LAHAINA, Maui - It was an all-star cast of coaches at the opening press conference of the 14th Annual Maui Invitational. From institutional icons Lute Olson, Norm Stewart, Mike Jarvis and Mike Krzyzewski to the old faces in new places, Tubby Smith, Pat Kennedy and Al Skinner to the upstart of the group, Chaminade's Al Walker, everyone had something to say.
Walker, whose host Silverswords (0-1) open the tournament today at 9 a.m. local time (2 p.m. EST) against third-ranked Duke (2-0) in the 2,500-seat Lahaina Civic Center, began by throwing his credentials out against the impressive cast.
"I do have more wins than all these coaches here," Walker pronounced. After a short pause, he continued, "In Division III."
Walker, in his second year, coaches a Chaminade squad that became infamous for knocking off top teams when it upset Ralph Sampson and No. 1 Virginia, 77-72 in 1982.
The Division II Swords feature a quartet of D-I transfers from mid-major programs and 6-foot-1 senior guard Darnell Clayvon, who averaged 20.4 points per game last year in leading Chaminade to an 8-19 record.
"If we can knock down our threes and take care of the ball, some good things can happen for us," Walker said.
Blue Devil coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't have too much to say about his team's opening round matchup and didn't even fill his full allotment of time to talk.
"I don't know about four or five minutes of talk," Krzyzewski said. "My wife would be jealous, I haven't talked to her that much in the morning in the 28 years we've been married."
Duke has been to the Maui Invitational once before, winning the tournament in 1992 as Bobby Hurley earned MVP honors.
The Blue Devils could open the tournament without the services of both Nate James and Chris Carrawell who suffered slight injuries against Davidson Thursday night.
The winner of the Duke-Chaminade game will face off against the winner of Missouri-DePaul, who meet at 11 a.m. today.
Stewart's Tigers (1-0) finished last year 16-17 overall and ended up 10th in the Big 12. Stewart had high praise, however, for senior forward Kelly Thames, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season and was the 1996 Big Eight Freshman of the Year.
Former Florida State coach Kennedy began his tenure at DePaul with a win over Alabama State but faces a tough challenge in 1997-98 coaching a team that went 3-23 last year and features a starting lineup this year with no player over 6-foot-6.
"Danny DeVito should probably coach our team," Kennedy said.
The other side of the bracket offers a possible top-10 semifinal matchup between Kentucky and Arizona. The top-ranked and defending NCAA Champion Wildcats open play at 2 p.m. against Skinner's Boston College.
ESPN will broadcast three of today's first-round matchups, with the exception being the Missouri-DePaul game. It will also carry live coverage of Tuesday's two semifinal matchups and Wednesday's finals.
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