Atlanta ? There are plenty of proud mamas and papas of basketball players sitting in the stands at the Georgia Dome.

No one is more proud  or having a better time  than Andrew Gooden II, father of Kansas University junior forward Drew Gooden.

“It’s been a long road to the Final Four. Drew is carrying the torch for me,” said Gooden II, who played basketball at Central Washington University and played pro ball in Finland.

“I always wanted to play at this level, but did not make it. To have Drew here is a tremendous feeling. It’s a tremendous achievement. He is a baby in a candy story, having so much fun.

“I told him, ‘Through you comes the rest of us (family members). I’m having my 15 minutes of fame talking to all you media.'”

In an interesting sideline, the elder Gooden played against KU junior Nick Collison’s father, Dave, in the NAIA national tournament in 1976 in Kansas City.

Gooden’s Central Washington team beat Collison’s Briar Cliff team in the first round.

“We won by six points,” Gooden II said. “I don’t remember him in that game. But what a small world this is, for us to play against each other and have two sons as teammates on this great team. Our sons combine to make up one of the top forward combinations in the country. It’s neat.”

Gooden II wants his son to bypass the NBA Draft for one more year, but admits he has little say in the decision.

“My dream is for him to get his education then go to the NBA,” Gooden II said. “I’ve told him, ‘If you were 18, I’d make the decision for you. But you are a grown man, so it is your decision and I will accept it. If you return to school, great, that would be wonderful. If you want accolades and money right now, that is OK, too.'”

Gooden, NBA scouts say, will be one of the top picks in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Â

Billboard mania: Maryland’s athletic department leased two billboards in downtown Atlanta this weekend where they erected, “Welcome to Garyland” signs for UM coach Gary Williams.

“It cost me a thousand bucks for those two billboards,” Williams joked. “Our marketing people, they get cute once in a while trying to do some things.”