Smith Says He Will Stick With Tar Heels Until 2001

Dean Smith has a contract to coach North Carolina’s basketball team through 2001, and he said Tuesday he plans to honor it.

Smith, who became the game’s winningest coach two weekends ago in the NCAA tournament at Winston-Salem, N.C., laughed when a reporter asked him to comment on speculation that he would retire if the Tar Heels win the title in Indianapolis.

“If you win something will you quit?” Smith, 66, joked with the reporter. “If you like what you’re doing, would you quit?

“I take each year as it comes and I won’t make that decision in April, because every April I am probably [tired]. So you wait to see how excited you are in August. For 36 years I guess I’ve been excited in August and September. If that ever changed up until 2001, then I would make that decision.”

Smith, who is 879-253 at North Carolina, leads the Tar Heels into an NCAA semifinal game against Arizona on Saturday and is coaching his 11th Final Four team, including four this decade.

*

Tennessee Chattanooga Coach Mack McCarthy, who led the Mocs to the round of 16, agreed to a five-year contract extension, keeping the school’s winningest coach with the program through 2002. . . . Colorado Coach Ricardo Patton reached agreement on a one-year contract that will pay him at least $325,000.

Patton, who had interviewed for he vacant jobs at Tennessee and Memphis, led the Buffaloes to a 22-10 record, including an 11-5 mark in the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97, his first full season on the bench. . . . Tulsa Coach Steve Robinson has signed a new contract with the school through the 2003-2004 season. Robinson coached Tulsa to a 24-10 finish and into the NCAA tournament this season, his second with the Golden Hurricane. . . . Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery, 50, who recently made his 11th season at the school the Cardinal’s best since 1942, agreed to a six-year contract extension through the 2002-03 season. . . . Murray State Coach Mark Gottfried, 33, a former UCLA assistant, agreed to a four-year contract extension, keeping him under contract until 2001. Gottfried’s new agreement includes a base salary of $70,000. A television show, a basketball camp and other incentives could increase the value of the package to almost $150,000.

*

Long Beach State Coach Wayne Morgan said 5-foot-9 point guard Tommie Davis, who started 17 games this season for the 49ers after transferring from Houston, “does not fit into our future plans.” Davis, from Fremont High, averaged seven points and 5.2 assists.

*

Astou Ndiaye scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as Southern Nazarene stopped Union, 78-73, at Jackson, Tenn., to capture its fourth consecutive NAIA Division I national women’s title.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Men’s Final Four

At RCA Dome, Indianapolis

SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS

* North Carolina (28-6) vs. Arizona (23-9), 2:42 p.m.

* Minnesota (31-3) vs. Kentucky (34-4), 35 minutes after first game

MONDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP

* Semifinal winners, 6:12 p.m.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Women’s Final Four

At Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati

FRIDAY’S SEMIFINALS

* Old Dominion (33-1) vs. Stanford (34-1), 4 p.m.

* Notre Dame (31-6) vs. Tennessee (27-10), 6 p.m.

SUNDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP

* Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m.