Grab a No. 2 pencil, but this quiz is no Georgia cakewalk

Friday, March 12, 2004 | 10:05 a.m.

Not for anything his Zags have done, although those accomplishment merit much applause. But he displayed mucho class in attending Eastern Washington's game Wednesday night against Northern Arizona.

Western Michigan's 6-foot-8 senior forward from Detroit leads the 24-4 Broncos with 18.4 points and 7.3 rebounds a game, good for Mid-American Conference player of the year honors.

BYU's big Brazilian has flashed quite a temper this season, if only Mountain West zebras would have been watching the games and not their shoelaces. Look for him soon on a WWE card near you.

The Scoop -- The Rebels win going away, because this is what the late and much-adored Mike O'Callaghan would have wanted. Same with the Mountain West title game. Look out, NCAAs.

Prediction (7-5) -- UNLV 89, Colorado State 61.

If it's spring, then finals must be right around the corner. Anyone who ever took a coaching class from Jim Harrick Jr. knows what this meant.

Attending every other session (at best), snoozing in class and perhaps even missing the final exam itself would not dampen anyone's chances of receiving an A.

Ah, to be young again at the University of Georgia, where, state nepotism laws be damned, the ball coach's kid taught a scam Coaching Principles class whose final dared anyone to pick a more promising assistant coach in the nation.

How many halves to a game? How many players can one team have on the court? How many baskets are on that court? What's a 3-point shot worth?

Smooth, Junior. Real smooth.

Without further devaluing a Bulldogs' diploma, let us proceed with our quiz. No gum chewing, no using reference materials or the Internet, and turn that cell phone off now.

1. Larry, Moe and Curly are:

a) The Mountain West Conference executives who moved the league tournament from Las Vegas to Denver.

b) Last Saturday's game officials, who saw nothing wrong in BYU's Rafael Araujo landing a right hook on Rebels guard Jerel Blassingame, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

c) The fifth, sixth and seventh candidates, respectively, on UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick's coaching wish list.

d) All of the above.

2. The only coaching gig that ESPN analyst Steve Lavin considers his dream job, which just opened, is at:

a) Drake High School.

b) UNLV.

c) the University of San Francisco.

d) Menlo Park Junior College.

3. In a game during his playing days at West Virginia, Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins once decked:

a) J.J. Fauntleroy.

b) J.J. Flenory.

c) B.B. Flenory.

d) B.B. Haskell.

4. Luis Flores and Keydren Clark, two of the country's top-four scorers, hail from:

a) Harlem.

b) Hell's Kitchen.

c) Henderson.

d) Milwaukee.

5. Who is finishing his first season as a Georgetown assistant coach?

a) John Thompson III.

b) Brendan Gaughan.

c) Chuck Driesell.

d) none of the above.

6. Who did not coach at Tulsa?

a) Bill Self.

b) Lon Kruger.

c) Tubby Smith.

d) Nolan Richardson.

7. Where is former UCLA/Rhode Island/Georgia coach Jim Harrick Sr. now?

a) Coaching a D-III school in Idaho.

b) Serving the Denver Nuggets as a scout.

c) Directing summer camps.

d) At least 500 miles from Junior, as instructed by the federal restraining order.

8. Who will be the next coach at UNLV?

a) George Karl.

b) Lon Kruger.

c) Lon Chaney.

d) Lonnie Anderson.

9. The one sport in whick Kruger did not letter in four years at Silver Lake, Kan.?

a) Baseball.

b) Basketball.

c) Football.

d) Wrestling.

10. Kruger's mentor/idol as a college basketball player?

a) Phog Allen.

b) Tex Winter.

c) Jack Hartman.

d) Clarence Iba.

11. Who drafted Kruger first?

a) Atlanta Hawks.

b) Baltimore Bullets.

c) Houston Astros.

d) Texas Rangers.

12. With whom did Kruger sign as a free agent out of Kansas State?

a) St. Louis Cardinals.

b) New York Yankees.

c) Kansas City Royals.

d) Chicago Cubs.

13. What position did Kruger not play for the Kansas State baseball team?

a) Second base.

b) Shortstop.

c) Third base.

d) Pitcher.

14. What NFL team once invited Kruger to its rookie camp as a quarterback?

a) Dallas Cowboys.

b) Green Bay Packers.

c) Kansas City Chiefs.

d) None of the above.

15. Kruger's current golf handicap.

a) Scratch.

b) 1-4.

c) 5-9.

d) Double digits.

16. Kruger's kid, Kevin, currently plays at:

a) Florida.

b) Illinois.

c) Kansas State.

d) Arizona State.

Correct answers: 1-b (better known as Bill Gracey, Lonnie Dixon and Greg Burks.) 2-c. 3-c. 4-a. 5-c. 6-b. 7-b. 8-b. 9-d. 10-c. 11-c. 12-a. 13-b. 14-a. 15-b. 16-d.

With no incorrect answers -- championship material; 1-3 -- Elite Eight; 4-6 -- Sweet 16; 7 or 8 -- in the NCAAs; more than 9 -- proceed directly to the mandatory, locked-door, one-hour dress down tutored by ... Jim Harrick Jr.

A Cheyenne High graduate, Booker went from walk-on to scholarship player at UNLV, then had that financial assistance stripped during the Bill Bayno-to-Max Good-to-Charlie Spoonhour transitions.

"It's been quite unique," said Booker, 24. "It's sort of similar to when I was playing, with the coaching change and uncertainty about my future ... (but) anyone in this field has got to go into it knowing your circumstances can change in a short amount of time.

"It wouldn't do any good to dwell on that at night, or worry or be anxious. It's about taking what you have, working with it and moving forward."

That leaves no time for dwelling on negatives.

"Absolutely not," Booker said. "Given a circumstance, you can't get down or focus on what you can't control ... you try to keep your emotions at bay. You have a job to do."

"I mean, I'm a Rebel," Rice said. "Whether I'm here as an assistant coach or I'm someplace else, I'm always going to be a Rebel and I'll always hope the program has success."