New Kid on Kentucky Block

They beat Kentucky last week at Rupp Arena.

They beat Louisville last season at Freedom Hall.

Shoot, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers even beat the Harlem Globetrotters this fall in an exhibition, breaking the Globetrotters’ 284-game winning streak.

Crown them the kings of the Commonwealth of Kentucky--and the new No. 21 team in the country.

“This is starting to get real competitive with us three teams,” said Western Kentucky point guard Derek Robinson, who grew up in Paris, Ky., and played at Bourbon County High.

“Growing up, I never knew a whole bunch about Western Kentucky. Kentucky and Louisville, obviously, were the top two teams in the state, some of the top teams in the nation.

“I grew up dreaming of playing for one of those two. Louisville was recruiting me for a while but stopped. Kentucky never recruited me at all.”

These days, Western Kentucky’s upsets don’t look like flukes.

For one thing, the Hilltoppers have the best big man in the country, 7-foot-1 Chris Marcus, projected to be one of the top picks in the NBA draft.

Coach Dennis Felton got his first look at Marcus when Felton was a Clemson assistant.

Marcus was a huge, inexperienced player who spent his spare time working in the pet department at a Wal-Mart in Charlotte, N.C.

“He was the same height, 7-1, but about 330 pounds,” Felton said of Marcus, now about 290. “He wasn’t fat, but he was enormous. One big square. Broad shoulders. There are not many guys in the NBA his size, and certainly not in college.”

Marcus was raw, hardly familiar with such basics as running and jumping, but Felton could see the future.

“He has terrific hands, soft hands,” Felton said.

And he was extremely coachable.

“He’s just improved so dramatically. He’s the most exciting guy I’ve ever coached.”

The Hilltoppers also have improved dramatically since Felton arrived.

They won only 10 games the year before he was hired.

Three years later, Western Kentucky--a school with a basketball heritage that includes 17 NCAA tournament appearances and 32 20-victory seasons--won 24 games and returned to the NCAA tournament last season only to lose to Florida, 69-56.

Oddly, from that loss, confidence was born.

“I felt like we were better than Florida and should have beaten Florida,” Felton said. “Our team didn’t quite play like they believed it.

“If they didn’t realize it during the game, they certainly realized it after watching the tape. There were so many things we could have done if we just did the things we normally do.

“We just gave in to the idea [that] maybe we didn’t belong.”

That didn’t happen at Kentucky, where the Hilltoppers outworked the Wildcats, forced 20 turnovers and held Kentucky to 34% shooting.

“We felt we were the better team,” Robinson said. “It was our confidence and swagger, and knowing we lost against Florida when we felt we should have beaten Florida.”

Among the things the Hilltoppers have going for them are cohesiveness and experience.

Rare in college basketball today, they start three seniors and two juniors.

Those elite players who jump to the NBA after a year or two go to other schools, and Felton resists the temptation to recruit junior college players.

Chemistry and continuity are the results.

“We felt we wanted to build a program for the long haul,” he said. “We have good, experienced players. We’ll beat anybody’s freshmen and sophomores. I don’t care if they’re McDonald’s All-Americans or not.”

And what if they’re Harlem Globetrotters?

Western Kentucky (3-0) was the only team the Globetrotters lost to on a tour that included stops at Iowa, Minnesota and St. John’s.

Hey, just think what beating the Globetrotters could do for a team’s RPI.

Trouble Ahead

Most of the early season upsets are just blips that don’t foretell much about the season.

Losses by Maryland, Florida, Kansas, UCLA and Kentucky, and Duke’s one-point scare by Seton Hall are examples.

North Carolina’s loss to Hampton at home seems different--and the Tar Heels loss to Davidson on Tuesday proved they are in deep trouble.

A Raleigh News and Observer reader poll asked, “Do you think the North Carolina men’s basketball team will make the NCAA tournament this season?”

Almost 80% voted no--and if the Tar Heels fail to make the NCAA field, it will end a 27-season streak, the longest by any school.

The biggest problems for a North Carolina team that has dropped out of the top 25 are lack of a point guard and not enough outside shooting.

Former point guard Ronald Curry is still playing football, and hasn’t given any indication he’ll return to basketball this season.

In his place, Doherty is trying sophomore Adam Boone--who had trouble against Hampton’s Tommy Adams--and freshman Melvin Scott.

If neither Curry nor top NFL draft prospect Julius Peppers return to the basketball team, the Tar Heels will have lost five of their top seven scorers from last season

The biggest losses: Guard Joseph Forte, who jumped to the NBA after his sophomore season, and 7-foot center Brendan Haywood, now a teammate of Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards.

Hampton, a school of fewer than 6,000 students in Hampton, Va., isn’t a complete unknown. The Pirates, a 15th-seeded team, upset No. 2 Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season before losing to Georgetown.

But that team lost its two best players--and had to shoot only 39% to beat North Carolina in the Smith Center.

Also Receiving Votes

It took one week.

After winning its first two games under Bob Knight, Texas Tech received two votes in the Associated Press poll.

The Red Raiders’ victory over William and Mary was expected.

Beating San Diego State after jumping to a huge first-half lead was not, even with the Aztecs missing two starters. (Texas Tech also was without a key player, forward Pawel Storozynski, out because of an eligibility question related to his playing in Europe.)

Texas Tech is undersized and inexperienced--but it seems clear that Knight’s coaching and the arrival of new players will get the Red Raiders past last season’s 9-19 record. After Tuesday night’s victory against Southern Methodist, Texas Tech is 3-0.

New Low

Wearing a microphone to allow television viewers to hear “inside” comments during a game is one thing.

But Ball State Coach Tim Buckley and ESPN plumbed new depths Tuesday by conducting an interview while play continued during the UCLA game, even as the ball changed hands.

Try to picture any elite coach doing that. Buckley needs to learn to say no.