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COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NCAA : Green Considers UNLV, Stays at Oregon

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Associated Press

Jerry Green turned down the basketball coaching job at Nevada Las Vegas on Wednesday and accepted a new contract at Oregon that will keep him with the Ducks virtually as long as he wants.

Green said he thought he’d be leaving for UNLV when he returned from Las Vegas on Tuesday but changed his mind after a meeting Tuesday night with Oregon Vice President Dan Williams.

“I liked what I heard,” Green said. “After our conversation last night and again this morning, there was absolutely no question of what I should do.”

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Green, 51, who in his third season directed the Ducks to a 19-10 record and their first NCAA tournament berth in 34 years, agreed to a four-year contract that increases his annual pay 20% to $249,000.

The contract will renew automatically each year and Green always will have a four-year deal.

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Maryland center Joe Smith has had to change his phone number almost as often as opposing teams have changed their defenses to try to stop the 6-foot-10 sophomore.

Smith said he changed his number at the start of this year’s NCAA tournament, the fourth time he has gotten a new phone number in his two years at Maryland.

Smith was forced to do so because some Maryland fans can’t contain their enthusiasm for the Terrapins and their star center. Among the calls was one from a drunk fan at 3:30 a.m.

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Junior Burrough, possibly overlooked by all-conference voters in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will not be neglected in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

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Whether Kansas’ tall trio of defenders handles Virginia’s 6-foot-8 power forward Friday night at Kansas City, Mo., may go a long way toward determining who wins.

“In the second half against Miami of Ohio, he took over the game,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. “We don’t know yet what our matchups are going to be.”

Burrough struggled early against Miami of Ohio last weekend. However, he finished with 28 points in a 60-54 overtime victory.

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Georgetown Coach John Thompson said he wanted to make sure freshman Allen Iverson didn’t believe all the early-season hype about him being the best guard the Hoyas ever had.

“That’s the great thing about tape,” said Thompson, whose team faces North Carolina tonight in the Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Ala. “I showed him films of John Duren, Sleepy Floyd, Charles Smith. I told him to forget that fantasy stuff and look at this and learn.”

Thompson was later asked if he showed the current Hoyas the tape of the 1982 NCAA championship game loss to North Carolina.

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“We lost that game, so could it be motivational?” Thompson asked before adding he might show most of it to the team. “We live in a world of editing too.”

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