What distraction?

Gators seem unruffled by Miller story

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Posted: Friday March 31, 2000 02:48 AM

The Gators are confident the allegations about Mike Miller will not be a distraction when they face North Carolina. AP

By Mark Morgan, CNNSI.com

When Florida arrived Thursday, Gators coach Billy Donovan had to address the status of one of his starters, forward Mike Miller, the Outstanding Player of the East Regional.

A newspaper report alleged that Miller has had frequent contact with an agent. Though that may have violated a Florida state law, Miller apparently has not broken any NCAA rules and his eligibility for the Final Four has not been jeopardized.

"Mike Miller has done nothing wrong, there was no violation of rules" Donovan said. "I don't want to talk about it and take anything away from our team, North Carolina or this game."

Donovan felt the report would not become a distraction for his young team. Florida has only one senior on the roster, but the Gators proved unflappable in upsetting No. 1 Duke and third-seeded Oklahoma State to reach the Final Four. Furthermore, this potential controversy has appeared not to ruffle them.

CNNSI.com's Kevin O'Neill INDIANAPOLIS -- In order to get to the Final Four, you need some luck. I think both of these teams are lucky. North Carolina got the sympathy bid just to get into the tournament. Everybody thought they were a bubble team for a long time. And Florida beat Butler on a game-ending, end-to-end, Wayne Gretzky-like rush by Mike Miller. Butler missed two free throws to keep its lead at one point. Without those misses, the Gators would have needed a 3-pointer. They're both here, they deserve to be here. Now let's see how they play. I'm happy for both Billy Donovan and Bill Guthridge. Everybody talks about age and experience, but Donovan has been a head coach longer than Guthridge.

"I don't think it will have anything to do with the game. We know Mike didn't do anything wrong and we're not worried at all about it," said Kenyan Weaks, Florida's lone senior.

North Carolina is making its 15th Final Four appearance, the most in NCAA history. But the eighth-seeded Tar Heels, who had never been to a Final Four as anything lower than a No. 2 seed, arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday in the unfamiliar role of underdog.

"No one expected us to be here, no one expects us to beat Florida," North Carolina junior center Brendan Haywood said. "Maybe we'll surprise some people."

In order for North Carolina to beat a higher-seeded opponent for the fourth straight NCAA tournament game, they will need a healthy Kris Lang. Tar Heels coach Bill Guthridge said Thursday that Lang, the starting power forward, is still nursing an injured ankle and is considered day-to-day. Since North Carolina only plays a seven-man rotation, Lang's health and availability will be vital against a Florida team that fuels its frenetic, pressing style with 10 largely interchangeable players.

"Florida certainly has a lot of depth, and Coach [Billy] Donovan has done a tremendous job," said Guthridge, the second coach ever to reach the Final Four in two of his first three seasons as head coach.

Both North Carolina and Florida will have their first practices inside the RCA Dome on Friday.

 

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