Patrick Reusse: Dad, Tubby don't see U recruit at best

Brian Ostermann has been coaching college basketball for 19 years as an assistant or as the boss. "My teams never had played a game in my home state," he said.

That changed Wednesday when Ostermann's junior college team -- Missouri State-West Plains -- came to Worthington, Minn., to play Minnesota West. The visitors were allowed to play at the fast pace they prefer and raced to a 117-72 victory.

Their next stop was at the home of Arlen and Karen Ostermann, Brian's parents, in downtown Good Thunder (population 564) on Thanksgiving Day. The West Plains traveling party consisted of two coaches, two radio announcers, a bus driver and 15 players. They feasted on two large turkeys, two turkey breasts and the traditional trimmings.

"Everyone seemed to have a good time," Arlen said.

Paul Carter, the West Plains star and Gophers recruit, said he appreciated the hospitality, even though he was a touch rattled when snow started to fall.

"I was thinking, 'It's not December yet, and it's snowing already. What did I get myself into?'" Carter said.

Tubby Smith could have been excused if he had the same thought while watching the first half and a few minutes of the second on Saturday at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

Let's put it this way: For this afternoon, those reports that Carter was remindful of Tayshaun Prince were based strictly on the fact he's lefthanded, long and skinny.

West Plains is a Division I junior college, meaning it can give a full load of athletic scholarships. MCTC is Division III, meaning it does not give athletic scholarships.

There were roughly 250 fans, including such dedicated hoopheads as Terry Kunze and his pal, The Professor. The anticipation was that Carter and his teammates would get the game moving and provide some high-flying entertainment.

They didn't.

The only memorable high-flying came from MCTC's Cortez Wallace, when he busted through the lane late in the first half and put down a one-handed dunk that rattled the bleachers on both sides of the gym.

Carter also had a dunk for the game's opening basket. That was his only basket. He made two free throws with 7:58 left in the first half. That put his point total at four, and that's where it stayed.

The D-I Grizzlies were leading 38-25 five minutes into the second half and went into the tank offensively. They were fortunate to escape with a 56-52 victory.

Carter picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and sat for a long while. When he re-entered with seven minutes left, it was 47-43.

He had three open midrange jumpers down the stretch and misfired. He tried to make a move toward the basket and lost his dribble for a turnover.

"I give all the credit to my teammates," Carter said. "Minneapolis was a tough team, but my teammates came through and made the plays to give us a win."

Carter was 1-for-12 from the field. One player -- 6-4 sophomore Morris Smith -- bailed out the Grizzlies, going 7-for-9 from the field.

"We weren't going to play them man-to-man, not with that collection of athletes," MCTC coach Jay Pivec said. "We thought mixing up zone defenses could give them trouble, and it did. If we don't miss that dunk, we might win this game."

It was 53-50 in the final two minutes when the leaper, Wallace, was given a pass and went for an open dunk. He slammed it so hard the ball spun out, West Plains rebounded and held on for its ninth victory in 10 games.

This is Carter's first season of JUCO ball. He sat out last season, after starting at Connors JC in Oklahoma, then transferring to West Plains.

"Hard as it is to believe, there was something the Connors coach didn't like about Paul," Ron Carter said. "It worked out for the best. He found coach Brian, who has been great."

Ron is Paul's father. He played in the NBA in the early '70s. He was watching his son for the first time this season. Tubby Smith also was there for more than a half with his assistants.

As sportswriters, it's our responsibility to offer excuses for unimpressive outings by ballyhooed young athletes. So, Paul, were you nervous because of the double whammy of Dad and Tubby being in attendance?

"I wouldn't say nervous," he said. "Maybe a little anxious."

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com