The Joe College Report

Shavlik Randolph, a 6'10" junior at Broughton High in Raleigh is such a promising talent that USC has sent him hundreds of recruiting letters, as many as 120 at a time. Maybe if the Trojans cut down on their stationery and postage costs, they could afford to give new warmups to their walk-ons, correcting one of several injustices (including being told to sit behind the bench) that led to three of them quitting the team in January....

It's just a game, folks. Try telling that to Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, who last week discovered that an unknown assailant had shot his prized Percheron horse in the leg. Veterinarians saved the horse, which was attacked on Richardson's 155-acre ranch. "The police asked me why someone would do this," Richardson said. "I told them, 'Hell, I'm a basketball coach. I guess a lot of people don't like me.' "

...Props to Adel-phi University of Garden City, N.Y., which at 29-0 was the only undefeated team out of 992 NCAA men's basketball squads this season. Whether the Panthers can complete a perfect season with a five-game run in the Division II tournament will depend largely on senior point guard Ryan McCormack (17.1 points per game)....

Feat of the week: Down by 10 points against LaSalle, St. Joseph's junior guard Marvin O'Connor scored 18 points in the final 59.8 seconds of play in the Hawks' 91-90 loss. O'Connor hit three 3-pointers, five free throws and two layups as he finished with a career-high 37 points. LaSalle held on, however, by hitting 10 consecutive free throws down the stretch.