Kansas University’s men’s basketball players had the day off on Tuesday.
Sort of.
The Jayhawks, who returned from Waco, Texas via a 30-seat United Express charter plane at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, were awakened early for classes on KU’s campus.
The coaches, meanwhile, trudged to work at their Parrott Athletic Center offices after a short night to start preparation for Saturday’s noon battle at Iowa State.
No formal practice session was held, with the Jayhawks (19-4, 8-3) returning to the hardcourt this afternoon.
“We are discouraged. I’m discouraged, ticked off, put a lot of adjectives and descriptions in there,” KU coach Roy Williams said in the aftermath of Monday’s 85-77 loss to Baylor (16-6, 5-6).
“We’ve got to go practice hard three days and try to play a lot better on Saturday.”
KU trailed by 25 points at halftime and 27 early in the second half Monday, before rallying to pull within four points. The Jayhawks, however, had little left in the tank and succumbed to the Bears.
“I was proud the way we hung in and fought back. We just left ourselves too huge a mountain to climb,” Williams said.
There was much Williams didn’t like about the game.
There was much at least two fans didn’t like either, as KU’s 13th-year coach discovered Tuesday night on his Hawk Talk radio show.
One caller was miffed that KU senior Kenny Gregory gave Baylor some bulletin board material in the Houston Chronicle.
“It’s not like we lost to Texas A&M and Baylor. We lost to two good teams,” Gregory was quoted as saying, when asked how he felt about losing back-to-back Monday games to Missouri and Iowa State.
The Bears said that quote inspired them to victory.
“I did not know anything about Kenny’s quotes until today,” Williams told the talk show caller. “At the same time, every time a Kansas guy sneezes, there’s a newspaper, radio or TV guy who wants statements.
“I will let Kenny know. You’d think by the time a kid is a senior he would not say those kind of things. I tell the kids after every game to say only good things (about the opponents) because we’ll be playing them again. We don’t need to give them any extra ammunition. They had all they needed.
“It’s the old saying: ‘Don’t pull a tiger’s tail while your head is in his mouth,”‘ Williams added. “It does bother me to say the least. We’ll talk in strong terms about it.”
Another talk show caller criticized Williams for not calling timeouts the first half to prevent Baylor from building a big lead.
Williams he’s said many times he does not like to call time outs to stop runs because of a plethora of TV timeouts available pointed out there were six time outs the first half, more than enough for him.
“I was talking to one of my coaches last night and said 99 percent of the calls on the call-in show would be about timeouts,” Williams said.
“What people don’t realize is we had six timeouts in the first half. Six timeouts … I am over there begging, pleading, crying, down on my knees. Jerry Green (Oregon coach and former KU assistant) called today and left me one message: ‘Sometimes players gotta play. That’s the bottom line.’
“The timeout with 18 seconds left in the half … I didn’t call ’em over to say, ‘Let’s turn it over, let them dunk it and let’s shoot an airball.’ I promise every Kansas fan in the world it’s not what I talked about.
“Twice last night I stood to call a timeout (in first half) and saw the next dead ball we’d get a free timeout. I felt it wise to get the free one. The timeout stuff … sometimes I get tired of talking to ’em (players). Six times begging and pleading with ’em sometimes players gotta play,” the coach added.
KU senior Luke Axtell, who is suffering from a bad back, missed three threes the first half. He did not play the second.
“Luke has three looks from three the last one nobody is within five feet of him and it’s an airball because the kid can’t get the lift from his legs,” Williams said. “He’s been struggling (with back pain). Also, Nick Collison has been sick. Nick took himself out of the game several times. He was winded out there, struggling with his strength.”
Also, Drew Gooden (wrist injury) missed his second straight game. He’ll also sit out Saturday’s game at ISU.
Three KU signees Portland (Ore.) Jefferson High point guard Aaron Miles, Leavenworth forward Wayne Simien and Crowley, Texas, guard/forward Keith Langford are three of 100 finalists for the McDonald’s All-America game. The 24-member team will be announced on Feb. 26. Sources say it looks good for Miles making the team with the injured Simien a strong possibility.
