Journal-World File PhotoThe basketballs stopped bouncing and the sneakers stopped squealing as Roy Williams halted practice at Allen Fieldhouse.
Suddenly one could hear a pin drop as Williams, Kansas professor of basketball, pop-quizzed one of his pupils freshman Bryant Nash.
“I probably get on Bryant more than anybody else at practice,” said Williams, who keeps his players sharp daily by asking strategy questions with absolutely no warning.
“He is fairly quiet. Even when I ask him a question, he doesn’t answer loud enough for us to hear, so I have to yell at him again,” Williams added. “I’ve probably said to him two or three times, ‘Bryant, you probably think I’m getting on you.’ And under my breath I’ll say, ‘You are probably right.’
“It’s all part of learning and teaching. If I didn’t get on him he might as well hang it up, because it would mean I had no hope for him.”
Journal-World File PhotoWilliams has high hopes for Nash, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound stringbean who is soaking up college basketball Williams-style like a sponge his freshman campaign.
“I don’t say much, that is true,” Nash said. “I do get teased about it. I’m cool with it.”
He’s “cool” with everything about KU, including Williams’ sometimes vocal coaching style.
“He yells at me mostly about defense,” Nash said. “You have to move around on defense and need to learn the little things that make you a success. Right now I’m learning the plays and learning how to guard people outside.”
A center out of necessity during his career at Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas, Nash will play small forward and power forward at Kansas.
“He’s facing some different challenges. He’s changing from being primarily an inside player to a perimeter player,” Williams said. “He’s doing defensive drills now he’s never done in the past, because he played post before.”
Nash was a good high school center. He averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in helping Turner High to a 25-8 record and second-place finish at district his senior year.
“The only time I played the three (small forward) was for my AAU team,” Nash said. “I played the three at a tournament in Houston and we won it.
“It’s a process for me right now, going from the inside to the perimeter. I need to work on dribbling, being able to drive to the hole, taking jumpers, playing sound defense.”
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Nash has scored four points and grabbed seven rebounds while logging 31 minutes total in KU’s four games.
“Bryant Nash is a work in progress,” Williams said. “He’s a much better athlete than basketball player and I hope we can make him a basketball player, too.”
Yes, Nash is an athlete. He played receiver and safety on his junior high football team “I kind of wish I’d stuck with it. I miss it,” he said and starred in track in high school.
“I love triple jumping,” said Nash, who broke his high school triple jumping record four times, placing third at regionals with a leap of 48-3.
“I like to high jump, but I don’t have the form for it.”
He’s never been interested in the sprint or middle distance events, leaving all the running for basketball.
“My high school coach (Mark Bishop) told me there’d be a lot more running during practices in college,” Nash said. “I got here and it was like, ‘Man, there’s a LOT more running.’ All you do is run. You have to be in shape to play the college game.”
Nash realizes he will need to add some bulk while maintaining his mobility the next three years.
“People tell me all the time, ‘You need to put on weight,”’ Nash said. “Right now, our weight coach is big on us developing quickness. I’ll do whatever it takes in the weight room. I’ve been told I’m a really good rebounder and want to get better at that.”
Basketball isn’t all physical, and Nash realizes he needs some work in the decision-making process.
Who can forget the long three-pointer he air-balled in his first college game against UCLA at the Coaches Vs. Cancer Tournament?
He also had a wild turnover and did not play in the second half of that 99-98 KU victory
“Bryant has a little problem recognizing which three-point line is the college line and pro line,” Williams said. “He tried to convince everybody he was close to the college line (at Madison Square Garden). He wasn’t.”
“I was really nervous,” Nash said of his college debut on ESPN. “When I got in, I shot the NBA three and airballed it. Since then, I’ve really settled down.”
And how.
Nash fired a perfect pass to center Eric Chenowith for a thunder dunk in Monday’s 101-61 victory over Boise State.
“Bryant made one of the best passes in the game the other night when he dished to Eric,” Williams said. “He shows you flashes. He shoots the ball probably better than anybody thinks. He has some tools. We’re going to stick with him. He has some tools and I think he will be a good college player.”
Nash’s physical “tools” intrigued several college recruiters a year ago.
The University of Texas-San Antonio and Rice pursued him first semester; KU, Memphis, SMU and TCU second semester.
“I knew I’d get better offers once basketball season started,” Nash said, “so I didn’t sign in November.”
He chose Kansas over Memphis and first-year Tiger coach John Calipari.
“Coach Cal was cool,” Nash said. “I liked him. He was down to earth. Kansas just seemed like a better program. I wanted to get the feel of a smaller area. Where I grew up Dallas it’s huge.”
Carrollton is a Dallas suburb.
“I’m happy to be here,” Nash said. “I’m comfortable. I’m not really scoring much or rebounding much right now. Hopefully a little later in the season I’ll score more points, get more rebounds. I’m more about winning games than anything.”
Kansas, as you know, is all about winning.
“Our team is very confident,” Nash said. “Confident and talented. I think we’re going to have a great season. I just want to be a part of it.”
MORE:www.kusports.com
