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2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Keegan

Keegan: Jayhawks relish role of ‘dogs

By Tom Keegan

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2007-08 April 1 Pre-Final Four KU Media Day

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Press Conferences & Post-Game Interviews

Bill Self's April 1 pre-Final Four press conference

KU coach Bill Self met with the media in Hadl Auditorium Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Final Four, in which his team is part of history, with all four one-seeds having advanced to San Antonio. Self talked in-depth about gameplanning for North Carolina, plus again denied rumors that he will ...

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2008 NCAA Tournament

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Five seniors, including two starters and one key reserve, plus four non-seniors who were McDonald's All-Americans, plus Brandon Rush. Quick and fast at all five positions. Inside-outside scoring balance. Excellent team defense. Share-the-ball offense.

Talk about a team built for a national title. So why are the Jayhawks considered the biggest underdogs in San Antonio? Because this is the deepest Final Four in history, and purely from a talent standpoint, Kansas ranks fourth in the field.

What a refreshing change for a team that carries expectations of executing a slaughter nearly every time it takes the court.

In a way, Saturday's Final Four semifinal against North Carolina calls to mind that Nov. 25, 2006, game in Las Vegas against favored defending national champion Florida. Without the burden of expectations, Kansas played so aggressively that night.

"I can only remember two games in my whole career we weren't the favored team," point guard Russell Robinson said. "That was the Florida game, and the Texas game in the Big 12 championship, my sophomore year. I like it when we're like that. We're a different team when we're like that. It takes a lot of pressure off guys. It's going to be a great game, and I think a lot of guys are looking forward to it."

Whether there were other games KU was the underdog during Robinson's four years isn't the point. The point is it happens so seldom he could only recall two games, and he liked the outcome of both.

Teams always like to play the no-respect angle, a tough one to pull off in the first Final Four guaranteed to crown a No. 1 seed as national champion. Yet, if anyone can lay claim to Rodney Dangerfield status, it's Kansas.

The other three schools had a first-team All-American: Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) and Kevin Love (UCLA). Darren Collison (UCLA) and Derrick Rose (Memphis) earned third-team honors. No Jayhawks were so honored.

For all the constant chatter of early NBA exits surrounding this KU team, it's expected to be the last of the four schools to have a player selected in the next draft.

Draftexpress.com is as good as any Web site at forecasting the NBA Draft, which is to say it's not as inexact as the rest. The site projects two players from each Final Four team going in the first round. According to the site's guesses, Memphis and UCLA will have two players chosen before the first KU player leaves the board, and North Carolina will have one, and his name is not Hansbrough.

As of Tuesday, draftexpress.com had Rose going second. Douglas-Roberts was projected to go 22nd. Love is picked to go ninth, four spots ahead of Collison. North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson is projected at No. 17. Nos. 23 through 25 all are Final Four players: Darrell Arthur, Hansbrough, Rush. The Web site projects UCLA sophomore guard Russell Westbrook as the No. 7 selection in the 2009 draft.

The underdog role not only should help Kansas play loose, but with a bit of chip.

"I still think we have the best team in the country and now here's our chance to prove it," Robinson said.

Kansas 83, North Carolina 80.

The Jayhawks and the Final Four

Comments

flipborder02 (anonymous) says...

Russel westbrook going 7th did I read that right. I mean Chalmers and Rush are alot better then Westbrook and the only reason he is mocked so high is because he had some crazy dunks.

April 2, 2008 at 7:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

83-80?

Was that Russell's call or Keegans call? It's not in quotation marks or anything. I'm actually curious. I think we're better by about 5 points or so but its impossible to say what will happen at the end of the game. I say 77-72

April 2, 2008 at 7:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

That Texas game was awesome. Almost everyone was forced to watch it at a sports bar. But it was hard to find a place with electricity. The Yacht Club was packed. Ah sweet memories of the microburst.

April 2, 2008 at 8 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

I don't think Russell would have gave a score prediction. I bet Self has a "say nothing stupid this week" rule in effect.

April 2, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

RonBurgandy (anonymous) says...

That's Keegan's prediction.

April 2, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

WilburNether (anonymous) says...

"For all the constant chatter of early NBA exits surrounding this KU team..."

Yeah, and who is largely responsible for that? The fools who write for this newspaper, that's who.

J.R. Giddens, call your office. Or Gary Bedore, who was a relentless promoter of that young, raw, incompetent player as an NBA lottery pick.

April 2, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

BCRavenJHawkfan (anonymous) says...

KU is the underdog and I have no problem with that, but it is not a cakewalk. I already know how we could lose, we could self destruct or have a performance like the one against OSU. I think the better question is what does unc have to do to win. We have won games alot of different ways. Some to the point of turning stats on their head; i.e. Baylor game, who would think we would win without one 3 point field goal, allow the opposition to have 4 players in double figures, and we still put up 100 points.

The burden is on unc, the bullseye is on their backs. Forget the star power, it is a team game...afterall not even Wilt was able to single handedly win the title.

April 2, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

So, are the writers for this paper incapable of breaking down a game? Am I wrong to expect a little analysis? This is the national semifinal after all. Maybe it'll come later this week, but I'm not holding my breath. If anyone cares to put in their two cents I think we could get a worthwhile discussion going. I know there are some good bball minds that frequent this site.

April 2, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

CasperCorps (anonymous) says...

I'll break it down, Kansas has Defense. north carolina has offense. Kansas has four big men, unc has one big kid. Kansas has four guards, carolina has two. We are able to, and have played, multiple styles of basketball, carolina plays one. Kansas wins if they watch the fast break after they score and don't allow some no name player to start raining in three pointers. (paulen from kstate or the bench player from Davidson) Rockem Hawks!!

April 2, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

karmaxs3 (anonymous) says...

What CasperCorps said....

and I'll raise it by saying Roy's teams always have the hardest time in tournaments when favored. Kiss of death, it is.

KU wins, moves on to play UCLA (who will prob injure a Memphis player with an uncalled tripping foul) and wins it all.

ku/unc-88-79
ku/ucla-69-65

April 2, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

vmwskywalk (anonymous) says...

Take a page from Clemson and Press. Don't let UNC run the break. Force them into a half court offense. Finally, throw some zone D at them. I always remember Roy's teams having major trouble with zones. Remember playing Temple!

April 2, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kushaw (anonymous) says...

vmwskywalk: I think your statement is exactly what Louisville did and they won by 10. Louisville presses and the falls back into a zone. They're always changing defenses. I think it was a good gameplan, but Louisville ran out of gas and their young players lost focus.

April 2, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

quigley (anonymous) says...

Any one else notice that often times the articles written by Keegan or woodling start off in one direction, and are pretty good, then get sidetracked and go off somewhere else never to recover???

April 2, 2008 at 11:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

Russell Westbrook is #7 in the 2009 draft, not this year (2008). No surprise that the Final Four is stuffed with NBA talent. Each team in the FF has at least 4 pro prospects on their roster. I wouldn't be surprised to look back two years from now and see 20 guys from this FF in the NBA.

Here are the major prospects from each squad

UNC - Hansborough, Lawson, Ellington, Green, Ginyard

UCLA - Collison, Love, Westbrook, Mbah A Moute, Shipp

Memphis - Douglas-Roberts, Rose, Dorsey, Dozier, Anderson, Taggart

Kansas - Arthur, Rush, Chalmers, Collins, Kaun, Aldrich, Jackson

That's a pretty impressive group of talent between 4 teams. These really are the four best teams in the country.

April 2, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

robot (Robin Smith) says...

Kansas is much better than Louisville. Kaun and Jackson will do a good job guarding Hansbrough.

I think the pivotal aspect of the game is how Hansbrough will guard our slew of big men, even with a bit of help.

Also Chalmers is going to destroy them.

April 2, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

muffaletta (anonymous) says...

Box out Hansbrough as attentively as we guarded Curry and we win the game.

April 2, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

Valid points by all, but I think some of you oversimplified a little. Here's the thing with a zone. It's usually not played well enough to be as effective as it could be, only because it's not practiced enough or taught well enough. Therefore, a good passing team will always shred it, and a good shooting team will shoot over it. I like a zone from time to time to change things up, but it shouldn't be used exclusively.

To say that UNC has 1 big man and 2 guards is extremely shortsighted. While they may not be as publicized as Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington, Thompson and Stepheson are talented, and Ginyard plays probably the best defense on the team. However, I think KU has a deeper bench.

I see this as a very good game, and I think it will be well-played on both sides. There really are no areas on the floor that one team can definitely exploit. KU can create height advantages, but such a lineup would make them slower and subject to Carolina's break. I don't see any advantages for Carolina in any matchups, but if KU's bigs cannot match Hansbrough's intensity, that could serve as a deciding factor. I think Arthur is ready for a "beast" game and I think KU will be playing with no pressure. We all know what happens when this group plays big games with no pressure on them.

April 2, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Timmay97 (anonymous) says...

I'm begging the refs not to call stupid fouls on our guys when Hansbrough goes up for his alwasy off balance shot in the post. I have to admit, I can't stand Hansbrough. I can't respect a kid who seems to always play out of control and flaps his arms all over the place. I've seen too many plays where the defender is just standing there with his arms straight up in the air and Hansbrough jumps into them like he's dying. Drives me freakin' insane. Remember, Hansbrough averages 83% or so from the FT line. Him getting to the free throw line is why he averages over 20 pts a game. He's a physical player, but a lot of times out of control. Big reason why he's never going to make anything of himself in the NBA.

We all know that our post defense is pretty solid and our help defense is steller. Basically, if KU can maintain the UNC transition baskets, there's no reason why we don't win this game.

Lets hope our shots fall in the UNC game. If we hit from the perimeter through our halfcourt offense and score enough transition baskets, I think we will prevail then too.

April 2, 2008 at 12:40 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

soapboxstew (anonymous) says...

I saw Westbrook even higher on other draft boards. I have NO idea what the hell this is all about. I live in Denver, and I see UCLA play more than I can stand. I've been watching them all year long.
There is NO (I repeat, NO) friggin' way that Westbrook is better than many players listed behind him in the draft. If you want explosive dunks in a 2 guard, then see Henderson with Duke. If you want to see better ball control, then see everybody that is not a PF or C. If you want to see better Defense, then look at the entire Jayhawk backcourt for starters. If you want to see better 3 point shooters, see average 3-point shooters like Russell Robinson. Passing?, see every PG in the nation.
He is no PG in the league, so he must be a SG. That is the same position as Rush. He will be playing against guys twice his size and 4 times his ability. He is going to be a huge bust in the NBA if he is drafted that high. I thought that Conely Jr. of OSU was the biggest mistake in last year's draft (along with about half the people that went ahead of JuJu). Sure enough, that guy can't play without his big brother (Oden). Yet there he is, drafted early in the lotto, not worthy of holding Langford's jock in the NBADL.
The draft always has busts of mountainous proportion. There is no formula for becoming an NBA star. You just need timing and luck. Look at Gilbert Areanas (sp?), he was drafted late in the second round, now he's Agent 0. Westbrook will be a bust. I'd take Chalmers everyday over him (and twice on Sundays). I know that I'm just a guy at a desk, but what the hell do these NBA draft guys know that I do not?

April 2, 2008 at 1:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

meremy (anonymous) says...

I have to agree with Timmay on this one. Hansbrough gets away with murder. He has this offensive move where he turns into the defender and uses his forearms and the ball to create space for the shot. Even if in good fundamental defensive position, the defender is called for the foul. It drives me crazy.

We have good defense and depth on the block, but if Hansbrough (and refs) get us in foul trouble it could really hurt us.

Key to the Game: Make Hansbrough work his a$$ off for every point, without putting him on the line. If Hansbrough shoots a low percentage, we win the game.

April 2, 2008 at 2:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kc_wildfire (anonymous) says...

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/79...

Here is a sportswriter who is capable of some analysis...not sure he has everything right, but he at least voiced his thoughts.

April 2, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

muffaletta (anonymous) says...

Self has beaten Williams before -- when was that Illinois tournament game, 2001?

He'll do it again.

April 2, 2008 at 2:53 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

I agree with Timmay too about Hansbrough... and I don't think we're going to avoid getting screwed all game long by the refs. Byron Eaton, Michael Beasley, Cutris Jerrells the little out of control guys for Mizzou and Nebraska... they all get bailed out by being out of control all the time. I don't expect this game to be different.

Here are the things I'm hoping to see...

1) TEAM defense... or NOT overcommitting to stopping or containing Hansbrough or Lawson. We lost the first KSU game because we tried too much to defend Beasley and it let Walker and Pulliam (sp?) do too much damage.

1b) Keep Lawson out of the paint. His closest equivalent IMO that we've played was Eaton, and we didn't do a good job of that.

2) Inside scoring. Saying this isn't exactly rocket science, but if BOTH teams go to the well early and often by getting the ball into the paint and scoring inside... it will benefit us more if foul trouble ensues. That's just a huge advantage we have in inside depth.

3) Taking care of the basketball. We haven't done a good job of that in this tourney, yet.... there were times where we were behind to Davidson while shooting a higher FG%. A turnover is essentially the equivalent of at least 1, maybe 2 or 3 missed FG based solely on missed opportunity.

4) No more 3 and 4 opportunity possessions. Obviously keeping the other team off the offensive glass is always a goal... but letting them get 3 or 4 cracks in one possession is a morale killer.

April 2, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

kc_wildfire, that analysis is right on IMO...thanks for the link

April 2, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

Lebowski,

I agree with you on all of your points and would add a couple more.

1) Defend Hansborough without fouling - he averages 20 pts per game, but also averages over 10 trips to the line and shoots 83% from FT. That's 8 of his points every game just on FTs. Keeping Hansborough off the line will cut into a big part of their offense.

2) Make Lawson, Ellington and Hansborough work on the defensive end - Ginyard is Carolina's best defender, by far, but he's not the offensive force that either of those other three are. We need to attack those three specifically. Hansborough won't start out on Arthur because they don't want him picking up fouls, but we have to attack him inside early on, whether he's on Jackson, or we get him caught on switches on the high screen, or whatever, make him WORK. Same with Lawson and Ellington. We didn't do enough to make Curry work on Sunday. He was basically resting on defense a lot of possessions. We can't let Lawson and Ellington do that. We have to bump them, make them chase, make them defend ball screens, run them through picks, etc. Making those guys work will really slow down their run and gun because its those three that really make that transition game go.

3) Win the 50/50 balls. We aren't going to get the calls. Every other team in this FF has an All American, and, with the exception of Memphis, has more national pull. We won't catch many breaks, so we have to make our own. Loose balls, offensive boards, we have to get the toss ups. If that means ripping a ball away an instant before they call the jump, we have to do it.

April 2, 2008 at 4:52 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayCeph (anonymous) says...

Self has proven he knows how to win against Roi's teams.

The last time these two clubs met, it was Roi against Daugherty (sp?) and UNC schooled KU on the back-cut screens... so much so that it seemed like UNC was having a layup festival at the Jayhawk's expense.

I think 'justanother...' is on to something with his '3 ingredients' to success. It smacks of how KU was handled by UNC and now the tables have turned... along with the worm.

April 2, 2008 at 6:57 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

oldalum (anonymous) says...

Refs are going to protect Hansbrough. We'll just have to play smarter, I guess, but I can see our bigs getting in major foul trouble.

April 2, 2008 at 9:17 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Johann Ross) says...

3 keys to victory over unc (and they all come on the defensive end of the floor):

1. Get back on defense quickly after a made or missed basket. UNC wants to run. We're prepared to do it. The scouting report needs to translate to the game to minimize easy opportunities at the basket for UNC.

2. Good perimeter defense. Steals are fine, but you have to get up on Ellington and Lawson as they are legitimate 3-point threats. Curry should have helped.

3. Good post defense. Limit Hansbrough's touches, and when he gets the ball recognize that he doesn't kick it out as often as he decides the be bullish and muscle the ball to the hole. Therefore, collapse the defense. Hansbrough draws a lot of fouls so holding good defensive position will be key. Denying the entry passes will be important. Beasley may have helped us in this regard.

No surprise. The difference in this game will not be offense. Whichever team can hold the other team defensively will win this game.

defense, defense, defense...

April 2, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kc_wildfire (anonymous) says...

http://www.topekajayhawkclub.com/LuvT...

Hopefully this link works.

April 2, 2008 at 10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Actually, I think Slick Rick showed the way to beat UNC. UNC can't run when they have to slow it down to bring it up the floor. The mistake Slick Rick made was to use M2M full court press. His team eventually wore down, even playing 10 deep. Now is the time to dust off Wooden's old 2-2-1 zone press. The Wizard used it to force opponents to walk it up the floor, then play solid half court M2M, then race it up the floor to score. UNC would never get a fast break against a 2-2-1 zone press. Without the primary and secondary break advantage, KU stomps UNC.

With all due respect to the estimable JRoss1972, trying to close off passing lanes and worrying about getting back all the time puts a team on it heels. KU needs to be in offensive mode even on defense.

With the rest of JRoss1972's assessment, I concur.

April 2, 2008 at 11:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Post Script:

Didn't Self's Tulsa team play some 2-2-1 zone press?

April 2, 2008 at 11:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JJHAWK (anonymous) says...

If the national pundits are right and KU's BB team does have the lesser talent in this mega final four, wouldn't that mean that SELF has done the greater job in guiding his lesser bunch into this historic championship playoff?

Win, lose or draw, I'm proud of my Hawks - and their head coach. And if Mario and Sharon return for 2009, things are going to continue to be exciting.

April 3, 2008 at 4:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

melrank (anonymous) says...

Lots of good stuff here - nice work, folks.

But, jumping on jaybate's February soapbox for a moment - rebounding is a big time key to this game.

Rebounding Margin is like Turnover Margin in Football - one of the most reliable indicators of who wins basketball games. All four FF teams are in the top 11 in the nation in Rebound Margin and UNC is #1 in RM.

Eliminating second chance points by UNC is going to be critical. They average 15 offensive boards a game - WOW. These guys are way too talented to give them multiple scoring opportunities. We have to control the defensive glass.

A strong offensive rebounding performance by our bigs will:

1) slow down their fast break
2) lead to more fouls on UNC which should help leverage our depth advantage in the paint.
3) lead to more 2nd chance points - we're going to need every point to keep up in this scoring marathon.
4) give us "emotional" energy.

If this game is played near each team's potential, the winner will likely be the team that owns the boards.

April 3, 2008 at 8:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )