COLLEGE BASKETBALL / DAILY REPORT : NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR : Arizona, Florida Keep Their Guards Up

With so much attention focused on Arizona’s Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire, Florida’s backcourt of Craig Brown and Dan Cross have been somewhat overlooked.

How do they stack up?

Here is one coach’s appraisal:

“I’m not taking anything away from Florida’s two kids, because I think they’re two of the more underrated players around,” said Boston College’s Jim O’Brien. “But those two guys from Arizona are terrific. (The Florida) kids may be close to them, and maybe the thing that separates them is an attitude. The guys from Arizona have a little more of a reputation. Sometimes, with a reputation, goes a little bit of an attitude that makes you a little bit better.”

*

There are many ways to describe Corliss Williamson’s head. Here’s one that catches the imagination: as bald as his pet python.

Williamson, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound sophomore who starts for Arkansas, is known as “The Big Nasty.” The snake is “Little Nasty.”

Coach Nolan Richardson prefers the player.

“The Big Nasty is our inside offense,” Richardson said. “Pound for pound, he may be the strongest basketball player in the world. Not the state, the world.”