The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 19

IowaJSU, UM Baseball Teams Warm Up Page 4c ST Friday March 30, 2001 On The Web Follow the Cyclones and Hawkeyes at RANDY BRUBAKER, Assistant Managing Editor 51 5-284-81 30e-mail: brubakerrnews.dmreg.com DesMoinesRegister.comsports JtanimnwSfgisffr Highlights Former Iowa coach enjoys special Final Four ties SPORTS Men's schedule 1 (4p 1 a Williams Davis there. He took teams to the Final Four's doorstep twice in his 28 seasons as a Division I coach. His Boston College team lost to Houston, 99-92, in a 1982 regional final. His first Iowa team lost to UNLV, 84-81, in a 1987 regional final. "I think about it a lot," Davis said.

"For players as well as coaches, this is the time of year when it all comes together. You're trying to get into the tournament, then you want to try and play up to your maximum. All those See DAVIS, Page 2C news was that he could be the first full-time assistant in Lafayette's history. The bad news was that he had to coach soccer." Williams said no. A week later, Davis called back.

"We talked about soccer, and how he could learn it quickly," Davis said. "He said he had watched a soccer game once on TV." Williams took the job, which started him down the path to a spot in the Final Four in his 23rd season as a Division I head coach. Davis never quite got resides in Iowa City. Davis was the freshman coach at Maryland in 1968 and Williams was one of his graduate assistants. Davis promised that when he got a Division I head coaching job, Williams would be the first guy he called.

"You could just see that he was going to be successful in the profession," Davis said. Davis was hired as head coach at Lafayette College in the spring of 197L "I called Gary and told him I had good news and bad news," Davis said. "The good By RICK BROWN REGISTER STAFF WRITER Gary Williams was a high school basketball coach in Camden, with a burning desire to get into the college game. Tom Davis gave him that opportunity with a job of fer in 1971. "He turned it down," Davis recalled.

"He just flat said, 'No way." Davis, whose 13-year term as Iowa coach ended after the 1998-99 season, will be in Minneapolis, Minn, Saturday to see Williams coach AT MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. SATURDAY'S SEMIFINALS 4:40 Michigan State (28-4) vs. Arizona (27-7) 7:10 -Duke (33-4) vs. Maryland (25-10) MONDAY'S FINAL 0:18 Michigan State or Arizona vs. Duke or Maryland All gamei are on CBS Maryland in the Final Four.

Davis also has ties to the other three coaches Lute Olson of Arizona, Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke. But his relationship with Williams is special. "I couldnt be happier for him," said Davis, Iowa's winningest coach, who still I 1 hvr I nil i 'Wis UM's Penrith weighs options Wrestling vacancy at Arizona State appeals to Panthers' coach. a At fT i 4 if RECORD: 29-5 COACH: Cheryl Burnett seasons) PLAYER TO WATCH: Jackie Stiles became the NCAA career scoring leader this season. Stiles (left) has scored 3,371 points in her career.

UNLV, Ohio hire new coaches Charlie Spoonhour is no Rick Pitino, and that's just fine with him. Rejected by Pitino, UNLV turned to the 61 -year-old Spoonhour on Thursday to become the third coach of the Runnin' Rebels within the last four months. Spoonhour, who led Southeastern Community College in Burlington to a 146-46 record from 1975-81 and took Saint Louis University to three NCAA Tournament appearances in seven years, was lured out of retirement with a contract that will pay him about $400,000 a year. Tim O'Shea, who's never been a college head coach, was hired by Ohio on Thursday and charged with ending the school's six-year postseason hiatus. O'Shea, above, an assistant at Boston College the past four seasons, agreed to seven-year contract with a base salary $150,000 and other incentives.

Irish women sweep AP honors Notre Dame's Ruth Riley received The Associated Press player of the year award in women's basketball Thursday as part of a clean sweep for the Irish. Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw was chosen the coach of the year. Riley edged Southwest Missouri State's Jackie Stiles for the award while McGraw, in her 14th season, was an overwhelming choice in the voting. Numbers Game By DAN McCOOL REGISTER STAFF WRITER Northern Iowa wrestling coach Brad Penrith purchased a new snowblower to handle winter's repeated blasts. He won't need it in Tempe, mm mm 4 MM 'CtEUJ a 1 Rflin TO FINAL FOUR: Beat 1 fj 1 Toledo, 89-71; beat Rutgers, 60-53; beat Duke, 81-71; beat Washington, 104-87.

i s-- srsa a to. 3 if he returns to Arizona State. Penrith, who completed his first season as a collegiate head coach earlier Women start battle tonight M- RECORD: 30-6 COACH: Kristy Curry (53-14, 2 seasons) PLAYER TO WATCH: Southwest Missouri State will focus on Purdue star Katie Douglas. That means players like guard Kelly Komara (left) will need to pick up the slack. ROAD TO FINAL FOUR: Beat UC Santa-Barbara, 75-62; beat Louisiana State, 70; beat Texas Tech, 74-72; beat Xavier, 88-78.

it RECORD: 32-2 tar hii COACH: Geno Auriemma (425-97, 16 seasons) f'H iT PLAYER TO WATCH: Freshman Diana Taurasi A I (left) flourished after all-Americans Svetlana this month, is Penrith weighing options before deciding on whether to apply for the Arizona State job. The Sun Devils are seeking a replacement for Lee Roy Smith, whose contract was not renewed after nine seasons. Penrith, a former assistant coach at Arizona State, said he was giving the job serious consideration. "I never expected this to happen in a million years," Penrith said. "There are only a few jobs that are appealing to me, and Arizona State is.

You can't fathom what's going on in my head It's difficult because there are so many different things going on, there are so many different emotions, there are so many different doors I've got to open and close." Arizona State has formally advertised for a new wrestling coach, with an application deadline of April 11. Gene Smith, the Arizona State athletic director who held the same position at Iowa State, and Sun Devils' associate athletic director Tom Collins were out of town Thursday and unavailable for comment. Other candidates for the See PENRITH, Page 4C Abrosimova and Shea Ralph suffered season- ending injuries. Taurasi scored 17 points and JfH: grabbed 10 rebounds in the regional final. ROAD TO FINAL FOUR: Beat Long Island, By DAN JOHNSON REGISTER STAFF WRITER St Louis, Ma Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma has a scheduling correction for anyone who says tonight's women's basketball game against Notre Dame is for the national title.

Actually, the Final Four semifinal games are tonight at the Sawis Center, starting with Southwest Missouri State (295) playing Purdue (30-6) at 6 p.m., followed by Connecticut (32-2) against Notre Dame (32-2). The winners will meet for the national title at 7:30 pm Sunday. All the games will be televised on ESPN. While the battle between No. 1 Connecticut and No.

2 Notre Dame is a marquee matchup fitting for a national title game, Auriemma said it would be foolish for the victor to overlook the other semifinal game. "That's disrespectful to the other two teams," Auriemma said. "I dont think that's fair to two really good teams that are here. If we act like that's the national championship game on Friday night, then whoever does win that game is going to lose on Sunday, and everybody will have egg on their faces." Southwest Missouri State, ranked 15th, already has left No. 11 Rutgers, No.

5 Duke and Washington egg-faced to get to the Final Four. The tournament has shown the nation what Missouri Valley Conference followers have known for four years that Lady Bears guard Jackie Stiles is an incomparable scorer. Stiles, the NCAA's career scoring leader, averages 30.6 points per game. The 5-foot See FINAL FOUR, Page 2C if -j- iu oeai iu urauu oiaie. oa-tt.

ueai h.k. 1 beat Louisiana Tecn- if RECORD: 32-2 COACH: Muffet McGraw (320-117, 14 seasons at Notre Dame; 408-158, 19 seasons overall) PLAYER TO WATCH: First-team all-America center Ruth Riley (left) scored 32 points in a regional final against Vanderbilt. Duke ties for third with 13th trip Duke, under Coach Mike Krzyzewski, has climbed into a tie for third with Kentucky in most Final Four men's appearances with its 13th trip this weekend. A look at the leaders: R0A0 TO FINAL FOUR: Beat Alcorn State, 98-49; beat Michigan, 88-54; beat Utah, 69-54; beat Vanderbilt, 72-64. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARK MARTURELLOTHE REGISTER FROM AP FILE PHOTOS v4y School No.

North Carolina 15 UCLA 14 Duke 13 Kentucky 13 in Sox center their attention on Valentin 10 Kansas Shortstop Royce Clayton also holds key for success on Chicago's south side. Interviews complete Opening day Monday's season openers involving Midwest teams include: 12:05 Chicago White Sox at Cleveland 12:05 Kansas City at Y. Yankees 1:20 Chicago Cubs vs. Montreal 2:05 St. Louis at Colorado 3:10 Milwaukee at Los Angeles t.

7 By PAUL SULLIVAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE Tucson, Ariz. Jose Valentin's switch from shortstop to center field has been the most debated move in General Manager Ken Williams' brief regime, and Chicago of management. If Clayton doesnt hit early in the season, it could have a domino effect on the Sox lineup. "Then I'd bring Jose back into shortstop," Manuel said. "And Chris Singleton or Julio Ramirez would move to center." If Manuel did that, he not only would be benching the man who was Williams' first major acquisition, making it look like a bad deal.

"I'm not into the monetary deal," Manuel said, "and I think Kenny would understand that what we're doing is trying our best to win." Valentin, who signed a three-year deal for $15 million, hit a career-best 273 last season In addition to center this spring, he has played two games at third base, where he may sub for Herbert Perry at times. RtlaM trticl Pap 4C Valentin hasn't made any errors this spring and has thrown out a couple of runners at third base and home plate. "All they want me to do is be smart up there, catch the routine ones and hit the cutoff men," he said. The hardest part for Valentin may be covering for Carlos Lee in left-center field. Lee is not the most adept of left fielders.

The key to keeping Valentin in center field is keeping Royce Clayton at shortstop. Clayton has hit 259 this spring and leads the team with six stolen bases. His average dipped 46 points to 242 with Texas last season, but he blames part of the problem on a controversy involving teammate Chad Curtis. Last April, Curtis stopped the playing of a rap song in the clubhouse that he found offensive Clayton criticized Curtis on his Web site, drawing the wrath White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel wonders why. Manuel points to Curt Flood and Northern Iowa, which wrapped up its interviews Thursday, hopes to have its coaching vacancies filled by next Tuesday.

Page 4C Index College basketball 2C NBA 3C Pro Focus 3C Sports Roundup 3C Baseball 4C fielder for Pittsburgh after starting as a third baseman," Manuel said. Most of the switches occur when players are relatively early in their careers. While Valentin still has good speed, he's 31 and entering his ninth season. Yount was 29 when he made the switch. "I dont think that matters," Manuel said.

"Obviously, we dont have the luxury of having time to make this move gradually." Willie Mays as one-time infielders who turned into fine defensive center fielders, and doesn't see why Valentin should be any different. Robin Yount won most valuable T(OS WARREH ASSOCIATED PRESS New tricks: Jose Valentin, bottom, of the Chicago White Sox has made the switch from shortstop to center field player awards as a shortstop and as a center fielder, "and I think (Andy) Van Slyke became a good center.