No. 1 seed Michigan State isn't getting much acclaim -- and even less respect, if you listen to the Spartans -- in a Midwest Regional bracket that features two heavy underdogs and the defending NCAA tournament champion.
Overshadowed by No. 13 seed Oklahoma, No. 10 Miami of Ohio and Kentucky, Spartans coach Tom Izzo struck the chord of no respect in yesterday's session with the media.
"Coming into the year, Mateen Cleaves was everybody's All-American," said Izzo, as he launched final preparations for tonight's 7: 55 Midwest semifinal against Oklahoma. "Two weeks into the year, he was nobody's All-American. Now he's back to everybody's All-American.
"Deep down, everybody wants to be respected. It means the program is getting where we want it to be. But I'm not sure we're there yet."
Part of the problem is an offense that relies more on put-backs than plays. Even Cleaves, the Spartans' All-America point guard, admitted it can be ugly at times.
"We kind of play like old-fashioned Big Ten football," he said. "We play smash-mouth. We're not pretty, we just get the job done. [Sweet 16] teams probably won't fear us, but if you get to this point, you shouldn't fear anyone."
Coming a long way
Oklahoma's Eduardo Najera has made an amazing journey from his hometown of Chihauahua, Mexico, to driving Sweet 16 force.
Najera, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, had low self-esteem when he arrived at Oklahoma three years ago, barely able to speak English and questioning his own basketball skills.
"When I first came to the U.S., I didn't realize I needed English so much," he said. "Yes, I had low self-esteem. That's how I was in Mexico. I had to sit out a year here with a broken ankle and didn't feel I was very good.
"I really had low self-esteem. But not any more, though."
After averaging 10.5 points last season, Najera took on heightened responsibility in the Oklahoma offense and has averaged 15.7 points this season with 8.5 rebounds, both team highs.
"As he's matured as a person and gained confidence, he's developed as a player," said coach Kelvin Sampson.
He's the man
Although Kentucky will face Miami's Wally Szczerbiak on the court for the first time tonight, the Wildcats can't honestly say it's their first encounter with him.
Just as their 92-88 overtime victory against Kansas was heating up in New Orleans last week, the game suddenly halted as a deafening chant arose from the Superdome crowd:
WAL-LEE! WAL-LEE! WAL-LEE!
Dumbstruck, the 'Cats and Jayhawks milled around on court for a moment as a television crew conducted a live interview with Szczerbiak in front of Miami's ecstatic fans -- who had watched him score 67 points in victories over Washington and Utah to secure the first Sweet 16 berth in the school's history.
Interview concluded, he bounded into the stands and spent 30 minutes shaking hands and signing autographs.
"After we got home Monday," he said, "I went to a wrestling match. The next thing I knew, they had me up in the ring with these two guys, taking pictures. The next day, there we were --me and these two pro wrestlers -- on the front page of the newspaper."
Temple's Chaney ill
Coach John Chaney did not attend Temple's practice yesterday because of flu-like symptoms. He is expected to be ready for tonight's game against Purdue in East Rutherford, N.J.
Chaney did attend a news conference and stayed about 15 minutes after it ended to field more questions.
However, sports information director Brian Kirschner drove him back to the team's hotel while the Owls worked out in front of a sparse crowd.
Chaney was on hand for the Owls' more serious workout earlier in the day.
Say what?
A writer from Kentucky asked Miami coach Charlie Coles how many of his players were recruited by the Wildcats. Coles started with a giggle and eventually broke out laughing.
"That's a good one," Coles said, slapping his knee. "Nothing against our players; that's just the way it is."
Coles was trying to say that the Wildcats didn't attempt to recruit a single player on a team that will try to beat them tonight.
Duke Meadowlands
The road to the Final Four has been kind to No. 1 Duke when it travels via East Rutherford and the Meadowlands sports complex.
This is the fifth Sweet 16 trip there for Duke. The previous four have resulted in trips to the Final Four, most recently in 1990 when the Blue Devils beat Connecticut on a last-second shot by Christian Laettner. That year, the Blue Devils made it to the national championship before losing to UNLV.
Parity reigns?
Five of the tournament's Sweet 16 teams were double-digit seeds, which could mean the selection committee did a terrible job of seeding. Or perhaps it means there is more balance in college basketball than anyone realizes.
"Back 10 or 15 years ago, everybody had 15 scholarships and two or three walk-ons," Oklahoma's Sampson said.
"Back then, everybody wanted to go to North Carolina, Kentucky or Indiana. Those teams had four or five high school All-Americans, and they had four or five guys redshirting who were All-Americans.
"Now, with 13 scholarships, things have changed a lot. Then the best players are going to the NBA, and it's made college basketball more compact."
Rematch
This is not the first time Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Southwest Missouri State coach Steve Alford have been on opposite benches in the regional semis.
In 1987, Alford, then a senior guard for Indiana, had 18 points in an 88-82 victory over Duke in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Cincinnati. The leading scorer for Krzyzewski's Duke team was Tommy Amaker with 23 points. Amaker is now the coach at Seton Hall, the host school for the East Regional.
Wire reports contributed to this article.
Pub Date: 3/19/99