NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Notes : Marshall Plays a Supporting Role for Kansas

One of the biggest blows to the malady-plagued Kansas team came when Archie Marshall was lost for the season with a knee injury in December.

But some good came out of it, as it was only in the absence of Marshall that Milt Newton, who helped spark Kansas past Duke Saturday in the semifinals, began to emerge.

Larry Brown and the Kansas players say Marshall has been an inspiration all season, particularly to Danny Manning, who wears Marshall’s number, 23, on a wristband during games.

In the last game of the regular season, the players even approached Marshall with the idea that he should enter the game, just for one shot. In a victory over Oklahoma State, Marshall played one minute, during which Manning dribbled over to him handed him the ball, and said, “Shoot, shoot.” Marshall shot, attempting a very long three-pointer, and missed. But he left the court to thunderous applause.

Marshall long ago accepted his role as a bench supporter, and said Sunday he wouldn’t play in tonight’s game if he could.

“Sometimes, like Coach Brown said, bad things turn out for the best. I wouldn’t have it any other way than this. If I was able to come back right now and play in the final game, I wouldn’t, because it would not be the best thing for the team. I’m happy doing what I’m doing. I’m just here for support.”

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Final Four, an exhibit of memorabilia is being held at Municipal Auditorium.

Among the items on display are numerous photographs, uniforms and newspaper clippings, including one of particular current interest from the Kansas City Star, on the day after the NCAA title game in 1964 in which Walt Hazzard helped lead UCLA to a victory over Duke.

The headline: “Hazzard Fires Bruins.”

Oklahoma Coach Billy Tubbs continues to be at his entertaining best. To wit, one of his one-liners:

Reporter: “What do you think of the all-Big Eight final?”

Tubbs: “If we win the toss, we’re going to kick and take the wind.”

As much as Indiana achieved success with community college players last year when it won the national championship with the help of Keith Smart and Dean Garrett, Oklahoma also relies heavily on community college transfers.

Three of the Sooner starters--Ricky Grace, Harvey Grant and Mookie Blaylock--all played at community colleges, and four other community college transfers are on the Oklahoma roster.

Tubbs, unlike Indiana Coach Bob Knight, has relied on transfers in the past, but recruits at the community college level more than ever before because of the unpredictability of whether high school players will meet Prop. 48 requirements, he said.

Chris Piper of Kansas, when asked what he would have said if he had been told after the loss to Oklahoma in Kansas’ Allen Field House--which was then the second-straight loss at home for the 12-8 Jayhawks--that Kansas would play Oklahoma for the NCAA title: “What would you say if I told you you were going to win the Pulitzer Prize in a while?”

Michael Smith, who played for Brigham Young after graduating from Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, was honored Sunday night at a National Assn. of Basketball Coaches awards banquet as the GTE Academic All-American of the Year, an award announced earlier this season. Smith, a 6-foot 10-inch senior forward, averaged 21 points and 8 rebounds a game while shooting 52% from the floor and 85% from the line. A Spanish major, he had a 3.67 grade-point average.

Arizona guard Steve Kerr, who overcame tragedy to help lead the Wildcats to their finest season, was named the recipient of the 1988 Coors Light Most Courageous Award as chosen by the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn.

In 1985, when Kerr was a freshman, his father was murdered by terrorists in Beirut. Malcolm Kerr, president of American University, was shot by two gunmen reportedly from the Islamic Jihad.

In 1986, Kerr suffered a severe knee injury while playing for the United States in the world basketball championships in Madrid. He sat out last season after undergoing surgery.