When the NCAA Tournament draw was announced on CBS last Sunday night, Duke fans couldn't help but notice -- and even dread -- a potential matchup with Kentucky in the Southeast Regional semifinals.
With their relentless press, deep bench and sometimes deadly three-point shooting -- not to mention the emotional baggage they may still be carrying from Christian Laettner's miracle shot in 1992 -- many considered the Wildcats the kind of team that could give Duke serious problems.
So it wasn't surprising when a collective sigh of relief was breathed around campus Sunday when Marquette knocked off Kentucky in the second round of the NCAAs just before Duke eliminated Michigan State.
As expected, however, the Duke players and coaches felt no such elation.
"There wasn't a sense of relief," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday. "I don't think its an easier assignment [than Kentucky]. I think it's a different assignment."
The Blue Devils (25-5) and Warriors (24-8) hook up Thursday in a 7:38 p.m. regional semifinal at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
Krzyzewski is right in one respect: With its powerful inside game and halfcourt-oriented attack, Marquette is worlds apart from Kentucky's vaunted perimeter and pressing style.
But the Warriors and Wildcats do have one thing in common: Both programs have recently risen from the ashes to take prominent positions among today's college basketball elite.
Kentucky's Rick Pitino, who coached the New York Knicks and Providence Friars to several outstanding seasons, helped the Wildcat program recover from the devastation of NCAA probation in the late 1980s.
Meanwhile in Milwaukee, Marquette's program was at an all-time low, as well. The Warriors had been out of the NCAA Tournament since 1983 and fan interest was waning. The glory days of Al McGuire's 1977 national championship seemed a long way off. Since Kevin O'Neill became coach of the Warriors in 1989, however, the dog days of the 1980s seem far removed.
"This place was kind of in a shambles when I got here," O'Neill said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "Anytime there are problems off the court, there are problems on the court. There had been a long erosion of interest in the program around here. Now, we have a renewed interest in supporting basketball."
And with good reason. Marquette broke a 10-year NCAA drought last year when the Warriors were invited to the Big Dance, but 1993-94 has brought even more success to remind fans of the good ol' days.
Marquette's 24 wins in 1994 is the most since the 1978 team.
The Warriors won the Great Midwest Conference regular season title with a 12-2 mark in a league that sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament.
7-1 center Jim McIlvaine leads the nation in blocked shots per game (4.6) and was named Great Midwest player of the year.
The Warriors lead the nation in field goal percentage defense (35.6).
And Marquette is in the Sweet 16 for the first time in a long 15 years.
O'Neill's success at Marquette doesn't seem to be confined to the Xs and Os of basketball. His greatest asset as a coach comes from his rapport with his players.
O'Neill, 37, joked with reporters during the Southeast subregional in St. Petersburg, Fla., last weekend that he has a point guard that can't shoot, a shooting guard that can't dribble and a power forward that can't dunk.
But that's not all. Marquette's backup center Amal McCaskill was a manager on his high school team until his senior prep season.
"We're really a whacked-out team," O'Neill said.
For O'Neill, the name of the game isn't talent as much as it is chemistry. O'Neill has mixed lightly-recruited players like 5-11 point guard Tony Miller, 6-3 off-guard Robb Logterman and McCaskill with highly-regarded 6-8 Damon Key and McIlvaine into a cohesive floor unit.
Nobody at Marquette is dominant, but O'Neill's team concept works beautifully for the Warriors.
Marquette's players carry their coach's relaxed attitude onto the court. During the Kentucky game Sunday, point guard Miller playfully brushed off O'Neill's signal for a timeout. Minutes later, when Miller was asking for some rest, O'Neill sent him back into the game.
"I've never enjoyed being around or coaching a group more than this group," O'Neill said. ``We like each other. We have great chemistry. I push them, but they push back. We both understand our limitations."
"It's all in the family," Miller told reporters last week.
Having a relaxed team in the pressure cooker that is the NCAA Tournament is an asset whose importance cannot be overestimated. O'Neill has established a remarkably stress-free team structure at Marquette that emphasizes having fun, and his players go out on the court each game carrying that attitude.
Sunday against Kentucky, the pressure was all on the Wildcats. The 75-63 Warrior victory reflects that.
O'Neill honed his player-relation skills as an assistant at Arizona from 1986-89. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer conducted a poll in 1989 that named O'Neill as the top Division I recruiter in the country. O'Neill had a hand in recruiting Wildcats Matt Othick, Brian Williams and Sean Rooks among others, players who were significant parts of Arizona's powerful Tucson Skyline teams.
O'Neill's ability to relate well with players has made him a sought-after coaching commodity. His name is linked to the Providence job now that Rick Barnes bolted to Clemson, but O'Neill is focused on the Warriors for the time being.
"It's flattering to be mentioned like that, but we've got a lot to do at Marquette right now."
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