Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 26, 1993 TAG: 9303260035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD,N.J. LENGTH: Medium
CINCINNATI'S FIERY HUGGINS IGNORES BEARCATS' DETRACTORS
Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins has promised to shave his head if the Bearcats make the Final Four for the second year in a row.It could do wonders for his image.
"He has a split personality,Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Huggins," said Terry Nelson, one of five seniors who start for the Bearcats.
"To me, it was a shock," Erik Martin added. "After the first week I was here, I was thinking,`This is getting kinda old.' After a month, I wanted a plane ticket home."
Huggins - "I ain't never called him Bob," Martin said - might not win any popularity contests, but he definitely gets his players to play, as evidenced by their return trip to the final 16.
The Bearcats (26-4) will meet Virginia (21-9) in the NCAA Tournament East Region semifinals tonight at 7:33 p.m. at the Meadowlands. Thirty minutes after the first game, North Carolina (30-4) will face No. 12 Arkansas (22-8).
Cincinnati is seeded second in the East and ranked seventh in the country; but, when people like Dick Vitale pick the Bearcats to lose to unranked Virginia, they wonder what they have to do to get some credit.
"We do [fine] with people who understand basketball," said Huggins, whose testy manner seems to promote an us-against-the-world mentality. "Coaches understand we can play.
"A lot of guys who talk about [basketball] are coaches who got fired, so why would I want to listen to somebody who couldn't coach?"
Huggins, who played at West Virginia, learned most of his philosophy from his former coach and father, Charlie, whose teams won four state championships in Ohio.
The difference with Bob Huggins is he has had relatively little time to impart his system. Four of his five starters are junior-college transfers, traditionally not known for their defense.
"We're getting to the point where we can be selective," Huggins said. "We've tried to recruit some high school guys; we weren't real successful, so we recruited junior-college players."
The only four-year player among Cincinnati's starters is guard Tarrance Gibson, a replacement for Allen Jackson, who suffered torn cartilage in practice before the Bearcats' 93-66 first-round victory over Coppin State.
Jackson did not practice Thursday, watching from a distance while listening to a Walkman. Gibson and sophomore LaZelle Durden took his place in a 92-55 victory over New Mexico State and combined for 39 points.
Gibson had a career-high 25 points and, in two NCAA Tournament games, has averaged 19.5 while shooting 72.7 percent (16-of-22)from the floor. He is a self-described "dirty guy" - presumably meaning he does the dirty work - who knows Huggins better than anybody.
"I'm generally the person, when Coach Huggins goes into one of his rages, who tells him, `Listen, buddy, they've never given us anything,' " Gibson said. "We've always had to earn it."
The Bearcats are not a particularly tall team, with only one player over 6 feet 6 among their first 10. That's 6-10, 242-pound Corie Blount, who missed 10 games before the NCAA decided to accept a redshirt year he took in junior college.
"Virginia has some pretty big guys and they're not stiffs," Martin said. "I think, if we can rebound,we've got a pretty good chance. If we don't, we may get blown out."
If the Cavaliers can't get the ball past midcourt, they may get blown out. Cincinnati has five players who have 35 steals or more; in comparison, no Virginia player has more than 32.
"There's no way we could simulate their press in practice as far as their athleticism and the system that they run," Virginia point guard Cory Alexander said. "Besides, they've been playing this way for two years."
Alexander has led the Cavaliers in scoring for the past seven games, but more important tonight will be his poise and patience. He ranks among the ACC turnover leaders with 102.
"I could have eight turnovers against this team and have a really good game," Alexander said. "That's not saying I expect to have eight turnovers, but if we win, it won't matter how many turnovers I have."
Alexander will be opposed by senior Nick Van Exel, a third-team All-American whose scoring average has dropped to 18.1 with seven- and three-point games in the NCAA Tournament. However, Cincinnati is 41-6 with Van Exel as its starting point guard.
"It shows the progress we've made," said Nelson, a 3.4-point scorer who has started 20 of 29 games. "If it was early in the season and Nick Van Exel had scored 10 points, it would have meant two losses."