Eric Chenowith wants to kiss and make up with Kansas University’s men’s basketball fans.
Chenowith, who ripped into KU fans critical of his play at a media session on Wednesday, requested a clear-the-air meeting with the media on Thursday night.
KU senior Eric Chenowith
“All I want to say is I love playing basketball at the University of Kansas. There’s no question about that,” Chenowith, KU’s 7-foot-1 senior pivot from Villa Park, Calif., said.
“One of the main reasons I came to this university is because we have 16,300 fans every night. Coach (Roy Williams) recruited the heck out of me. He showed me he was going to care about me. One special thing he did say is the fans at KU will love and support you no matter what.
“So I want to make it clear I do appreciate all the fan support. Those comments I made yesterday were in reaction to questions I was asked about and toward the people critical of me and no other people. Playing here is definitely a privilege for me.”
Chenowith on Wednesday said he heard grumbles in the Allen Fieldhouse stands concerning his play during Monday’s loss to Iowa State. He said it’s fun to “(tick) off” the fans who want him to score more.
He also said: “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 said he definitely wishes he’d never made that remark.
“The one thing I thought about right after I said it was the comment about people growing up in Kansas,” Chenowith said.
“Guys like (Kansans) Chris Zerbe and Brett Ballard … those are two guys I love very much. No two guys on our team get more fired up to play for us than those two guys. I really admire that in them.
“I don’t want anybody to mistake what I said to be a general comment about everybody.”
Chenowith says KU coach Williams did not order him to apologize.
“Coach is going to let me learn from my mistakes on this one. He knows I’ve learned from this,” Chenowith said.
“It was something I wanted to do. When I got home from practice and was talking to my roommate, Jeff Carey, I said, ‘I sounded like a jerk today in the interview room.’
“I actually woke up early this morning I normally don’t wake up that early and the first thing I did was grab the paper to see how it came out. It didn’t come out right. I called Mitch (Germann, assistant sports information director) and told him I wanted to say something (to media).”
Coincidentally, Chenowith was not harassed by KU fans on campus Thursday.
“To be completely honest, I’ve had a lot of pats on the back walking through campus,” Chenowith said. “It really surprised me. I’ve gotten a couple e-mails saying, ‘Good job.’ That’s really surprised me. It’s still not the way I want to portray myself.”
Chenowith wanted to clear the air before Saturday’s 3 p.m. home battle against Oklahoma State. He admits he thought about the possibility of being booed in KU’s home arena.
“A little bit. Yeah I was (concerned about fan reaction),” Chenowith said. “I only have what, three home games left? I want to make the best of them. I’ve got maybe 15 games left in a Jayhawk uniform? I want to make the best of it and leave on a positive note.
“I love our fans. No question about it,” he concluded. “They are here every night for us. They drive through ice storms, drive through frigid conditions. They still make it out. There’s 16,300 every night. It’s unbelievable.”
Chenowith was asked if criticism of fans will be even worse if he makes an NBA roster next year.
“No because I don’t think I’ll be such a big fish in a little pond,” Chenowith said. “The teams in the NBA are in metro cities where there are a lot of people. If I play in L.A. for the Lakers, they aren’t the biggest story in L.A. every night. In New York, the Knicks aren’t the biggest story every night.”
