COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR NOTES

Celebrity watch: Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, was one of the 64,151 watching the semifinals at the Superdome.

Dale Brown, Kentucky’s senior defensive specialist, suffered a separated shoulder with 6:13 left in regulation when he dove for an errant pass and crashed into the scorer’s table.

“I never thought it would end this way,” he said of his season. “I’ll never play again.”

Brown, a 6-foot-2 transfer from Gulf Coast Junior College in Mississippi, does not think he will be drafted by an NBA team.

A week ago, freshman forward Jared Prickett said he would take on all comers despite his lack of experience. After all, he had just dominated Florida State’s front line in leading the Wildcats to the Final Four.

“I’ll take on Shaquille O’Neal if I have to,” he said at the Southeast Regionals in Charlotte, N.C.

Prickett, 6-9, did not change his attitude but was humbled by Michigan’s Chris Webber.

“I took a pounding,” Prickett said. “He took me to the hole. There was not much I could do.”

With Brown injured, and Prickett and Jamal Mashburn on the bench with five fouls each, Kentucky’s forces were depleted. So, Jeff Brassow, a 6-5 junior reserve guard, found solace how Kentucky played in the stretch.

“It was a miracle for us to force an overtime,” he said.

North Carolina forward Brian Reese was suffering the effects of getting poked in the eye during the Tar Heels’ game. With his hands in his face, Reese was still smarting an hour after the game.

“It’s all the bright lights from the cameras,” he said.

Eric Pauley, Kansas’ 6-10 center from Buena Park, was asked to evaluate North Carolina’s 7-foot Eric Montross.

“It’s difficult guarding someone that big, that strong who takes up so much space,” Pauley said.

Derrick Phelps, the Tar Heels’ point guard, was not surprised to slip and injure himself yet again Saturday. He had to leave an ACC tournament game on a stretcher after suffering a shoulder injury last month. He also has sprained an ankle and had other minor injuries this season.

“I’m so used to playing with something bothering me, I just keep playing,” he said.