Eric Chenowith expects to hear boos and chants of “Cheno-worthless” when Kansas University’s men’s basketball team plays on the road.
Rude treatment at Allen Fieldhouse, however, has come as a shock to KU’s 7-foot-1 senior from Villa Park, Calif.
“Last game I made a good drop step and got fouled, so we took it out of bounds. You could hear stuff from the crowd, like ‘C’mon!”‘ Chenowith said Wednesday.
“It’s tough to play here if you make a good move and draw a foul and people are still on you. Then the next play, I made a drop step and made a layup and still heard stuff. It’s like … whatever, I don’t care.”
Chenowith he had 11 points and five rebounds in Monday’s 79-77 loss to Iowa State angers some Jayhawk fans by not scoring more and dunking.
“That’s fine. It’s fun to (tick) those people off,” Chenowith said, referring only to his vocal critics, not the many who support him. “I don’t care. I do not care what fans think about me. I used to. It started to bug me so now I don’t care. I just sit back and laugh.
“All those people saying bad things about me probably grew up in Kansas and their lifelong dream was to play here. I get to play here and they don’t so I win.”
Chenowith averages 10.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He has 177 total boards, compared to 191 rebounds all of last year.
“That’s what my No. 1 job is here … to rebound,” Chenowith said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
KU coach Roy Williams, who rides Chenowith hard at practice, grows weary of criticism of his senior pivot. Weekly, it seems, he has to defend Chenowith on his Hawk Talk radio show.
“Eric may be the most unappreciated player we’ve had here in a long time,” Williams said of Chenowith who ranks fifth in KU history in career rebounds, just 18 behind the great Wilt Chamberlain. He also ranks second on KU’s all-time block list, just 31 behind Greg Ostertag. And he’s 24th on the school’s all-time scoring list with the possibility of moving into the top 15.
“I think we have to live with the fact sometimes Eric does not go hang up on the rafter and dunk it with his toes. He does not give you that,” Williams said.
“Yes, I would like him to go up even stronger. At the same time, the fact of the matter is Eric does some nice things. There have been nights he’ll get 15 (points), 13 or have three blocks and (you) hear, ‘Eric should have done this or that.’ Maybe somebody else out there wouldn’t have done what Eric did.
“Nobody pushes Eric more than Roy Williams or Eric as much as Eric pushes himself. That’s what we’ve got to understand, too.”
Back home in California, Chenowith’s dad, Bob, said he thinks those who criticize his son are in the minority.
He said he and his wife, Janey, were touched when they received more than a dozen cards from KU fans who supported her in her recent battle with breast cancer.
“The fan that got on Eric (against ISU) … it tells me that’s a very isolated case,” Bob Chenowith said. “It’s probably a disgruntled fan who wishes he could be like Eric and he’s not. True fans are supportive and for the most part the KU fans have been very supportive.”
Bob Chenowith has no use for KU fans who are outwardly critical of his son on talk shows.
“The fans who are negative don’t even have the right to be the wallpaper on the wall,” Bob Chenowith said. “I could give a …. what they say. As far as I am concerned, they do not exist. They are not out there playing, setting the screens, blocking the shots, rebounding. They are not doing …. to contribute to the team. They have no right to say anything.
“When it’s all said and done … Kansas (fans) will not know how much they miss Eric until next year. They won’t have his defensive presence in there. He does all the little intangible things like a T.J. (Pugh), a Scot Pollard did.”
The younger Chenowith said his confidence remains high right now, mainly because of his rebounding and shot blocking. He had 14 boards and four blocks against Texas, two steals at Missouri and 12 points and eight boards at Colorado.
“I think I’m more active (on boards) this year,” Chenowith said. “I think I’m stronger. It helped going against bigger guys all summer. You get here and the guys aren’t as big or strong. It’s easier to attack the boards and the basket.”
Chenowith showed a variety of moves before 14 NBA scouts Monday night.
“I showed my strengths,” he said. “I made some clutch free throws (two to cut deficit to 79-77 at 1:04), a baseline jumper, some good strong moves to the basket. I blocked a couple shots. I showed what I can do.”
An NBA scout recently told the Journal-World that Chenowith should be a mid-first-round NBA Draft pick because of his touch, his ability to run the floor and rebound.
He’s tied with teammate Drew Gooden for fourth in the league in rebounding.
“I do not think about that,” Chenowith said. “I do not worry about that stuff. I’ve always thought if you take care of what is at hand, it’ll take care of your future. If we finish the year strong, go to the Final Four, win the conference, you do things that will help you make it at the next level.”
