Nolan Richardson was back home for a bit, checking on his 101-year-old mother-in-law and finding time -- as he always does -- to promote his fund-raising golf tournament and auction ... events that raise money for cancer research and cancer victims, a treasured tribute to a daughter taken far too soon by leukemia just over 24 years ago.

Richardson, now 69 but as always trim and fit, had his usual big smile and his even bigger voice -- greeting friends and making new ones at the Cancer Treatment Institute on the Westside.

"We've got a good list of items for the auction," Richardson said. "We've got a guitar signed by U2. We've got Nate Archibald's No. 14 signed Texas Western jersey. We've got a signed jersey from Greg Foster with the Utah Jazz, a signed jersey from Antonio Davis with Toronto, a signed Phoenix jersey by Penny (Anfernee) Hardaway, a basketball signed by George Mikan (perhaps the NBA's first superstar)."

Richardson is a legendary figure in El Paso and around the world of basketball. He was a three-sport star at Bowie High School, one of Texas Western's all-time great players and then he began an enormously successful coaching career. He coached for 10 years at Bowie, posting a 190-80 record and taking Bowie to the regional finals. He coached Western Texas to a 37-0 record and the national junior college championship in 1980, coached Tulsa to the NIT championship in 1981 and coached Arkansas to three Final Fours, winning the NCAA championship in 1994.

Richardson is the only coach ever to win the junior college national title, the NIT and the NCAA championship.

He has coached the Panama national team, the Mexican national team and now he coaches the Tulsa Shock in the WNBA.

"We've got the WNBA draft April 11 at ESPN in Connecticut," Richardson said. "Our staff will be there for that. We've got the second pick and the seventh pick. I'll go from there back to Tulsa then get back here to El Paso for our golf tournament and auction."

The event will be April 15-17 at the Underwood Golf Complex, with the auction April 15 at The Forum off Montana.

All this, of course, had its origins in 1985 when Richardson's daughter Yvonne was diagnosed with leukemia. She passed away on Jan. 22, 1987. Nolan Richardson has had functions in both Arkansas and El Paso ever since, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in his daughter's memory.

"Nolan is just so fair about giving something to everybody," said Dr. Teresa Reed, the medical director at the Cancer Treatment Institute. "This is really an important thing for people to know. There's a lot of different things, not just one. We have great items for the auction, including a Swiss Mountain Dog puppy. There are three boys and a girl, born just last Saturday. You can take your pick. They usually go for $4,000.

"I've just decided I will put a $20,000 motorcycle in and people can buy tickets on it -- 2,000 tickets sold for $20 each."

Richardson said former NBA superstar Larry Johnson will return for the golf tournament. So will newly named Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, a man who played for Richardson and was an assistant for him at Arkansas. Paul Pressey, former NBA defensive star and another former Richardson player, will be here, too.

Once again, Richardson will come home -- returning once again in his forever battle against cancer.

Bill Knight may be reached at bknight@elpasotimes.com; 546-6171.