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COLLEGE BASKETBALL / GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI : COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENT: THE FIRST ROUND : Note to East Carolina: Make Most of the Experience

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Shortly after the NCAA tournament pairings were announced, Campbell College Coach Billy Lee sent a note to East Carolina’s Eddie Payne, whose 16th-seeded Pirates are sentenced to play No. 1-seeded North Carolina today in the first round of the East Regional.

East Carolina is 13-16, the first team since 1986 to earn a bid with a losing record.

North Carolina is 28-4, ranked second in the country and favored by many to win the tournament. The Tar Heels play teams like East Carolina in early December, not late March.

With this in mind, Lee stuck a stamp on his envelope and off it went, from the no-stoplight campus town of Buies Creek, N.C., to Payne’s office in Greenville.

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Wrote Lee of East Carolina’s matchup against the Tar Heels: “You’re not in the driver’s seat, but you’re in the car. Go out there and work hard, but don’t forget to have fun. Remember, there are 3 million people in China who don’t even know you’re playing.”

Lee knows of such things. His Campbell team was, in essence, the 64th-seeded team in last year’s NCAA tournament. Winners of the little-known and little-regarded Big South Conference, the Camels were paired against Duke, which already owned one NCAA championship and, as it turned out, was on its way to another.

You think Lee cared? He scoffed at the oddsmakers. He joked with visiting reporters. He cherished the experience.

“Hey, if we can win this game,” he said at the time, “we’ll definitely be the tallest pig in the trough.”

Campbell lost, 82-56, but not before proving a point.

Lee and his overmatched Camels might not have been one of the best 64 teams in the country last year, but they belonged . It is a distinction lost this season on the weepers at Nevada Las Vegas, Providence, Oklahoma and especially at Minnesota, where Coach Clem Haskins is still pouting about being left out.

The Rebels, Friars, Sooners and Golden Gophers had their chances and blew them. East Carolina didn’t. Neither did Campbell a year ago.

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And as corny as it might sound, there should always be a place in the NCAAs for the underdog, for a team with little more than a dream. It is because of the tournament that America met Lee, which more than justifies Campbell’s inclusion.

“I think we get so interested in the destination, that we miss the trip,” Lee said the other day from Buies Creek. “I didn’t want to miss the trip.”

That explains why Lee didn’t mind hearing the basketball office phone ring 800 times--actual count--the day after Campbell’s bid. He didn’t mind ABC’s Dick Schaap and his camera crew filming practice at midcourt. He didn’t mind the jokes or the smirks from his peers at the larger schools.

“Hey, I was just trying to have a good time,” Lee said. “It was our shining moment.”

Lee--Part II:

When his team stepped onto the court to face Duke last March, Lee had tears in his eyes. His palms were sweating. His heart was doing a drum roll against his chest. He had dreamed of the moment for 21 years.

“Then I look down the sidelines and I see the great Coach K,” Lee said of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. “I said to myself, ‘I’m going to get this guy’s autograph.’ ”

And he did, too. A basketball, signed by Krzyzewski and his entire Blue Devil team, now occupies a place of honor in Lee’s house.

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In fact, Lee might have been one of the few opposing coaches to calm the beast known better as the traveling Cameron Crazies, Duke’s notoriously sarcastic, biting and clever fans. They might have paid him their highest compliment when, during Duke’s second-round victory against Iowa, the Crazies chanted, “Camp-bell’s smart-er, Camp-bell’s bet-ter.”

Said Lee: “Of course, you didn’t see me (but) I was leading the cheer.”

There was no repeat NCAA appearance this year. The Camels finished 12-15 and third in the Big South. The conference’s automatic bid went to Coastal Carolina, which will play No. 1-seeded Michigan in the West Regional on Friday at Tucson.

That’s OK. Unlike Haskins, Lee is capable of being gracious in victory or defeat.

“We’re not in the big dance,” he said. “We’re just going to have a sock hop.”

Whatever happens, Lee will always have the memories of the 1991-92 season. As for Campbell, the school has experienced a marked rise in admissions and contributions. “It has been a life-changing thing,” Lee said.

And all because of one game. A loss, no less.

“I spoke at the Durham Sports Club awhile back,” Lee said. “Later on, Coach K spoke there. When he was introduced, he said: ‘I’m really the guy who played against Billy Lee in the NCAA’s.’

“Can you imagine that?”

And now, NCAA tournament predictions.

The first set of fearless postseason forecasts comes from former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, who made his picks via cellular phone from his table at a Las Vegas restaurant. He did this while eating vegetables, he said.

The Sleepers:

Florida State--”They’ve got great athletes. They remind me of our (UNLV) ballclub. But they don’t play as good of defense.”

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Georgia Tech--”They’re coming on real strong.”

Cal State Long Beach--”I couldn’t believe how good they were. They’ve got really good players, great athletes. When they come to play, they can knock somebody off. They’re just so inconsistent. But when I saw Lucious Harris play, he played like an All-American.”

The Semi-Sleepers:

Seton Hall--”I said a month ago the sleeper team of the tournament was Seton Hall. They’ve got a very good player in (guard) Terry Dehere and an excellent coach in P.J. Carlesimo.”

Cincinnati--”Their trapping (defense) is going to shake up some teams. Whoever draws Cincinnati in the second game--with only one day of preparation--is going to have problems.”

Duke--”People don’t realize how good Grant Hill is. (Clipper Coach) Larry Brown told me Hill would be the first pick in the draft if he came out. I don’t think he’d be the No. 1; I’d take (Memphis State’s Anfernee) Hardaway.”

Arizona--”In the past, everybody rated them real high and they stumbled. This year people were down on them. But they’ve got quickness in the backcourt that they didn’t have and a decent big man in the middle. And (forward Chris) Mills can take over a game.”

The Favorites:

Kentucky--”I like the way they play. They press, they run, they shoot, they trap you. I think they feel they gave the thing away last year.”

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Indiana--”Even without (forward/center Alan) Henderson, they’re so deep anyway. People say they’re thin, but that’s not true. (They’ve) got lots of talent.”

North Carolina--”I think that’s the easiest regional of all. If you go by the way the teams played, Carolina will make it.”

Michigan--”I think Michigan’s got a great shot. (Jalen) Rose? He’s got point guard skills. I remember when he was a freshman, he was incredible at the point. I’m not sure he’s the type of leader to get them there.”

Tarkanian’s Final Four:

North Carolina, Duke, Michigan, Kentucky.

His winner:

Kentucky--”I think Carolina is the best team, but the best team doesn’t always win. The best team wins about once every three years. It’s just the bounce of the ball.”

Predictions--Part II

As coach of the defending 64th-seeded team, Campbell’s Lee gets to choose the winners and losers.

Southeast Regional:

“I’d have to pick Kentucky because they’re just so good. Seton Hall is running a version of the old Johnny Wooden offense and running it so well. And Iowa has such a dynamic press that if that were to work time after time, they could win.”

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West Regional:

“My two dark horses out of there are Arizona and I think UCLA has a chance. (UCLA) is good in the half-court game and they’ve also got a running game. Those kind of teams have a chance to do well. They’ve got the personnel to run it and they’re also wearing those four letters across their chests. They’ve got that tradition.

“Michigan? They can’t put enough (defensive) pressure to make you play something other than what you want to play. I think the championship teams have defenses that force you to play at a tempo that they want you to play. And they’ve got too many chiefs and not enough Indians.”

East Regional:

“North Carolina. They’re playing great defense right now. And Arkansas, Massachusetts and Cincinnati--they all have a chance. Cincinnati is playing very good defense. They play a defense that a lot of people don’t know about: a 1-3-1 with a lot of trapping. It’s not conventional.”

Midwest Regional:

“Kansas and Duke, I’d say are the dark horses. Duke is so good on defense and Grant Hill just got back. They’re missing Christian Laettner’s points, but the defense is as good as, if not better than, last year’s team. But they need another bucket from some people. And with Kansas, a lot of their game is predicated on pressure defense, like North Carolina’s. I don’t think their half-court game is at Carolina’s level. But if those Kansas guards (Rex Walters and Adonis Jordan) can get up and down the court, watch out.

“My favorite is Indiana because half-court teams do well at tournament time.”

Lee’s Final Four:

North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona, Kentucky.

His Winner:

Indiana--”I think they’re the epitome of team basketball. Their half-court game is outstanding. They definitely need (Henderson), but they play such great team basketball that they can compensate.”

If Tarkanian knows something about the J.R. Rider disaster, he isn’t saying.

“I read the same thing everybody else reads,” he said, the delight in his voice apparent.

Tarkanian, who attended the recent Big West tournament and actually gave the Long Beach coaching staff tips on how to stop Rider, said he had no problem with UNLV’s failure to make the NCAA field of 64.

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“They didn’t beat anybody good,” he said. “They didn’t beat anybody on the road. I’ve been telling people in that league for years that you’ve got to go out and play better nonleague (teams).”

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No. Team Record 1. Indiana 28-3 2. North Carolina 28-4 3. Kentucky 26-3 4. Seton Hall 27-6 5. Michigan 26-4 6. Arizona 24-3 7. Cincinnati 24-4 8. Georgia Tech 19-10 9. Duke 23-7 10. Louisville 20-8

Waiting list: Kansas (25-6), Florida State (22-9), Arkansas (20-8), California (19-8), Vanderbilt (26-5)

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