Keith Langford laughs at the thought of being recruited by Duke University.
“Duke was never mentioned in my household,” Langford said. “I don’t even think Coach K has ever seen me.”
The Kansas University men’s basketball guard enjoyed a phenomenal high school career at North Crowley High just outside of Fort Worth, Texas, but wasn’t decorated enough to get the attention of coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils.
“I don’t blame him for not recruiting me,” Langford said. “The type of caliber of player they go for are the top 25 players in the country and the All-Americans. I didn’t meet those standards.”
No matter. Langford could get the last laugh Thursday when the No. 2-seed Jayhawks (27-7) take on the third-seeded Blue Devils (26-6) in the West Regional semifinals in Anaheim, Calif. Game time is 8:57 p.m.
If the Jayhawks want to move into the Elite Eight, they’ll need Langford to continue his hot shooting. The 6-foot-4 sophomore is enjoying another sensational NCAA Tournament, scoring a team-high 22 points in KU’s 64-61 victory over Utah State last Thursday and 19 more Saturday in a 108-76 pounding of Arizona State.
Add to that his performance last March, one that earned him a spot on the Midwest Regional All-Tournament team and a Final Four ring, and Langford could be adding a new nickname to his stash — Mr. March.
“I have to be a scoring option every time we step out on the floor,” Langford said. “Wayne (Simien) is down, and Kirk (Hinrich) and Nick (Collison) are getting a lot of looks defensively. Another scoring option opens up a lot of things.”
Langford was a driving force in KU’s second-straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title run. Still, he was left off the three All-Big 12 teams, settling for an honorable-mention nod.
It may add fuel to a fire that’s heating up every game.
“I was stunned he didn’t make the first, second or third all-conference teams,” KU coach Roy Williams said.
“I was just stunned. He has had that kind of year.”
For the season, Langford is averaging 15.7 points per game, but he’s stepped it up a notch in the postseason.
“If it is because it’s the NCAA Tournament, I’m thankful and hope it keeps going,” Williams said. “Keith is realizing he needs to score, take some shots, get it to the rim.”
Langford’s love of the spotlight will certainly come in handy this weekend.
Thursday’s and Saturday’s West Regional games are played at The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, a 30-minute drive from star-studded Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. Two victories this weekend would give Kansas another trip to the Final Four.
And, of course, Thursday’s Duke vs. Kansas game is sure to generate nationwide interest.
“They’re two programs that have such high standards,” Langford said. “It’ll be a great game. It’ll probably be a historic game, and I have a chance to be a part of it.
“This is a game I want people to look back on and say, ‘Keith Langford performed.'”
As far as his Langford’s feelings toward Duke … “I’ve never had any feelings about Duke,” he grumbled. “I’ll just let Duke be Duke.”
As a youth, Langford was an unabashed Michigan fan.
“I liked Michigan, the Fab Five (and his idol, Jalen Rose) in the early ’90s. I wasn’t into the Duke-North Carolina thing. I liked the Fab Five,” he said.
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Graves on Duke: KU junior Jeff Graves is not a big Duke fan.
“I always hated Duke, especially when Laettner hit that shot,” Graves, KU’s 6-foot-9, 250-pound junior forward from Lee’s Summit, Mo., said of Christian Laettner’s last-second shot to beat Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Tournament East Regional final.
“Some people like me want to play against Duke. I’ve always wanted to beat them.”
Graves may have hated Duke as a youngster, but lots of his buddies were active Blue Devil fans.
“A couple of my friends way back in the day would say, ‘I’m going to Duke someday,”‘ Graves said. “I guess I always wanted to go to KU like they wanted to go to Duke. I went to a lot of KU camps when I was little.”
Graves said Duke can take solace in one simple fact. “Everybody knows about Duke,” Graves said.
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What a matchup: The Jayhawks realize Thursday’s battle will captivate the country because of the tradition-rich names “Kansas” and “Duke.”
“It’s a big game because it’s the Sweet 16. And it does say Duke on their chest and Kansas on our chest,” Collison said.
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Niang headed home: KU freshman Moulaye Niang will enjoy a homecoming of sorts this week in California. The 6-foot-10, 215-pounder who was born and raised in Senegal, attended two years of high school in El Cajon, Calif., a suburb of San Diego.
“I’ve had some friends calling and asking me for tickets and coming to see me,” said Niang. “I will probably go see my uncle in L.A. if I have the chance.”
Niang said there are things he misses about California.
“I miss my uncle and friends out there, but it isn’t like there is anything I can do there that I can’t do in Lawrence,” Niang said. “Even when I was in California I was not doing a lot of things. I was just in high school. I like what I’m doing at Kansas more than California.
“I’m not a big fan of the beach,” he added. “Back home (in Senegal) I live a mile from the beach. The only time I go there is to run.”
Like Keith Langford, who longed for Jack In the Box during KU’s trips back to his home state of Texas, Niang misses some fast-food joints in California.
“Uh … In and Out Burger makes a good burger,” he said with a grin.
