Fast Breaks

Coach: Joe Sanchez, fifth season at Navy (80-33).Affiliation: Patriot League.1997-98 record: 23-6 overall, 10-2 in Patriot League.Radio: WNAV (1430 AM).Arena: Alumni Hall (5,710).Starters lost: Three.Tickets: $6 general admission. Call 800-US4-NAVY.Best home game: Holy Cross, Jan. 16. The Mids will likely again be challenging the defending champion Crusaders for the league lead.Best visiting player: Amy O'Brien, Holy Cross. She has been picked to repeat as the league's MVP.Outlook: The Mids have improved each season under Sanchez and played Holy Cross down to the final buzzer in the championship game last March.

COLLEGE PARK - Two weeks into preseason workouts, freshman guard Sean Mosley seemed ready to claim a spot in Maryland's starting lineup. His maturity and court savvy outweighed his inexperience; his toughness overshadowed the rough edges in his game. Then the former St. Frances star sprained an ankle. Mosley missed more than a week of practice, including a scrimmage at Temple and an exhibition game against Northwood. Sophomores Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie passed Mosley in Maryland's crowded backcourt rotation.

Coach: Jennifer Bednarek, first season at UMBC.Affiliation: Northeast Conference.1997-98 record: 7-20, 4-8 in Big South.Radio: None.Arena: UMBC Fieldhouse (4,024).Starters lost: Two.Tickets: $6 adults, $3 children. Call 410-455-2205.Best home game: St. Francis, Pa., Dec. 5. The two-time defending Northeast Conference champion is the Retrievers' first conference opponent.Best visiting player: Jess Zinoble, St. Francis, Pa., Dec. 5. The 5-foot-11 forward was the NEC's Player of the Year a sophomore last season.

Forget Dick Vitale's invention of the current college basketball vernacular. Long before he screamed at us about the virtues of the latest and greatest Blue Devils - something he will inevitably do this season - one word was used more than any other. That word - dynasty - might now be extinct, even for Dickie V. In what has become a here-today-playing-in-the-NBA-tomorrow kind of world, the shelf life for those remaining at or near the top of the college basketball food chain has shriveled dramatically.

Coach: Lonnie Williams, third season at UMES (20-35), 12th overall (171-158).Affiliation: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.1997-98 record: 9-18 overall, 7-11 in MEAC.Radio: WESM (91.3 FM), WTGM (960 AM).Arena: Tawes Gymnasium (1,500).Starters lost: Three.Tickets: $3 students, $6 adults. Call 410-651-6705.Best home game: Coppin State, Jan. 18. Second-best team in the state won 21 games last season and is favored to win the MEAC championship.Best visiting player: Tarvis Williams, Hampton, Feb. 1. League's Rookie of the Year last season led MEAC with 56 percent field-goal shooting.

Coach: Ellen Fitzkee, 11th season at Towson (121-154).Affiliation: America East.1997-98 record: 14-12 overall, 10-8 in America East.Radio: WTMD (89.7 FM).Arena: Towson Center (5,000).Starters lost: Three.Tickets: $8 adults, $4 children. Call 410-830-2244.Best home game: Vermont, Jan. 16. Last year's regular-season champion Catamounts are the preseason favorites.Best visiting player: Karalyn Church, Vermont, Jan. 16. The 6-foot junior was America East's Player of the Year as a sophomore.Outlook: Towson, a surprising fourth last season, will have to put together another unexpected effort since the coaches have tabbed them to finish seventh in the 10-team league.

Coach: Vanessa Blair, first season.Affiliation: Northeast Conference.1997-98 record: 15-13 overall, 10-6 in NEC.Radio: None.Arena: Knott Arena (3,196).Starters lost: None.Tickets: Free.Best home game: St. Francis, Pa., Dec. 3. The Red Flash has knocked the Mount out of the conference tournament three straight years.Best visiting player: Jess Zinoble, St. Francis, Pa., Dec. 3. See UMBC capsule.Outlook: After 17 years as coach, Bill Sheahan resigned in September for health reasons and turned the reins over to Blair, a former Mountaineers star.

Coach: Gary Williams, 10th season at Maryland (164-112), 21st overall (371-240).Affiliation: Atlantic Coast Conference.1997-98 record: 21-11 overall, 10-6 in ACC.Radio: WBAL (1090 AM), WMAL (630 AM), WMUC (650 AM).Arena: Cole Field House (14,500).Starters lost: Two.Tickets: Season tickets sold out. Call 800-462-8377 for single-game availability.Best home game: Duke, Jan. 3. The Terps will look to exorcise some demons when they meet the Blue Devils, the preseason No. 1. Duke whipped Maryland by 32 and 27 points last season.

Coach: Fang Mitchell, 13th season at Coppin State (226-128), 21st overall (453-173).Affiliation: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.1997-98 record: 21-8 overall, 17-1 in MEAC.Radio: None.Arena: Coppin Center (3,000).Starters lost: Four.Tickets: $7 general admission. Call 410-383-5607.Best home game: South Carolina State, Feb. 6. The Bulldogs defeated Coppin in the championship game of last season's MEAC tournament.Best visiting player: Damian Woolfolk, Norfolk State, Jan. 25. Woolfolk, a junior guard, shot 43 percent and averaged 18.3 points last season.

Five story lines to watch 1. Will the Lakers trade Kobe Bryant (right)? 2. Will Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen vault the Celtics back to Eastern Conference pre-eminence? 3. Will fans regain trust in officials after the Tim Donaghy betting scandal? 4. Will Kevin Durant emerge as the league's next multiskilled superstar? 5. Will any team challenge the Spurs-Mavericks-Suns troika in the West? Rookies worth watching Kevin Durant, SuperSonics: Second pick in draft will score right away, but efficient shooting and solid defense might have to wait.

"Go West" was the advice for young men seeking their fortune in the mid-1800s. At the start of the 21st century, they've reversed their dribble. Maryland and North Carolina meet today at Comcast Center in College Park. The Tar Heels have three Californians, two in a potent freshman class. The Terps' leading scorer is D.J. Strawberry, and their top rebounder is Ekene Ibekwe. Both are from Los Angeles suburbs. Southern California talent like Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall eased Boston College's entry into the Atlantic Coast Conference.

INSIDE / / A morning-centered shopping list and some tips for preparing speedy breakfasts. Page 4F

Some things never change, and the Anne Arundel County field hockey championship is one of them. Severna Park won its 12th consecutive county championship game last night, 4-2, at South River. Since county finals began in all sports 12 years ago, field hockey is the only sport in which the same team has won every year. And the top-ranked Falcons (12-0-1) notched their 12th win as four players each scored a goal for veteran coach Lil Shelton. "We've got balance," said junior Emilee West, who started the scoring with her team-leading 12th goal.

A recent girls high school basketball game in the metro area that featured two very good players showed just how the sport has changed in recent years. Scouts from the University of North Carolina, University of Delaware, Georgetown University, McDaniel College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County were there to watch two of the area's top-ranked teams and - they hoped - recruit some players. The good high school players these days usually have one thing in common: They had played in strong recreation basketball leagues before entering high school.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - If last night was indeed a statement game for the Maryland basketball team, the Terrapins had plenty to say. Before 5,926 at the Springfield Civic Center and a national television audience, the 13th-ranked Terps pounded No. 25 Memphis, 84-61, in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. Searching to put together a dominant 40 minutes, and show they are a national title contender against a ranked opponent, the Terps (3-0) came about as close to a perfect game as they could get at this juncture of the season.

Brett Greenberg has a 4.0 grade point average at the McDonogh School and made a perfect score on the math SAT, so it is easy to envision a future for him in law, medicine, business or any field. But he wants to be a basketball coach. "I love the game," said Greenberg, a senior who lives in Owings Mills. With the help of a cutting-edge digital film system used by some college and pro teams to review games and practices, he already has embarked on his coaching career. At 18, he is a manager and de facto assistant for the men's team at Villa Julie College, which plays in the NCAA's Division III. Greenberg said he thought he was "the only high school kid in the country" helping coach a college team, but Kay Hawes, NCAA assistant director of media relations, said she couldn't confirm that.

The basketball gurus have weighed in with their opinions about what has gone wrong this season for the Los Angeles Lakers. But has anyone asked a good family therapist? Is it merely coincidence that the Lakers have become just another dysfunctional NBA team as their two superstars, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, have found a new level of personal bliss? Shaq got married, Kobe became a daddy and the Lakers could be on the verge of a breakup. Or a breakdown. What's next, Phil Jackson tying the knot with live-in girlfriend Jeannie Buss, the boss' daughter and Lakers team executive?