Does time fly, or what?

Does time fly, or what?

I'm talking strictly about college basketball in general and the NCAA Tournament in particular. It just seems like yesterday when the Arizona Wildcats won the the NCAA title with Lute Olson, Miles Simon and Company...and a little kid down at the end of the bench named Josh Pastner.

But it was 1997 -- 14 years ago, right? And here we are, March Madness, 2011. I was 51 in '97...I'm now 65 and soon to be 66. If my old brain is working right, that means the two coaches facing off in the first round (make that second round, the heck with those play in games) in Tulsa, Oklahoma include Arizona's Sean Miller and the young coach of Memphis, Mr. Pastner. Combined ages 75!

Miller's the old guy at 42 and Pastner 33. It just wasn't that long ago when we were stomping our feet and yelling loudly at McKale Center for Coach Olson to insert Pastner for some last-minute cleanup and maybe just one long-range 3-point attempt from the kid who rarely plays.

Fast forward to Selection Sunday, March 13, 2011, and what do we see on the TV screen: A West Region selection of Arizona, a 5-seed, locking horns with 12-seeded Memphis. Pardon me, the locking of the horns will be the Wildcats' second victim (after we dispatch the Tigers, the Texas Longhorns will be next). But getting back to the first round ( I mean the second), what a story: the Memphis Tigers and Josh Pastner and our own Arizona Wildcats and Sean Miller.

But make no mistake, all the story lines will be out the window when the two teams hit the court Friday in Tulsa. It'll be up to Derrick Williams and Company, on the hardwood, for 40 minutes.

Go get 'em Wildcats!