Emanuel Shrinks the Field to 2--or Maybe It’s 3

USC and Nebraska apparently are the finalists in the race to land Quartz Hill running back Aaron Emanuel, although they haven’t given up at Washington.

The Seattle Times recently quoted Quartz Hill Coach John Albee as saying: “Don James (the Huskies’ coach) is highly respected in the Emanuel family, I can tell you that.”

How good is Emanuel?

Albee: “I’ve got a telegram here right on my desk from Tom Osborne at Nebraska saying Aaron is the finest running back he’s ever seen at the high school level.”

Emanuel is 6-3 and 217, and Albee says next year he will play at 225.

“He met Eric Dickerson at a clinic, and Dickerson thought he was another pro,” Albee said.

St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca has his lucky sweater, so what about Stan Morrison?

Well, USC is unbeaten on the road since he switched all the hotels and you’ll see him in a tweed sport coat and an often-washed white shirt until the streak ends.

Morrison said he once ate scallops for nine straights days when he was a high school coach because his team won the day that his wife served him this particular meal.

“And I hate scallops,” he said.

Add superstitions: Says Al McGuire of his final year at Marquette when the Warriors won the 1977 NCAA title: “I wore the same jacket, shirt and trousers every game. After the season, they were auctioned off and raised $700 for the local high school.”

Greg Foster is feuding again. The man who once traded barbs with Renaldo Nehemiah now is swapping insults with Roger Kingdom, the man who edged him for the Olympic gold medal in the 110-meter high hurdles.

“I was not beaten by Roger Kingdom, I was beaten by Greg Foster,” says Foster of the race at Los Angeles. “I gave it away. It’s up to me to prove that not winning the gold medal was a mistake, a fluke on my part.”

Of Kingdom, he said: “My goal is not to beat him, but to destroy him.”

Says Kingdom: “He loves to try to intimidate you. If he wants to do that, then he’s playing right down my alley. I’ve played defensive back at the University of Pittsburgh. I’ve learned how not to be intimidated. I’ve had 11 guys staring at me across the line. I’ve learned how to see through that.”

At the age of 50, Tom Heinsohn experienced a couple of firsts in the NBA Legends game at Indianapolis.

He threw up a long hook which went through the basket, then won a dispute with referee Norm Drucker over whether he should be credited with a three-point basket.

Said Heinsohn: “That’s my first three-point shot and the first time I’ve ever won a dispute with a referee.”

Quotebook

Basketball analyst Al McGuire, disagreeing with an official’s call but adding: “I’ve been wrong before. I thought Mickey Rooney would be a bachelor.”