Knight pleased by ‘courageous effort’ at championships

Victoria Sun

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 9:44 a.m.

OPELIKA, Ala. -- There was one reason Michael Kirk transferred to UNLV two years ago: to play golf.

Kirk was sure of it moments after he finished his lunch Saturday afternoon and digested the fact that he would not be getting a coveted national championship ring. It was moments after he fired a 3-under-par 69, his last round as a Rebel, at the Grand National Golf Club.

"It's the best program in the nation," Kirk said proudly, surveying the clubhouse full of players from other schools. "That's it.

"I really believe that. It's got the best coach in the nation. I've learned everything from short game to long game. I've improved so much."

Minutes after he walked up the 18th fairway with coach Dwaine Knight by his side, Kirk was still certain he made the right decision.

"When Coach came up to me, walking down the last (fairway), it was a bit emotional," Kirk said. "It has been a great two years. I've enjoyed every moment. ... Just a little upset that it's over."

It ended with the Rebels shooting a 7-under 281 in the final round of the NCAA Championships -- on the strength of Kirk's round and Scott Lander's 67-- giving them a tournament total 21-under-par 1,131. It was a total good enough for sixth place, but not first.

First place went to Oklahoma State, which finished off Georgia Tech in a playoff.

Kirk, a transfer from Wallace Junior College in nearby Dothan, Ala., was part of last year's team that also finished sixth. Yet the fact that this group -- headed by senior and Mountain West player of the year Jeremy Anderson and complemented by freshmen Calvin Kupeyan and Robert Sul -- made it this far was almost reason enough to celebrate.

Almost. By many standards, just finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships is good enough. At UNLV, that would be akin to Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski being content with making it to the Elite Eight each year. Or Michael Jordan settling each year for just getting to the Eastern Conference finals.

"We certainly have had teams that finished higher, but never had a team played more valiantly than this group," Knight said. "We came a long way.

"We're disappointed today, because our goal is to win. Our standards are never going to deviate from that, but we take away from this just a really courageous effort. I am really proud of these guys for not giving up."

And it would have been easy to do.

Even with their most talented player, sophomore Adam Scott, around in the fall, UNLV didn't manage to win a tournament. The Rebels tied for first at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, then lost in a two-hole playoff.

Scott decided not to return in the spring so that he could concentrate on playing professional events. In the minds of players from other schools, Scott's departure transformed the Rebels from a great team to a mediocre team.

Only someone forgot to tell UNLV.

For the last three tournaments, the Rebels inked the letters DIMMITT -- "Dedication Is Much More Important Than Talent" -- on the inside of their caps. The indirect results were a dominating performance at the Mountain West championships -- good for first place by 23 strokes -- and a second-place finish to Arizona at the NCAA West Regionals leading up to the championships.

"This is a team that has more heart than any other group of guys I've been associated with," Anderson said. "We refused to give in to the fact that maybe we weren't as talented as some of the best teams in the country."

Knight is encouraged by the fact that Lander, a member of 1998's championship squad, rebounded from his opening-round 79 to post a final-round 67. Knight is hopeful that Kupeyan and Sul, who improved tremendously toward the end of the year, will be big contributors next year.

And Knight has three more reasons to look forward to the fall in Brandon Askew, James Oh and Travis Whisman. The three highly touted high school seniors will be Rebels next year.

"Even though we lose two great players, our standards will be very high and we will expect to compete for a national championship," Knight said. "We won't (change) that."

"I think that's been a big part of our standard. I think if you step back from that, you can settle for less. We never have and we never will as long as I'm here."