The most intriguing prospect facing Utah in the Final Four is what to do with 300-plus-pounds coach Rick Majerus should the Utes further astound the basketball world by winning the whole thing in San Antonio.
“We would carry him off the floor,” center Michael Doleac promised.
Wouldn’t it take all of you?
“Maybe so,” Doleac said, “but we’re strong guys. We can do it.”
It may not do to underestimate this overreaching bunch from Salt Lake City. Or Majerus.
“I once ran a marathon in San Antonio,” Majerus said.
The whole thing?
“Believe me, I remember every damn mile of it,” Majerus said.
The vision of Majerus in forward motion is of a front-loader with the brake off. Maybe he made it all the way through because he just couldn’t stop.
“This time I’m only interested in an eating marathon down there,” Majerus said.
Luckily, he likes Tex-Mex, knows all the varieties, already has directions to the best five places in town and will even bring his own napkin.
Everything about the West Regional winner is atypical of college basketball, from the jolly, media-friendly coach and son (who still managed to call his mother in Milwaukee before meeting the press), to the center-dominated, deliberate style, to the academic self-respect of the players, to the non-dunking, non-city roster (it is surely the first Final Four team to have players from Salmon Arm, British Columbia; Helsinki, Finland; and Tooele, Utah).
“The biggest fuss any of our kids might cause is if one of them leaves the ketchup bottle unscrewed,” Majerus said. “I mean, we have nine honor roll students.
“And Andre Miller’s 2.6 grade-point average may be more impressive than Mike’s (Doleac), who is the class valedictorian. Sometimes you have to look at where you start when you get in the race.”
Miller outplayed both of Arizona’s All-American guards, Mike Bibby (3 for 15) and Miles Simon (1 for 9), in leading the Utes over the defending champs. Miller came to Utah as a Proposition 48 player out of Los Angeles.
“Utah was the only school that wanted to take me,” Miller said.
On this day, Miller was Magic Johnson, with triple-double numbers–18 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
“And only three turnovers,” marveled Lute Olson, the Arizona coach.
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Olson was gracious in passing the torch to Utah, a team, at least, from the West, more so in losing than he usually is in winning, allowing himself only the slightest whine about how hard it is to repeat.
“These kids have played 35 games with a target on their chests,” Olson said. “Would I rather we had won? Yes. Would I be more proud of them if they won? No.”
In anticipation of a second championship, Arizona’s fans wore red T-shirts with double exclamation points around a single word !Dos! Talk about a case of premature translation. . . .
Double-digit underdogs, Utah held Arizona to 51 points, the Wildcats’ lowest total in 421 games, and won by 25, a remarkable rout for–using Olson’s words for the bunch who had just beaten him–“a team with limitations.”
Utah has no high fliers. No flashy dribblers. No preoccupied posers. Arizona’s players seemed more interested in making sure their uniforms were hanging with just the right amount of funk as they did in taking good shots. Arizona’s shot selection was one of three things–slick, quick or brick.
Watching Arizona lose was like watching a fire being doused with buttermilk.
“My brother works in a bar,” Doleac said, “and he has the games on all the time. And I’m in there and I hear people oohing and aahing at slam dunks. Everybody just goes crazy for dunks.
“Half of Arizona’s highlights this year were half-court lobs for dunks. How many dunks did they get on us?”
One, someone said.
“Dunks are great,” Doleac said, “but they don’t win games.”
Then what does win games?
“Take Drew Hansen (who shut down Bibby),” Majerus said. “He typifies this team. He might not have big lift or big bounce, but he’s got big kahunas.”
Maybe that’s the word used in Utah.