1 win down and … how many to go for the Jayhawks?

By Staff     Mar 23, 2019

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Kansas forward Dedric Lawson falls back into his locker while laughing with his brother K.J. Lawson on Friday, March 22, 2019 at Vivint Smart Homes Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Salt Lake City — Thursday afternoon inside the Kansas locker room, shortly after the Jayhawks opened their path through the NCAA Tournament with a first-round victory over Northeastern, head coach Bill Self had a question for his players.

“Good job. Hey, guys. One down and how many to go?” Self asked.

A mixture of responses followed, with “five” being the overriding reply.

“One,” Self quickly corrected them, as seen in a video posted on KU’s social media accounts. “One down. One to go. Hey, hey. One down and one to go, OK? All right, good job.”

When it comes to March Madness, Self always prompts his teams to look at each stop along the way as its own, four-team, two-game tournament. If the Jayhawks win the first two-game tournament, they get to go somewhere else and try to win another.

Apparently at least a few players who grew up watching The Big Dance and came to KU with dreams of chasing a national championship got caught up in the moment, knowing six wins is what it takes to cut down the nets at the Final Four.

“That tells you the impact I’ve had on their lives, as far as them paying attention,” Self would joke after the fact.

So who was to blame? Who said five?

“I think I said five,” a smiling Dedric Lawson admitted Friday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, ahead of KU’s second-round matchup with Auburn. “I forgot it was a two-game tournament.”

And with that response, Lawson didn’t hesitate to use the conversation as an opportunity to mess with nearby teammate Charlie Moore, teasingly throwing him under the bus.

“It was really Charlie’s fault. Charlie, he play too much. He’s the one that made me say five,” a grinning Lawson continued. “But we all know it’s a two-game tournament, one game at a time and things like that, so we can’t get ahead of ourselves.

Why was Moore at fault? What did he do?

“He play too much, man,” Lawson replied. “I ain’t even gonna say what he did.”

Learning that Lawson had just placed the blame on him, Moore provided his version of the story.

“That was definitely Dedric. I wasn’t gonna say nothing. But Dedric said five. If you’re listening closely to the video you’ll hear Dedric say it,” the smiling Moore insisted.

With Moore and Lawson cracking themselves up with their accusations, Moore’s assertion continued.

“Everybody said one. Dedric yelled five,” Moore argued. “He over-yelled everybody, ’cause he thought he was right. But he really wasn’t.”

Why did Lawson say it was Moore then?

“I was next to him. I don’t know why he said that,” Moore retorted.

As the allegations flew back and forth, the reactions from David McCormack, sitting in the locker stall between Lawson and Moore, indicated he knew something.

Asked for some insight, McCormack provided his opinion.

“I mean, you can never tell with these two. Between them, Marcus (Garrett), all of them, they all like to joke around,” McCormack said. “Maybe Charlie might have tapped Dedric … I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past him, honestly. He probably told him the right answer was five and everybody else said one.”

What was McCormack’s response to Self’s question?

“I took the smart route and I didn’t say anything. I just whispered to myself,” the freshman big explained, “and said one after the fact. So right or wrong, I just didn’t get called out.”

Whomever was to blame, McCormack said Lawson was “by far” the loudest to give the incorrect answer. But he wasn’t sure if there were others on Team Five.

“I just know I was standing next to Dedric, so he definitely said five,” McCormack said.

Surely veteran Mitch Lightfoot didn’t fail Self’s postgame locker room test, right?

“I don’t know what I said, to be honest,” Lightfoot claimed. “I’m not gonna self-incriminate, either. The next time he asks, we’ll be locked in on one.”

Of course, in order to do that the Jayhawks will have to get past Auburn on Saturday night.

“We’ve got to lock in for our second game of this one,” Lightfoot said, “and hopefully get to the next one.”

You can’t knock any of KU’s players for having large scale goals this time of year. The vibe the Jayhawks gave off in their locker room was one of confidence. They believe in themselves and their ability to make a deep run.

The incorrect “five” response that popped to the front of some players’ minds allowed them to have some fun along the way, too. But they all understand the crux of Self’s one down, one to go message.

“You can’t win five games if you don’t win one game,” Lightfoot said. “Slight issue.”

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