NCAA Final Four Notebook

By Matt Santillo

PA SportsTicker College Basketball Editor

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- In a strange twist, Bill Self is sitting right in the place that North Carolina coach Roy Williams was five years ago. Although he is less than a week removed from exorcising his past failures from four previous appearances in a regional final, the Kansas coach has become the main topic of rumors at the Final Four due to the unexpected opening at his alma mater, Oklahoma State. It is much the same that Williams had to go through when he was leading the Jayhawks to a national runner-up showing against Syracuse in 2003. A former player and assistant coach at North Carolina, Williams was linked with the Tar Heels, who were ready to make a change after two sub-par seasons under Matt Doherty. Those rumors, of course, proved true as Williams got his dream job and led North Carolina to a national championship two seasons later. With Sean Sutton's surprising resignation from Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Self finds himself fielding question after question about his interest in what could be an outstanding opportunity for the 45-year-old coach. A four-year letterwinner with the Cowboys in the early to mid-1980s, Self also served as an assistant there for six seasons (1987-1993). When Sutton first stepped down, Self basically stated that he was happy at Kansas and did not want to be "remotely disrespectful" to Oklahoma State by being forced to turn it down. However, rumors continued to abound on Friday, with an individual linked to Self - Stewart Campbell - stating in the Tulsa World that it would take "eye-popping numbers" to get Self to consider the job with the Cowboys. Self firmly put those rumors to rest Friday. "Stewart Campbell is an attorney that looks over my contracts," Self said. "So he does not speak for me. I haven't spoken to Stewart Campbell in a month. "So anybody speaking on behalf of me doesn't know what they're talking about because I will speak for me. So I don't know if that answers your question. But I'm not looking for anything except our team to play well this weekend. That's all I care about."

TOUGH BREAK:

While Self may have permanently severed himself from the Oklahoma State opening, the Kansas coach has bigger things to worry about now due to a freak injury. Reserve guard Rodrick Stewart fractured his right kneecap near the end of a light practice that was open to the public at the Alamodome on Friday, suffering the injury when he landed awkwardly before going up for a dunk, having slipped on a wet spot. "Guys practice their whole life to get to participate in a Final Four," Self said. "That's been taken away from him." One of five seniors for the Jayhawks, Stewart averaged 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11.6 minutes over 33 games this season. He transferred from Southern California in 2004. However, Stewart's playing time was limited in the tournament, appearing in nine minutes in two games. Still, his teammates did not take the news lightly. "I don't know exactly how it will affect the guys other than the fact that it was a subdued locker room when I told them what the injury was," Self said. "It is disappointing to have this happen," Kansas guard Brandon Rush said. "It is bringing us down right now but we will have to rise above it and go out tomorrow and play our game." According to Self, Stewart will have surgery in Lawrence, Kansas when the team returns from the Final Four.

REBEL, REBEL:

Advancing through the tournament behind the battle call of "It's us against the world," Memphis plans to continue its trend of being the "rebel team" despite already showing up its critics. The Tigers, who will face UCLA in the opening game of the national semifinals on Saturday, had former Nevada-Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian speak to them on Thursday. Always a thorn in the side of the NCAA, Tarkanian has Memphis as his favorite to win the national championship, in large part due to the play of freshman point guard Derrick Rose. Tarkanian, who led the Runnin' Rebels to a national title in 1990 and had a perfect season ruined by Duke in the national semifinals the following year, was happy that Tigers coach John Calipari has not put too much into the fact that the team has struggled with its free throws, as long as it maintained its focus on defense and rebounding.