This time, the monkey ritual didn’t work.
“We did it exactly the same way as last time. Only this time we used a bigger monkey,” KU senior center Eric Chenowith said after the Jayhawks’ 80-64 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal loss to Illinois on Friday night at the Alamodome.
“It was funny. Chris Zerbe threw the monkey into a big plate of lasagna. There were some great body slams on the monkey, but unfortunately this time it didn’t work,” KU’s center added after his zero-point, two-rebound, two-assist finale.
KU coach Roy Williams had the squad members knock a monkey off his back during a team meeting prior to Sunday’s win over Syracuse.
It was symbolic of KU’s monkey an inability to reach the Sweet 16 the past three years.
The monkey the players knocked off Williams’ back at Friday’s pregame meal was symbolic of KU not reaching the Final Four in eight years.
Chenowith said he was disappointed there’s no Final Four for the Jayhawks this year.
“It’ll hit me tomorrow,” Chenowith said. “I can only speak for myself, but I felt like I left everything out there. I think a lot of guys did. We wanted to advance. We wanted to win. We just didn’t do it.
“It was a knockdown, dragout type of game and Illinois was able to survive it.”
Illinois hit 18 of 26 free throws to KU’s 18 of 35.
Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison fouled out, while Drew Gooden had four fouls, Jeff Boschee and Brett Ballard three apiece.
Will Drew be back?
Gooden scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the final game of his sophomore season.
“We have to work hard in the offseason to go farther next year,” Gooden said. “Starting next fall I’d be a junior and hopefully with the guys coming back we’ll be able to go farther.”
So will he definitely be back for his junior year or will he head to the NBA early?
| Kansas | 29 | 35 | 64 |
| Illinois | 41 | 39 | 80 |
“It’s like I’ve said before, I’ve not made a decision yet,” Gooden said. “I’m going to sit down with my family and basically see my options, the aspects of me leaving and staying. The tournament is over now, so I will talk to my family about it.”
How will he announce his ultimate decision?
“I’ll be getting with my sports information director and maybe we’ll have a press conference or something,” Gooden reported.
“It would be a sour taste if I ended my college career today,” he added after hitting five of 11 shots. “It’s a bad taste in my mouth right now.”
Faces in the crowd
KU signee Keith Langford attended Friday’s game. Langford is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard/small forward from Crowley, Texas.
Knight joins Big 12
Is the Big 12 big enough for Bob Knight?
No doubt says Williams, who applauds Texas Tech for hiring the controversial former Indiana coach on Friday.
“I don’t think it’s anything but a positive for our conference,” Williams said. “I think coach Knight will be great for the league and I’m glad he’s back in basketball.”
Williams is a supporter of the 60-year-old Knight.
“Coach Knight is a real good friend. We played him six times and we’ve beaten him 5-of-6 and he’s still treated me marvelously,” Williams told a national media throng at the Alamodome.
“A lot of people that aren’t friends would say that’s abnormal. I can only judge a person by the way he treats me. He has been fantastic to me.
“I’ve copied things he’s done. I think he’s been a great coach and a great teacher of other coaches. I think we’ve all stolen things from him.
Williams does remain loyal to former-Texas Tech coach James Dickey, who was canned after this past season.
“I was disappointed in the way James Dickey was dealt with and the change,” said Williams, who respects Dickey the coach and person who currently is out of a job.
Chenowith was recruited by Knight and Indiana his senior year at Villa Park High in Orange, Calif.
“I’d love to be able to play against him in the Big 12. He recruited me at Indiana,” Chenowith said.
“I do have a lot of respect for him. He’s done a great job and is misunderstood at times.”
Green reaction
Williams is in shock over the recent ouster of his buddy, Jerry Green, from Tennessee. Green, 57, officially resigned this week, but it’s apparent he was forced out.
“It’s really sad for me personally and really sad for college basketball,” Williams said.
Former-KU assistant Green took UT to four straight NCAA Tournaments and had four straight 20-win seasons after inheriting a losing program.
“It doesn’t make any sense. I could talk to somebody who is a nuclear physicist or somebody off the street and nobody could explain that one to me.”
Former KU assistant Kevin Stallings, now the head coach at Vanderbilt, also was dismayed by Green’s ouster.
“I’ve not spoken to coach Green. I know coach Williams has,” Stallings said from the Alamodome, where he was in town to support Williams.
“I’m disappointed for Jerry and his family particularly if it was not his decision. He obviously did a heck of a job coaching their team and elevating the status of their program. People think we are joking when we say coaching is a tough business. It’s a tough business.”
Seniors superlative
Gooden on the Jayhawks’ incentive: “Our first task was to help them win on Senior Day against Missouri. We did that. Then the next task was the second game, then the Elite Eight, now the Final Four. We want the seniors to go out with a bang.”
Three-point goals: 4-17 (Collison 1-1, Hinrich 1-1, Gregory 1-5, Boschee 1-7, Gooden 0-3). Assists: 10 (Gregory 2, Hinrich 2, Boschee 2, Chenowith 2, Gooden, Ballard). Turnovers: 20 (Hinrich 5, Gooden 4, Gregory 3, Ballard 3, Collison 2, Boschee 2, team). Blocked shots: 2 (Gooden 2). Steals: 8 (Gregory 3, Hinrich 2, Collison, Ballard, Harrison). |
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Three-point goals: 6-26 (Williams 3-7, Johnson 2-3, Cory Bradford 1-9, Cook 0-1, Harrington 0-1, Krupalija 0-2, McClain 0-3). Assists: 10 (Williams 3, Johnson 3, Cook 2, McClain, Bradford). Turnovers: 17 (McClain 3, Bradford 3, Archibald 3, Johnson 3, Griffin 2, Cook, Harrington, team). Blocked shots: 1 (Archibald). Steals: 11 (Williams 3, Cook 2, McClain 2, Bradford 2, Harrington, Krupalija). |
