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PHOENIX -- UCLA superstar Kevin Love said all the right things Saturday until he was asked where Xavier is located.
The All-American hesitated like he never has around the basket.
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| Will Indiana or LSU come calling for Xavier's Sean Miller? (AP) |
Correct for $100.
Now let's move on to the lightning round. Would it be easier for UCLA to play a full, concentrated 40 minutes in this West Region final if this were, say, Duke?
"I'd be lying to you if I said it wouldn't be," Love said.
That's the meat of the matter. A school with 3,800 students and a superhero's nickname ("X"), going against the game's leader in national championships.
Similar matchups have occurred before, but for Xavier the fallout, win or lose, is familiar for a school its size. No matter what the result on Saturday, Xavier could lose its coach, because it's ... Xavier.
Rising star Sean Miller, 39, makes in the $1 million range. A recent contract extension ties him to the school through the 2015-16 season. The former Pittsburgh guard has spent nine years in the big time as an assistant at Wisconsin, Miami, Pittsburgh and North Carolina State.
"As great as it is to be a part of the tournament, it's equally like a train wreck when it ends," Miller said. "It's like everyone forgets about you the instant you lose."
That's why for Xavier to get to San Antonio still would have to be somewhat of an overachievement. The school has had one McDonald's All-American in its history (current guard Drew Lavender). UCLA's stars are able to buy a string of McDonald's when they sign their first NBA contract.
"I don't think it would be fair to Sean or to the public at large, to consider him that cliché coach who is just going to chase the dollars," AD Mike Bobinski said. "He's a different guy."
How different we'll find out shortly after Saturday's game. LSU needs a coach. Bobinski said his guy isn't going there. Xavier played at Auburn in early January before a crowd of 4,570. That, Bobinski said, told his coach a lot about the SEC and where basketball ranks at some places in that league.
Ah, but Indiana also needs a coach and if it were ever time to pay an exorbitant buyout -- Miller's reportedly $2 million -- this would be it for the Hoosiers. Indiana's program is trying to recover from Kelvin Sampson and could use an infusion of Miller's clean reputation and sterling record (93-38 in four seasons).
"We've never spoken about it," Bobinski said, "but I know people have asked him directly and he's said, 'I'm not going anywhere.'"
Miller talked around the subject.
"My task is, can we get them to the Final Four?" he said.
Then maybe the world will get this Xavier thing right. Love alternated between calling it Zav-yer -- the correct pronunciation -- and Ecks-zav-yer. That's what you get when a small Catholic institution in the Atlantic 10 takes on of college basketball's mother ships to get to the Final Four.
"Uh, I'd be lying to you if I told you I knew a lot (about Xavier)," Love said.
Put it this way: UCLA's opponent is better than George Mason but not exactly Georgetown. Xavier fans everywhere cringe when they hear the term "mid-major". The Missouri Valley is mid-major. The A-10 is not a power conference, rather a destination league. Rhode Island, UMass and Dayton were ranked this season but didn't make the tournament.
Xavier and St. Joe's both made the Elite Eight in 2004. UMass was in the Final Four in 1996. Rhode Island came within a controversial call in a 1998 region final against Stanford of getting there.
"We're an interesting group," Bobinski said of A-10. "If anything I'd place us (Xavier) in that Gonzaga, Memphis (area)."
The problem is, where are the coaches of those great A-10 teams? John Calipari, formerly of UMass, is at Memphis. Jim Harrick is long gone from Rhode Island. Even Xavier has dealt with one coach after another leaving to chase his dream. Pete Gillen went to Providence. Skip Prosser replaced Gillen and eventually went to Wake. Thad Matta had three consecutive 26-win seasons before going to Ohio State.
Better to call Xavier major middle instead of a mid-major. Xavier sports information director Tom Eiser turned down a website's mid-major team of the week award this season, inadvertently creating a positive stir.
National basketball writers picked up the anecdote and put it in their stories. Xavier kept playing with that chip, winning an ongoing school record 30 games.
Miller put together a team with four players in double figures. On any given night, any of them can break out. Guard Stanley Burrell is a national defensive player of the year candidate, which should be interesting. His task will be to take out UCLA's Darren Collison.
Senior Josh Duncan just got done fouling out West Virginia's Joe Alexander. Duncan should be matched up most of Saturday's game with Love.
Xavier still has to get lucky in recruiting, just like some of the mid-majors. David West, the 2003 national player of the year, committed early to Xavier out of North Carolina. As time went on, he got better and the ACC took notice. West stayed true to his commitment and became arguably the program's best player.
Miller's recruiting class might be the best in school history. It is headed by 7-foot Kenny Frease. Xavier beat out a raft of Big Ten schools -- including Sampson and his magic cell phone -- for Frease's services.
"(Miller's) got a group of recruits coming next year that he will not walk away from," Bobinski said.
The comparison with Gonzaga is a good one. Both are Catholic-based, in smaller conferences and play on a national level. Miller played teams from all six power conferences on purpose in the non-conference. It paid off. In the tournament the Musketeers have beaten a team from the SEC (Georgia), Big Ten (Purdue) and Big East (West Virginia).
Xavier doesn't sponsor football but it does have the rabid interest to build the $50 million Cintas Center, all from private donations. That's amazing for a school with only 29,000 living alumni. UCLA gets that for a football pep rally.
And no matter what happens, Xavier knows it probably can't get a foot in the door in recruiting players like Love. That's OK, there are different ways to win championships.
"We have a saying at Xavier," Miller said, "You're judged by how you leave, not necessarily who you are when you walk in the door. ... It is a matter of us staying true to who we are. We develop players.
"(But) if Kevin Love as a high school senior had an interest in Xavier, he sure would be smart to call and let me know that."