Things Were Too Kooky for Bartow in L.A.

Gene Bartow, who resigned Monday as coach at Alabama Birmingham, succeeded the legendary John Wooden at UCLA in 1975.

He had a two-season record there of 52-9, including a Final Four loss to eventual champion Indiana in the 1975-76 season.

However, “Clean Gene”, as he was known, was never comfortable in Los Angeles, overreacting to barbs from The Times’ letter columns and the late Jim Healy’s radio sports commentary. He often referred to his detractors as “L.A. kooks.”

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Trivia time: When did USC make its last appearance in the Final Four?

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Overmatched: San Jose State lost to Kentucky, 110-72, in the first round of the NCAA tournament and Spartan guard Sam Allen was impressed with the Wildcats’ depth:

“I felt after the first half, we had played three games,” he told Monte Poole of the Oakland Tribune.

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Send in the clowns: Jayson Stark in the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Just when you thought the Reds couldn’t get more carnival-like under Marge Schott, here’s Schott’s latest brainstorm:

“She told owners at their meeting that she had just been to the circus. She was so impressed by the athleticism of the circus stars, she said, ‘I want to find out what the circus people do and have our players do the same thing.’ ”

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Mummy mambo: CBS television analyst Al McGuire on his impromptu dance among victorious Syracuse players on Sunday:

“There seemed to be an underbeat, something subliminal. I started rocking back and forth. I’ve got arthritis in 18 places. The floor was wet from water and I slipped. But I wasn’t dancing the players’ dance. I was doing the dance of the pharaohs.”

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Now you tell us: Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim on his whiny image: “People don’t like me. My image is bad, I know that. What people don’t realize is that it is just an act, a role. It’s like not liking Clint Eastwood because he shoots people in movies.”

OK, Coach, make our day.

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Uh, right: Syracuse junior Tracey Keim’s reaction to the Orangemen’s qualifying for the Final Four: “ ‘Cuse is in the Big House.”

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Fitting moniker: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “[Cedric] Ceballos’ water-ski vacation seems pretty zany, but now you know why they call the team the Lakers.”

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Nutrition secret: New Jersey Net guard Vern Fleming became the 200th player in NBA history to score 10,000 points when he had 13 against Detroit on Friday.

Fleming, a 12-year veteran, on the secret to his durability: “I’ve had a hot dog, soda and pretzel before every game I’ve played.”

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Beating the odds: Rick Hummel in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “A big winner in the hotel casino visited by the Florida Marlins during their stay in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was reliever Yorkis Perez. His teammates were in awe that Perez, while playing blackjack, took a hit on 19--and drew a two.”

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Trivia answer: The Trojans lost to Bradley, 74-72, in the NCAA semifinals in 1954.