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GREENSBORO — Texas coach Rick Barnes is back at the Greensboro Coliseum for the first time since 1995. It's safe to say his return has been more low-key than his departure 14 years ago.

In Barnes' last trip here for a game, North Carolina and Dean Smith were putting the finishing touches on a 78-62 quarterfinal win over Barnes' Clemson Tigers in a quarterfinal of the ACC tournament. That's when things got interesting.

In the game's waning minutes, UNC's Jerry Stackhouse drove to the basket and was fouled by Iker Iturbe.

Smith jumped off the bench, pointing and yelling at Iturbe and didn't let up. Eventually, Barnes called a timeout and began yelling at Smith. The two got into a face-to-face argument and had to be separated by referees.

Time has a way of changing people and perceptions. These days, when Smith and Barnes talk, it's much more congenial. The two even shared a raft on a fishing trip among current and former college coaches two years ago.

"If I could go back and change that day I would. The thing I most regret is I would not want anybody to ever think I disrespected Dean Smith because I grew up in this state," said Barnes, who grew up in Hickory and remembers pulling for UNC as a youngster. "I hate that it happened. I'd like to think I've matured a lot more."

Two years after the squabble, Smith retired, seemingly out of the blue. Barnes' daughter Carley couldn't understand why Smith would want to quit, so she wrote him a letter. A week later Carley got a letter with a Chapel Hill postmark.

"He was kind enough to say nice things about me," Barnes said. "He said it was time to move on and that your dad would have a great future in this game."

If Texas beats Minnesota tonight and Duke follows with a win over Binghamton, the Blue Devils and Longhorns would meet in Saturday's second round.

Smith and Barnes might have made amends, but if there's one thing Blue Devils sand Tar Heels fans can agree on, it's Barnes. "Oh, they both love me," he said, smiling.

BUTLER DID IT VS. CURRY: Nobody did a better job of containing Davidson guard Stephen Curry this season than Butler. Sure, he scored 20 points, but it came on 6-of-23 shooting, including 2-of-13 from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs face another outstanding guard in today's first round in LSU's Marcus Thornton, the SEC's player of the year. Butler coach Brad Stevens said that by the time today's game ends, the Bulldogs could easily have all five of their starters guarding Thornton.

"I don't know if we take anything from that Davidson game and apply it to Thornton, other than the fact that we've got to play with the same sense of urgency that we did against Curry," he said. "That's how good a player (Thornton) is."

FOREIGN INTRIGUE: Bless his not-so-little heart, Radford center Artsiom Parakhouski, admits he's still learning about basketball, a sport he only picked up his last year in high school back in his native Belarus. Another class he could stand a few lessons in would be trash-talking.

"Trash talk?" he said, when asked if he could keep up with his teammates. "I don't really know what means trash talk. I just try to learn English."

Another Parakhouski gem: When asked to assess UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, who he'll guard in today's first round, Parakhouski was effusive with praise. "I know he won the award last year, Smith award or something."

That would be the Naismith Award.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com