Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 1, 1991 TAG: 9104010025
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium
He was coached last summer by Mike Krzyzewski. His close friends include Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley.
Heck, he came this close to becoming a Dookie, Mark Randall said Sunday, holding his fingers an inch apart.
But because Randall's family could make the 10-hour drive from Denver to Lawrence, Kan., a lot easier than planning air trips to Durham, N.C., he is playing his college basketball at Kansas.
And tonight, he will try and lead the Jayhawks to the NCAA men's championship, and, yes, Duke is the roadblock.
If you know anything about Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, you know he's in love with the word "love."
And Coach K loves the way Randall plays basketball. Which is why the 6-foot-9, fifth-year senior played for him on the U.S. team in the Goodwill Games and the world championships.
"Mark is a homebody," Krzyzewski said Sunday, explaining Randall's college choice. "We asked him if he'd be willing to go to Argentina [for the world games]."
There is more to Randall's game than just numbers, which aren't bad. He's the second-leading scorer and the top rebounder on a team that won the NCAA title in 1988.
That year, Randall was a redshirt, for medical reasons, but by his own choice. Kansas beat Duke in the NCAA semifinals, then upset Oklahoma in the title game.
So Randall has a championship ring. Two, in fact. They are locked in his mother's safe deposit box in Denver "and they'll never touch my fingers," he said.
Part of that is because Randall, who had jaw and sinus surgery while he sat out the season, said he really didn't feel part of the team.
But he makes it clear that one reason for that feeling is the testy relationship with then-Kansas coach Larry Brown.
Carrying the ACC connection further, Brown is a former Dean Smith protege. Now the coach is Roy Williams, also a former Tar Heel.
The difference is that Randall likes Williams. He didn't appreciate Brown's negativism, and, while he said he never planned to transfer, he didn't weep when Brown suddenly left Kansas after the championship season.
"I kept reading in the local media about who the new coach might be," Randall said. "I didn't exactly agree with the names."
Williams was a surprise, and, to Randall, a pleasant one. "When I met him, I was excited. He talked about running and pressing and team basketball. That's the way everybody wants to play the game," Randall said.
Even more, Williams stressed the positive. He got Randall's attention.
It's not like life has been a honeymoon in the post-Brown years. One legacy was NCAA probation, involving a player who never enrolled, and Randall is still bitter. "I have strong feelings I won't share here," he said.
But, thanks in part to Randall's 16-point average and 64 percent shooting, the Jayhawks managed 19 victories. More importantly, under Williams, "that was a fun season," Randall said.
Last year, he again shot better than 60 percent - his career is a school-record 62 percent - and the Jayhawks won 30 games and were ranked No. 1 most of the season. But they were upset in the second round of the NCAA. "We didn't handle the pressure well," Randall said.
Less was expected this time with six players gone, and after an opening loss at Arizona State, Randall had an operation on his right shin for something called "compartment syndrome."
With their leader expected out for 10 days to four weeks, things looked gloomy for the Jayhawks.
The operation was on Tuesday. Randall spurned the offer of crutches. He shot free throws on Wednesday. The next day, he played "H-O-R-S-E" with the team managers. On Saturday, having convinced Williams he was ready, he played against Marquette. It is the only game he hasn't started in the past 100.
Neither a jumper or great shooter, Randall nevertheless is projected as a first-round pro pick. Moving without the ball is his trademark. True to his all-conference academic credentials, brains are his game.
Randall and Laettner used to patrol the streets in Argentina. "We were taller than everybody else," Mark said. "People would look at us and say `basket-boll."'
They formed a firm friendship. Laettner said they talk on the phone every couple of weeks. "Not always about basketball," Laettner said.
They will not talk tonight. "That's not my style," Randall said.
Randall said he picked Duke to beat UNLV. "I knew they were going to win," he said.
Eating a late dinner at their hotel, a manager told the players, "Duke's leading by two and there's 12 seconds left."
So everybody rushed next door to watch the ending. Randall, convincingly, said he didn't care who won. "When we're executing, I don't think any team can stop us," he said.
by CNB