DULY NOTED

Saturday, March 17, 2007 | 6:54 a.m.

CHICAGO - After spending the past nine seasons trying to beat the best teams in the Mountain West Conference, Steve McClain has suddenly become their biggest fan.

The former Wyoming basketball coach, who was fired Monday, two days after the Cowboys ended their season with a loss to Brigham Young in the MWC Tournament semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center, was in Colorado Springs on Wednesday night, sitting behind the Air Force bench as the Falcons defeated Austin Peay in the first round of the NIT.

On Friday he was just as conspicuous sitting in the middle of the UNLV cheering section as the Rebels defeated Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the United Center.

And it wasn't because he was the only one not wearing red and chanting "REB-ELS," although he did stand whenever the pep band played the fight song.

If you didn't know better, you might jump to the conclusion that McClain was looking into a couple of the better coaching jobs in the conference. Just in case, you know, the Falcons' Jeff Bzdelik or the Rebels' Lon Kruger should decide to accept one of the jobs they surely will be offered after somebody experiences One Shining Moment in Atlanta.

Well, McClain says if you are jumping to that conclusion, you don't know any better.

"I'm just here to watch some basketball," he said, chuckling. "Joe Dooley, one of my former assistants, is an assistant at Kansas. I'm just here to see Kansas, see the Rebels and watch some basketball."

Although Wyoming is considered one of the toughest places in the country to recruit, McClain guided the Cowboys to postseason berths in four of his nine years. Until Friday he was one of just two Mountain West coaches to win a game in the NCAA tournament.

Speaking during a first-half timeout, McClain, whose teams weren't that talented but were known for playing hard, said he felt he had nothing to apologize for at Wyoming.

"But we - the conference - need to win an (NCAA) game," he said.

If you didn't know better, that almost sounds like a guy who isn't quite ready to leave it behind.

- Ron Kantowski

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