Journal-World File PhotoLINCOLN, NEB. ? Keith Langford has seen replays of the game-winning three-pointer he swished last Feb. 24 at the University of Nebraska’s Devaney Center.
Just not lately.
“I looked at it a couple times last year. I’d never hit a game-winning shot before,” said Langford, Kansas University’s 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from Fort Worth, Texas.
He was understandably pumped after accepting a pass from reserve point guard Brett Ballard and drilling the shot that erased an 87-85 deficit and propelled Kansas to a 88-87 comeback victory.
It was a victory that gave the Jayhawks the 2001-02 regular-season Big 12 Conference championship with two games to spare.
“I have not watched it this year. I can’t live in the past,” said Langford, who will start for the Jayhawks in today’s 1 p.m. return engagement at Devaney Center.
KU coach Roy Williams told Langford after last year’s game, “Don’t let that be your career.”
“He said it would not be my ‘defining moment,'” Langford said. “He said people would remember me for more than that shot.”
Making Williams look like a prophet, Langford had a dandy NCAA Tournament.
The sweet-shooting left-hander averaged 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in five tournament games, and he was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional all-tournament team.
“We all knew it was a big shot,” said Ballard, a senior on last year’s 33-4 Final Four team. “Keith knew it was a big shot. Maybe making that shot helped his confidence the rest of the season. After that he could step up and make big plays.”
| When: 1 p.m. today.Where: Lincoln, Neb.Television: Cable channel 48.Records: KU 14-5, 4-1 Big 12; Nebraska 9-10, 1-5.Series: KU leads 152-70.Last Meeting: KU won 92-59 Jan. 11 at Allen Fieldhouse.Line: KU by 13. |
Ballard, who is co-host of a sports talk show on Lawrence’s KLWN-AM radio while finishing his undergraduate degree in education, played a major role in setting up Langford for the critical three-pointer he hit with :33 left.
Ballard was supposed to pass the ball to senior guard Jeff Boschee on his left but instead passed the ball in the opposite direction. Ballard said that when he dribbled the ball upcourt, Drew Gooden was lined up on the same side as Langford.
“That’s why I went to the right side,” Ballard explained. “I probably should have directed Boschee to the other side. He was coming off a screen. It was a heat-of-the-moment type thing. I was not really thinking, so I’m glad everything worked out.”
Langford actually tried to talk Ballard out of throwing him the ball by pointing to Boschee right before the key pass was released.
“Keith showed great savvy in telling Brett he’d be better off passing to ‘Bosch,”’ Williams said. “Keith even told the press after the game ‘Bosch’ was the all-time three-point shooter in Big 12 history and it might be a good idea to get him the ball. Regardless, Keith stepped up and made a big shot — one that gave him some confidence.”
Ballard was not all that confident Langford’s shot would drop.
“After Keith shot it I thought, ‘Oh I don’t know if he should have shot that,”’ Ballard said. “I was thinking we probably need to get it inside to Drew or Nick (Collison). But it looked good when he released it. He made it and I told him he needed to thank me because I made him the hero.”
Langford’s shot electrified KU’s bench.
“When he came off the screen, I was saying, ‘No, no. Don’t shoot,'” sophomore guard Michael Lee recalled. “Then when it went in, I was jumping around like crazy. I remember they told me to sit down because I was standing up on the chairs jumping around.”
Lee was told to sit because the game was far from over. Nebraska, which entered with a 12-12 record compared to KU’s 24-2 mark, still had 33 seconds to try to knock off the Jayhawks.
Guard Jake Muhleisen took the ball to the basket and had a shot blocked by Collison with 20 ticks left. Forward John Turek grabbed the rejection and called a timeout at :12.
Boschee alertly swatted an inbounds pass into the backcourt, where the ball was retrieved by Nebraska point guard John Robinson who hoisted a well-guarded 15-footer at :07. Turek rebounded and horsed up an errant inside shot at :03.
Gooden grasped the final rebound and threw the ball high into the air — had it dropped through the hoop NU would have won the game — as Kansas claimed the victory and the league title.
In retrospect, Langford’s bucket saved an unblemished 16-0 conference season, KU’s first perfect conference mark since the 1970-71 Jayhawks went 14-0 in Big Eight play.
“Man, I never thought of it like that. I guess it’s probably true,” Langford said.
Eager to return to Lincoln, Langford was asked if he’s afraid Husker fans will boo him today.
“I hope so,” said the guard, who averages 16.5 points off 54.1 percent shooting for the Jayhawks, 15-4 overall and 4-1 in league play. NU is 9-10, 1-5. “I want ’em to boo because if they boo me, I’ll boo ’em right back. It doesn’t matter. I like getting messed with by the crowd. I’ll talk back, make faces,” he said. “It’s all fun. I don’t let it distract me during the game. It doesn’t affect my play.”
Langford said he’s not distracted by fellow students who approach him and ask him if his stellar play this season is making him dream of an early exit to the NBA.
“I’ve been asked a couple times. I’ll be telling ’em, ‘Man, get serious,”’ Langford said. “I’ve got a ways to go. I don’t even think about leaving this year. I still have a ways to go. Once I’m done (with four years of collegiate eligibility) it might be an option.”
He’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of his idol — Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jalen Rose. Langford wears No. 5, just like Rose.
“When I was younger — in the early ’90s — I saw him in the Final Four one year,” Langford said of the former Michigan player.
“Tall left-handed dude out there, smooth. I was asking my mom who he was. I was young and wanted to be like him. It’s when I got into Jalen Rose.”
An NBA scout recently told the Journal-World that Langford was in no way yet ready for the pros, but conceded scouts are “intrigued by that kid and trying to figure out what his game is all about.”
Langford has exhibited electric leaping ability on hanging 8- to 15-footers.
“He makes tough shots look easy because he’s really smooth. He doesn’t look like he’s overexerting himself when he does anything. He’s a great athlete,” Lee said.
The smooth sophomore may be best known for his dunks.
“It’s like it all happens. It’s nothing you plan,” Langford said of his vicious slams. “You jump and sometimes a guy will be right there with you. You try to jump past him and try to add a little oomph. It’s a fun part of the game.”
The most fun part of his game, he said, remains winning, and he’s hoping for an encore victory at NU.
“It’s another game. Another Big 12 game. A game we need to win if we hope to win the league,” Langford said.
