpected under the circumstances. But, although he was screaming at Pavia while being pushed away by ACC official Gerry Donaghy, the near-fracas was initiated by the overzealous men in the white jackets reading "Site control."

Surely, Guthridge was wrong. And it's lucky some punches weren't thrown.

But if Pete Pavia thinks it has become his job to call technicals every time the opportunity arises, he's wrong.

None of this would have happened if Pavia had shown self control, something he didn't exhibit in New York with Tubbs. At this stage of the season, good referees will let the line out farther.