Kruger Picked to Succeed Henson at Illinois

Lon Kruger knows he wasn’t the first choice of fans, players and high school basketball coaches for the coaching job at Illinois.

When he publicly accepted the job during a news conference Thursday, the ex-Florida coach said he understood the disappointment among those who wanted longtime Illini assistant Jimmy Collins to get the job.

Kruger, who coached Florida to the tournament’s Final Four in 1994, hopes getting the Illini on the winning track will overcome any hard feelings.

“We’ll play extremely hard. We’ll play unselfishly. We’ll play extremely well together,” Kruger said. “We’ll represent the University of Illinois in a first-class way both on and off the basketball floor, and we’ll have fun doing it.”

Athletic Director Ron Guenther gave Kruger a five-year contract to replace Lou Henson, who retired after a 422-223 record in 21 seasons.

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Lorenzen Wright and Memphis called a news conference for Saturday to discuss whether the 6-foot-11 sophomore center would make himself available for the NBA draft.

Wright, a third-team All-American, averaged 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds for Memphis, which was upset by Drexel in the first round of the tournament.

--Associated Press

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Coach Bobby Cremins did not hide his pride over Georgia Tech’s stretch drive, which carried the Yellow Jackets first to the tournament, then to the Sweet 16 after a 6-7 start.

“This has been a special team for me,” Cremins said Thursday at Lexington, Ky. “I’ll always remember this team as the one that got Georgia Tech back, and got Bobby Cremins back.

“We had not made the tournament for two straight years, and in December it was looking like we’d make it three straight. And it bothered me that our senior, Drew Barry, would finish his career without winning a game in the NCAA tournament.

“Then, it just turned around completely. I can hardly sleep at night because I’m so excited.”

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Coming off the emotions of defeating Seton Hall, Syracuse and Georgetown on successive days in the Big East tournament, then heading directly to Indianapolis for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, took its toll on Connecticut, according to its players and Coach Jim Calhoun.

After workmanlike victories in the first two rounds, the top-seeded Huskies took a quiet trip to a Kentucky horse farm Wednesday.

“We went and looked at some horses, took our minds off of things, and now we’re back in focus,” said star guard Ray Allen. “The Big East tournament took a lot out of us, but now we’re definitely ready for the rest of the tournament.”

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Calhoun said backup point guard Ricky Moore, who injured his right shoulder in the first round, is “very, very questionable” for tonight’s game against Mississippi State. . . . Mississippi State might have a tiny mental advantage. Last season, it beat Kentucky at Lexington’s Rupp Arena, site of the Southeastern Regional. . . . Cincinnati is clearly the team most openly confident about itself. “I really feel if we play the way we’re capable of playing, we can easily win two more games,” Bearcat forward Danny Fortson said. “And we can get further than the Final Four.”