COLUMBUS, OHIO ? The point guard who got away is back to torment Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins.

Huggins was the first college coach to recruit Dee Brown at Proviso East High in Illinois, where the flashy guard developed into the state’s top prep player.

Brown wanted to stay close to home, so he chose Illinois. Huggins went in search of another point guard for his team at Cincinnati.

“That’s a funny story,” Brown said. “Actually, coach Huggins was the first coach who came to my high school and talked to me. I was recruited by Cincinnati pretty hard. It was pretty far from home, and I just wanted to stay close to home.”

Huggins hasn’t found a point guard yet. Worse, Brown is in position to knock the fourth-seeded Bearcats out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament today.

“Did you watch us yesterday?” Huggins said Saturday. “We kind of need a point guard, if you haven’t figured that out.”

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A familiar fact: The Georgia Tech staff can skip that scouting report on Boston College forward Uka Agbai. Coach Paul Hewitt already knows everything he needs.

Hewitt recruited Agbai when he was coaching at Siena, but Agbai and one of his high school teammates had promised to stay together. When Hewitt didn’t have a scholarship for the friend, Agbai turned Siena down. He later signed with Boston College.

“Anytime you lose a person the quality of Uka, it’s a big deal,” said Hewitt, whose Yellow Jackets play Boston College in the second round of the St. Louis Regional today. “He can set the tone not only for the guys you have on the court but also the kids you’re going to recruit. If your best player is your hardest worker, then you’ve got a good thing going.”

Agbai has certainly done that with the Eagles. He is averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds for Boston College, and he’s the undisputed team leader.

The fifth-year senior already has earned his degree, and is on track to get his master’s this spring.

“You’re talking about a young man that wasn’t highly recruited. It’s his work ethic and his attitude that has gotten him as far and has allowed him to have the kind of success in his career,” Boston College coach Al Skinner said. “He’s what you want from a student-athlete.”

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Rattlers rattled: Florida A&M coach Mike Gillespie got a little worried when the police arrived at the Rattlers’ hotel to escort the team to Nationwide Arena.

“When the police show up, we always think one of our guys is going to be arrested,” he said jokingly. “So our guys panicked when they came. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, jeez, what if somebody did something in the hotel?’ I do have good kids, but it was the first time we ever did have a police escort for something good.”

Florida A&M hung with Kentucky for nearly 30 minutes on Friday before losing 96-76 in the first round. The Wildcats may have gotten the win, but the Rattlers seemed to get the memories.

“I’m just happy that we made it here,” guard Demarcus Wilkins said. “We stayed in a hotel that had a TV in the bathroom. I just wish I had another week, man.”

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Richardson’s back: Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson was in the stands for Alabama-Birmingham’s first-round game, a 102-100 win over Washington on Friday night.

Richardson sat with the Blazer fans and even tried to do a little coaching, waving at defenders to get back late in the game.

UAB coach Mike Anderson spent 20 years with Richardson, 17 of them as an assistant at Arkansas. Anderson is making his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach, but went 15 times as one of Richardson’s assistants.

His mentor came along for support.

“He was a tremendous inspiration just to be here,” said Anderson, who speaks with him regularly. “All I am is an extension of him. I think I learned from the best.”