New-look Chenowith promises to zip lips

By Gary Bedore     Feb 23, 2001

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo
Kansas' Kenny Gregory (20) fights off a Colorado defender for a rebound. Gregory and the Jayhawks dumped the Buffs, 91-79, on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas University senior Eric Chenowith wore a pair of dark black designer glasses into the interview room Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

New specs?

“Yes,” Chenowith said succinctly after scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds in KU’s 91-79 victory over Colorado.

Want to say anything more about ’em?

“No,” the 7-foot-1 pivot from Orange, Calif., said. “I’m staying low key, giving you facts and getting out of here.”

Chenowith is vowing to be noncontroversial the rest of his senior season.

He made headlines a couple of weeks ago by speaking out against his vocal critics, who sometimes groan when he misses a shot during games at Allen Fieldhouse.

He garnered additional media attention on Feb. 17 by saying Iowa State’s Jake Sullivan and Shane Power “didn’t belong” in Div. I basketball. Of course he also praised Cyclones Power and Sullivan repeatedly, those quotes losing something in the translation.

“You were trying to praise Power and Sullivan, weren’t you, Eric?” he was asked after Wednesday’s CU game.

“I was. I was,” Chenowith said.

Senior Kenny Gregory also delivered a controversial quote this year. The Houston Chronicle quoted him as saying “at least we didn’t lose to Baylor or Texas A&M,” after a pair of losses to Iowa State and Missouri. That quote fired up Baylor as the Bears surprised KU, 85-77, on Feb. 12 in Waco, Texas.

“I made a mistake. I should have told them to use their brains,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “No telling what they are going to say tonight. If they say something stupid, just ignore it, cause it could happen. It’s happened quite a bit recently.”

He’s talked to the team about not making controversial statements in the media.

“I don’t think I discussed it in terms of leadership,” Williams said. “I asked them if they needed me to put a muzzle on them. You’ve got to be intelligent. I truly believe Eric Chenowith did not mean it to come out as a negative whatsover.

“Read the whole context of what he said: Those two guys (Power and Sullivan) may not be Michael Jordan look-alikes. They play so hard, work so hard and they hurt us. I’d not have said it the way Eric said it. If it had been me, I’d have said, ‘Those two guys kicked our tails,’ but there’s a lot of things Eric says I wouldn’t say … like 99 percent of the things he says,” the coach added, laughing.

“If they say anything again we’ll have smaller numbers in the lineup in numbers and size.”

Lee, Miles update

KU signees Aaron Miles and Michael Lee scored 27 and 12 points, respectively, as Jefferson High of Portland, Ore., closed the regular season with a 75-67 win over Benson on Tuesday.

Jefferson (21-2 and 18-0 in league games) has won 48 straight games over foes from Oregon. Jefferson gained an automatic berth to the 16-team state tourney.

Okafor likes KU, others

Don’t be surprised if Emeka Okafor, a 6-8, 225-pound senior forward from Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, attends the KU-Missouri game on March 4 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Okafor, who has visited Vanderbilt, Rice and Georgia Tech, is also considering KU, Oklahoma, Stanford, Mississippi, Connecticut, Texas Tech, Ohio State and N.C. State.

He can make two more campus visits and will do so after his senior season is over. His squad opens state playoff play tonight.

Recruiting analyst Mike Sullivan said Uche Okafor (no relation), a 7-0, 245-pounder from Southern Idaho JC, still has KU on his list, plus Indiana, Missouri, Memphis, Florida State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Utah, Kansas, Connecticut, Tennessee and Illinois.

Williams at UNC game

Williams attended Thursday’s Florida State-North Carolina game in Chapel Hill, N.C. He did not go just to watch his former assistants Matt Doherty (UNC) and Steve Robinson (FSU) coach. Williams’ daughter, Kimberly, is a member of UNC’s dance team and it was Williams’ only opportunity to see her dance this season.

The student section “Doherty’s Disciples” noticed Williams seated in the second or third row behind the scorers table. They first chanted “Roy, Roy, Roy,” followed by, “Thanks for Staying.”

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