COLLEGE BASKETBALL : O’Neal Looks His Tutors Right in the Eye, Learns Lessons Well

Say what you will about the eccentric, never-met-a-soapbox-he-didn’t-like Dale Brown, but give him this much: The Louisiana State coach understands the incredible potential of sophomore center Shaquille O’Neal.

As if O’Neal weren’t dominant enough, Brown recently arranged for a couple of personal acquaintances to visit the Baton Rouge campus and spend a few days with the 7-footer.

Shaquille, meet Bill . . . as in, Walton.

Shaquille, meet Kareem . . . as in, legend.

What a tag team of tutors this was. Bill Walton visited LSU about two weeks ago and worked with O’Neal for almost four days.

“(Walton) wasn’t a good teacher, he was a great teacher,” Tiger assistant coach Craig Crase said.

Then last weekend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stopped by and counseled O’Neal on the sky hook, among other things. Several hours after LSU upset then-No. 2-ranked Arizona, O’Neal was back on the court working with Abdul-Jabbar. And maybe it’s just a coincidence, but O’Neal wears No. 33.

“Had you heard (Walton and Abdul-Jabbar) speak, you would have felt that John Wooden was there,” Crase said. “Both Bill and Kareem basically said the same things, especially about preparing themselves for a game. It was the philosophy that Coach (John) Wooden taught them.”

In a bit of a surprise, 12th-ranked LSU, which wasn’t even favored to win the Southeastern Conference, has prospered with a lineup that has considerably fewer big-name stars than last year’s Tiger team. A roll call:

--Guard Chris Jackson left early for the NBA.

--Seven-foot forward Stanley Roberts flunked out and signed a contract to play in Europe.

--Starting guard Maurice Williams became a redshirt because of academic problems.

--Backup guard Randy Devall flunked out.

--Defensive specialist Dennis Tracey has been unavailable because of a knee injury.

That’s three starters, one defensive whiz and about 60 points of offense gone. O’Neal remains, is averaging 25 points, 14.8 rebounds, 4.8 blocks and 2.4 assists a game. Only his knack for committing silly fouls keeps him from being placed ahead of Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning on our dream team.

LSU doesn’t play again until Tuesday, when it faces Arkansas State. Two days later, the Tigers will meet Loyola Marymount, and two days after that, Illinois will be the opponent. Look for a 7-1 start.

“We have tremendous chemistry,” Crase said. “We have the old LSU work ethic back.”

And one heck of a tutors list. Julius Erving has been approached. Crase is hoping he can persuade Jerry West to visit.

“Hey, we’re both West Virginia boys,” Crase said.

Someone needs to put a choke chain on the over-zealous Antlers, Missouri’s sometimes lewd and crude collection of students who fancy themselves the equivalent of Duke’s legendary raucous student section. Problem is, Missouri’s undergrads aren’t half as clever. They are, however, twice as dangerous.

An example: With visiting Arkansas in town last Saturday, the Antlers met the Razorback bus at the Hearnes Center. Fine. Some good-natured barbs never hurt anyone.

But the Antlers aren’t always known for their good nature.

Todd Day, Arkansas’ gifted swingman, and Oliver Miller, its plump but powerful center, were hounded from the moment they stepped off the bus. Day was criticized for his decision not to speak with the media after a recent loss to Arizona. Oliver was a target because of his weight.

“Hey, Day, the reason you didn’t talk to the press is that you’re illiterate,” an Antler yelled.

“Oliver! You haven’t been able to buy the kiddie portion at a restaurant since you were 3 years old,” another yelled.

Miller laughed it off. Day said nothing.

Everything was fine, said Rick Schaeffer, Arkansas’ sports information director, until late in the game. With the Razorbacks on their way to a 95-82 victory, the Antlers began taunting Miller again. This time, Miller playfully pointed at his stomach and then pointed at the scoreboard. What followed was an embarrassment.

At game’s end, the Antlers pelted the Arkansas players and coaches with cups, ice and soda. Coach Nolan Richardson had his suit stained by one throw.

As if Norm Stewart’s troubled Missouri program doesn’t have enough problems--it needs this?

Don’t bother explaining the effects of the NCAA’s new policy on player fights to Providence Coach Rick Barnes. The Friars were without three players, including one starter, for their Big East opener against Boston College Tuesday night. Not surprisingly, Providence lost, although the 80-78 score was closer than predicted.

The three Providence players, along with three Rhode Island players, were ejected for fighting during last Saturday’s game. Under the new NCAA rule, players tossed out for fighting are automatically suspended from the next game. Providence officials went a step further and suspended the players for an additional two games, including one against Arizona.

The rule cost Barnes his starting point guard and two reserves. It also cost him an important conference game.

As an added deterrent, two-time fighting offenders will miss the remainder of the season. At last, an NCAA rule that makes sense.

We reserve judgment on the undefeated and eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Sure, they’re outscoring opponents by about 45 points a game. And, yes, in four of their five victories, they’ve scored more than 110 points. One thing to remember: They haven’t played anybody.

This is a schedule that Georgetown’s John Thompson would be proud of: Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, Youngstown State and Wright State. American University is scheduled for Saturday.

An indication of how good Ohio State really is will come Dec. 22 when the Buckeyes play Georgetown in Las Vegas. Big Ten Conference play will begin Jan. 2.

Most underrated players:

--Arlyn Bowers, Arkansas. He finds himself in the considerable shadow of all-everything Lee Mayberry. Last season, Bowers averaged 5.5 points. This season, he is averaging 12.4. And his shooting is up from 40% to 51%. He plays great defense, too.

--Alvaro Teheran, Houston. The 7-foot-1 senior was a huge disappointment last season. This time around, with All-Southwest Conference star Carlos Herrea gone to Europe and forward Craig Upchurch sidelined because of a back injury, Teheran has carried the surprising Cougars.

--Brian Shorter, Pittsburgh. The best-kept secret in basketball. A senior forward, he is a two-time All-Big East selection and, yet, you don’t hear his name mentioned much. He is averaging 20.6 points and 9.4 rebounds despite missing most of the preseason workouts with a viral infection. The infection has limited his playing time to about 25 minutes a game.

Memo to the NCAA: Disregard Dick Vitale’s whining about the five-foul rule. If Vitale had his way, a player couldn’t foul out. Instead, the opposing team would get two free throws and the ball back whenever a player with more than five fouls hacked away. Vitale’s reasoning? It’s not fair to the people who pay “big bucks” to see these players. . . . Most-improved team thus far is Nebraska. . . . Most-disappointing teams: Michigan State, which lost to Nebraska and Bowling Green, and Alabama. . . . It’s early, but remember Rutgers and Mississippi State come NCAA tournament time.

Periodic phenom update:

--Boston College’s Billy Curley, sort of a college version of Kevin McHale, is averaging 12.5 points and 7.8 rebounds. He is one of three freshmen starters for BC.

--Indiana’s Damon Bailey is slowly adapting to Bobby Knight’s system. His 8.4-point scoring average is fifth-best on the team. .

Our top 10: (1) UNLV, (2) Arkansas, (3) Indiana, (4) UCLA, (5) Syracuse, (6) Duke, (7) LSU, (8) Arizona, (9) Georgetown, (10) Oklahoma.

Our waiting list: North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, South Carolina, St. John’s.