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Greenberg: It's too early to talk about bubble

By ANTONYA ENGLISH

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

TAMPA -- With 15 days remaining in the regular season, the biggest talk around college basketball is who will get in and who will be left out.

The NCAA Tournament, that is.

From RPI rankings to just plain guessing, this is the time of year when fans of big-time programs start wondering where they'll be seeded and what city they will play in, while others are trying to figure out what last-minute push it will take to get in.

Though Conference USA isn't carrying the clout it has recently, South Florida coach Seth Greenberg said the league has an opportunity to be well represented among the 65 teams. "There are still four or five teams in our league that still have a shot (at making the tournament)," Greenberg said. "But whoever is going to get in is going to have to play their way in, that's the bottom line. I think Memphis, (USF,) Cincinnati, Charlotte and Marquette still have a chance. A lot of teams can still play their way in."

C-USA is rated 10th in the RPI rankings, and only one conference team, Cincinnati, has an RPI ranking higher than 30.

Marquette is 62, Southern Miss 72, Charlotte 80, Memphis 82 and USF 84.

But Greenberg said with two weeks left before the conference tournament, nobody should be written off.

"I love it when people put nails in the coffin prematurely," he said. "I just think that because of the RPI, it's on the Internet and readily accessible, and people are putting in draws and making brackets too soon. But one game can change the whole structure and fabric of the tournament.

"In the old days, you just let it play out. Did you ever hear people talk about "on the bubble' as early as now? People used to talk about it during the last week of February. Now they talk about it right after football season."

THE EXTRA EFFORT: Two days after his women's basketball team earned its first conference win, coach Jose Fernandez was boarding a flight to Las Vegas.

He was keeping good on his promise that the players he signed during the early signing period wouldn't be forgotten once the recruiting process was over. After he signed arguably USF's best class in November, he vowed to see each player participate in a high school game. He left Tampa at 6 a.m. Tuesday and plans to return at 9 a.m. today.

Tuesday night, he watched Jen Kline, a 6-foot-2 guard who is the top-rated player in Las Vegas, compete in the state playoffs with Bishop Gorman High School.

"It's the beginning of the state playoffs for her and her team is 24-2 and haven't lost since she came back," Fernandez said.

Kline sat out the first semester after transferring from Basic High, a public school in Henderson, Nev., to private Gorman. Fernandez said he has one more signee to see play this season, power forward Shaunte Carter of Jonesboro, Ga.

"It's important that after they sign, they know it's more than just signing a piece of paper," Fernandez said. "They are not just coming here to play basketball. It's a total effort. They know I care and they know I'm going to do everything in my power to make them a better player."

NICE START: After the opening weekend of one of its most ambitious schedules, USF's baseball team was 1-1 heading into Tuesday's home opener against Stetson, but it already had garnered the league's Player of the Week.

John Gorham earned his first honor with a 6-1 win over Stetson.

One day before the opener, Gorham, a junior out of Armwood High, said he had a good feeling about the season.

"I think it's going to be the best year that we've had in the past couple of years," he said.

- Contact South Florida beat writer Antonya English at (800) 333-7505 ext. 8810 or by e-mail at English@sptimes.com.

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