COLLEGE BASKETBALL : For East Tennessee State’s LeForce, 55 Has Been Very Good Year

It’s official, the shortest team, coached by the oldest rookie, is the nation’s biggest secret. Sort of.

Meet East Tennessee State’s Alan LeForce, 55, who has guided the Buccaneers to a 9-1 record and the No. 17 ranking. LeForce got his big chance during the off-season when Les Robinson, a North Carolina State grad, returned to Raleigh to replace the walking lounge act, Jim Valvano. LeForce, a longtime Buccaneer assistant, couldn’t say yes fast enough.

Since then, LeForce has continued the East Tennessee tradition, which includes NCAA tournament appearances in each of the last two seasons. The Buccaneers have beaten Brigham Young, a good Cincinnati team and, most recently, N.C. State and LeForce’s former boss, Robinson. It was Robinson who recommended LeForce as his successor.

At times, the East Tennessee starting five have measured 6-feet-4, 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 and 5-7. The big-and-tall fashion industry mourns.

And just this week, LeForce learned that 6-11 Greg Dennis, who would have been his starting center, was lost for the season with a broken foot. Of course, none of this bothers LeForce, who’s just happy to have a job.

“I’ve been chasing this dream all my life,” said LeForce, a 33-year coaching veteran. “The thing that was disturbing to me was that you could become President of the United States at 70, but you couldn’t become a head coach. You were either too old or you couldn’t relate to the players. That made me almost hate the profession. People don’t understand that when you’re 55, you’re in the prime of your life. You can’t buy wisdom.”

Even with the smallish lineup, East Tennessee isn’t without talent. LeForce calls point guard Keith (Mister) Jennings, all 5-7 of him, “as good a basketball player pound for pound, inch for inch, as anyone.” Also helpful is the team’s bench. LeForce can go 10 deep without a significant drop in quality.

Not long ago, LeForce saw Jeff Jones, Virginia’s 30-year-old rookie head coach, at a coaching seminar. “I was just thinking, here’s the oldest Division I coach and the youngest. I almost went up to him and said something.”

LeForce has never been happier. Fifty-five? It’s just a number to him.

UNLV’s Jerry Tarkanian wasn’t exaggerating when he picked Indiana as one of his Final Four teams. The Hoosiers are 13-1 and getting better each game.

They have scored more than 100 points four times, are averaging 88.4 points a game, which is high for an Indiana team, and send wave after wave of defensive pressure at teams. Illinois will vouch for Indiana’s talent. The Illini were crushed, 109-74, by Bob Knight’s team this week. Illinois entered the game with a five-game winning streak, including victories over Missouri, Louisiana State and Memphis State.

Freshman Damon Bailey gets most of the attention, but Calbert Cheaney gets most of the points, averaging 22.6 points in only 28 minutes a game.

One other note: Every player has started, except one--Pat Knight, the coach’s son.

Georgia Tech (8-3) appears to be recovering nicely from an early-season stumble. We will know better in the next eight days, when the Yellow Jackets play Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina State. The Duke and N.C. State games are on the road.

One comforting thought for Coach Bobby Cremins is the recent play of guard Kenny Anderson, who has scored 40 or more points in four of his last five games. Just 11 games into his sophomore season, Anderson already has scored 1,041 points at Georgia Tech.

Too bad Kentucky isn’t eligible for this year’s NCAA tournament. The Wildcats, under Coach Rick Pitino, are as entertaining a team as there is in college basketball. Ranked 16th, Kentucky features forward Jamal Mashburn, who is averaging 12.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. He was perhaps the best high school player in New York a year ago.

Pitino’s popularity in Lexington has reached epic proportions. For instance, his Bravo Pitino restaurant has been booked solid for lunch and dinner since it opened Dec. 8.

Mum’s the word at Syracuse, where the No. 3-ranked Orangemen are assembling a defense for the many alleged NCAA violations reported recently by the Syracuse Post-Standard. The most damaging of the accusations include payoffs, illegal ticket sales, special favors by boosters and academic indiscretions, notably the practice of changing grades to keep a player eligible. The supposed cost of the in-house investigation and defense by Syracuse: $250,000.

Meanwhile, former Mater Dei High star LeRon Ellis, who started slowly this season at Syracuse, is beginning to assert himself. His 11.8-point average is about double his average of last season. Ellis has scored in double figures in each of his last seven games.

Only 35 more days until No. 1 UNLV plays No. 2 Arkansas. Does Arkansas have a chance?

Again, we turn to East Tennessee State’s LeForce.

“I can’t see anyone (beating UNLV),” he said. “Vegas is at one plateau, and the rest of us are trying to get there. At the next level is Arkansas, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, LSU. Then you got some East Tennessee and some Johnny Come Latelys, but they don’t have the stud that can take you to the promised land.”

Periodic phenom update:

--Shawn Bradley, Brigham Young.

After only 13 games, the 7-6, 210-pound freshman set a school record for most blocked shots in a season. That’s correct, 13 games. Gone is Greg Kite’s measly 81 blocked shots, replaced by Bradley’s 83 . . . and counting.

Bradley is averaging 6.4 blocked shots, 8.9 rebounds and 17.4 points. Against Eastern Kentucky this season, when he blocked 14 shots, Bradley tied the NCAA single-game record held by David Robinson, of Navy and San Antonio fame. And at his present pace, Bradley easily will surpass Robinson’s NCAA record average of 5.9 blocked shots a game.

As soon as he turns 19 this spring, Bradley, a member of the Mormon Church, probably will depart on a two-year religious mission to an undetermined country. Mormon missionary service is voluntary.

Still to be determined is whether Bradley will return to BYU or declare himself eligible for the NBA draft.

“Shawn Bradley is playing his last year in college basketball,” said East Tennessee State’s LeForce, whose team beat BYU in its season opener. “He’s going to come back (from his mission) and make millions and millions of dollars. He’ll be 30 pounds heavier, stronger, and he can make so much money. He has the skills of a 6-2 guy. He runs, dribbles, blocks shots, shoots. The only thing he needs is some weight.

“If he stays, Brigham Young will win the national championship.”

BYU plays New Mexico next Saturday, which means Bradley faces 7-2 Luc Longley, one of the top five centers in the country. Has the National Weather Service been notified?

--Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest.

The 6-7 forward already is 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring, with a 17.1-point average, and has earned his fair share of oohs and aahs. He deserves every one of them.

--Eric Montross, North Carolina.

The 7-0 Montross, who, along with Bradley was one of the nation’s most coveted high school centers, has played in each of his team’s games. He leads the Tar Heels in blocks and is averaging 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds.

--Grant Hill, Duke.

Hill is the only Blue Devil freshman to start all 12 games this season. Intimidated by Duke’s schedule? Hardly. The 6-7 forward is averaging 12.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.

North Carolina’s Dean Smith still is tinkering with his lineup. He uses almost his entire roster during the first half and then settles into an eight-man rotation for the second half. Every Tar Heel except two has played in at least nine games. . . . It’s early, but ACC insiders say they like Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, in that order. The Tar Heels could replace Duke if Smith can find a lineup he likes. . . . Today’s game to watch: Duke at Virginia. The Cavaliers have won six games in a row.

Our top 10: (1) UNLV, (2) Arkansas, (3) Syracuse, (4) Indiana, (5) Duke, (6) North Carolina, (7) Ohio State, (8) Pittsburgh, (9) LSU, (10) Connecticut.

Our waiting list: East Tennessee State, St. John’s, Kentucky, South Carolina, UCLA, Nebraska.