Billy Thomas didn’t watch ESPN’s Sports Center Sunday night, so he didn’t hear about Kansas University’s new basketball mascot stuffed monkey Stank ’em.
“One of my teammates told me about the monkey thing on Tuesday. I was oblivious to the whole thing,” said Thomas, a former KU shooting guard who plays for Cincinnati of the IBL.
Thomas decided to phone KU coach Roy Williams Tuesday to “congratulate him for winning two games in Dayton and kid him about the monkey thing.”
At that point, he didn’t know KU’s three student managers had named the toy monkey Stank ’em in honor of Thomas, who shouted those two words after swishing buckets the past two offseasons helping out at KU practices.
“Coach Williams wasn’t in the office but Carole (Dickey, secretary) told me about them naming the monkey Stank ’em. I thought, ‘That’s cool.’ They still remember me.”‘
Coach Williams had his players take turns knocking Stank ’em off his shoulders at a team meeting last Saturday, lightening the mood before KU’s win over Syracuse on Sunday.
“That’s not a Louisiana expression,” Shreveport, La., native Thomas said with a laugh of Stank ’em. “I got that in Salina from my teammate Gary Johnson, who played at USC.
“He used to say that after making shots. I thought it was funny. Now I’ve got guys saying it on my team here.”
Thomas and Johnson played for the Salina Cagerz of the IBA the past two summers.
The ex-KU three-point bomber was elated the Jayhawks beat Syracuse and have advanced to the Sweet 16 in San Antonio. Thomas was part of a KU team that fell to Syracuse in the 1996 Elite Eight at Denver.
“I thought of it somewhat as atonement for that loss,” Thomas said.
Thomas fumbled a pass out of bounds foiling a chance for a breakaway layup in the second half of that 60-57 loss in Denver.
“I don’t dream about it. I believe I’ve improved so much since then,” said Thomas, who averages 16 points a game for a pro team that plays its home games in downtown Cincy.
“I wish I could have another chance. I have a deeper appreciation of the game now and long for that opportunity to play in the fieldhouse again, to play under coach Williams again. The opportunity is something I’ll never forget.”
Thomas thinks the Jayhawks can reach the Final Four, but realizes it won’t be easy.
“When I first saw the brackets I was excited. I thought they got a great draw,” Thomas said. “I said, ‘Man, they have a great shot at coming out of that region.’ I felt they could beat all the teams over there. I was confident.”
Kansas plays Illinois at 9:20 p.m. Friday foe in San Antonio.
“Illinois is sort of the same kind of team,” Thomas said. “When they are making shots, they are good. It’ll come down to they are mirror images. Both have steady point guards (Kirk Hinrich, Frank Williams), two guards who can shoot (Jeff Boschee, Cory Bradford), athletic three men (Kenny Gregory, Sergio McClain). It’ll be a fun game, a close game.”
Thomas won’t be able to watch.
“We have a game Friday night, too,” he said.
He couldn’t attend last weekend’s games in nearby Dayton.
“Our schedule was spontaneously changed,” the 6-foot-4 Thomas said. “We were originally supposed to be off and I talked to coach Williams about tickets and everything. One of the teams in our league folded and we merged with the CBA and we had to go to New Mexico to play Friday and Sunday as well.”
Thomas, who last played at KU in 1998, still has NBA dreams.
“My agent is looking into going to the NBA in the summer. There’s a chance of playing in that new (developmental) league. I have loved the game forever, but as you know, it gets tiring especially with the changes in this league. The league is battling for recognition and credibility of the league is at stake. I feel my game has improved and my dream is still the same. It’s what I live for. To get past this level.”
Illinois (26-7) enters Friday’s game as the Midwest Region’s No. 1 seed. Kansas (26-6) is No. 4.
“Illinois didn’t get the No. 1 seed because they look good or think Bill’s cute,” KU’s Williams quipped of U of I coach Bill Self. “They may have played the most difficult schedule in the country Arizona twice, Duke, Missouri. We know it’s going to be a big-time challenge.”
Illinois split with Arizona (79-76 loss; 91-73 win), beat Missouri in overtime (86-81) in St. Louis and lost to Duke, 78-77.
Illinois has lost to two teams the Jayhawks have beaten. U of I fell at Texas, 72-64, and at Ohio State, 63-61.
“There are more similarities between our two teams than differences,” Williams said. “Both believe you have to do a very good job on the defensive end of the floor, holding others’ field goal percentage as low as possible. We play more zone (defense) than they do. Illinois goes nine deep. We have some depth problems.
“Depth is more important through the whole course of the season. In the tournament, the time outs are so long, I always thought our guys could take naps over there during those time outs (which last 2 minutes, 40 seconds).”
KU’s basketball players and coaches arrived at 5 p.m. Wednesday in San Antonio. TV reporters asked Williams if KU’s monkey accompanied the team.
“The monkey is in the bag,” Williams said.
Williams reported that practices went well this week. Point guard Kirk Hinrich practiced despite a deep thigh bruise.
