MADISON, WIS. ? Kansas University’s Kirk Hinrich is growing weary of talking about his sprained left ankle.
Teammates, fans and media members alike keep pestering Hinrich, the Jayhawks’ 6-foot-3 junior guard, about the status of the ankle he sprained last Thursday.
“You know who he’s most tired of answering that question from? Me,” KU basketball coach Roy Williams said Thursday on the eve of tonight’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 contest against Illinois (9:25 p.m., Kohl Center).
“I start walking over to him and start giggling,” added Williams, who knows the ultra-competitive, tough-as-nails Hinrich always will tell his coach the ankle is “fine.”
Hinrich, who looked close to 100 percent while running the court wearing a left ankle brace during an hour-long practice Thursday, figures to play an important role in guarding either Illinois point guard Frank Williams, who abused the Jayhawks for 30 points in last year’s 80-64 Sweet 16 rout of the Jayhawks, or three-point bomber Cory Bradford.
“It’s not 100 percent, but it’s all right. I just want to forget about the ankle,” Hinrich said. “I’m tired of answering questions about it. I just want to go play the game.”
The Sioux City, Iowa, native also isn’t thrilled about answering questions concerning last year’s NCAA Tourney contest against the Illini, who take a 26-8 record and No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional into tonight’s game against No. 1-seeded KU (31-3).
Hounded by Frank Williams, Hinrich committed three turnovers in the first four minutes; the Illini forced the Jayhawks into 12 turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
“Frank really hurt us last year in the tournament. Cory Bradford hurt us my freshman year,” Hinrich said of the 6-3 guard who scored 21 points in an 84-70 win over the Jayhawks at Chicago’s United Center.
“They have a great backcourt. I definitely think he (Williams) is their most valuable player. We have to try to contain him.”
Hinrich, who rallied last year to finish with 14 points, two assists and five turnovers, won’t be spending all his time guarding Williams. In fact, freshman point guard Aaron Miles figures to open on Williams.
“It’s a good challenge for me. He’s an All-American,” the 6-1 Miles said of the 6-3 Williams, who will turn pro after this, his junior season.
“He is smooth, calm and poised,” Miles said. “It’s something I like about him. He’s a great player, a future professional. I’m excited about playing against him.”
Williams, who averages 16.2 points and 4.4 assists a game, respects the Jayhawks, especially Hinrich, who went to work on getting stronger last offseason partly because of the way Illinois pushed him around.
“If that did (inspire Hinrich) that’s good for him,” Frank Williams, who was 11-for-24 shooting, including 3-of-7 on three-pointers in last year’s meeting. “At the same time I need to get better too. Both of us have a big challenge on our hands. He is much improved  the way he defends, the way he attacks on offense. He is a totally different player who I think will play on the next level. He is a lot more aggressive and their team is a lot more physical.”
Hinrich believes too much is made of the guard matchups.
“We’re trying to focus on Kansas-Illinois. It’s not Aaron Miles against Frank Williams or Kirk Hinrich against Frank Williams,” Hinrich said. “The bottom line is if our team comes out and plays well we’ll be all right. They are a physical team. We’ll play our butts off and see what happens.”
Like Hinrich, KU shooting guard Jeff Boschee  he missed six of seven threes and scored three points against U of I last year  would like to erase memories of the season-ending loss.
“We got manhandled. We got pushed around. We were like a bunch of girls out there. It was embarrassing,” Boschee said. “I remember they put a lot of pressure on us on the perimeter and being very physical with us on the perimeter. I was 1-for-7 and the shot I did get was on a fast break. I didn’t get open looks.
“Frank Williams was making threes left and right. We had to play zone because we had a little foul trouble. This year we have to be able to be strong with our screens and strong with the ball.”
The guards won’t be the only players to decide the game.
KU forwards Drew Gooden and Nick Collison will be matched against the Illini’s Brian Cook and Robert Archibald.
Cook, a fluid 6-10 junior, averages 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. Archibald, a 6-11 senior banger, checks in with 10.5 scoring and 5.4 rebounding averages. The 6-10 Gooden averages 20.2 points and 11.2 rebounds a game and the 6-9 Collison 15.3 points and 8.0 boards.
Illinois biggest banger  6-8, 230-pound Lucas Johnson  contributes 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Playing with a hip pointer and surgically repaired knee, Johnson may be the heart and soul of Illinois’ team.
“Kansas runs so well  we have to try to muddy up the game a bit,” Johnson said. “Make it as physical as possible. The difference this year is Kansas has raised the bar. They’re always good in transition, but they’ve raised it to a new level.”
Look for Johnson to try to do his part to make the game physical.
“I am a slow white guy who can’t get up and down the court with his bionic legs,” Johnson joked.
The Jayhawks will be ready to flex their respective muscles.
“I think we are stronger this year,” Collison said. “Last year they had so many big guys beating on us the whole game; we had two to three. A big key is not letting Frank Williams go off like last year.
“We know they have a good team. I don’ think they’ll change their style of play. I don’t think we’ll change our style of play. Somebody said they may drop some guys back on defense. I don’t know if they’d do that. They are a good offensive rebounding team, they like to hit the boards, not run back. We expect a good, physical game.”
The Big 10 tri-champs have won 11 of their last 12 games.
“They have had a great run,” Roy Williams said. “I think the last three to four weeks they’ve played as well as any team in America.”
The winner advances into Sunday’s Elite Eight contest against the winner of today’s Oregon-Texas game (6:55 p.m.). Tonight’s KU game will start 25 minutes after the conclusion of that first game, or approximately 9:25 p.m.
