DARLINGTON, S.C. -- No one in the NASCAR garage knows more about making the NCAA basketball tournament -- or defending NBA star Allen Iverson -- than Craftsman Truck driver Brendan Gaughan.

Gaughan spent four years with Georgetown's hoops team. He played on two Big East Conference champions and a club that reached the NCAA final eight.

	No one in NASCAR knows more about the NCAA basketball tournament than Brendan Gaughan.

At 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, he never drove the lane at Madison Square Garden for any game-winning shots. But from 1993-97, he played a major role in preparing the Hoya heroes who did, such as Iverson, Victor Page and Jahidi White.

"I was not the superstar,'' said Gaughan (pronounced "Gone''). "I didn't want to be. I didn't expect to be. I was told to make people better. If I can go and make Allen Iverson better, hey, I did what I could.''

Gaughan, 27, began racing as a 15-year-old in his hometown of Las Vegas and is one of the truck series' rising drivers. He won twice at Texas Motor Speedway last year and was the runaway rookie of the year.

Gaughan took third in the Craftsman 200 at Darlington Raceway on Friday behind Bobby Hamilton and Ted Musgrave.

"Those guys have driven in Winston Cup,'' Gaughan said after the race. "I feel like we were the best truck out there.''

And he says it's the lessons he learned from former Georgetown coach John Thompson that got him here.

Thompson was a family friend, Gaughan said. When a high-school hip injury ruined a promising career as a college wide receiver, Thompson encouraged Gaughan to walk on at Georgetown, a Division I-AA football school.

Once Gaughan caught on as a kicker, Thompson handpicked him to knock around "AI'' and get him ready for the physical Big East.

It began a hectic two-year stretch of studies, football practice and basketball drills. Gaughan played only basketball his last two years.

Thompson has said he would make a show of yelling at his sub when Gaughan pushed around Iverson. "Then he'd tell me to keep doing it,'' Gaughan said.

Iverson and Gaughan, who was known as "BG,'' were friends off the court and testy rivals on it.

There were several times Iverson or Gaughan would collapse on the floor, then pop up to jump in each other's face.

Gaughan said he actually broke his left ankle on one of Iverson's crossover dribbles. "I kept playing with sore ankle the next 2½ years,'' he said.

One of Gaughan's most infamous college moments also came courtesy of "The Answer.''

He says Syracuse's Carrier Dome was filling up during pregame drills when Gaughan began his job of warming up Iverson. Gaughan, who'd spent almost two seasons shadowing the flashy guard, thought he had a pretty good handle on Iverson's tendencies. So when Iverson started left, Gaughan was sure the move was going right. Instead, Iverson cradled the ball back left through Gaughan's legs.

Gaughan was left looking at air as the crowd, focused on Georgetown's star, gave a big "Oooohhh.''

Iverson stood near the basket laughing, Gaughan remembered. Georgetown assistant coach Craig Esherick, now the Hoyas' head coach, had his hand over his mouth concealing a grin as Gaughan returned to the bench.

"I had to make the walk of shame, all the way back down the court, all the way to the locker room, everybody looking,'' Gaughan said.

Gaughan laughs at most of the Iverson stories he hears now. The player he worked with is "a lot more intelligent than anybody knows. He just a real good guy.''

Gaughan, who played in 40 games, is just as detailed about his only college basket, a floater over Colgate's big man and top NBA draft pick Adonal Foyle.

"A couple of crossovers, two dribbles, elevate and it's a prayer,'' Gaughan said as he demonstrated his moves.

Reminders of Georgetown are never too far away from Gaughan. He wears his No. 13 Hoyas jersey underneath his racing suit and a dark blue Georgetown tank top during practices. He bought two plane tickets last weekend -- one home to Las Vegas, the other to New York for the Big East finals if the Hoyas were still alive. They were not, losing to Syracuse in the quarters.

Gaughan says he'll watch the NCAA tournament between sessions for the Lucas Oil 250 on Sunday at Bakersfield, Calif.

He keeps in touch when he can with ex-teammates Jerome Williams of the Detroit Pistons, his old roommate; Othella Harrington of the New York Knicks; and White of the Washington Wizards.

Gaughan also talks occasionally to Thompson, who was in Las Vegas recently and met with his former guard. "You know,'' Thompson said to Gaughan, "to do what you do, you're nuts.''

"Hey,'' Gaughan responded, "I played four seasons for you, I must be.''