Kenny Gregory wasn’t jealous last year when his hometown school — Ohio State — reached the Final Four.
“I was proud. It was almost like I was actually a part of it since I have some close friends playing for them,” said Gregory, Kansas University’s junior basketball guard/forward from Columbus, Ohio.
Gregory admits like everybody else, he was a “little surprised” Ohio State was able to win 27 games a year ago and reach the Final Four after going 8-22 the year before.
Yet he was mighty happy for his high school teammate, George Reese, and longtime pal and former Columbus high school rival, Michael Redd — players who will start for Ohio State in Thursday’s nonconference battle against the Jayhawks (8:05 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).
“To make that big a turnaround in such a short period of time was a great accomplishment,” Gregory said.
Gregory heard all about the Buckeyes’ success last summer when playing pick-up basketball with the current OSU players.
They also discussed this year’s showdown at Allen Fieldhouse.
“We spent all offseason arguing who is going to win and who will lose. The most important thing is about bragging rights,” Gregory said. “Hopefully I can go home for Christmas with something to talk about. I don’t think I can go home with a loss.”
Actually, Gregory already has won a head-to-head collegiate battle against Redd — the player Gregory edged for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball Award back after the 1996-97 prep season. KU defeated Ohio State, 69-56, on Dec. 28, 1997 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu.
Redd, a 6-foot-6 junior from Columbus West High, scored 22 points while playing the entire 40 minutes. Gregory, 6-5 from Independence High, had four tallies in 11 minutes. Reese was not yet a Buckeye, playing at Logan Community College in Illinois.
“I think I’m a little more wrapped up into it this time,” Gregory said. “It’s more a head-to-head competition. My freshman year, Michael was playing a lot. I wasn’t. We both wanted to win. This year we’re both having pretty good success and our teams are doing well.
“Last time we were expected to win,” he added. “Right now it’s up in the air as to who is going to win.”
Gregory was a role player for KU his rookie season. Still, in that game, the two were matched against each other at times.
“He’s very tough,” said Gregory, who averages 16.4 points on 68 percent shooting to Redd’s 15.6 points on 38 percent marksmanship. “He’s pretty tall. He can handle the ball very well. He can attack the basket. He’s left-handed which makes it kind of awkward (in guarding Redd) at times.”
Redd remembers that matchup, also.
“There was a lot of hype,” Redd said. “It was the first time we played against each other in college and what a coincidence it was in Hawaii. It was fun, not that we lost but we got to play against each other.”
Just like in high school, when Gregory’s Independence High team had the upper hand, winning a pair of games against West and reaching the city title game Gregory’s senior year.
“We had a great rivalry,” Redd said. “Rivals on the court, but good friends off the court. We know on the court we have to leave our friendship behind.”
The two were such pals they’d phone each other after games their senior years in high school.
“We’d ask each other how many points the other scored, trying to out-do each other every night,” Gregory said.
Gregory was the more renowned player in Columbus.
“I felt I should have gotten more recognition, maybe not as much as him but more than I received,” Redd said. “It didn’t come my way. I felt I had a lot to prove in college, that I was not a second-place guy.”
The two discussed attending the same college. Ohio State recruited both players; KU recruited just Gregory.
“Ohio State canceled two in home visits with Kenny,” Redd said. “He felt they lost interest once they got me. I wish we could play together. That was the goal but it didn’t work out.”
“I wanted to go to a school that was winning where not much was expected of me. I wanted to learn my first couple of years,” Gregory said. “I wanted to learn the ropes. Michael took the other path. Ohio State was a struggling program at the time. He was pretty much able to do whatever he wanted there as soon as he got there. I think we’ve both been pretty successful in our own routes.”
Both teams are winning this year. KU is 7-1 and ranked No. 8 in the country. OSU is 4-1 and ranked 12th.
“I hope I’m not too excited Thursday,” Gregory said. “I hope I’m pretty relaxed and ready to play. I will basically try to not make too much happen early. I will not try to take the game into my hands and not try to be the savior of the night, let the game come to me. It’s all about the team. I want our team to win.”
“I came to Ohio State for us to win,” Redd said. “Winning is still my purpose.”
KU coach Roy Williams said he scheduled the Ohio State series for Gregory. The Jayhawks will play in Columbus, Ohio next year.
“It was easy. I asked Kenny if he wanted to play there and he said yes,” Williams said, noting the two schools administrators then worked out details. “I think these kind of matchups are good for college basketball.”
Williams also said deals were in the works to schedule games with Arizona and UCLA.
NOTE
• A limited number of tickets have been put on sale for Thursday’s game against Ohio State and the Dec. 22 game against Princeton. The tickets became available after Ohio State and Princeton returned part of
their allotment General admission tickets are $25 each.
— Gary Bedore’s phone number is 832-7186. His e-mail address is bedore@ljworld.com
