Text messages from press row ...

Remember when NBA rosters were filled with former college stars? . . .

Of the Lakers’ projected starting five of Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher, only Odom played in the NCAA tournament, losing in the first round with Rhode Island in 1999. . . .

Speaking of Bynum, figuring out when he might return seems to have turned into a guessing game not only for fans but for Coach Phil Jackson as well. . . .

The 22-game, six-week winning streak strung together by Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets only heightens appreciation for the monumental achievement of Jerry West and the Lakers winning 33 in a row in 1971-72. . . .

The Rockets made it only two-thirds of the way there. . . .

The Rockets’ Shane Battier, all but glued to Bryant from tipoff to final horn Sunday, was a three-time national defensive player of the year at Duke. . . .

LeBron James, a rookie this season if he’d gone to college for four years, needs only six points against the Toronto Raptors tonight to replace Brad Daugherty as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer. . . .

He’s 23. . . .

The emergence of rookie jumping-jack Al Thornton gives the Clippers another reason to bid farewell to Corey Maggette this summer. . . .

March Madness no longer is limited to the third month of the year, the championship game of the NCAA tournament having been played in April every year since 1999, when Richard “Rip” Hamilton and Connecticut defeated Elton Brand and Duke in what may have been the last March finale. . . .

John Wooden’s UCLA teams won all 10 of their NCAA titles in March. . . .

In 1995, Jim Harrick and Ed O’Bannon won theirs in April. . . .

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, insisting that the May 6 North Carolina primary did not influence his choice, picks Tyler Hansbrough and North Carolina to defeat Kevin Love and UCLA in next month’s championship game. . . .

USC, a loser Thursday against Kansas State in what probably was O.J. Mayo’s final college game, also was outscored in O.J. Simpson’s collegiate swan song, losing to Rex Kern and top-ranked Ohio State, 27-16, in the 1969 Rose Bowl. . . .

Kansas State’s silky Michael Beasley, projected to be the top selection in the NBA draft, would be the first left-hander taken with the No. 1 pick since 1990, when Derrick Coleman of Syracuse went first to the New Jersey Nets. . . .

Portland State, blown out Thursday by Kansas in its NCAA tournament debut, is the alma mater of Freeman Williams, a former L.A. Manual Arts High guard who led the nation in scoring in 1977 and 1978, ranks second only to Pete Maravich on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list and once scored 81 points in a college game. . . .

Williams, who averaged 14.7 points in six NBA seasons, is a 51-year-old father of three and has struggled with drug abuse since retiring in 1986, columnist John Canzano of the Oregonian reported this week. . . .

Says trade-seeking receiver Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals, aware that the grass is not always greener on the other side, “I’m going to make it greener. I’m going to water the lawn, I’m going to put down the seed.” . . .

Jordan Hershiser, a 6-foot-8 USC freshman pitcher and first baseman, is the younger of former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hersisher’s two sons. . . .

Jordan was born during the most memorable month of his father’s career, entering the world Sept. 15, 1988, one day after Tom Lasorda’s workhorse scattered six hits in a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves, the right-hander’s third consecutive shutout in his record streak of 59 scoreless innings. . . .

Tiger Woods, tied for third place with Ben Hogan on the PGA Tour’s all-time victories list after winning his last five starts, has won 64 times in 233 Tour events, a .275 winning percentage. . . .

Sam Snead, the all-time leader with 82 victories, won 14.9% of his starts and Jack Nicklaus, second with 73, won 12.3%, the percentages naturally falling as the two men continued playing long after their careers had peaked. . . .

After Paul McCartney was ordered by a London judge this week to pay $48.6 million to Heather Mills in a divorce settlement, Michael Jordan might have wondered, How’d he get off so lightly? . . .

Jordan’s settlement payment to ex-wife Juanita was $168 million. . . .

That’s a lot of shoes.

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com