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When Princeton's name popped up alongside that of North Carolina four nights ago, Tigers coach John Thompson III dropped to his knees and begged for deliverance. Across the room, Konrad Wysocki practically jumped through the ceiling.

Not only does the Greensboro Day School graduate get to face the Tar Heels in the NCAA tournament, he'll do so in an appropriate city, a place whose motto is ``Let The Good Times Roll.'' They've been rolling faster than the Mississippi lately for Wysocki .

``The plan was to come over to the States and try to make the best out of my basketball career,'' said Wysocki , a freshman forward born in Poland, raised in Germany, educated in Greensboro and now praised in Princeton. ``Luckily, Princeton came along, and I'm even luckier that we've won the Ivy League championship. I could not have imagined something like this in my wildest dreams, but, hey, here we are.''

The Tigers are here thanks in some measure to a 6-foot-7, 215-pound player who doesn't start but is the team's best shooter statistically and the Ivy's rookie of the year.

``I placed a lot of demands on Konrad, and in many regards they were unfair demands,'' said Thompson, the Tigers' rookie head coach.

``I asked him to do a lot of things that should not have been asked of him, but he's a competitor.''

And one who didn't get to Division I by conventional means. The family moved to Germany to accommodate the professional basketball career of Konrad Wysocki 's dad, Christoph, a 6-9 forward with considerable game. Things went well enough that dad became a fixture in the community, and he's now an accountant.

His eldest son also had a future, and after his second year of high school, the family inquired about exchange programs that would get Konrad to these shores for academic and athletics purposes. After all, he had grown up on the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Duke Blue Devils and the UCLA Bruins.

``March Madness is universal,'' Wysocki said. ``It doesn't matter if it's Europe, Asia or God knows where.''

The International Exchange Study Program, one of several that directs students to Greensboro Day, hooked up school and student. Coach Freddy Johnson was intrigued to learn one day that he had a 6-7 youngster on the way.

``He was very skilled, but we didn't know that,'' Johnson said. ``We just knew he played basketball because they always have to list what their interests are on their applications.''

In Wysocki 's junior year, the Bengals lost the state title game at the buzzer. With Wysocki averaging nearly 17 points and 10 rebounds a game, they won it in his senior year.

Along the way, word spread about this player who wanted to be an architect and who could pass well for a big guy. Greensboro Day runs Princeton's high-post, position-less offense, which made Thompson a fixture at games.

Siena and UNCG got involved in his recruitment, but Princeton was the easy winner in a story that was playing out precisely as planned.

``No one can say no to Princeton,'' Wysocki said. ``It's the best mix of basketball and academics. It was the mix I was looking for.''

Wysocki wasn't expected to be in the Tigers' rotation when he committed, but everything changed when three key players left the program before the start of practice. Wysocki was asked to serve occasionally as the main cog in the high-post passing offense that has back-doored big-name opponents into ignominious NCAA exits over the years. He's also trying the 3-pointer occasionally, going 9-for-30. Inside the arc, he's 46-for-67 (.687).

``I can't say I'm happy about (the attrition), because I'm not,'' he said. ``We could have been a much better team with those players here, but in a nutshell, we did the best we could with the players we have here. Every player got his opportunity.''

The next opportunity will come Friday in the Superdome, where the second-seeded Tar Heels will be waiting for the No. 15 Tigers in South Regional play. Soon after learning what ``y'all'' and barbecue meant, Wysocki got an education in ACC basketball, attending games at Duke and Carolina.

``There was always the battle with half of Greensboro Day School being for Duke and the other half being UNC fans,'' Wysocki said. ``We were always up to date with what was happening on the court. Even (Monday) when our coaches were going over every individual player of UNC, I could usually stand up there and say as much as the coaches could.''

If Thompson is concerned, Wysocki is delirious. He could probably say ``Let The Good Times Roll'' in Polish and German.

``It'll be a tough game,'' Wysocki said, ``but I'm looking forward to it.''

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com