By Paul Newberry
The Associated Press

ATLANTA - B.J. Elder walked into the room with a very ominous-looking protective device on his right foot.

Not to worry.

Georgia Tech's leading scorer insisted Tuesday that his sore foot was feeling much better and shouldn't keep him from playing in the Final Four against Oklahoma State.

"No doubt," Elder said. "I'm definitely going to be ready. It's a lot better. A lot of the soreness is gone."

The Yellow Jackets (27-9) showed they could win without Elder, beating Nevada and Kansas last weekend without any points from their most prolific scorer. Even so, coach Paul Hewitt would prefer not to face that predicament in San Antonio, where Georgia Tech will be facing one of the nation's most rugged defensive teams.

"When you're playing a team like Oklahoma State, you need everybody," Hewitt said. "I'm not saying we can't overcome it. But it sure would be an advantage to have Elder. When you're playing a team that's so strong defensively, you need all your options on offense."

Elder was injured less than two minutes into the regional semifinal against Nevada, when Kirk Snyder landed on the back of his ankle. He tried to come back but lasted only a minute - the pain was too intense at the base of his Achilles' tendon.

Two days later, Elder tried to give it a go with a heavily taped ankle in the regional final. He wasn't much of a factor, lasting only 12 minutes and missing his only two shots.

Until the injury, Elder had reached double figures in 30 of 34 games and never been held below 7 points all season. Even with a couple of goose-eggs on the stat sheet, he's still the team's leading scorer by far at 15.3 points per game.

Elder said he likely will skip Wednesday's final practice in Atlanta, but he plans to be on the court when the team works out in San Antonio. He's been wearing a protective boot on the foot, giving it a little extra cushion. He's also undergoing plenty of treatment.

"It get a little stiff at times," Elder said. "But I'm going through a lot of different stretches, things like that. Every day, it's getting better."

In St. Louis, he cheered on his teammates from the bench, but it sure was tough to watch. The Yellow Jackets endured two more nail-biting victories, holding off Nevada by five points and beating Kansas in overtime.

"He kept telling us, 'C'mon guys, give me one more game,"' said Clarence Moore, one of the players who stepped up big for Georgia Tech.

If nothing else, Elder's injury allowed the Yellow Jackets to show off their impressive depth. Marvin Lewis scored 23 points against Nevada, then Jarrett Jack came through with a career-high 29 points in the win over Kansas.

But the Yellow Jackets have gone through some offensive struggles in the NCAA tournament, averaging 65 points in regulation during their four wins - 12 points below their season average. Not surprisingly, they have been tested each time - the eight-point overtime win against Kansas was Georgia Tech's largest margin in the tourney.

Elder is one of the team's top threats from beyond the 3-point arc and provides another versatile player on the wings. He's definitely a streak shooter, which was epitomized during the regular season when he scored a career-high 36 points in a win over Clemson, then came back four days later and made only 2-of-11 shots in a loss to Duke.

If Elder can get on a roll, he sure would be a major factor in Saturday's game.

"It would mean a lot to have him. We would have all the pieces of the puzzle back together," Lewis said. "Defensively, we're all on the same page. But on offense, we've been sort of waiting to go full throttle. If we have him back in the lineup, we can get there."

With Georgia Tech making its first Final Four appearance since 1990, Elder is amazed at how much attention everyone is paying to his foot.

"It's kind of funny," he said. "I guess this kind of thing can really get blown up when you make it this far."