Wally Szczerbiak celebrates after learning the RedHawks would be headed to the 1999 NCAA Tournament. (Enquirer photo)
	ZOOM

They showed up in the summer of 1995. Four acclaimed recruits from four different parts of the country.

Two East Coast guys, two Midwesterners. All with impressive basketball resumes.

It is four years later now and that prized recruiting class of Wally Szczerbiak, Damon Frierson, Rob Mestas and Anthony Taylor is hoping to make some big noise in the Big Dance.

"We want to do some damage," Szczerbiak said. "That's been our goal all year long."

The RedHawks begin pursuing that goal around 2:50 p.m. Friday. Miami (22-7), the No. 10 seed, plays No. 7 Washington (17-11).

Szczerbiak and Frierson are seniors now, but Taylor and Mestas, who are juniors, came in with them four years ago. Taylor was red-shirted in 1 994-86 to develop his game. Mestas redshirted last year after knee surgery.

But they still feel like they are part of that class.

And what a class it was. Frierson was Mr. Basketball in the Indiana; Szczerbiak was player of the of the year on Long Island; Mestas was Mr. Basketball in the Minnesota; and Taylor was the No. 4 scorer in Massachusetts state history.

"I knew right away this class was going to be special," Mestas said. "I had never seen a shooter like Wally. Damon was so fundamentally sound.

"And Anthony was so strong for a guard. I was wondering if I could play with them."

	"We knew right away this was special group, not only as players, but as people. These are all good kids."
	--Charlie Coles, Miami coach

Miami coach Charlie Coles was then an assistant to Herb Sendek.

"We knew right away this was special group," Coles said, "not only as players, but as people. These are all good kids."

Miami had gone to the NCAAs the year before Szczerbiak and Co. arrived. That Miami team, a 12th seed, beat No. 5 Arizona in the first round and took No. 4 Virginia to overtime in the second round.

"We thought coming in that in three or four years we'd be able to do something like that," Szczerbiak said.

Last year, it didn't happen because Mestas missed almost the whole season with the knee injury and Szczerbiak missed eight games with a broken wrist.

Last year was the only time this group did not advance to the postseason.

The group contributed from the very beginning. Frierson was a starter from Game 1 of his freshman year, leading the team in minutes and averaging 11.1 points. Szczerbiak came off the bench to average 8 points a game, shooting 46.3 percent from three-point range.

"Damon was more what we needed at the time," Coles said. "But Wally was really considered a starter."

That team made the NIT, losing at Fresno State in the first round.

By the time they were sophomores, Szczerbiak and Mestas had joined Frierson in the starting lineup and Taylor was playing a big role as a bench player.

That team won the MAC regular-

season and tourney titles, then lost in the first round of the NCAAs to Clemson.

That still doesn't sit well.

"I remember it like yesterday," Mestas said. "We started three sophomores. I don't know if we were timid or what. But we felt we were the better team."

And this Miami team is better than that one.

The RedHawks are two wins away from tying the Miami record for most wins in a season. Miami won 24 games in 1983-84 and 1985-86. But these RedHawks know that to separate themselves from the pack, they have to be successful in the tournament.

No team in Miami history has won two games in the NCAA. To do it this year, Miami would have to beat the Huskies and No. 2 seed Utah, winner of 22 straight games, in the second round.

"We look at what Valparaiso did last year," Mestas said. "We could do something like that."

Valpo made the Sweet 16. Valpo's star, Bryce Drew, was similar to Szczerbiak. But Szczerbiak is probably better than Drew, and Miami's supporting cast is probably better also.

Frierson is a polished guard, who at 6-foot-4 creates difficult matchups for a lot of teams. He is also an 85.2 percent free-throw shooter. His postseason record is impressive. He scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds against Fresno in '96, and 21 points against Clemson in '97.

Mestas is a quick and reliable point guard.

Taylor is a great talent, who has struggled with injuries this year, but he is capable of breaking out a big game.

The players who have joined the class of '99 are nice role players. John Estick is a 6-foot-6, 250-pound banger with a nifty inside touch.

And he is playing his best basketball of his two-year stint at Miami.

Jason Stewart and Jason Grunkemeyer are good spot-up three-point shooters, who are deadly when teams collapse on Szczerbiak.

Mike Ensminger, the sophomore from Oak Hills, gives the RedHawks toughness and defense inside.

"We feel like it's now or never," Mestas said. "Our goal has been to win the MAC, do well in the MAC Tournament and then advance in the NCAA Tournament.

"There's a sense of urgency because you're not going to have a team this talented at Miami for a long, long time."