Colorado State thinking big against Duke

The 14th-seeded Rams never have met No.3 seed Duke. They know about the Duke tradition, the championship banners and the mystique. Just about everyone knows Coach K. For Colorado State coach Dale Layer, it's OK to not know his name even if you're a CSU student. Layer was the topic of discu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inKnight Ridder Tribune News Service p. 1
Main Author Mimick, Tim
Format Newsletter
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Tribune Content Agency LLC 19.03.2003
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Summary:The 14th-seeded Rams never have met No.3 seed Duke. They know about the Duke tradition, the championship banners and the mystique. Just about everyone knows Coach K. For Colorado State coach Dale Layer, it's OK to not know his name even if you're a CSU student. Layer was the topic of discussion recently during CSU athletic director Jeff Hathaway's open forum with the public at the on- campus McGraw Athletic Center. Some fans wanted Layer fired. They thought his record indicated a lack of progress in his third year. In fact, if UNLV had won Saturday on its home floor instead of losing to the Rams, Layer's CSU career record would have been at .500 and the team wouldn't have been picked for the NCAA Tournament. With the title victory, he's 46-44 and basking in his first NCAA Tournament visit with a sterling recruiting class awaiting next season. [Matt Nelson] (16.9 points per game) and [Brian Greene] (13.9) lead four Rams in averaging double figures in points. Rugged substitute swingman Ronnie Clark (11.0) and 3-point launcher Andy Birley (10.8) make for a balanced crew ready to become bracket busters.