NEW ORLEANS — Fourteen years ago, Marquette head coach Tom Crean, then a student at Central Michigan, introduced himself to SU associate head coach Bernie Fine. A wise decision, because Fine helped Crean land his first full-time job.

“I don’t know if I ever would’ve had a shot at my age as a Division I assistant if it wasn’t for Bernie,” Crean said before his Golden Eagles fell, 94-61, to Kansas on Saturday in the national semifinals.

Crean and Fine met while Fine was scouting at a recruiting camp in Michigan. During the next few days, Crean escorted Fine around the area and impressed him with his basketball savvy. They kept in touch, and when a part-time job at Syracuse opened up, Fine offered it to Crean.

Crean turned it down when his mother fell ill, but the following year, another opportunity popped up when Ralph Willard, who was an SU assistant in 1987, took the head-coaching job at Western Kentucky.

Said Fine: “Ralph called me up and said, ‘I’m trying to get an assistant. Can you think of somebody?’ I said, ‘Oh, I got just the guy for you.’ Tommy was very young at the time, in his early 20s. I called Tom, told him about it, and he and Ralph got together. The rest is history. Tommy just shot up the ladder. I should’ve been his assistant.”

Crean spent three seasons at Western Kentucky before moving through the Pittsburgh and Michigan State programs. In 1999, he became head coach at Marquette, where he has compiled an 83-41 record.

“He’s very organized, extremely organized,” Fine said. “He’s really knowledgeable. I’m proud of him. He’s done a phenomenal job.”

Smelling foul

If not for the cheering of 54,432 fans, the sound of the referees’ whistles Saturday might have been ear-piercing. The refs doled out 47 personal fouls in Syracuse’s 95-84 win over Texas.

For Syracuse, center Craig Forth fouled out, and Hakim Warrick and Jeremy McNeil finished with four fouls. The Longhorns saw Brad Buckman foul out, while T.J. Ford and Brian Boddicker committed four apiece.

With 46 seconds left in the first half, SU forward Carmelo Anthony was called for his third foul, a nickel-dimer on a rebound attempt. But Anthony managed to avoid picking up his fourth.

“At halftime, coach told me not to get my fourth foul early,” Anthony said. “I took that to heart and didn’t get any fouls at all. I stayed aggressive, but I watched where I was swinging my arms and my elbows and stuff.”

On politics

SU senior Kueth Duany, whose family escaped war-torn Sudan when he was 4, spoke about the United States’ operations in Iraq.

“There’s a lot of stuff Saddam Hussein does that I, personally, don’t agree with,” Duany said yesterday. “I don’t know how you deal with it. Whether it’s a just war or not, people are fighting and losing their lives.

“People are suffering in Iraq. Hopefully, the U.S. is doing the right thing with and helping with humanitarian needs. Hopefully, it’ll be over quickly.”

Hello up there

When time ran out Saturday and Syracuse clinched its spot in the national championship game, Forth threw his arms in the air, turned and pointed to a Syracuse-fan-filled section of the Louisiana Superdome. Turns out he was gesturing toward his mother, Maggie, and father, Murray, who made the trip from East Greenbush.

“I just wanted to let them know I was thinking about them,” Forth said.

This and that

Anthony on the issue of pay for college athletes: “The school is making all this money off of us. We should get paid something. At the end of the week, maybe give us $100 or something. But that’s just my opinion. It doesn’t count for anything.” … Texas last reached the Final Four in 1947 — when the NCAA Tournament field included just eight teams. Syracuse, meanwhile, made the Final Four in 1975, 1987 and 1996, losing in the national championship game in ’87 and ’96. … Texas and Syracuse had never met before Saturday. … Anthony and Texas guard T.J. Ford played together last summer at the Michael Jordan Camp. … Practices were open to the public Friday, drawing a couple hundred fans. The Orangemen received a modest cheer when they came out to practice, and a few individuals shouted, “One More Year!” to Anthony … The Orangemen toured Bourbon Street on Thursday night and a few passers-by chatted up Anthony, who wore his hooded sweater over his shoulder like Superman’s cape.

Published on April 6, 2003 at 12:00 pm