European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 26 c the stars and stripes tuesday March 31, 1992 Frosh 5 graduate with High honors by Jim Litke Lexington by. A their Fame has such a Pinch me Quality about it that for the briefest of moments Chris Webber forgot where he was. The most fabulous of the fab five freshmen had reached the top of a ladder with scissors in hand found a shredded net and his sheepish Grin reflected in the backboard and then stopped and simply stared. A i done to know what i was thinking. I mean 1 sleep last night and i had this dream and in the dream we lost the game a he said. A so i guess i was just up there making sure it was All True. You know How that no. And right about now neither does anyone else. The history of basketball is loaded with memorable debuts there was magic Johnson Only 20 at the time crowning a Brilliant Rookie season with 42 Points in the 1980 Aba championship finale then running into a locker room overflowing with Champagne which legally speaking he was too Young to sip. Long before that there were Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld in their first pro seasons being named maps of the league. Just four years ago there was Parvis Ellison then a Louisville freshman map of the final four. But until this tender collection of Talent delivered on its vow to crash the no aah a most exclusive party the chapters have always been about individual freshmen. Now for the first time we have an entire starting team determined to make history As a unit a but we done to play like freshmen a protested Juwan Howard who contributed 10 Points and four rebounds. A we done to even feel like freshmen any More Quot and when did that end a a in a not sure a Howard answered rubbing the stubble on his Chin. A probably one of the Early cold. These Guys can be cold. A a in a not sure How i feel yet a said floor Leader Jalen Rose 20 Points six rebounds four assist the groups verbal Leader As Well. A it probably wont hit me until i read about it in the a a in a sure ill feel happiness but not satisfaction. Because our dream a he added a goes much farther than the Mcaa opened the door on freshmen eligibility before the 1972-73 season and there have been a half dozen great recruiting classes since. But until this one came along no one was seriously tempted to put them All on the floor at once. Right from the outset Michigan coach Steve Fisher knew the Quality of the individual parts head collected. By most scouts ratings Webber was the Best prep player in the nation. Three others a Howard Rose and Jimmy King a were in the top dozen and fifth starter Ray Jackson was no. 75. What Fisher Wasny to sure of initially was whether the sum would be greater. And it Wasny to until february that he became convinced to Roll the Dice. The fab five responded by compiling a 10-2 Mark but one of those losses came at Ohio state where the wolverines made three turnovers in the last minute to blow the game. A we grew up a Little after that a Rose said. A now every time a team makes a run on us we go Back to that game As a reference. And we say we wont let anyone do that to us they did no to on sunday and that a Why the fab five is matriculating this week in Minneapolis. Michigan freshman Chris Webber brushes off Ohio states Bill Robinson on sunday. Glow from Majestic Battle obscures Knight Side of game by Mike littwin the Baltimore Sun i was planning to write about Bob Knight and his Bullwhip for monday. But then i watched Christian laettner perform magic saturday night and knights cheap tricks did no to seem so important anymore. Maybe Lhatt a the problem with College sports. We re seduced by the games. We want to believe in them. And when we see Duke and Kentucky play a game that can safely be called Majestic we get blinded to everything else. The Duke Kentucky game was a Marvel. It had so Many compelling elements including the return of Kentucky to prominence and Dukes status As defending Champion. Kentucky made a comeback against a team you can to come Back against. And Duke won the game on a last second play that can to work except that it did. And there was Christian laettner the All american and hero. He made every shot he took. He added that last shot to a career filled with game winning shots. But laettner was not perfect. He was 10 for 10 from the Field 10 for 10 from the line. And still he was not perfect. You can to Call someone perfect who apparently intentionally stepped on an stomach As the player Lay on his Back. Amino Timberlake had gone to the floor and replays seemed to suggest that laettner wilfully. The referees who called laettner for a Speed on him. Laetta technical foul saw it that Way. And those commentary who suggest laettner the All american cover boy is a Punk on the court must feel vindicated. Perhaps you recall the incident last season involving laettner and Rod Sellers of Connecticut. Sellers and laettner who had been tangling All game became entangled reaching for a Loose Ball and fell to the floor together. Whereupon Sellers tried to use laettner a head As a basketball attempting to dribble it against the floor. There was no foul called but later upon review the Mcaa folks determined Sellers should be suspended for a game in this years Mcaa tournament. What went unmentioned was what precipitated the event. Apparently a few minutes earlier in the game laettner had landed a Sharp Elbow in Sellers face. Again the videotape seems to show that laettner acted wilfully. Should Sellers have been suspended alone More importantly should laettner be suspended now the easy answer is that he wont be. He probably be either. A technical foul seems to be sufficient penalty in this instance. And besides no one is going to get in the Way of the Duke Indi Ana game saturday. This is a matchup that to dreams about. You be got Bob Knight and Indiana against Mike Krzyzewski a who played for Knight a and Duke in the final four. This is a ratings matchup. And it might just be pretty compelling basketball too. So laettner is Safe. But this brings us Back to Knight. America is not Safe from Knight. The Best coach in College basketball he is also perhaps the games greatest bully. There is much wrong with big time College sports a we know its a cesspool actually a but part of what is wrong is people like such As Knight. They Are coaches who Are somehow above reproach. We know All the Knight stories and now we have one More. He spent much of last week in Albuquerque n.m., brandishing a Bullwhip. He talked about chaining players Ankles and placing them in ice water. Even for Knight who loves to play off his Tough Guy image this was bizarre. He was kidding of course but then he posed for a photo in which he pretended to use the Bullwhip on one of his players a a Black player As it turned out. Does anyone have to be reminded of the enduring symbolism of the Bullwhip can anyone doubt Knight s insensitivity the thing is Knight is not a racist. He a just a Jerk. And when the a act called for an apology Knight instead wondered if he should apologize for bringing in Black players and ensuring they graduate. Knight does bring in Black and White players and ensure they graduate. That a great. Except that its beside the Point. The Point is that Knight thinks he can get away with anything. And he can. He has. He continues to. And 1 guess that a because there Are games such As we saw saturday night. You know i still Eanet get Over Quot Ole miss hires aide of Sutton Oxford miss. A Oklahoma state assistant coach Rob Evans was hired monday As head basketball coach at Mississippi becoming the first Black in that Job at the Southeastern conference school. It is the first head coaching Job for Evans who has been a College assistant for 21 seasons. Evans de Murphy who resigned March 12 after the rebels lost to Georgia 85-66 in the opening round of the Sec tournament. Murphy had a 76-98 record in six years at Ole miss including four losing seasons. Murphy began his coaching career As an assistant for Lou Henson at new Mexico state from 1966-74, where Evans played from 1966-68 and was an assistant coach from 1969-74. Evans 45, spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma state under Eddie Sutton. Evans takes Over an Ole miss program which has had just one winning season in the past decade. The rebels went 15-14 in 1986-87 and were invited to the National invitational tournament that season. The rebels were 15-15 in 1988-89 after losing to St. Johns in the first round of the nit
