Mavs coach Rick Carlisle keeps close eye on Virginia’s Final Four run
The last time the University of Virginia reached the Final Four, their co-captain was senior guard Rick Carlisle.
The Cavaliers play Auburn at 5 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA semifinals in Minneapolis. Texas Tech meets Michigan State in the other semifinal at 7:49 p.m. Saturday.
The Dallas Mavericks coach has kept a close eye on his alma mater and was asked about the Cavs’ semifinal win over Purdue in the Elite 8 Saturday night.
“Of course I watched it,” Carlisle replied incredulously. “What do you think I was going to do? I mean there are a lot of things to do in Oklahoma City, don’t get me wrong.”
No disrespect to OKC, but Carlisle wasn’t going to miss watching his school return to Final Four glory for the first time in 35 years. Carlisle was the second-leading scorer on a team that lost to the Houston Cougars in the national semifinals, 49-47. Houston was led by future Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. Carlisle has gotten a kick out of seeing some of the old film being played on ESPN.
“The replays of some of that stuff is pretty grainy,” he said.
