Under normal circumstances, Miami of Ohio head coach Charlie Coles said he wouldn't play UCLA and Pitt in the same season, let alone in the span of five days. When the decision was made to schedule the Bruins and Panthers in the first week of the season, Coles wasn't worried about the basketball.

He was worried about staying alive.

Coles, 66, had to give up his coaching duties in March to have open-heart surgery. The surgery was a success, but in the next few months he had to have his gallbladder removed and deal with a bleeding ulcer.

"There was a point where I was just trying to make it," Coles said. "I didn't think I'd ever pass away. Buteven though open-heart surgery has a 91-point something success rate today, you still wonder. After the initial surgery I was just trying to feel good and then I had to deal with the bleeding ulcer and the gallbladder. I just didn't know how it was going to turn out. I knew I wanted to coach, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to.

"It wasn't until the middle of July that I started feeling better. And even then I had some doubt. But in August, with the excitement of school starting, that got me going. So far, the Lord has blessed me to be able to coach."

When Coles brings his Redhawks to the Petersen Events Center tonight he will be soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying every moment. It's easy for a coach to lose perspective in the high-pressure world of major-college basketball, and the past eight months have made Coles grateful that he is still around the sport.

"I just appreciate being involved in the game," Coles said. "I appreciate it all. I appreciate going out to UCLA where John Wooden made his name. I'm going to appreciate coming to Pitt. I always loved the game. But it made me cherish and love the game a lot more."

Coles wanted to return not only for love of the game but because his team could be special. A veteran, senior-laden team almost upset UCLA.

Miami led UCLA with a little more than five minutes remaining Thursday night in Los Angeles, but the Bruins came back for a 64-59 victory at Pauley Pavilion. The Redhawks had a chance to tie the score in the waning seconds with a 3-pointer, but Kenny Hayes' shot was off target.

Coles said playing UCLA and Pitt back to back is "like playing Ben Howland twice." Coles did make one distinction between the Bruins and the Panthers.

"It's almost an advantage except for one thing," Coles said. "West Coast basketball is so much different from East Coast basketball. East Coast basketball is about intensity. Pitt is a lot like UCLA, but Pitt is a lot stronger. That DeJuan Blair ... I'm frantically trying to call the NCAA to make them make a rule that he should be playing football, not basketball.

"Pitt resembles UCLA. Jamie Dixon coaches great defense like UCLA. But Pitt is tough. When I think of Pitt I think of toughness. I think that's the difference between Pitt and UCLA. Pitt is very tough."

Playing a difficult schedule is nothing new to Miami. Last season the Redhawks played three ranked teams on their non-conference schedule and three others against teams from major conferences.

And the Redhawks are more than capable of an upset. They beat No. 12 Xavier last season, 59-57. They lost the other five games, but three of them were decided by six points or fewer.

"For us, when we recruit, we promise the kids we'll play before enthusiastic crowds and talented players," Coles said. "You have to have selling points. We're going to play a tough schedule. If you come here you'll get a chance to play some quality opponents. Every now and then we'll look bad. But sometimes we'll play well. When you play well in these games there's a reward."

Coles had the Redhawks play a slow-paced game against UCLA and could implement a similar strategy against Pitt. By limiting turnovers and running down the shot clock, the Redhawks can force the Panthers to execute on offense to earn their points.

When asked which of Pitt's three stars -- Blair, Sam Young or Levance Fields -- he had to control, Coles said: "Fields is the floor general. Should we do something to him? Then you have Blair inside. Sam Young was first-team all-Big East. And you know he can shoot 3-pointers now, so he's even more dangerous. I don't know what to do with them.

"What you have to do is try to make them earn their points and keep them out of the paint. But they have players that can hurt you."