The Associated Press

CHICAGO - Road trip.

To a generation raised on MTV, it's a gross-out movie, starring MTV comedian Tom Green.

To Illinois coach Bill Self, it's serious business. Saturday's game against Arkansas in North Little Rock, Ark., is his young 4-0 team's first chance to prove it can play as poised and as tough far from home as it did Tuesday night against North Carolina in front of 16,500 deliriously partisan fans.

For first-year Razorbacks coach Stan Heath, though, the words road and trip have a somewhat different connotation. If not for his willingness to keep taking his act on the road, Heath's trip to a basketball-rich mecca like Fayetteville, Ark., might have taken even longer than it did.

Heath laughs at those who describe his rise as meteoric, even though he landed the Arkansas job after just one season at Kent State, one in which the Golden Flashes made the Elite Eight. After seven stops in two Midwestern states (Michigan and Ohio), he finally has become an overnight success.

Not surprisingly, Heath says his move from the Buckeye State to the "Woo-Pig-Sooie" state has been an easier transition than one might think, given the differences in culture and the turmoil caused by former coach Nolan Richardson's ouster after 17 years.

"Fortunately for me," Heath says, "I had a chance to coach in a lot of different areas in the state of Michigan, so I had a feel for what it's like to coach in a smaller setting. The weather is different here, which I like, and the younger players on our team are somewhat different from kids who come from an urban area, but all in all I feel like this is a great opportunity for me."

Heath has a daunting tradition to live up to. Arkansas (1-3) has made 27 NCAA appearances and been to six Final Fours. Heath also has a long way to go to catch Richardson, who took the Razorbacks to the postseason 15 times in his last 16 seasons, including 1994, when Arkansas won its first NCAA title.

"I always looked up to Coach Richardson as a leader," Heath says. "He has done so much for basketball and for coaching. The respect I have for him is tremendous."

LSU: Forward Shawnson Johnson has quit the team because of a lack of playing time.

Johnson left the team during Tuesday's game against Delaware State, and coach John Brady said Wednesday he didn't want to discuss Johnson's departure.

"I want to move on," Brady said. "It's a waste of my time to discuss it."

In LSU's 65-44 victory over Delaware State, Johnson sat out the first half and didn't return to the bench after halftime. Afterward, Brady said Johnson left by choice.

SAN DIEGO STATE: Freshman forward Evans Burns was ruled eligible by the NCAA and will make his debut against No.1 Arizona at home Saturday.

"It has been a long wait, but I am excited to realize my dream of playing college basketball," Burns said in a statement released by the school.

Burns, a McDonald's All-American while at Fairfax High in Los Angeles, enrolled at San Diego State in September after being denied admission to UCLA when his transcripts weren't approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Since then, he had been awaiting word on whether he'll be eligible to play for the Aztecs.