Gene Keady And Camby Earn Honors

Gene Keady persevered through a season of tragedy in which his stepdaughter suffered a severe head injury and his father died.

Marcus Camby reached the Final Four despite a less serious misfortune. He collapsed Jan. 14 at St. Bonaventure, missed four games and returned after a battery of tests.

The Associated Press Friday named them college basketball’s coach and player of the year.

Camby, who led Massachusetts to its first NCAA semifinal, received the Adolph Rupp Trophy, in the name of college basketball’s winningest coach.

Keady guided Purdue to its third straight outright Big Ten title. The Boilermakers (26-6), seeded first in the West Regional, lost in the second round to Georgia.

“It’s been a very mixed-emotions year,” Keady said, “but this kind of makes it feel like all our work was worthwhile.”

Finishing second to Keady, who received 54 votes in the national voting of AP membership, was Tim Floyd of Iowa State, the former University of Idaho coach, with 28-1/2.

Camby, one vote shy of being a unanimous All-American, is in the Final Four as a junior after UMass lost in the quarterfinals last year.

“It feels good to be considered the best,” he said. “All the individual awards are great, but nothing can be sweeter than getting these two victories in New York” to win the national title.

Camby averaged 20.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocks this season for UMass, which held the No. 1 ranking for 10 weeks, including the final poll of the regular season.

Camby, a native of Hartford, Conn., received 63 votes, easily outdistancing Ray Allen of Connecticut, who had 29-1/2.

To re-seed or not to re-seed

In the wake of the Kentucky-Massachusetts matchup today, there has been speculation about re-seeding the Final Four in future years. Count Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and Massachusetts coach John Calipari as opponents.

“My general feeling is that the tournament committee has done a great job in seeding,” Boeheim said. “I don’t think I want want to re-seed the teams, really.”

Calipari argued that in a re-seeding of this year’s Final Four, Mississippi State, by virtue of having beaten Kentucky this month, might earn the No. 1 seed … and still face a game with Syracuse.

Strong finish

Donta Bright of UMass is regarded as one of the premier finishers in college basketball, but the senior forward hasn’t been a model of consistency. He averaged 14 points in wins over Stanford, Arkansas and Georgetown, but made only 15 of 41 shots.

Bright can complete a rare double. Two victories in the Final Four would give him an NCAA title to go with the mythical national prep title he led Dunbar High in Baltimore to in 1992.

Reggie Williams accomplished the feat with Dunbar (1983) and Georgetown (1984).

Henderson turning pro

Ronnie Henderson of Louisiana State, leading scorer in the Southeastern Conference the last two years, announced he will skip his senior season and make himself available for the NBA draft in June.

Refuse to acknowledge

Camby doesn’t know the origin of his team’s “Refuse to Lose” motto, though it certainly fits a Minutemen team that has lost only six games the last two seasons.

“It was here before I came to UMass,” Camby said. “I think we go out there and refuse to lose. I think no team in the country has had so many close games as we have.”

UMass has the phrase stitched on its warmup suits.

Seeking advice

Kentucky’s Mark Pope is willing to listen to anyone when it comes to pointers on stopping Camby.

“I’m not sure we even know what we’re going to do,” he said during a news conference Friday. “He’s the best player in America.

“If any of you have advice, meet us after this …”