Monday, November 19, 2001
[COLLEGE BASKETBALL]
LAHAINA, Maui >> It was 1968 and a simpler time in college basketball. Things were a lot simpler
when Big Lew met Big EBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThere was no need to get to an airport four hours early. The special privileges as the state's team traveling across country were intact. The buses were not stopped and searched.
The events of Sept. 11 have changed the way college teams are traveling these days. For most of the squads in the 18th Maui Invitational, flying to the Valley Isle was the first trip since the terrorist attacks two months ago.
"Seeing the (National) Guard at the airports ... it's on everybody's mind," first-year South Carolina coach Dave Odom said yesterday.
But 33 years ago, there was an event that forever changed the face of college basketball. UCLA vs. Houston, Big Lew vs. Big E, in the Astrodome, in the first nationally televised regular-season game.
It's been called "The Game of the Century.'' It was the first game with an attendance over 50,000. It was the only blemish on UCLA's record en route to a 29-1 mark and the fourth of coach John Wooden's NCAA titles.
"I was in Muncie, Indiana,'' said current Houston coach Ray McCallum, whose Cougars take on the Bruins in the final opening-day game at 6:30 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center. "I was 7, but I do remember seeing the game on a tiny TV screen.
"Coach Guy V. (Lewis) told me so much about that game, about Elvin Hayes and Lew Alcindor, and what it meant to college basketball. It really changed the game and you understand the pride and tradition in our two programs."
Houston, with Hayes and Don Chaney, the school's first black basketball players, won that contest, 71-69. The Cougars, who also won the Rainbow Classic that year, lost the rematch to the Bruins (with a healthy Alcindor) in the Final Four semifinal, 101-69.
Current UCLA coach Steve Lavin was 4, and likely on an outing in San Francisco with his parents when the game was played in the Astrodome.
"From a historical standpoint, it was huge," said Lavin. "You had programs with great traditions, great players and great coaches. When you look at the heritage of college, two teams jump to mind: Houston and UCLA.
"The merging of corporate America and television in college basketball has probably been the biggest change in our sport and that was due in part to two athletic directors who put that game together. That game showed the possibility of national TV for the sport and it showed how games could be played in domes."
Today's meeting is the ninth between the schools. UCLA, winning the last five, leads the series 6-2.
Fields announced: The tournament fields yesterday were announced for the next three Maui Invitationals. Committing to next year are Arizona State, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Utah, Virginia and host Chaminade. It will be the 20th anniversary of the upset of then-No. 1 Virginia by Chaminade, and tournament organizers are trying to locate as many former players from that game.
In 2003, the University of Hawaii will make its first appearance in the event. The Rainbows will be joined by California, Dayton, Florida State, Ohio State, San Diego State, Villanova and Chaminade.
The 2004 field includes Iowa, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas and Chaminade.
Inspiration point: Roy Williams loves Kansas, both the state and the school.
"It's a great college town," the Jayhawk coach said of Lawrence. "And Allen Fieldhouse is as good a place to play as you'll find.
"The inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, is buried in Lawrence. Phog Allen, who was the first true basketball coach, is buried there. If I need divine inspiration the day before a big game, I drive out to the gravesites."
Williams said he hopes that Hawaii coach Riley Wallace will reconsider an appearance at Allen Fieldhouse. After the Rainbows upset Kansas in the 1997 Rainbow Classic, Williams offered a home-and-away deal to Wallace, then a 2-for-1 deal: Two visits by Kansas to Hawaii in exchange for one trip by the Rainbows to Lawrence.
"We'd like to play Hawaii again," said Williams. "Riley's a heck of a coach. That night, we did some nice things but Hawaii did things better. They were fantastic that night."
Staying in school: A number of players in this week's tournament decided to stay in school instead of declaring early for the NBA draft.
One is Duke junior All-American guard Jason Williams, the cover subject of this week's Sports Illustrated College Basketball Preview.
Williams will leave after this season for the pros, but also departs from Duke with a degree. He is one of several Blue Devils on a three-year accelerated degree program.
Two other marquee names are junior forward Jason Kapono and senior center Dan Gadzuric of UCLA
"We have five seniors on this team, including two fifth-year ones in Rico Hines and Billy Knight," said Lavin. "It's rare in an elite program to have so many older players. I think what it shows is that there's still a place for players who want to stay in school for 4-5 years, get a degree and still win at a high level."
Old home week: McCallum was greeted warmly yesterday by players from Ball State. McCallum coached the Cardinals for seven seasons before taking over the Cougars last year.
While at Ball State, McCallum committed to this year's Maui Invitational "because I thought we could compete well here," he said.
The current Ball State coach is Tim Buckley, an assistant to McCallum for six years.