Somebody called it a “lovefest.”
What better way to describe Saturday night’s Danny Manning, Chris Piper and Archie Marshall farewell fiesta at Allen Fieldhouse?
“When I heard those fans cheer the seniors,” said Kansas sophomore guard Kevin Pritchard, awed by crowd noise during introductions before the Jayhawks’ 75-57 win over Oklahoma State, “I looked at Scooter (Barry, junior) and said, ‘Geez, I’ve never heard it this loud.’
“It was electrifying. It made me want to be a senior. No, not really. That will come fast enough.”
The 15,800 spectators arrived early and stayed late for an evening of hoopla that rivaled “Late Nite With Larry Brown” more than any other basketball game.
The fans’ feelings toward KU’s seniors, who were appearing for the final time in Allen, seemed to override all else.
“It was a great feeling to look up and see the fans. Those are some of the best fans in the world,” said Manning, who continued his hot streak by scoring 31 points.
The 6-10 All-American, who now appears the leading candidate for Big Eight and national player of the year honors, has piled up five 30-plus games in his last 10 outings and has averaged 27.7 points in that span.
“It’s all because of my teammates,” Manning said modestly.
He was happy to share Saturday’s spotlight with Marshall, who may have drawn the biggest crowd cheer – who knows for sure? – when he entered massive left knee brace and all, with 1:33 left and KU up, 71-53.
Marshall, still in the early stages of rehabilitation after ripping ligaments on Dec. 30 in New York, accepted a pass from Manning, limped a step and missed a 40-foot, three-point attempt.
He then exited with Manning and Piper, following a KU time out at 1:26.
The fans rocked the roof as a grinning Marshall departed, waving.
“I was excited. I didn’t know how much I missed playing before University of Kansas fans,” said Marshall. “It was a big thrill for me, something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
Marshall, of course, can’t play during next weekend’s Big Eight postseason tournament. Yet he’ll be on the Kemper Arena bench Friday night when KU, 20-10, again takes on 14-15 Okie State.
“Coach Brown is a helluva coach,” said Marshall, “and he found the right combinations. There is great teamwork. I think we’ll do well the rest of the season.”
The Jayhawks, winners of eight of their past 10 games, finished 9-5 in the conference after a 1-4 start.
“We’ve gone through some tough times. Nobody thought we’d finish in the top four in the conference,” said Manning. “When we were down and out and people said we might not make the (NCAA) tournament, Pipe and I talked for maybe five minutes. We said we had to do whatever it takes to make it.
“Pipe has been the heart and soul of this team. He goes out and plays with a lot of injuries.”
Said Piper, who scored 10 Saturday: “This is probably the closest team we’ve had in the past four years. We realize we have to be close. Except for Danny, we don’t have great talent. When we lost Archie and Marvin earlier in the year, we struggled. We finally realized we had to be one unit, to play defense as well as possible and get the ball to Danny. Each game, we’ve played harder.”
“I agree with Pipe. It was very frustrating early,” Manning said. “It’s been fun. The guys have come a long way. We’ve picked it up the last couple months. The defensive intensity has caused everybody to help each other out.”
And make coach Larry Brown a happy man.
“All senior days are special,” said Brown, “but obviously this situation was a little different. You don’t like to single out one kid. To Danny, the most important thing was to have Pipe, Archie and Bill Pope (manager) out there with him. That’s what’s so nice about the whole night. The appreciation the crowd showed is something.
“As a coach you can’t be any prouder than I am of these kids.”
Notes
Manning has 57 blocks, trying him for No. 1 with Johnny Crawford on the all-time KU single-season block lists. Manning already has the KU career block record with 184…KU has now compiled five straight 20-win seasons, a school record…
