THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160542
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
When Villanova coach Steve Lappas first showed up on Kerry Kittles' doorstep, Kittles didn't even want to talk to him.
Now the two of them have Villanova basketball on the doorstep of national prominence. Some people believe the Wildcats could be knocking on the door of a Final Four berth by next weekend.
``These guys are pumped up,'' Lappas said Wednesday. ``They feel there's a lot more out there to be had, and they want it.''
Villanova, the No. 3 seed in the East Regional, will begin what it hopes is a three-week run Friday at 7:40 p.m. (WTKR) against No. 14 Old Dominion in Albany, N.Y.
The Wildcats, ranked ninth in the final Associated Press poll, are one of the hottest teams in college basketball. They breezed through the Big East tournament last week at Madison Square Garden, drilling Connecticut in the championship game for the second time in three meetings this season. They have won 17 of their last 19 games.
``I think we can go to the Final Four,'' Kittles said.
``We have an opportunity and we want to take advantage of it,'' Lappas said. ``Anybody who wins a Big East championship can be a Final Four team.''
So does anybody who has a solid supporting cast to go along with a player like Kittles, the Big East Player of the Year and tournament most valuable player.
Kittles signed with Villanova when Rollie Massimino was the head coach. Massimino left for UNLV, and a disgruntled Kittles wanted out of his scholarship commitment.
Enter Lappas, an assistant on Villanova's 1985 national championship team who was the head coach at Manhattan before the Wildcats hired him. The day after Lappas got the job, he showed up at Kittles' home in New Orleans.
``He wouldn't have known me if I was standing in front of him,'' Lappas said. ``When I went into his home, he was not very open to me or receptive to what I had to say. I think he felt I was just wasting his time.''
But Lappas convinced Kittles it would be a waste of time to go to another school after signing with Villanova, which would result in a lost season of eligibility. Lappas talked Kittles into an ``eight-month trial period'' at Villanova.
``What could I lose?'' Kittles said.
Three years later, the trial is over and Kittles has been judged one of the nation's top players. The 6-foot-5 junior was named second-team All-American Tuesday by the AP.
``I think I was fortunate Steve Lappas got the job,'' Kittles said. ``His style suits me.''
Kittles oozes style. A classic shooting guard with a fluid, quick release, he finished second in the Big East in scoring with 21.4 points per game.
Here are a few other Kittles and bits:
In addition to scoring, he was among the Big East's top five in field goal percentage (.527), 3-point field goal percentage (.416), free throw percentage (.769), steals (2.1) and 3-point goals per game (2.6);
Although he was Louisiana's Mr. Basketball his senior year in high school, Kittles was left off most recruiting analysts' list of top 50 players;
Kittles scored 37 points despite a bout with bronchitis when the Wildcats defeated then-No. 1 Connecticut on the road Feb. 18. Ten days later, he lit up Boston College for 44.
``He is just a great athlete,'' Lappas said. ``He plays both ends of the floor very hard. The best attribute that he has besides playing hard is he's unselfish and his teammates love to play with him.
``We knew he was going to be a great player, but maybe not to the degree he has become.''
Villanova's program, 8-19 in the first of Lappas' three seasons, has grown with Kittles. Last year, the Wildcats won the tournament - but that was the National Invitation Tournament.
They would like to run the table again, although neither the head coach nor any of the players have NCAA tournament experience.
``I think that's totally irrelevant,'' Lappas said. ``These guys have played in a number of big games over the last two years, whether it be in the NIT or the Big East.
``When people accomplish something together and have a good memory about it, they desire to do it again. That is what the NIT experience did for us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
When Old Dominion takes on Villanova Friday night, the Monarchs will
have to contend with Kerry Kittles, Big East Player of the Year.
by CNB