New York ? Ring, ring, ring. Wait, don’t hit the snooze bar. This is a real wake-up call.
Maybe Kansas doesn’t have as good a men’s basketball team as everybody seems to think : not after a North Carolina team that starts three freshmen and two sophomores carved the Jayhawks like you-know-what turkey on Wednesday night.
All you Kansas fans who watched this one in horror on ESPN2 had to have been wondering why the large throng of North Carolina fans in Madison Square Garden wasn’t chanting “Overrated, overrated” late in the Tar Heels’ stunning 67-56 victory in a Preseason NIT semifinal.
Well, you won’t have to watch the Jayhawks on Friday night. The third-place game won’t be televised. Too bad Wednesday’s wasn’t, because the Jayhawks obviously came in wearing their headlines on their foreheads.
“I’ve been concerned about our bench. They didn’t give us anything,” a chagrined Roy Williams said following the one-sided defeat that was reminiscent of that 64-55 loss to Oklahoma in the championship game of last March’s Big 12 Tournament. “But our starters and our coaches didn’t, either.”
So much hoopla had been generated about the meeting between Williams and former aide Matt Doherty, who was now coach at Williams’ alma mater. In this case, the pupil taught the teacher a lesson by spreading the floor on offense, figuring the Jayhawks couldn’t guard his quicker players one-on-one.
They couldn’t.
Keith Langford, in particular. The 6-foot-5 Langford was eaten up by Carolina’s Rashad McCants, a 6-4 freshman who, irony of ironies, hails from Williams’ hometown of Asheville, N.C. At one point, KU had only three team fouls and all were against Langford. McCants finished with a game-high 25 points and instant immortalization on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Was this, I asked Williams, a wake-up call for the Jayhawks?
“I had hoped that we didn’t have to have this kind of wake-up call,” he answered, “but I guess we’ll find out in the next three or four weeks. If we play like we did tonight, it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a wake-up call or not.”
By now it’s apparent the Jayhawks have not replaced two of the linchpins on last year’s NCAA Final Four team ” Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee.
Last year it seemed that when the Jayhawks needed a big basket, Gooden produced. Wayne Simien, Gooden’s replacement, was embarrassed underneath by the less bulky but quick Tar Heels, making only five of 14 shots.
And who has replaced Boschee as a complementary three-point shooter to Kirk Hinrich? No one.
Last year it didn’t matter if point guard Aaron Miles didn’t score. Now it does, and Miles isn’t scoring. He was blanked in last Friday’s UNC Greensboro game, and he scored only two points in 37 minutes on Wednesday night. Worse, Miles was guilty of six turnovers.
Nick Collison was solid with 19 points and, hard to believe, not a single personal foul in 34 minutes of duty. Last season Collison battled foul trouble. This season, as a senior, Collison is battling along with Williams to find the right buttons to push during practice sessions.
“Some days are good, and some days are not as good,” Collison said. “It’s not as easy as last year, but we do have winners on this team. I think we will bounce back.”
If not, Florida, a more experienced team with much the same speed and quickness as North Carolina, could slice and dice the Jayhawks, too.
The buck stops with Williams.
“It’s my job to get them to be a better basketball team,” he said.
Right now it appears Williams has a much tougher job than anyone had predicted.
New York ? Ring, ring, ring. Wait, don’t hit the snooze bar. This is a real wake-up call.
Maybe Kansas doesn’t have as good a men’s basketball team as everybody seems to think : not after a North Carolina team that starts three freshmen and two sophomores carved the Jayhawks like you-know-what turkey on Wednesday night.
All you Kansas fans who watched this one in horror on ESPN2 had to have been wondering why the large throng of North Carolina fans in Madison Square Garden wasn’t chanting “Overrated, overrated” late in the Tar Heels’ stunning 67-56 victory in a Preseason NIT semifinal.
Well, you won’t have to watch the Jayhawks on Friday night. The third-place game won’t be televised. Too bad Wednesday’s wasn’t, because the Jayhawks obviously came in wearing their headlines on their foreheads.
“I’ve been concerned about our bench. They didn’t give us anything,” a chagrined Roy Williams said following the one-sided defeat that was reminiscent of that 64-55 loss to Oklahoma in the championship game of last March’s Big 12 Tournament. “But our starters and our coaches didn’t, either.”
So much hoopla had been generated about the meeting between Williams and former aide Matt Doherty, who was now coach at Williams’ alma mater. In this case, the pupil taught the teacher a lesson by spreading the floor on offense, figuring the Jayhawks couldn’t guard his quicker players one-on-one.
They couldn’t.
Keith Langford, in particular. The 6-foot-5 Langford was eaten up by Carolina’s Rashad McCants, a 6-4 freshman who, irony of ironies, hails from Williams’ hometown of Asheville, N.C. At one point, KU had only three team fouls and all were against Langford. McCants finished with a game-high 25 points and instant immortalization on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Was this, I asked Williams, a wake-up call for the Jayhawks?
“I had hoped that we didn’t have to have this kind of wake-up call,” he answered, “but I guess we’ll find out in the next three or four weeks. If we play like we did tonight, it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a wake-up call or not.”
By now it’s apparent the Jayhawks have not replaced two of the linchpins on last year’s NCAA Final Four team ” Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee.
Last year it seemed that when the Jayhawks needed a big basket, Gooden produced. Wayne Simien, Gooden’s replacement, was embarrassed underneath by the less bulky but quick Tar Heels, making only five of 14 shots.
And who has replaced Boschee as a complementary three-point shooter to Kirk Hinrich? No one.
Last year it didn’t matter if point guard Aaron Miles didn’t score. Now it does, and Miles isn’t scoring. He was blanked in last Friday’s UNC Greensboro game, and he scored only two points in 37 minutes on Wednesday night. Worse, Miles was guilty of six turnovers.
Nick Collison was solid with 19 points and, hard to believe, not a single personal foul in 34 minutes of duty. Last season Collison battled foul trouble. This season, as a senior, Collison is battling along with Williams to find the right buttons to push during practice sessions.
“Some days are good, and some days are not as good,” Collison said. “It’s not as easy as last year, but we do have winners on this team. I think we will bounce back.”
If not, Florida, a more experienced team with much the same speed and quickness as North Carolina, could slice and dice the Jayhawks, too.
The buck stops with Williams.
“It’s my job to get them to be a better basketball team,” he said.
Right now it appears Williams has a much tougher job than anyone had predicted.
New York ? Ring, ring, ring. Wait, don’t hit the snooze bar. This is a real wake-up call.
Maybe Kansas doesn’t have as good a men’s basketball team as everybody seems to think : not after a North Carolina team that starts three freshmen and two sophomores carved the Jayhawks like you-know-what turkey on Wednesday night.
All you Kansas fans who watched this one in horror on ESPN2 had to have been wondering why the large throng of North Carolina fans in Madison Square Garden wasn’t chanting “Overrated, overrated” late in the Tar Heels’ stunning 67-56 victory in a Preseason NIT semifinal.
Well, you won’t have to watch the Jayhawks on Friday night. The third-place game won’t be televised. Too bad Wednesday’s wasn’t, because the Jayhawks obviously came in wearing their headlines on their foreheads.
“I’ve been concerned about our bench. They didn’t give us anything,” a chagrined Roy Williams said following the one-sided defeat that was reminiscent of that 64-55 loss to Oklahoma in the championship game of last March’s Big 12 Tournament. “But our starters and our coaches didn’t, either.”
So much hoopla had been generated about the meeting between Williams and former aide Matt Doherty, who was now coach at Williams’ alma mater. In this case, the pupil taught the teacher a lesson by spreading the floor on offense, figuring the Jayhawks couldn’t guard his quicker players one-on-one.
They couldn’t.
Keith Langford, in particular. The 6-foot-5 Langford was eaten up by Carolina’s Rashad McCants, a 6-4 freshman who, irony of ironies, hails from Williams’ hometown of Asheville, N.C. At one point, KU had only three team fouls and all were against Langford. McCants finished with a game-high 25 points and instant immortalization on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Was this, I asked Williams, a wake-up call for the Jayhawks?
“I had hoped that we didn’t have to have this kind of wake-up call,” he answered, “but I guess we’ll find out in the next three or four weeks. If we play like we did tonight, it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a wake-up call or not.”
By now it’s apparent the Jayhawks have not replaced two of the linchpins on last year’s NCAA Final Four team ” Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee.
Last year it seemed that when the Jayhawks needed a big basket, Gooden produced. Wayne Simien, Gooden’s replacement, was embarrassed underneath by the less bulky but quick Tar Heels, making only five of 14 shots.
And who has replaced Boschee as a complementary three-point shooter to Kirk Hinrich? No one.
Last year it didn’t matter if point guard Aaron Miles didn’t score. Now it does, and Miles isn’t scoring. He was blanked in last Friday’s UNC Greensboro game, and he scored only two points in 37 minutes on Wednesday night. Worse, Miles was guilty of six turnovers.
Nick Collison was solid with 19 points and, hard to believe, not a single personal foul in 34 minutes of duty. Last season Collison battled foul trouble. This season, as a senior, Collison is battling along with Williams to find the right buttons to push during practice sessions.
“Some days are good, and some days are not as good,” Collison said. “It’s not as easy as last year, but we do have winners on this team. I think we will bounce back.”
If not, Florida, a more experienced team with much the same speed and quickness as North Carolina, could slice and dice the Jayhawks, too.
The buck stops with Williams.
“It’s my job to get them to be a better basketball team,” he said.
Right now it appears Williams has a much tougher job than anyone had predicted.
New York ? Ring, ring, ring. Wait, don’t hit the snooze bar. This is a real wake-up call.
Maybe Kansas doesn’t have as good a men’s basketball team as everybody seems to think : not after a North Carolina team that starts three freshmen and two sophomores carved the Jayhawks like you-know-what turkey on Wednesday night.
All you Kansas fans who watched this one in horror on ESPN2 had to have been wondering why the large throng of North Carolina fans in Madison Square Garden wasn’t chanting “Overrated, overrated” late in the Tar Heels’ stunning 67-56 victory in a Preseason NIT semifinal.
Well, you won’t have to watch the Jayhawks on Friday night. The third-place game won’t be televised. Too bad Wednesday’s wasn’t, because the Jayhawks obviously came in wearing their headlines on their foreheads.
“I’ve been concerned about our bench. They didn’t give us anything,” a chagrined Roy Williams said following the one-sided defeat that was reminiscent of that 64-55 loss to Oklahoma in the championship game of last March’s Big 12 Tournament. “But our starters and our coaches didn’t, either.”
So much hoopla had been generated about the meeting between Williams and former aide Matt Doherty, who was now coach at Williams’ alma mater. In this case, the pupil taught the teacher a lesson by spreading the floor on offense, figuring the Jayhawks couldn’t guard his quicker players one-on-one.
They couldn’t.
Keith Langford, in particular. The 6-foot-5 Langford was eaten up by Carolina’s Rashad McCants, a 6-4 freshman who, irony of ironies, hails from Williams’ hometown of Asheville, N.C. At one point, KU had only three team fouls and all were against Langford. McCants finished with a game-high 25 points and instant immortalization on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Was this, I asked Williams, a wake-up call for the Jayhawks?
“I had hoped that we didn’t have to have this kind of wake-up call,” he answered, “but I guess we’ll find out in the next three or four weeks. If we play like we did tonight, it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a wake-up call or not.”
By now it’s apparent the Jayhawks have not replaced two of the linchpins on last year’s NCAA Final Four team ” Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee.
Last year it seemed that when the Jayhawks needed a big basket, Gooden produced. Wayne Simien, Gooden’s replacement, was embarrassed underneath by the less bulky but quick Tar Heels, making only five of 14 shots.
And who has replaced Boschee as a complementary three-point shooter to Kirk Hinrich? No one.
Last year it didn’t matter if point guard Aaron Miles didn’t score. Now it does, and Miles isn’t scoring. He was blanked in last Friday’s UNC Greensboro game, and he scored only two points in 37 minutes on Wednesday night. Worse, Miles was guilty of six turnovers.
Nick Collison was solid with 19 points and, hard to believe, not a single personal foul in 34 minutes of duty. Last season Collison battled foul trouble. This season, as a senior, Collison is battling along with Williams to find the right buttons to push during practice sessions.
“Some days are good, and some days are not as good,” Collison said. “It’s not as easy as last year, but we do have winners on this team. I think we will bounce back.”
If not, Florida, a more experienced team with much the same speed and quickness as North Carolina, could slice and dice the Jayhawks, too.
The buck stops with Williams.
“It’s my job to get them to be a better basketball team,” he said.
Right now it appears Williams has a much tougher job than anyone had predicted.
