MHERST — His name is soaring up the University of Massachusetts men's basketball scoring charts, and also rising, albeit more deliberately, on the lists drawn up by NBA scouts.

Monty Mack says that right now, none of that is as important to him as restoring UMass to a place of prominence. The tournament opportunities have dried up somewhat since he arrived, but he intends for that to change.

"I've never regretted coming here," said Mack, a 6-foot-3 guard who is on pace to graduate this spring, which would allow him to play for UMass next season, too.

"This is my school, the only place I wanted to come," said Mack, whose on-time graduation would allow him to regain a season he lost as a freshman for academic rules. "It has the tradition and the reputation of teams that work hard."

The Minutemen (6-5) are at Providence tomorrow, looking to start working hard again. The team's generally strong defense broke down at the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic last week, obscuring the fact that with 61 points in three games, Mack reached an even 1,200 for his career and passed six former UMass players, jumping to 19th all-time in school scoring.

With only 78 more points, he will pass six more.

"That was still a bad trip for us," Mack said. "The way we played, we were lucky to come out with even one win (against outclassed American University of Puerto Rico).

"Before we left, everyone was talking about more offense, more offense," Mack said. "The coaches were talking about it, too. Everybody talked about it so much that we forgot about defense, which is what we do best."

According to UMass coach Bruiser Flint, one player who forgot was Mack, who doesn't disagree. But if Mack makes the NBA, Flint says defense will help get him there.

"Monty can shoot, and he can shoot from a distance," Flint said. "But when the pros call me, they ask if he could cover point guards (in the NBA), and he can. And the extra year next season will definitely help him."

Since the extra year is not officially awarded until he graduates, Mack is listed as a senior, and the Puerto Rico trip convinced him he must give even more leadership.

"I've always told guys when they made a nice play or pass," Mack said. "But now, when something goes wrong, I'm going to make sure I go over and tell them it's still all right, that we're still in it together."

Jim McCoy is No. 1 on the UMass career scoring list with — 2,374 points. It seems likely that Mack will finish second, passing Lou Roe (1,905) and reaching — 2,000, but not McCoy.

Yet the top spot is not out of reach, especially if Mack's career can include several more postseason games.

"Those stats are nice, but they're more for the fans, for people who really follow UMass," said Mack, who is averaging 19.5 points per game.

Mack came to UMass in the fall of 1996, months after the Minutemen had reached the Final Four. But by the time he began playing, the program was returning to earth and despite his brilliance, UMass has been 41-32 during his career, and 20-21 since the fall of 1998.

Mack has played in only one NCAA tournament game. That may best explain why his name isn't already routinely included on every short list of the nation's elite guards.

"But he's tough, and he works hard," Flint said. "I think you'll see that next year, he'll be known among the best."

Mack missed this year's preseason with a stress fracture in his left foot, and opened the season in a new role as sixth man. But soon he was starting, and facing a variety of defenses aimed to stop him — for this was the first year since his arrival that UMass faced without a proven low-post scoring threat.

"He still needs to work on his ball-handling," Flint said. "But Monty is still improving. He's our constant, and he'll continue to be."

For now, Mack says he's not thinking of the NBA, or of the records.

"I don't want to jinx myself by looking too far ahead," he said. "I'm still happy here. My job now is to help get us ready for the next game."