NOTES : Knight Should Be Able to Read Between Lines

A Final Four parting shot from columnist Charley Walters of the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press:

“Classiest coaches at the Final Four: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Cincinnati’s Bob Huggins and Michigan’s Steve Fisher.”

Uh, leave anybody out?

People are talking about talking. About taunting and “trash talk” on the court. Michigan and Duke players are particularly loquacious.

Michigan freshman Juwan Howard explained: “It’s all about being yourself. Hey, guys in the NBA talk trash. Magic Johnson talks trash. Michael Jordan. How come they don’t talk about those guys talking?

“Guys talk to us first. It just so happens that we do it better than they do.”

More talk: How do Wolverines do it better?

Chris Webber gives an example:

“We might say: ‘Why do you guys have a contract with (a certain shoe company). Those shoes are nasty.”

Still more talk: From Terry Nelson of Final Four team Cincinnati:

“Talking is part of sports. These people making rules are in suites on the ninth floor of some big hotel, drinking dry martinis. They should go out on the streets of Brooklyn and see what basketball is really like.”

The last word: Is it just Michigan doing the talking?

“Hey, just listen to (Christian) Laettner out there,” Webber said.

At the Michigan-Duke game Dec. 14, freshman Webber pointed at senior Laettner after a basket and said: “You just got dunked on national TV.”

Shortly thereafter, Laettner scored and said: “That’s how you do it, little kid.”