A Good Knight for Alford

Steve Alford spent a recent restless night reading a book about legendary former North Carolina coach Dean Smith.

And it gave the Iowa coach some inspiration the next day.

“I’m on my way to work, and I’m saying, ‘He’s the winningest coach of all time, a great coach,’” Alford told several Iowa papers Thursday. “But I played for what I think was the greatest coach of all time. It’s crazy why I don’t just pick the phone up and call him.”

Alford, who played at Indiana, spoke, of course, of Bob Knight, now at Texas Tech. The two have had their differences since Alford took the Iowa job in the spring of 1999 and hadn’t had a conversation since then.

So Alford made the call, and to his relief, Knight took it.

“He talked to me for about a half-hour,” Alford said. “He said, ‘Hey, I’ve got three things here to tell you. One, great job last year with what you did with your team. That’s a phenomenal job. Two, you got off to a great start this year. Three, you’ve got problems, let’s talk.’”

Although the conversation eased Alford’s mind, it didn’t do anything to help his team recover from an awful stretch of late.

Since starting the season 12-3 and appearing to be on cruise control for an NCAA tournament bid, the Hawkeyes have dropped seven of 10 and are in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference, including Saturday’s 86-78 home loss to Minnesota.

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Happy returns: Trevor Huffman returned to his roots and showed everyone what they’re missing.

The Petoskey, Mich., native, who had a difficult time attracting Division I attention before Kent State took a chance on him, scored 21 points for the Golden Flashes in a 96-66 victory against Central Michigan at Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Huffman, a senior, scored 19 points in the second half as Kent State further established itself as a team few will want to face come tournament time.

The unranked Golden Flashes, whose RPI climbed to 43 this week, improved to 18-5 overall and 11-1 in the Mid-American Conference, stifling the early-season talk about conference rival Ball State taking center stage. Ball State lost 85-71 to Ohio on Saturday to fall to 8-4 in the conference.

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On the ball: At NBA All-Star festivities this weekend in Philadelphia, Kobe Bryant had this to say about what kind of game he acquired playing in nearby Lower Merion, Pa., as a youth:

“Playing in Philly, you learn about the overall game,” Bryant said. “In New York, it’s mainly handles. In Los Angeles, it’s pure shooters. In Philadelphia, they try to teach you to be the best all-around player you can.”

Eric Schmieder, who attends Drexel in Philadelphia, certainly has had the city’s mentality rub off on him, despite being from Long Valley, N.J.

On Saturday, Schmieder recorded the first triple-double for Drexel in 15 years, scoring 19 points, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and passing for 10 assists in a 97-89 victory over Delaware.

The last Drexel player to achieve the feat was Michael Anderson, who had 37 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against Liberty on Nov. 30, 1987. Anderson had triple-doubles six times.

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Shot(s) in the dark: When considering that Marcus Hatten of St. John’s shot six of 26 from the field, including one for seven on three-point attempts, it doesn’t add up that he’d finish with a career-high 34 points in the Red Storm’s 85-83 overtime victory over Connecticut.

But those numbers don’t include Hatten’s record 21-of-25 performance at the free-throw line, including six in a row after technical fouls were called against the Connecticut coaching staff late in the first half.

Hatten’s free-throw exploits set a Big East Conference record. The junior college transfer leads the team with an 18.9 scoring average.

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Making waves: It has been a rather uneventful season for former Pepperdine coach Jan van Breda Kolff, who left the Waves after last season to coach at St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y.

Actually, it wouldn’t be surprising if Van Breda Kolff is a bit envious of what he left behind in Malibu, considering the Waves have victories over UCLA and USC this season, have won 12 in a row overall and are 10-0 in the West Coast Conference.

But Saturday, Van Breda Kolff’s Bonnies (14-8) put a stamp on their season by ending the nation’s longest winning streak with an 80-79 victory against Xavier.

Granted, the streak only had reached 12, but it’s still something to put on the resume.

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Performance of the day: Mire Chatman scored a career-high 46 points and had eight assists despite being ejected with 1:57 to play after receiving his second technical foul in leading Texas Pan American to a 110-105 victory against Texas A&M; Corpus Christi.

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Performance of the weak: Nicholls State fell to 1-21 overall and 0-15 in the Southland Conference after blowing a 39-34 halftime lead against San Houston State in an 80-65 loss. Nicholls State shot 29% in the second half.

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Not Up to Expectations

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Jim Barrero