Anaheim, Calif. ? Just as I gathered my luggage and made my way out of Los Angeles, there he was on Fox Radio — fired UCLA coach Steve Lavin talking about the “Final Four-like” aura of this West Regional, beginning Thursday night at The Pond.
The Arizona-Notre Dame game will precede Duke-Kansas and Lavin, naturally, favors the Pac 10 Wildcats and indicates the Jayhawks, with seniors Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison, might have too much for the younger Blue Devils.
It’s probably a good thing that this West Regional is so loaded if, for no other reason, than the speculation about who replaces Lavin in nearby Westwood — Ben Howland of Pittsburgh? Mark Few of Gonzaga? — will temporarily move to the back burner.
This rather lavish neighborhood, where tourists can decide whether to buy a Mickey Mouse shirt at Disneyland or one with an Anteater on it at the campus of UC-Irvine, couldn’t be any more fortunate with the field it has landed. And who’s to say the four who advance to New Orleans next week will be any better?
The last time Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams coached against each other, at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in the 2000 NCAA East Regionals, the Blue Devils won, 69-64. But were it not for a steal by Carlos Boozer late in the game and one of the best defensive efforts by Shane Battier, Duke might have lost.
And who really knows what Krzyzewski said to Williams in front of the scorer’s table? The intrigue of Duke-Kansas goes much deeper than the storied reputations of the two programs.
Consider that Duke won its first of three NCAA titles when Krzyzewski’s 1991 team beat the Jayhawks, 72-65, in the final. That win came after the Blue Devils did the unthinkable in the semifinals by shocking reigning champ UNLV, 79-77, behind Christian Laettner’s 28 points.
The more Williams, a 10-year assistant under Dean Smith at North Carolina, grew in stature at KU, the more he became relished as the likely replacement to Smith’s longtime confidant, Bill Guthridge, at Chapel Hill. The most-loyal Tar Heels wanted Williams to come home three years ago, sensing there was nobody on the planet better suited to match strategies with Krzyzewski.
A Krzyzewski-Williams confrontation would have made a Duke-UNC ticket as precious as a Krzyzewski-Smith one. You don’t think Krzyzewski — in a few brief words — brought that up to Williams that afternoon in 2000 do you? When Williams waffled, and ultimately returned to Lawrence, Kan., the ticket ultimately changed to Krzyzewski-Matt Doherty. It just doesn’t have the same marquee value, although seldom-used Duke senior guard Andre Buckner may wish to challenge all this.
For sure, Williams is a very good coach. But Krzyzewski has three national championships, 60 NCAA Tournament wins, has coached in seven championship games, has taken the Blue Devils to nine Final Fours and just won his fifth consecutive ACC Tournament title. While Duke fanatics and Cameron Crazies alike would agree that Williams is a very good coach, no known Iron Duke would trade Krzyzewski for Williams.
Williams’ only national-championship game came in that ’91 loss to the Blue Devils. But Williams will be favored to send Duke home Thursday night, something that would not only ignite KU but some in Chapel Hill as well. Time heals all wounds and, to this day, who’s to say the favorite Tar Heel fans’ coach still isn’t Roy Williams and especially when he coaches against Duke?
While the edge belongs to Kansas, it is a thin edge. Collison, who blistered Arizona State in the second round with 22 points and 10 rebounds, will be a huge problem for Duke’s vulnerable inside game. And while Hinrich’s savvy as a triggerman and shooter are well known, it was sophomore Keith Langford (41 points vs. Utah State and Arizona State) who shot 56.3 percent from the floor in KU’s first two NCAA Tournament wins.
Both teams are meeting in the Sweet 16 coming off impressive performances. Duke senior leader Dahntay Jones had a career-high 28 points in the win over Central Michigan and the Blue Devils’ guards, J.J. Redick, Chris Duhon and Daniel Ewing, all had moments of excellence at Salt Lake City.
Duhon’s 33 thefts rank fourth in NCAA Tournament history and he not only played well defensively against Colorado State and Central Michigan, he delivered the ball well to open shooters, particularly to Redick.
The Jayhawks, utilizing a clinical fast break and often, couldn’t have been much better in their dismantling of Arizona State, shooting 68 percent and winning 108-76.
While some on this coast would prefer Arizona-Notre Dame (7:27 p.m. EST tip-off) to be the nightcap, CBS undoubtedly had other ideas. Duke-Kansas (scheduled for 9:57 p.m.), after all, is Krzyzewski-Williams with a little UNC always sprinkled in.
