KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NCAA Tournament spotlights established stars but also gives those in a supporting role an opportunity to attain instant fame. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the latest overnight sensation: Memphis sophomore Roburt Sallie, whose claim to fame prior to scoring 35 points Thursday was the unconventional spelling of his first name “because Momma wanted to give me some uniqueness.”
Sallie, never a starter and rarely a factor, set a Memphis single-game NCAA Tournament scoring record, breaking the mark of 34 set by Larry Kenon against South Carolina in 1973.
“I’ve never heard of him,” Sallie said with a sheepish grin.
That’s OK, kid. Before he saved the day for No. 2 seed Memphis, which survived 81-70 against 15th-seeded Cal State Northridge, few outside of Memphis had heard of Sallie — except for knowledgeable fans in Nebraska.
A 6-foot-5 guard from Sacramento, Calif., Sallie attended Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep and wanted to become a Cornhusker. He took classes for a few weeks at Nebraska but ultimately was ruled ineligible and headed to junior college. Sallie still wanted to play for Nebraska while being re-recruited last year, but a Big 12 rule prohibits an original nonqualifer who attended classes from returning to that school.
Sallie’s previous high was 13 points. He went scoreless in nine games.
“I don’t think (even) my teammates would ever expect me to break a record like that,” Sallie said.
Second chance.
If there were any doubt about this being a forgiving society, remember that Bob Knight — who probably hates cheaters even more than he hates incompetent game officials — once hired Norm Ellenberger as an assistant at Indiana, several years after Ellenberger’s scandal at New Mexico.
So it was good to see Morgan State coach Todd Boze-man back on the bench for an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1996. Then 33 and one of the hottest young coaches in college basketball, Bozeman had guided California to its third NCAA Tournament appearance in four seasons. But the fast track to his bright future derailed and crashed when the parents of a disgruntled Cal player announced he had given them $30,000.
Following an NCAA investigation, Bozeman was given an eight-year “show-cause” order. In effect, that’s a ban because any school wishing to hire a coach saddled with that order must convince the NCAA infractions committee why he should resume coaching. Morgan State offered Bozeman a new start in 2006, two years after the NCAA order had expired.
“People make mistakes,” Bozeman said. “The great thing about this country is that you’ve seen it time and time again . . . being able to come back from it. I missed being with the young guys. I missed being on the floor.”
Hanging with the prez.
Andy Katz, ESPN’s national college basketball analyst, made a stop Thursday in Kansas City and was still smiling about his Tuesday trip to the White House. During a 20-minute filming in the Map Room, Katz got President Obama to fill in an NCAA Tournament bracket.
“When it was arranged last week, our people at ESPN wanted to promote it,” Katz said. “But I told them not to. What if something occurred like the stock market falling 2,000 points and the president had more important matters?”
Tom Kensler covers college sports. Contact: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
