WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Well, at least it wasn’t as bad as 59 years ago at Pearl Harbor, but the first Dec. 7 of the new millennium was still a day that will live in Kansas University basketball infamy.
On the same court where the Jayhawks 10 months earlier had played the dickens out of Duke in the NCAA Tournament, Wake Forest handed Kansas the fourth worst loss in school history.
Yes, Wake Forest. OK, the Demon Deacons aren’t flotsam or jetsam. Wake Forest was unbeaten in six games and ranked No. 11 nationally. But the Jayhawks were rated No. 3. They looked like No. 333.
As the game wore on and more and more KU fans back home flipped to the History Channel or the Food Network, only one question remained as the Deacons’ bulge grew to 30 and beyond in the 84-53 romp.
Would Eric Chenowith score? Would the Jayhawks’ senior seven-footer score more points than a dead man? Would he, or wouldn’t he?
You had to be watching with 4:51 remaining to learn the answer. Yes, indeed he did. Fouled inside, Chenowith went to the stripe and hit his first free throw, but missed the second attempt.
That was it. One point out of a player averaging 13.4 points a game. Chenowith did grab five boards, but he’d been averaging 9.9 rebounds a game.
Afterward in his post-game media session, an obviously disgusted Roy Williams at least he seemed more disgusted than disappointed used the words “butts,” “tails,” “kicked” and “total breakdown.”
Someone with a pen and pad also asked Williams about Chenowith.
“Eighteen minutes, 0-for-3 (from the field),” the Kansas coach replied. Then Williams looked like he was biting his tongue to prevent him from saying something he didn’t want to say.
Later, Williams mentioned soph Drew Gooden in the same sentence with another reference to Chenowith.
“We talked about getting the ball inside,” Williams said, “and Chenowith’s first shot is a 15-footer, and Gooden’s second shot is an 18-footer.”
At least Gooden didn’t launch a three-pointer. Chenowith did. It clanked, and a fuming Williams soon had Chenowith out of there in favor of Nick Collison. Perhaps it is unfair to single out Chenowith. He may have performed poorly, but he was hardly in the minority.
Unfortunately, this one was reminiscent of last year’s blowouts at Oklahoma State and Missouri and, to a lesser extent, against eventual NCAA champion Michigan State in the Great Eight. KU fans who thought those blowouts were a thing of the past must be humbled.
OK, Kenny Gregory didn’t play. How strange it was not to see the Jayhawks’ leading scorer (17.9) out there. We knew Gregory had a stress fracture in a foot, but he has played in pain countless times before. It was like knowing the Washington Monument would undergo a renovation and not be visible. You knew it was going to happen, but you didn’t believe until it actually happened.
Still, Gregory played in those blowouts last year and it’s doubtful his presence would have changed Thursday’s outcome.
“Kenny Gregory wasn’t the story of this game,” Williams said. “We’ve had guys out before. Everybody has to elevate their play when that happens and we did not do that.”
The only time all night the Jayhawks elevated was when they flew a charter jet back to Lawrence. That couldn’t have been a happy flight because Williams had wondered out loud if his players were “a bunch of pansies” and he talked about making “some decisions in the next couple of days.”
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, meanwhile, said, “Nobody needs to feel sorry for Kansas. Roy Williams is one of the best coaches in the country. He’ll take his players home and whip them where they need to be whipped, and coddle them where they need to be coddled.”
Just a hunch, but the Jayhawks who need to be coddled would probably fit in an ironing board closet.
MORE:www.kusports.com
Three-point goals: 3-17 (Axtell 2-5, Hinrich 1-3, Chenowith 0-1, Kinsey 0-1, Boschee 0-7). Assists: 11 (Hinrich 3, Boschee 2, Carey 2, Gooden, Kinsey, Collison, Harrison). Turnovers: 20 (Collison 5, Hinrich 4, Kinsey 4, Boschee 3, Gooden 2, Axtell, Chenowith). Blocked shots: 7 (Chenowith 4, Gooden 2, Axtell). Steals: 6 (Gooden, Axtell, Boschee, Kinsey, Collison, Zerbe). |
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Three-point goals: 7-18 (Dawson 3-7, Howard 2-5, O’Kelley 2-6). Assists: 17 (O’Kelley 4, Shoemaker 3, Hicks 3, Murray 2, Dawson 2, Howard, Songaila, Hamilton). Turnovers: 14 (O’Kelley 3, Murray 3, Howard 2, Shoemaker 2, Songaila, Hamilton, Scott, Dawson). Blocked shots: 3 (Howard 2, Scott). Steals: 11 (Hicks 3, O’Kelley 2, Murray 2, Howard, Shoemaker, Scott, Dawson). |
