Robertson ready for playoffs

By Gary Bedore     Apr 9, 2001

Say this about the ABA 2000: The first-year professional basketball league has paid its bills.

“Absolutely. If I wasn’t (getting paid), I wouldn’t be here,” Kansas City Knights point guard/shooting guard Ryan Robertson said.

“One of the attractions of the league is it pays better than the CBA (which folded this season) and IBL,” added Robertson, a 1999 Kansas University graduate. “Whether we can keep it up consistently I don’t know.

“I do know this year we attracted some of the better players outside of the NBA.”

The ABA 2000’s first will it be the last season? culminates with this week’s single-elimination playoffs. Kansas City led by ex-Jayhawks Robertson and Rex Walters will meet Los Angeles in a Western Division semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Kemper Arena.

The conference finals are scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Friday in Kemper with the league title game set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday in KC.

Some signs are alarming no games on TV, low attendance figures and a regular-season schedule shortened by a month, refunds issued to season-ticket holders for the first-year league.

Still …

“I’m optimistic,” Robertson said of the league’s future. “One problem is it’s been hard for a fan to get behind a team. You don’t know who the team is night in and night out.

“They need to understand (coach) Kevin Pritchard will do a good job regardless of who is on the team.”

The Knights, who have had 23 different players on the roster this season, have won 23 games and lost 16 despite all the turnover.

“I go to practice and wonder who, day-to-day, will be on the team,” Robertson said. “From that standpoint it’s very hard as a player to get a flow for how you’ll play and get used to the guys. One time this year we got a group of guys playing well together and won 10 straight. Then we lost three players to the NBA, just like that we were on a losing streak.”

The Knights have lost six players to the NBA and two to European teams.

Robertson has been aboard all season, averaging 9.3 points a game on 47 percent shooting. He’s made 39 of 95 threes, registering 92 assists against 40 turnovers.

“I’d say my future right now is a question mark,” Robertson said. “I’ll be like everybody. I’ll go into the summer, weigh my options and see what’s out there.”

His long-term goals include coaching.

“I talked to coach (Roy) Williams. He said he’d keep his ears peeled for me and would let me know if he hears of anything,” Robertson said of assistant college coaching opportunities. “In the meantime I’ll do this playing. If coach says, ‘Ryan, I think this is a good opportunity and good thing for you,’ I’d have to seriously consider that.”

Knights coach Pritchard, another ex-Jayhawk, says Robertson is a valuable guy to have around.

“Ryan is one of those special individuals, whatever he does he’ll be successful,” Pritchard said of the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up the governor of Kansas or Missouri. He makes sure the team is always getting along. You need one of those guys.

“When times get tough he’s done a great job of it.”

Call him, “Chemistry man.”

“For some reason on every team I’ve been on, I generally find it easy to get along with everybody,” Robertson said. “It’s the case with this team. If I see some negativity, maybe that is where I step in and smooth things over.”

He foresees smooth sailing in the playoffs.

“It’s more like the Big Eight or Big 12 tournament,” Robertson said of a one-and-done format. “There are eight teams. You play and move on, or don’t. I look at it we are not going to have a bad day. I know we have a very good team.”

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