ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 31, 1997 TAG: 9703310164
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: FINAL FOUR NOTES
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK THE ROANOKE TIMES
Derek Anderson's seemingly improbable return to Kentucky's trip to a second straight NCAA championship game wasn't so surprising after all.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino had told Anderson - since his recovery from knee surgery for a torn right anterior cruciate ligament in January - that if the Wildcats had technical-foul free throws to shoot, he would do it.
So, when Minnesota coach Clem Haskins detonated in Saturday night's semifinal, Pitino turned to his bench, where the anxious player already was up and headed to the scorer's table.
``I flew in there,'' Anderson said. ``I wasn't going to let him change his mind.''
Pitino did have some instruction for his senior guard, who was the team's leader until he was injured Jan. 18 against Auburn:
``Tuck in your shirt,'' Pitino screamed.
Anderson made both shots, but was just thrilled to be on the floor, in a game, again.
``Two points, zero minutes,'' he said, checking the box score. ``Not bad.''
OLSON STAYS: In tonight's final, Arizona's Lute Olson will be coaching against a team he might have guided.
The last two times Kentucky has hired a coach - Eddie Sutton (1985) and Rick Pitino (1989) - Olson was among the finalists for the opening.
``The first one [after Olson's second season at the Tucson, Ariz., school], I actually flew in and looked at Kentucky and spent a lot of time talking with people,'' Olson said. ``I was in the mix until the end, but I thought it best to stay at Arizona.
``The second time, I had known [UK athletic director] C.M. Newton for a long time and had great respect for him. I was scheduled to fly in again, but I guess the turning point came the day my wife picked up two of our grandkids from school.
``They said, `it's OK if you and Papa [Olson] decide to go,' and they say it with tears streaming down their faces. We're fortunate in that four of our five kids live in Tucson, as do eight of our 11 grandchildren.
``Family has always been important to us, so I sort of called C.M. at the 11th hour and told him. Family is why we decided to stay in Arizona to finish it up.''
SEEKING THREE: Arizona is going for more than its first NCAA title in tonight's game. The Wildcats are seeking a singular achievement in NCAA history.
With a victory over West Regional top seed Kentucky, Arizona would become the first team to beat three No. 1 seeds in one NCAA. The Pacific 10 team has eliminated Kansas and North Carolina.
The last team to beat a pair of 1's was Villanova's Cinderella champ in 1985, over Michigan and Georgetown. Arizona's other three wins in this tournament are over double-digit seeds (South Alabama, Charleston and Providence).
HE'S OK: Arizona backup guard Jason Terry, who played 20 minutes in the semifinal win over North Carolina, spent part of Saturday night in an Indianapolis hospital.
Terry collapsed when he went to the bench with 1:10 left in the game. He had fallen a few seconds earlier, but had not hit his head, although he had complained of some dizziness.
Olson said Sunday that Terry, who had a cold earlier in the week, was dehydrated and was put on an IV in the hospital. The Wildcats' steals leader returned to the team hotel early Sunday morning and is expected to play tonight.
TWO FOURS: Kentucky will be playing for its second straight NCAA title against a second No. 4 seed in Arizona, from the Southeast Regional. Syracuse was the No. 4 from the West when it lost to the Wildcats a year ago.
No fourth seed has won an NCAA title since the selection committee began the seeding process in 1979.
ANTAWN TIME: North Carolina's Final Four semifinal loss Saturday likely was the final college game for Tar Heels' sophomore Antawn Jamison.
Most of the season and through the NCAA Tournament, it has been expected that the 6-foot-9 forward would skip his final two seasons of eligibility for early NBA entry.
It has been said that Philadelphia's Jerry Stackhouse, who left UNC after two seasons and would have been a senior for the Heels in 1996-97, has advised Jamison to stay in Chapel Hill at least another year.
The general consensus is that Jamison will turn pro. ``I'll sit down with Coach [Dean] Smith in the next couple of weeks and talk with my family,'' Jamison said. ``If Coach Smith says he thinks I'm ready . . . ''
Jamison would be the eighth Carolina player to leave behind eligibility for pro hoops, following Bob McAdoo, James Worthy, Michael Jordan, J.R. Reid, Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis.
Jamison and Billy Cunningham are the only Tar Heels in history to score at least 1,000 points and grab 600 rebounds in their first two seasons. Jamison's figures are 1,152 and 638. He is the first two-time All-ACC player for the Heels since Brad Daugherty (1985, '86).
FOUR FIGURES: Another sophomore who has decided to turn pro, Kentucky's Ron Mercer, reached the 1,000-point level - exactly - with 19 in Saturday's game. He passed teammate Jared Prickett on UK's scoring list in the process.
Prickett would become the 44th player in Kentucky history to reach 1,000 points if he scores eight in tonight's NCAA final. Mercer is the 11th Wildcat to get to four figures in only two seasons.
``I appreciate what we're going through now, even though I was through it already last year,'' Mercer said of his second Final Four. ``I know the NBA isn't going to be anything like this.
``It's going to be more of a business thing, and I realize that, so I want to take as much as I can from the college level and enjoy the moments I have now. I do want to win another championship.''
DRIBBLES: This is the eighth straight year the NCAA championship game has included at least one team from the Southeastern Conference or ACC. The last final without a team from those leagues was Michigan's victory over Seton Hall (1989). ... Tonight's game is Kentucky's 21st in Final Four history. Only UCLA (30) and North Carolina (23) have played more. ... Kentucky's 14 steals against Minnesota were a record for an NCAA semifinal game. . . .
With a title, Kentucky not only would tie its 1947-48 school record of 36 victories, but also would equal a two-season victories mark it shares with Nevada-Las Vegas. UK won 70 games in 1946-47 and '47-48. UNLV tied the record in 1985-86 and '86-87.
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Kentucky's Derek Anderson made hisby CNBfirst appearance since Jan.18 when he came off the bench to shoot
two free throws against Minnesota.