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St. John's on NCAA defensive
Posted: Monday February 21, 2000 08:00 PM
Uncertainties linger surrounding the NCAA's investigation of St. John's, but it is virtually certain the probe will not cause point guard Erick Barkley to miss any more games this season. St. John's has hired a Kansas City law firm that specializes in NCAA matters, meaning there will be a thorough fact-finding process to follow that almost definitely will not be wrapped up in the next five weeks. In the meantime, Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis told me he has no intention of asking supporter Ernie Lorch to stay away from the St. John's program while the matter is being resolved. Lorch is the well-known summer coach whose relationship with Barkley is at the heart of the investigation. Sure enough, Lorch sat in his customary seat behind the Red Storm bench during Saturday's win over Syracuse.
Praise flying for SanchezEven though Temple won 10 of its first 11 league games, the poor overall quality of the Atlantic 10 left some doubt as to whether Temple would be able to bring John Chaney to his first Final Four. But the Owls answered those doubts emphatically last week by beating Maryland, Dayton and Cincinnati. Ask Chaney anything about this team, and he'll find a way to answer it by praising senior point guard Pepe Sanchez. Chaney almost didn't play him against Cincinnati because he was worried Sanchez would re-injure the ankle he sprained against Dayton. Chaney didn't relent until he saw Sanchez make cuts without pain during warmups on Sunday. "As long as Pepe's healthy, I think we're a good ballclub," Chaney told me. "Without him, we just can't play this game."
And the winner is ...This is a tough season to pick a national coach of the year, but here are my top three choices: In third place is Arizona's Lute Olson. Injuries, transfers and redshirts have left Olson with just seven scholarship players the last six weeks, yet the Wildcats have lost just one game in the Pac-10 and now have the inside track to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. My second choice is Larry Eustachy of Iowa State. The Cyclones don't have a center, and their starters average just six-foot-three, but they are tied for first place in the Big 12 and have lost just four games all year. My pick for national coach of the year is Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who lost five of his top seven players from last year's national runner-up, yet still won his fourth straight ACC regular season championship.
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