COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S FINAL NOTES : Williamson Is Tournament MVP as Three Razorbacks Are Honored

The Final Four all-tournament team was Corliss Williamson of Arkansas (most valuable player), Grant Hill of Duke, Antonio Lang of Duke, Corey Beck of Arkansas and Scotty Thurman of Arkansas.

Duke is 2-5 in NCAA championship games, which is the record for most losses in title games by one school. Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina each have four.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski is 39-9 in NCAA tournament games.

*

Having Hillary Rodham Clinton as a guest speaker at Duke’s graduation in May does not bother Blue Devil senior Antonio Lang, despite the First Lady’s association with Arkansas.

“As long as she remembers who I am (from the NCAA championship game),” said Lang, who will graduate with a degree in economics, “I don’t have any complaints.”

*

Final Fours of the future: Kingdome, Seattle (1995); Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J. (1996); Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis (1997); Alamodome, San Antonio (1998); ThunderDome, St. Petersburg, Fla. (1999); Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis (2000); Metrodome, Minneapolis (2001); Georgia Dome, Atlanta (2002).

*

Next year’s sub-regionals: Albany, N.Y. and Baltimore (East); Memphis and Tallahassee, Fla. (Southeast); Dayton, Ohio, and Austin, Tex. (Midwest); Salt Lake City and Boise, Idaho (West). Regional finals: East Rutherford, N.J. (East); Birmingham, Ala. (Southeast); Kansas City (Midwest), Berkeley (West).

*

Duke star Grant Hill: “Where I lived in Reston (Virginia), there were a lot of good players. Michael Jackson was from my neighborhood and he grew up and played for Georgetown and won a championship. Everybody wanted to be like Michael Jackson--both Michael Jacksons, I guess. We wanted to dance and shoot the ball, too.”

*

Hill’s father, Calvin, former NFL star, met a fellow Yale alumnus, President Clinton, last Saturday at the Charlotte Coliseum. Grant said: “Instead of calling him Mr. President, he just walked into the room and yelled ‘Bill!’ ”

*

Spoofing a popular TV commercial, President Clinton began the telecast of the Duke-Arkansas game by saying: “Am I going to the national championship? Yes, I am!”

*

The coach of North Carolina A&T;, Arkansas’ first-round opponent in this year’s tournament, had a special interest in Monday night’s championship game. Jeff Capel’s son, Jeff Jr., is a freshman guard for Duke.

“It’s so rewarding to to see him play at this level,” the elder Capel said. “I was very proud of him. The three seniors (Grant Hill, Antonio Lang and Marty Clark) have really helped Jeff make the transition. And I don’t mean just on the basketball court. They have helped him in a lot of ways.

“We’ve been at his games at the last two sites Duke has played. We are very proud of him.”