Don’t remind me about 1977

Jerry Tarkanian

Friday, April 3, 2009 | 10:27 a.m.

Well, I picked North Carolina when the tournament started and I just don’t think anyone will touch them, but Villanova will play the Heels tough.

Villanova is so tough-minded. Jay Wright has those guys playing so hard. They’ll be physical and won’t back down from anybody. He has tough New York, New Jersey and Philly kids on his team.

They’ll battle anybody, including Carolina.

I’m really impressed with Jay Wright, the Villanova coach. He’s done a great job. He’s one of the top young coaches in the country. I love the way they play. They’re hard-nosed and don’t fear anybody. They go after you and play great defense.

Jay is a super guy and I have a lot of respect for him.

But Carolina is so talented. That big freshman, Ed Davis, is so good. He was a high school All-American last year and was one of the most heavily recruited big men.

I think that kid will be an All-American when he’s a sophomore. He’s one of the most active big men. He blocks shots and scores. He’s so good. That just shows what kind of depth they have. It’s frightening how deep they are.

I don’t know if Carolina will win by double digits against Villanova, but I don’t think anybody will beat Carolina.

In Michigan State-UConn, UConn would win that game under normal conditions. But this isn’t a normal condition, in Detroit, in the Spartans’ backyard.

I think it’ll go right to the wire. I picked Michigan State to go to the Final Four … and I’ll pick Michigan State again.

I thought Michigan State’s victory over Louisville was about as well played a game as I’ve seen a team play in a long time. The Spartans did everything they had to do to riddle Louisville. They played the game the way coach Tom Izzo drew it up.

It sure doesn’t look like Connecticut has been distracted by those recruiting allegations. Jim Calhoun is handling that well. It’ll be a distraction if they let it be, but Calhoun isn’t talking about it.

It’s strange how that comes our right when the playoffs are going on. They could have waited. There are some programs, like Carolina or UCLA, that that never would have happened to. They would have passed that on.

If it were UCLA, they would have probably slapped the death penalty on Cal State Northridge.

But the Spartans will have to play a great, great game. If they don’t, Connecticut will win. They have great players. People were concerned about them not playing with Jerome Dyson, but the kid taking his place, Stanley Robinson, is a superstar.

A superstar! He jumps to the moon! I think he could change the light bulbs in the gym. I haven’t seen a guy jump as high as him in a long, long time. They brag how he comes off the bench, but he could start for just about anyone in America.

In a Michigan State-Carolina championship game, I’ll pick Carolina to win big.

I had a great time in Phoenix, absolutely a great time. I did something for the Hartford Insurance Co. They had 120 people there, and I talked to them before each Sweet 16 game, hung out with them and watched the games. Had a great time.

Someone asked about my Final Four memories, and that national semifinal game against North Carolina in Atlanta in 1977 always comes to my mind.

Before that game, the great coach Abe Lemons was at the MGM – I’ll never forget this – and he called my house to congratulate me on getting to the Final Four.

Danny, who was 16 at the time, answered. I wasn’t around. Abe said tell your dad he did a helluva job and good luck. Tell him to go down to Atlanta and have a good time.

But I’ll tell you right now, he told Danny, they’ll never let him win it. That was Abe’s comment.

I check into the hotel in Atlanta, and the day before the game Eddie Sutton calls to congratulate me. Again, Danny picks up the phone. I’m not around, and Eddie says the same thing.

Danny, he says, you guys go out and have a lot of fun. Your dad did a great job. But let your dad know he won’t get any calls in the game. North Carolina shoots 28 free throws and we shoot five, and we lose by a point.

I never complained about it when I was coaching, never said a word. You just can’t. But one of the three refs was from Colorado, Boulder, where Glen Gondrezick is from.

He must have called three or four charges on Gondo, and Glen has not forgiven him. They were all really bad calls. Gondo has not spoken to him since.

Someone once said that someone from the establishment, from up above, must have told this guy that he’d get more games if he did that, but he always denies it.

God, I can’t think of his name, but he does a radio show. I’ve been friends with him for years, even to this day. And I like the guy. He had been good to me and the Rebels, except for that game.

I do his radio show every year and I always tell him, I remind him every year, I’m coming on your show even though you screwed us in ’77.