Friars Off to NCAAs

The Providence basketball team is staying in a hotel on the edge of New Orleans' famed French Quarter, close by some of the best food and entertainment anywhere.

However, Friars' Coach Rick Pitino says he is not concerned about the distractions his team faces as it prepares for tomorrow's NCAA Tournament semifinal game against Syracuse.

"We're not worried about all the attention getting to the players," Pitino said. "This has always been a very business-like group."

"The distractions are good, I think. That's what this is all about."

Delray Brooks, one of his players, knows about distractions.

"He's got a list of about 150 people who have called, and there's no way he could do 150 interviews," said John Marinatto, the Friars' sports information director. "He's going to get it over with all at once [today]."

The reason for Brooks' popularity is that he came to the Friars after transfering from Indiana--another Final Four team--and everyone wants to know how it would feel to play against his former team.

"I know everybody's going to ask the question," said Brooks. "It's not a distraction."

His answer is: "It doesn't matter. I'd just go out and do what I've always done, nothing different."

Despite his insistence that he is not worried about distractions, Pitino banned interviews for his players after they talked briefly with the media after getting into town Wednesday.

Providence, which went through a 90-minute workout yesterday at Tulane University, is well acquainted with Syracuse. The Friars, 25-8, lost both games to their Big East rival this season, and Pitino was once an assistant under Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim. The two are close friends.

Providence comes into the semifinal as the most potent team from three-point range. Brooks, Billy Donovan and Ernie Lewis helped Providence make an average of eight three-point shots per game, the most in the nation.

But the Friars proved that they could score from the inside as well in their Mideast Regional championship game against Georgetown. In the 88-73 victory, only 15 Providence points were scored from outside the three-point line.