Rebels, Jayhawks stroll through basketball history

Steve Carp

Monday, Nov. 30, 1998 | 10:23 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- It was a walking history lesson in basketball and the UNLV players were anxious to learn.

Both UNLV and Kansas were graced by a private tour of the Basketball Hall of Fame. And whether it was the photographs, the interactive displays, the memorabilia or the free cake and ice cream, the Rebels ate it up.

"It's really nice," freshman forward Chris Richardson said. "I expected a lot, but they have more here than I thought."

In the case of Kansas, that's true. There was an entire wall dedicated to the Jayhawks' 100 years of tradition called "The Kansas Century."

But when it came to the Rebels, the only item on display was Brian Keefe's jersey. There is no mention whatsoever of the 1990 national championship team or coach Jerry Tarkanian.

When asked why, a Hall spokesman said the building had run out of space and 1990 was not on the wall of champions from the Final Four. As to why the 1990 title game between Duke and UNLV was not included in the video package for the NCAA title games, he didn't know.

Supposedly, there are rotating tapes, and the 103-73 rout of the Blue Devils is included. The tape currently shown in the Hall skips from Michigan's win in 1989 to Duke's victory in 1991.

There's also a bit of lineage in the Hall that traces to one of the current Rebels.

Eugene Brennan's great-uncle Joe is an inductee in the Hall, having gone straight from high school to the NBA during the league's early days, long before Moses Malone or Darryl Dawkins ever thought about making such a huge move.

"I'd seen it before," Brennan said. "It's unimaginable and I can't really describe it. But it's a real source of pride in our family."

Earl moves on

Lester Earl would like to move forward and that's what the Kansas junior forward is doing in the aftermath of Louisiana State's stiff NCAA sentence for its recruitment of Earl.

LSU received three years' probation and is barred from this year's NCAA Tournament for recruiting violations involving the Baton Rouge, La., native.

"That's over," Earl said. "I feel sorry for the program and I feel sorry for the whole situation."

The NCAA did not penalize Earl, who is trying to bounce back from knee surgery this summer and is seeing controlled minutes from coach Roy Williams. In Friday's 78-50 rout of UNLV, Earl played just 13 minutes, had four points and grabbed three rebounds.

When asked for his response to the LSU penalties, Williams said, "I think it always surprises you whether they are too severe or light or whatever, because you never have a clear indication of what is going to be done.

"I think my biggest feeling is that I'm glad that it is almost over with. I'm sure we'll still get questions about it. I think it's a bad situation and I wish that it never happened. But it did and we have to deal with it."

Hoop du jour

Next year's Tip-Off Classic will match Indiana and Temple. It figures to be closer than this year's game, the most lopsided in the 20-year history of the event. ... The Springfield Civic Center has banners commemorating each Tip-Off Classic. And though the game had yet to be played, a blue banner hung over the court waiting for the final score. Kansas was listed first, followed by UNLV. Several UNLV players and coaches were miffed when they saw the banner. But after that poor second half, the banner was merely a minor annoyance. ... UNLV is now 0-3 vs. Kansas and the average margin of defeat has been 22 points. ... The "Bill Bayno Radio Show" debuts at 7 tonight on KXNT 840-AM. The hour-long call-in show, which emanates from Gordon Biersch on 3987 Paradise Road, will normally be heard every Tuesday night. But with the Rebels traveling to Reno this Tuesday for Wednesday's game with Nevada-Reno, the show was moved up a day. Ken Korach and Glen Gondrezick co-host the program.