ORLANDO, Fla. -- What should be dunks become layup attempts. What should be layups turn into 10-footers.

Mike Mardesich hasn't shot the ball well this season, and he knows it. The Maryland sophomore has had great difficulty finishing good inside chances, and he knows that a field-goal percentage of 35.6 doesn't cut it for a 7-foot center.

"It bothers me," Mardesich said. "I'm so anxious, and I'm pressing. It's something I'm definitely aware of. I can't think about it too much. Hopefully it's not too late to come out of this thing. People see it in my eyes. They tell me, 'you're thinking too much.' I need to get the mental aspect totally out of it, and just go play."

Mardesich is a brilliant student who was admitted to Harvard, and said that sometimes he pays too much attention to his shooting mechanics. Laron Profit was stuck in a similar pattern at the start of last season, and he's told Mardesich to stop thinking so much about his shot.

Mardesich had some splendid games as a freshman, but freshman Lonny Baxter got a start against Virginia on Feb. 6 when Obinna Ekezie was slumping. The senior's college career was ended by a ruptured Achilles' tendon Feb. 9, keeping Baxter in the lineup. Was Mardesich bothered when Baxter got the call instead of him?

"Maybe a little bit," Mardesich said. "If I was playing at a higher level, I'd be in there more. My level of play just hasn't been good enough."

Mardesich has not made more than 50 percent of his attempts since a Super Bowl Sunday loss at Wake Forest, when he made his only attempt. He had a solid 22-minute stint against North Carolina Feb. 13, but since that Wake game, he's made just 10 of his 44 shots, a percentage of .227.

Orlando woos Millers

The season-long Mick and Rose Miller basketball traveling show came to a halt yesterday in Orlando, a perfect place for a couple who have spent most of the winter in Rancocas Valley, N.J.

It has been 75 degrees and sunny for three days here and the Millers decided just to stay put and watch their son, Danny, play for Maryland against Creighton today at 2: 40 p.m. in a second-round game.

The Millers were here Thursday to see Danny score seven points, get two rebounds and contribute two steals in an 82-60 first-round win over Valparaiso and had planned to travel to Charlotte, N.C., yesterday to watch their other son, Greg, play for Delaware against Tennessee in an East Regional first-round game.

Then the plan was to return from Charlotte to Orlando for Maryland's second-round game.

But Danny Miller said yesterday, "Mom and Dad decided it was too much trouble to go to Charlotte and come back here. They had watched Greg play in the first round last year against Purdue. It's good to have them here, but I won't see them much. I've only talked to them once since they've been here."

Rogers goes out in style

Shawnta Rogers missed the final shot of his collegiate career and his George Washington team got beat for the second straight year in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

But the 5-foot-4 Rogers was still a hit here in Orlando and developed a friendship with Indiana coach Bob Knight.

"I have a lot of respect for him," said the 5-foot-4 Rogers, who prepped at Lake Clifton. "He said he would help me in any way he could to get me to the next level and that he would be pulling for me."

Just two days ago, Knight said Rogers was the one player in the country who youngsters ought to emulate on the basketball court because of his drive to overcome the adversity of being so small.

Rogers didn't go out quietly in Thursday night's 108-88 loss to Indiana in the first round, putting up 31 shots and hitting 10 for a game-high 28 points. Sixteen of those 31 shots were three-point attempts.

Jarvis ready for Knight

St. John's coach Mike Jarvis is certainly getting himself psyched up to coach against Knight and Indiana today at 12: 10 p.m. in a second-round game.

"When I go to sleep tonight, I'll be thinking of Coach Knight," Jarvis said yesterday. "He has incorporated a system, stuck with it and made it work. You have to play good to beat him. Some people love him and others hate him. Some agree with his tactics, while others disagree."

Creighton honors physician

Creighton's players wear a round patch on their right hips stitched with the emblem "Doc" in honor of the late Dr. Lee C. Bevilacqua, who collapsed Oct. 16 while attending a Creighton soccer game and later died of a heart attack.

He was the athletic program's volunteer team physician for 32 years.

"He stopped at the school every day and traveled with our teams," said basketball coach Dana Altman. "He was always giving and never asking anything in return. Doc had a way of making you feel like the most special person he ever knew, then I found out he made everybody feel like that."

Terps 1, Creighton 0

Maryland and Creighton met in last fall's NCAA men's soccer tournament with the Terps winning a quarterfinal game at home, 3-2.

Sun staff writer Kent Baker contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 3/13/99