WEST NOTEBOOK: D.C. FIVES AT POND.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Their campuses are about 20 minutes apart, but Maryland and Georgetown had to travel almost 3,000 miles to finally meet in a basketball game.

The two D.C.-area schools haven't met on the basketball floor since 1993. Today they will, when they open the semifinals of the NCAA West Regional at the Pond.

There's been talk of the two returning to an annual regular-season showdown, but thus far it's taken a trip to the Sweet 16 to bring them together.

``I would eventually like to play Maryland before I stop coaching,'' Craig Esherick said. ``How that will get accomplished, I don't know. President Bush may have to get involved.''

The schools used to meet regularly. They've met 57 times but only twice since 1980.

Said Maryland coach Gary Williams: ``Just remember there were two guys named Lefty Driesell and John Thompson who stopped playing. It wasn't Craig Esherick and Gary Williams who stopped.''

True, but Williams has been at Maryland for 12 seasons.

Players from both teams know each other well, often playing on the same summer-league teams. Still, Williams thinks any rivalry will become meaningless at tipoff.

``When the game starts, I think it will just be two teams in the Sweet 16 playing,'' he said. ``When it comes time to play, all those things stop.

--The IQ advantage: Stanford gets a lot of credit for its academics and graduating all its players. But Stanford forward Ryan Mendez said intelligence off the court doesn't necessarily translate.

``We've had guys with 1,400, 1,500 on their SATs, and you call out a play and they have no idea where to go,'' he said.

Said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery: ``We've had some really bright guys who didn't understand the game at all. If that's what it took, I wouldn't be coaching.''