College basketball coaches hold their collective breath each March when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced.
Nobody, but nobody, wants to be matched against giant-killer Princeton of the Ivy League.
The Tigers, who are notorious for slowing the pace of a game to a crawl, stress backdoor cuts and three-point shots on offense and employ a variety of zone and man-to-man defenses.
“Princeton has a way of embarrassing you,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “Everybody goes into the game saying, ‘You can’t beat those guys? They are an Ivy League school.’ To me, Princeton is so good it shouldn’t be an embarrassment.”
So Williams has done something almost unheard of in major college basketball he’s agreed to play Princeton during the regular season.
The Jayhawks, who edged the Tigers, 82-67, two years ago in Allen Fieldhouse, travel to 6,854-seat Jadwin Gym to complete a home-and-home contract on Wednesday. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m., Central time, with a live telecast on cable channel 49.
“Their athletic director wrote me several years ago and said Princeton has such a problem getting people to play them in a true home-and-home series,” Williams said of Tigers’ AD Gary Walters. “Coach (Dean) Smith at North Carolina was either the first coach or only coach who agreed to play Princeton home-and-home. Their AD wondered if I had the same feelings because he (Smith) didn’t feel the reluctance to play Princeton at Princeton is the way college basketball should be.
“I told him I agreed with that completely. You shouldn’t be hesitant to play somewhere just because you think if you lose it’s going to make you look bad. So I told him we’d do it.”
The Tigers, who average 60 points a game while allowing 63, are off to a 2-5 start. Princeton gave Maryland a scare recently before bowing, 61-53, in Washington, D.C.
“Their program has been so successful. They have a very good coach in ‘Young John’ (Thompson, son of former Georgetown coach John Thompson), who I think is going to be a big-time coach. They do have a unique style of play which is difficult to prepare for, too,” Williams said.
“It’s good for our basketball team to play against all different styles in our pre-conference schedule. You have to be able to play against different styles through the course of the year. If you can only play one way, good teams will make you change.”
l
Travels plans: KU will travel today on the three-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The Jayhawks will practice this afternoon at the New Jersey Nets’ training facility, then watch former Jayhawk Paul Pierce and his Boston Celtics play against the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks won’t have time to visit Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers once stood.
“I’d like to see Ground Zero myself in some ways in some ways I don’t want to see it,” Williams said. “In Oklahoma City we took the team to the Federal Building where the tragedy was. I’m not good at funerals or sad situations.
“Looking at that scene, you still have no idea of what it was like when those buildings started collapsing. You see pictures of the people covered in dust and start thinking of the 5,000 people killed.”
The Jayhawks will return from Princeton, N.J., on a charter Wednesday night so the players can attend the final day of classes this semester on Thursday.
l
Pierce terrific: Williams has been impressed by Pierce, who is third in the NBA in scoring at 26.6 points a game.
“We’re definitely looking forward to seeing him play,” Williams said. “The best thing about Paul is he is a very complete player. He’ll never be substituted for at the end of games because of defense. He gets rebounds, can pass, can score. He was in the top 10 in steals last year.
“He deserves all the awards, accolades he gets. He’ll only get better. He truly loves to play. I do not think money will ever change him.”
l
Tough defender: Junior guard Kirk Hinrich has been KU’s defensive player of the game in seven of the Jayhawks’ nine games, counting exhibitions.
“Now you are talking Steve Woodberry style. Steve was player of the game in 25 of 34 games his senior year. If I say you are doing something Woodberry style, that is a doggone big compliment,” Williams said.
l
Dougherty to TCU?: Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty might emerge as one of the leading candidates to replace Billy Tubbs at TCU.
ESPN’s Andy Katz says Dougherty is on the Horned Frogs’ wish list. Other possibilities include head coaches Tim Buckley (Ball State), Bruce Weber (Southern Illinois), Dennis Felton (Western Kentucky), Dennis Nutt (SW Texas State) and Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), plus assistants Dougherty and Billy Gillespie (Illinois).
College basketball coaches hold their collective breath each March when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced.
Nobody, but nobody, wants to be matched against giant-killer Princeton of the Ivy League.
The Tigers, who are notorious for slowing the pace of a game to a crawl, stress backdoor cuts and three-point shots on offense and employ a variety of zone and man-to-man defenses.
“Princeton has a way of embarrassing you,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “Everybody goes into the game saying, ‘You can’t beat those guys? They are an Ivy League school.’ To me, Princeton is so good it shouldn’t be an embarrassment.”
So Williams has done something almost unheard of in major college basketball he’s agreed to play Princeton during the regular season.
The Jayhawks, who edged the Tigers, 82-67, two years ago in Allen Fieldhouse, travel to 6,854-seat Jadwin Gym to complete a home-and-home contract on Wednesday. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m., Central time, with a live telecast on cable channel 49.
“Their athletic director wrote me several years ago and said Princeton has such a problem getting people to play them in a true home-and-home series,” Williams said of Tigers’ AD Gary Walters. “Coach (Dean) Smith at North Carolina was either the first coach or only coach who agreed to play Princeton home-and-home. Their AD wondered if I had the same feelings because he (Smith) didn’t feel the reluctance to play Princeton at Princeton is the way college basketball should be.
“I told him I agreed with that completely. You shouldn’t be hesitant to play somewhere just because you think if you lose it’s going to make you look bad. So I told him we’d do it.”
The Tigers, who average 60 points a game while allowing 63, are off to a 2-5 start. Princeton gave Maryland a scare recently before bowing, 61-53, in Washington, D.C.
“Their program has been so successful. They have a very good coach in ‘Young John’ (Thompson, son of former Georgetown coach John Thompson), who I think is going to be a big-time coach. They do have a unique style of play which is difficult to prepare for, too,” Williams said.
“It’s good for our basketball team to play against all different styles in our pre-conference schedule. You have to be able to play against different styles through the course of the year. If you can only play one way, good teams will make you change.”
l
Travels plans: KU will travel today on the three-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The Jayhawks will practice this afternoon at the New Jersey Nets’ training facility, then watch former Jayhawk Paul Pierce and his Boston Celtics play against the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks won’t have time to visit Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers once stood.
“I’d like to see Ground Zero myself in some ways in some ways I don’t want to see it,” Williams said. “In Oklahoma City we took the team to the Federal Building where the tragedy was. I’m not good at funerals or sad situations.
“Looking at that scene, you still have no idea of what it was like when those buildings started collapsing. You see pictures of the people covered in dust and start thinking of the 5,000 people killed.”
The Jayhawks will return from Princeton, N.J., on a charter Wednesday night so the players can attend the final day of classes this semester on Thursday.
l
Pierce terrific: Williams has been impressed by Pierce, who is third in the NBA in scoring at 26.6 points a game.
“We’re definitely looking forward to seeing him play,” Williams said. “The best thing about Paul is he is a very complete player. He’ll never be substituted for at the end of games because of defense. He gets rebounds, can pass, can score. He was in the top 10 in steals last year.
“He deserves all the awards, accolades he gets. He’ll only get better. He truly loves to play. I do not think money will ever change him.”
l
Tough defender: Junior guard Kirk Hinrich has been KU’s defensive player of the game in seven of the Jayhawks’ nine games, counting exhibitions.
“Now you are talking Steve Woodberry style. Steve was player of the game in 25 of 34 games his senior year. If I say you are doing something Woodberry style, that is a doggone big compliment,” Williams said.
l
Dougherty to TCU?: Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty might emerge as one of the leading candidates to replace Billy Tubbs at TCU.
ESPN’s Andy Katz says Dougherty is on the Horned Frogs’ wish list. Other possibilities include head coaches Tim Buckley (Ball State), Bruce Weber (Southern Illinois), Dennis Felton (Western Kentucky), Dennis Nutt (SW Texas State) and Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), plus assistants Dougherty and Billy Gillespie (Illinois).
College basketball coaches hold their collective breath each March when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced.
Nobody, but nobody, wants to be matched against giant-killer Princeton of the Ivy League.
The Tigers, who are notorious for slowing the pace of a game to a crawl, stress backdoor cuts and three-point shots on offense and employ a variety of zone and man-to-man defenses.
“Princeton has a way of embarrassing you,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “Everybody goes into the game saying, ‘You can’t beat those guys? They are an Ivy League school.’ To me, Princeton is so good it shouldn’t be an embarrassment.”
So Williams has done something almost unheard of in major college basketball he’s agreed to play Princeton during the regular season.
The Jayhawks, who edged the Tigers, 82-67, two years ago in Allen Fieldhouse, travel to 6,854-seat Jadwin Gym to complete a home-and-home contract on Wednesday. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m., Central time, with a live telecast on cable channel 49.
“Their athletic director wrote me several years ago and said Princeton has such a problem getting people to play them in a true home-and-home series,” Williams said of Tigers’ AD Gary Walters. “Coach (Dean) Smith at North Carolina was either the first coach or only coach who agreed to play Princeton home-and-home. Their AD wondered if I had the same feelings because he (Smith) didn’t feel the reluctance to play Princeton at Princeton is the way college basketball should be.
“I told him I agreed with that completely. You shouldn’t be hesitant to play somewhere just because you think if you lose it’s going to make you look bad. So I told him we’d do it.”
The Tigers, who average 60 points a game while allowing 63, are off to a 2-5 start. Princeton gave Maryland a scare recently before bowing, 61-53, in Washington, D.C.
“Their program has been so successful. They have a very good coach in ‘Young John’ (Thompson, son of former Georgetown coach John Thompson), who I think is going to be a big-time coach. They do have a unique style of play which is difficult to prepare for, too,” Williams said.
“It’s good for our basketball team to play against all different styles in our pre-conference schedule. You have to be able to play against different styles through the course of the year. If you can only play one way, good teams will make you change.”
l
Travels plans: KU will travel today on the three-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The Jayhawks will practice this afternoon at the New Jersey Nets’ training facility, then watch former Jayhawk Paul Pierce and his Boston Celtics play against the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks won’t have time to visit Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers once stood.
“I’d like to see Ground Zero myself in some ways in some ways I don’t want to see it,” Williams said. “In Oklahoma City we took the team to the Federal Building where the tragedy was. I’m not good at funerals or sad situations.
“Looking at that scene, you still have no idea of what it was like when those buildings started collapsing. You see pictures of the people covered in dust and start thinking of the 5,000 people killed.”
The Jayhawks will return from Princeton, N.J., on a charter Wednesday night so the players can attend the final day of classes this semester on Thursday.
l
Pierce terrific: Williams has been impressed by Pierce, who is third in the NBA in scoring at 26.6 points a game.
“We’re definitely looking forward to seeing him play,” Williams said. “The best thing about Paul is he is a very complete player. He’ll never be substituted for at the end of games because of defense. He gets rebounds, can pass, can score. He was in the top 10 in steals last year.
“He deserves all the awards, accolades he gets. He’ll only get better. He truly loves to play. I do not think money will ever change him.”
l
Tough defender: Junior guard Kirk Hinrich has been KU’s defensive player of the game in seven of the Jayhawks’ nine games, counting exhibitions.
“Now you are talking Steve Woodberry style. Steve was player of the game in 25 of 34 games his senior year. If I say you are doing something Woodberry style, that is a doggone big compliment,” Williams said.
l
Dougherty to TCU?: Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty might emerge as one of the leading candidates to replace Billy Tubbs at TCU.
ESPN’s Andy Katz says Dougherty is on the Horned Frogs’ wish list. Other possibilities include head coaches Tim Buckley (Ball State), Bruce Weber (Southern Illinois), Dennis Felton (Western Kentucky), Dennis Nutt (SW Texas State) and Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), plus assistants Dougherty and Billy Gillespie (Illinois).
College basketball coaches hold their collective breath each March when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced.
Nobody, but nobody, wants to be matched against giant-killer Princeton of the Ivy League.
The Tigers, who are notorious for slowing the pace of a game to a crawl, stress backdoor cuts and three-point shots on offense and employ a variety of zone and man-to-man defenses.
“Princeton has a way of embarrassing you,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “Everybody goes into the game saying, ‘You can’t beat those guys? They are an Ivy League school.’ To me, Princeton is so good it shouldn’t be an embarrassment.”
So Williams has done something almost unheard of in major college basketball he’s agreed to play Princeton during the regular season.
The Jayhawks, who edged the Tigers, 82-67, two years ago in Allen Fieldhouse, travel to 6,854-seat Jadwin Gym to complete a home-and-home contract on Wednesday. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m., Central time, with a live telecast on cable channel 49.
“Their athletic director wrote me several years ago and said Princeton has such a problem getting people to play them in a true home-and-home series,” Williams said of Tigers’ AD Gary Walters. “Coach (Dean) Smith at North Carolina was either the first coach or only coach who agreed to play Princeton home-and-home. Their AD wondered if I had the same feelings because he (Smith) didn’t feel the reluctance to play Princeton at Princeton is the way college basketball should be.
“I told him I agreed with that completely. You shouldn’t be hesitant to play somewhere just because you think if you lose it’s going to make you look bad. So I told him we’d do it.”
The Tigers, who average 60 points a game while allowing 63, are off to a 2-5 start. Princeton gave Maryland a scare recently before bowing, 61-53, in Washington, D.C.
“Their program has been so successful. They have a very good coach in ‘Young John’ (Thompson, son of former Georgetown coach John Thompson), who I think is going to be a big-time coach. They do have a unique style of play which is difficult to prepare for, too,” Williams said.
“It’s good for our basketball team to play against all different styles in our pre-conference schedule. You have to be able to play against different styles through the course of the year. If you can only play one way, good teams will make you change.”
l
Travels plans: KU will travel today on the three-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The Jayhawks will practice this afternoon at the New Jersey Nets’ training facility, then watch former Jayhawk Paul Pierce and his Boston Celtics play against the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks won’t have time to visit Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers once stood.
“I’d like to see Ground Zero myself in some ways in some ways I don’t want to see it,” Williams said. “In Oklahoma City we took the team to the Federal Building where the tragedy was. I’m not good at funerals or sad situations.
“Looking at that scene, you still have no idea of what it was like when those buildings started collapsing. You see pictures of the people covered in dust and start thinking of the 5,000 people killed.”
The Jayhawks will return from Princeton, N.J., on a charter Wednesday night so the players can attend the final day of classes this semester on Thursday.
l
Pierce terrific: Williams has been impressed by Pierce, who is third in the NBA in scoring at 26.6 points a game.
“We’re definitely looking forward to seeing him play,” Williams said. “The best thing about Paul is he is a very complete player. He’ll never be substituted for at the end of games because of defense. He gets rebounds, can pass, can score. He was in the top 10 in steals last year.
“He deserves all the awards, accolades he gets. He’ll only get better. He truly loves to play. I do not think money will ever change him.”
l
Tough defender: Junior guard Kirk Hinrich has been KU’s defensive player of the game in seven of the Jayhawks’ nine games, counting exhibitions.
“Now you are talking Steve Woodberry style. Steve was player of the game in 25 of 34 games his senior year. If I say you are doing something Woodberry style, that is a doggone big compliment,” Williams said.
l
Dougherty to TCU?: Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty might emerge as one of the leading candidates to replace Billy Tubbs at TCU.
ESPN’s Andy Katz says Dougherty is on the Horned Frogs’ wish list. Other possibilities include head coaches Tim Buckley (Ball State), Bruce Weber (Southern Illinois), Dennis Felton (Western Kentucky), Dennis Nutt (SW Texas State) and Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), plus assistants Dougherty and Billy Gillespie (Illinois).
