Harrick Has Last Laugh on Bruins

Jim Harrick outlasted UCLA after all.

Can you believe it?

He’s still in; UCLA’s out.

Harrick overcame his November surprise firing in 1996, the inferno that followed, personal depths of despair, Bruin Athletic Director Peter T. Dalis, a job market that spurned him and, Friday night, Valparaiso, maybe the pluckiest NCAA tournament team to come along in years.

Harrick’s Rhode Island Rams advanced to the Elite Eight with a 74-68 victory against Valparaiso before a crowd of 22,172 at the Kiel Center.

Harrick’s Rhode Island will face Stanford on Sunday in the Midwest Regional final in a reunion with Cardinal Coach Mike Montgomery.

Harrick’s Rhode Island is three victories shy of winning the national title.

How far has he come? At last year’s Final Four in Indianapolis, Harrick was shopping himself around for a job.

Friday, it was vindication time.

“I’m better today than I’ve ever been in my life,” Harrick said.

The only sad thing about Friday’s game was that Harrick’s victory came at the expense of Valparaiso, the tiny school from northern Indiana that turned this tournament on its ear with shocking first-round victories against Mississippi and Florida State.

And at the expense of his son, Jim Jr., a Valparaiso assistant coach.

This time, though, the Crusaders fell short, if only barely.

“I definitely thought we could pull it out,” Valparaiso sharp-shooter Bryce Drew said later.

But there would be no more miracles for Valparaiso or Drew, whose last-second three-point shot against Mississippi vaulted the Crusaders into America’s living room.

Not that Drew and his crew didn’t give it the old college try.

With his team trailing by six points, Drew drilled a three-point shot with 41.8 seconds left to cut the lead to 71-68.

Valparaiso hysteria began to sweep the arena.

The Crusaders quickly fouled guard Tyson Wheeler, who made one of two free throws to extend the lead to four.

Drew came down the court, guns blazing, but his three-point shot with 10 seconds left was off the mark.

Valparaiso fouled immediately, but Luther Clay ended all comeback hopes by making two free throws with nine seconds left.

It was the end of the game, a dream season, and several collegiate careers.

But it wasn’t quite over for Valparaiso. The school’s fans stayed well past the final buzzer, chanting for their team to return to the court for one last bow.

The players obliged.

“The perfect ending to my basketball career,” Crusader guard Jamie Sykes said of returning to the court.

Forward Bill Jenkins: “It was like a comforting hug all of us needed.”

Rhode Island (25-8) would buckle and bend, but never did the Rams break.

“We hung on, man,” Harrick would say. “We hung on.”

The Rams pressured Drew all over the court, “held” him to 18 points--he was six for 16 from the floor--and got clutch performances from key players, none larger than forward Antonio Reynolds-Dean.

Reynolds-Dean was a menace down the stretch, swatting away Valparaiso shots and making key baskets. Reynolds-Dean finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Rhode Island held a five-point halftime lead at 44-39, riding the shooting of guard Cuttino Mobley, who made four of six three-point attempts.

It looked as though Rhode Island might put its pesky opponent away early in the second half, extending its lead to 11 points with 18:09 left when Wheeler fed Clay for an easy basket.

The Rams’ lead was nine with 16:30 left when Mobley’s basket made it 52-43, but that’s when the Crusaders made their run.

Consecutive three-point shots by Sykes cut the lead to three at 52-49 with 14:10 left, but Rhode Island’s Clay quickly answered with a slam dunk.

But after Jason Jenkins’ three-pointer made it 54-52 with 13:02 left, Drew tied the score, 54-54, with a driving bank shot with 12:09 left.

Both teams sputtered after that, but Rhode Island wasn’t able to shake Valparaiso. The Rams could not extend the lead beyond six points in the final six minutes.

Valparaiso missed a great chance to take the lead with 3:54 remaining, when Rhode Island’s Mobley was called for an intentional foul. Sykes made two free throws to cut the lead to 64-63, and the Crusaders also got possession of the ball.

But Drew committed a turnover on the possession and Reynolds-Dean was fouled at the other end while making a basket. He made the free throw to give Rhode Island a four-point lead at 67-63.

Valparaiso didn’t win, but they made Rhode Island sweat.

“I feel physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted,” Harrick said.

And, he could have added, completely satisfied.

Someone asked Harrick if this was the best coaching job he had ever done, taking over a team with someone else’s players and leading them to the NCAA round of eight.

“Well,” Harrick said, “I did win a national championship.”

Harrick doesn’t have to mention UCLA by name any more. He can take the high road in Rhode Island.

“You know why it’s hard to go the Final Four?” Harrick asked. “Because it’s hard. I told my players, ‘This is the best game you’ve played in your life.’

“And, for me, I’ve never coached better than this year, than this game.”

Valparaiso finished the season at 23-10.

Harrick?

Well, he’s not quite finished yet.