March 20, 2003
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Ron Hunter has pulled out every motivational trickin the book to get his team ready for No. 1 Kentucky.
The story of David and Goliath? You bet.
The movie “Hoosiers”? Naturally.
Hey, when you’re the coach of a 16th-seeded, oddly named team – what doesIUPUI stand for, anyway? – there’s no use pulling any punches.
“Everything is fitting right into place,” said Hunter, the exuberant, bellyflopping coach of the Jaguars. “Honestly, I think we’re the best 16 seedthey’ve had in this tournament for 10 years.”
Brave words, indeed, since IUPUI is about to take on the best team in thecountry – period.
Kentucky (29-3) hasn’t lost since late December, reeling off 23 victories ina row. The Wildcats breezed through one of the country’s toughest leagueswith a perfect record and a tournament championship.
At this point, anything less than a trip to the Final Four would be a majorupset. The ‘Cats might have a hard time pronouncing IUPUI, but theyshouldn’t have any trouble winning Friday in the opening round of theMidwest Regional.
Hunter is undeterred.
“If you get caught up in our name and get caught up in thinking we’re asmall school and all that, you’re going to be in trouble,” he said.
Just to make sure the players share his positive approach, Hunter got a copyof the Bible and made copies of the section on David and Goliath – with afew alterations.
“I kind of changed the words. Of course, Goliath was Kentucky and David wasIUPUI,” he said sheepishly. “We had the slingshot, but the rock was thebasketball.”
If that wasn’t enough, Hunter also had his team watch “Hoosiers,” the storyof a small Indiana high school that won an improbable state championship inthe 1950s.
“I had everything picked out,” he said. “We measured the court,” just asGene Hackman did in the movie.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith is confident, too. He has plenty of reason tofeel good about his team beyond desperate motivational tactics.
The Wildcats aren’t just beating teams – they’re pummeling them. The averagemargin of victory during the nation’s longest winning streak is 16.6 points.Only seven of the 23 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points. Justfive teams during that span have managed to shoot 50 percent againstKentucky’s ferocious, incessant defense.
No. 1? No doubt about it.
“I think we’ve proven during the course of the season, night in and nightout, that we’re deserving of this honor,” Smith said. “A lot of being No. 1is people are really going to come with their best game. But we’ve seen thatmost of the year. We see that at Kentucky on a regular basis.”
Bring it on, IUPUI (20-13), which made the NCAAs for the first time bywinning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament.
“You want your opponent to give his best effort,” Smith continued, “becausethat’s what they’re going to get from us every night.”
Also Friday, eighth-seeded Oregon (23-9) takes on No. 9 Utah (24-7) inanother Midwest game. In the South Regional, third-seeded Xavier (25-5)plays No. 14 Troy State (26-5), making its first NCAA appearance. Finally,No. 6 seed Maryland, the defending national champion, faces No. 11 NorthCarolina-Wilmington (24-6).
Unlike Hunter, Utah coach Rick Majerus is hardly brimming with confidence.
“I hope we can win six, but I’ve probably got a better chance of being abiology teacher,” said Majerus, who had just spoken of his science-impairedabilities in the classroom.
Majerus, in fact, thinks the tournament should be postponed while U.S.troops are at war in Iraq. But the games go on, and the Utes will go onwithout senior forward Britton Johnson, sidelined by infectiousmononucleosis.
Johnson was examined again Wednesday, but doctors determined that anenlarged spleen would keep him off the court. A second-team All-MountainWest Conference selection, he averaged 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds pergame.
“It’s tough for him to go out this way,” Majerus said. “But when you put itin perspective to the war, if this is the worst thing that happens to him,then he’ll have a very good life.”
Now, back to IUPUI. No, it’s not an eye chart – it’s a school that opened in1969 just west of downtown Indianapolis.
The letters stand for Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis.The school offers programs not available to students at the main campuses inBloomington (Indiana) and West Lafayette (Purdue).
Hunter is proud to carry the IUPUI – try saying that fast three times -banner into the NCAA tournament.
“I think our name is fine,” he said. “Before coach (John) Wooden coached atUCLA, no one knew what that stood for, either.”
And if IUPUI should pull off the greatest upset in tournament history, he’llhave to come up with something new to inspire his team.
Hey, does anyone have a copy of “Rocky?”
