ATLANTA - Paul Hewitt is considered the interloper at this Final Four. And he's not bothered one bit.
There's Mike Krzyzewski, appearing in his 10th national semifinal, with three NCAA titles already. And Jim Calhoun, with a championship of his own. And Eddie Sutton, back in the Final Four for the third time.
"And Paul Hewitt?" the Georgia Tech coach said, as if he doesn't believe it himself. "Come on, man. There's no offense taken. I completely understand."
Hewitt is the neophyte among the coaches who will gather in San Antonio this weekend. He still is getting used to the idea of being 40. He has been a head coach only seven seasons. He has taken two other teams to the NCAA Tournament, but this is the first time he made it past the opening round.
And now, having guided the Yellow Jackets to their first Final Four since 1990, Hewitt has suddenly become one of the hottest names in the business.
All of this is amusing to his father, Burchell, who wondered what young Paul was thinking when he took an $11,000 pay cut to give coaching a try.
"I thought he was crazy," said the elder Hewitt, who brought his family from Jamaica to the United States when Paul was 8.
Hewitt worked at C.W. Post a year, followed by a stint as a graduate assistant to George Raveling at Southern Cal. After Southern Cal, Hewitt spent two seasons as an assistant at Fordham, and five at Villanova. He got his first head coaching job in 1997, taking over at struggling Siena.
Within two years, the Saints were in the NCAA Tournament. After just three seasons, Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Braine was impressed enough to offer Hewitt a chance to replace Bobby Cremins, the greatest coach in Yellow Jackets history.
Hewitt favors a style that's popular with players, encouraging his teams to run as much as possible. He juggled his lineup adroitly this season, taking advantage of the deepest roster at the Final Four. Eight players average at least 18 minutes.
Maybe Hewitt is not so out of place in San Antonio.
"He's just with a bunch of old guys," Krzyzewski said. "He's going to be the most enthusiastic, probably the best-looking, the best-dressed ... and he may have the best team."
MORE BUMPS FOR OKAFOR: Just when Connecticut's All-America center Emeka Okafor seemed to be getting sharp, he took another jolt Wednesday.
Coach Jim Calhoun said Okafor was bumped hard in practice. Calhoun said the injury was similar to the stinger Okafor got against Alabama in the Phoenix Regional final, when a hard foul jarred his neck and sent a stinging pain down his arm.
"We fully expect that he may take it easier (today), but will fully practice again on Friday," Calhoun said.
Okafor was hit with about eight minutes left in the workout. Calhoun raved that until then Okafor was dunking and looking "much better than he has been, I would say, for almost a month." Okafor missed three games, two in the Big East tournament, because of spasms in the muscles around a small stress fracture in his back.
Calhoun joked that whoever hit Okafor this time would not be traveling to San Antonio. UConn plays Duke Saturday night.
"Someone actually hit his arm, which got his shoulder to move a little bit," Calhoun said.
"I think with a little bit of ice, TLC, talk, he'll be just fine."
Okafor, a 6-foot-9, 252-pound junior, averaged 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and a national-best 4.3 blocks this season.
