Tuesday, March 25, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
WATCHING THE NCAA West Regional over the weekend in San Jose, it dawned that what I was observing looked very familiar.
Pressure defense all over the court. Athleticism at both ends. Three-point shots finding the bottom of the net. An exasperated look on the opposing coach's face as the deficit mounted.
For a minute, I thought I was watching Jerry Tarkanian's old UNLV teams. Then I remembered it was Kentucky, the Rebel wannabes who are probably going to be cutting down the nets next Monday at Indianapolis.
Rick Pitino will probably never cop to it, but he has stolen a page from Tark's book. His teams win with defense first, forcing you out of your offense, creating turnovers, then converting quickly at the other end.
One minute, you're up six and feeling good about yourself. Two minutes later, you're down seven and trying to get the number of the truck that just hit you.
I know Keith Van Horn, Utah's Mr. Everything, never knew what hit him. Poor guy. Never had a chance. He got 15, but so what? He was going home, waiting to contemplate whether he'll be a Boston Celtic or learning to say "eh" in Canada. Van Horn didn't have a bad hair day against Kentucky. It was a bad day, period.
He and his teammates succumbed to the pressure, just like the gritty guys from St. Joe's did a couple of days before. The Philly contingent is still licking its wounds after getting beat at its own game -- aggressive defense, a flurry of 3s and relentless pressure at both ends.
With five Kentucky players gone from the national championship team that triumphed in the Jersey swamps, few were predicting a repeat. That pressure usually goes to the senior-laden, battle-tested teams like the '91 UNLV squad, the '92 Duke team and the '95 Arkansas crew.
And when star Derek Anderson went down with a torn ligament in his knee, you had to believe someone else would be celebrating in Indy.
Instead, the rest of the Wildcats picked up the slack, took the few bumps along the road in stride and here they are, two games away from defending their title.
And for those of you who are ready to continue to write them off, a word of advice -- don't. This team is rolling and the ease with which it is doing it is scary.
Ron Mercer is leaving school, but his game hasn't vacated the premises. Wayne Turner keeps picking opponents' pockets. Anthony Epps kills you inside and out. Scott Padgett and Jared Prickett might as well be interchangeable.
There aren't a lot of them, but those who can suit up are making a memorable situation for themselves. They're close to running the table again and they are taking on the persona of the 1976 UNLV group that won 29 games and became known as "The Hardway Eight."
That UNLV team didn't make it to the Final Four. But Kentucky is there. Pitino has eight players going the distance, and not doing it the easy way. Hey, if the name fits ...
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