COLUMBUS, OHIO ? It is a fine line that Kenny Gregory walks, trying to come back to the city where he lives, the city he loves, and play the part of the gracious enemy.
Once upon a time, he was the darling of the local high school basketball crowd, a guy who drew people to Independence basketball games who probably had to ask directions to find the place.
He was everybody’s all-star, the guy who made you proud he represented your hometown, the player everybody wanted to see succeed.
If he had gone to Ohio State, he would still be a local hero.
And if the OSU program hadn’t been doing such an impressive imitation of big- time programs at places like Rider or Bucknell at the time, he might have even done that.
But for thinking of himself hey, let’s be honest, where would you have gone if you were him? he was the second coming of Genghis Khan on Saturday when he set foot in Value City Arena wearing a Kansas uniform.
Announce his name and pull that stocking cap over your ears.
It’s better to have eardrums on Christmas morning than enjoy this not-so-pleasant barrage of boos.
“It’s OK,” Gregory said. “I didn’t expect to be the most (popular) person in the building today. As long as we got the win, that’s all that matters.”
Kansas captured a 69-68 win over Ohio State, and as is often the case with the No. 9 Jayhawks, Gregory was a big reason why.
After missing three weeks because of a stress fracture in his right foot, the slick 6-foot-5 senior scored 17 points, grabbed three rebounds and collected three assists, none of which may have been as important as his role in a game-ending defensive stop.
With Ohio State down by one with five seconds left, Brian Brown drove for what he hoped would be the game-winning shot. Gregory forced him to the baseline and made him double-clutch. The subsequent shot came up short.
“I knew they were going to get it back to because I knew he was their go-to player,” Gregory said of Brown. “But I just tried to contest his shot and made him change it. Fortunately, my big guys were there to help me.”
Drew Gooden, a Jayhawks’ forward, slapped the ball toward center court, where Gregory retrieved it as time ran out. He flung it in the air in celebration. He didn’t circle the floor and jab the locals with a prickly No. 1 sign.
For a Columbus guy who admits he is an Ohio State fan, this wasn’t a rub-your-face-in-it kind of victory. Boos or no boos.
“I’m satisfied,” Gregory said. “I didn’t feel (his reception) was too bad. I love Columbus, I’m from Columbus, and I’ll always be around, so the crowds better get used to it.”
Some people never get used to it when a local guy goes somewhere else, and some only get used to it when the no-good traitor finally gets out of college and spends a few years in the pros.
The disappointment that people feel is understandable what’s hard to fathom is why they can’t appreciate that any young player has to do what he feels is best for him.
Boos aren’t necessarily bad. There’s nothing wrong with trying to make Gregory feel uncomfortable enough to help the home team succeed. But booing Gregory out of anger at a decision he made four years ago is silly.
Gregory is good friends with former Buckeyes players Michael Redd and George Reese from his City League days, and OSU football player Joe Cooper, who also starred at Independence, is a close enough friend that he watched Saturday’s game on Gregory’s tickets.
Boo Gregory? This guy is a better friend of the program than many of the people who are booing him.
“I really don’t pay attention to what’s going on with the crowd,” he said. “I’m really going to have to ask my family how loud it was, but that’s just what you have to expect.
“Any time you have something of a big- time player leaving home and going somewhere else to play, they’re disappointed you didn’t stay home. That’s just part of basketball.”
Gregory is a big-time player, even though he seems a little uncomfortable describing himself that way.
He showed that by playing 32 minutes against Ohio State before a hostile crowd, even though Kansas coach Roy Williams said this week that he really wasn’t in “basketball shape.”
“Kenny made some big shots and had some big rebounds,” Williams said.
“I was upset with him with 12 minutes left (for letting down on defense.) But from then on, he was great. He really wanted to play well at home.”
Think so? When the Jayhawks missed the front end of three one-and-ones in the last minute to let the Buckeyes back into the game, Gregory’s stomach probably hurt worse than his injured foot.
“It would have been real tough to lose because I’m going to be here until Wednesday or Thursday,” Gregory said. “It would have been real tough to go out in public. I probably would have had to stay in the house for four days and not really enjoy my Christmas.”
He laughed when he said that, laughed because he knows that really wouldn’t have happened. Bad as a loss would have felt, it wouldn’t have spoiled his first trip to Columbus since he left for school in August.
This is still home, with or without the boos.
