There will be plenty of laughs at Kansas University’s men’s basketball awards ceremony tonight.
Certainly there’ll be some moments of quiet reflection, too, during the Jayhawks’ season-ending bash, set for 7 p.m. at the Lied Center.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for the non-televised event, which is free of charge.
“I think it’ll be bittersweet,” KU senior guard Michael Lee said of the ceremony.
The event will include the showing of the 2004-05 season highlight video, presentation of team awards, plus speeches from outgoing seniors Lee, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Wayne Simien.
“We’ll be trying to take the good out of there at the same time knowing we didn’t succeed in reaching all our goals,” Lee said.
“We did reach some of ’em,” he quickly added.
The seniors, who reached two Final Fours and one Elite Eight in their four-year careers, dropped out in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Yet prior to that, the Jayhawks, who finished 23-7, won the Big 12 regular-season title — their third at KU — and all but one home game.
“What we’re going to do is honor this year’s team — honor the Big 12 championship team,” KU coach Bill Self said Wednesday. “We’re giving out some awards to guys who excelled in different areas.
“There’s been enough negativity since the loss with the disappointment in how the season ended. We totally understand that,” he added, “but at the same time, that’s behind us. Now we should look back and reflect on the season as a whole, what we accomplished this past year, winning the Big 12 championship, going 23-7, fighting off some adversity with health issues and honor the guys who worked so hard to win that championship.”
Lee — who, like all the seniors, will have family in town tonight for the proceedings — said he’s primed for his final awards ceremony.
“I’m looking forward to it. I guess it’s the official end of the season,” Lee said. “Since the season ended we’ve kind of been scrambling all over, in a lot of different places.
“Now we all get back together as a team and with our coaches, parents, family to reflect on the season. It’s really a lot of fun to see everybody together again.”
Several awards will be handed out tonight, including the team MVP honor — which figures to go to Simien, a consensus All-American who will have his jersey hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’d hope it’d be full,” Self said of the Center, which seats 2,024. “It’s full every time we play. I’d anticipate there being a big crowd.”
Lee expects a supportive crowd.
“The students on campus, everyone has been real appreciative,” he said. “What they tell me is we represented as a team and as individuals. Some try to say one game doesn’t define the whole season, that type thing. Everybody’s been real supportive and positive so far.”
Added Self: “The reaction as a whole has been very positive considering how disappointed everybody was the way the season ended and certainly no one was more disappointed than the players and staff.”
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Basketball legislation: The NCAA management council this week supported several proposals submitted by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches, which Self is a member.
One proposal allows players to compete in exhibition games, and still red-shirt without losing a year of eligibility.
“After two weeks of practice you don’t always know and a player doesn’t always know,” Self said. “It’s good freshmen can now compete in the games and not count as a year of eligibility.”
Also, three coaches now will be able to recruit off campus at the same time.
High school juniors no longer will be able to make official campus visits until their junior year is completed.
“Junior recruiting is done,” Self said. “It’s good for the kids, good for the masses. You get a commitment today, and it’s 16 months before they step foot on campus. It puts pressure on kids. You bring a kid in and say, ‘We’ve only got one scholarship. If you want it you better take it if you want to come here now.’ It puts a lot of pressure on those kids 16 months before they step foot on your campus.”
The committee did not support an NABC proposal to allow coaches to view their players’ out-of-season workouts.
“I think it’s a bad rule. I think you should be able to, but I also think there’s a trust issue there,” Self said, noting some were concerned what other coaches might really do if they had an opportunity to coach their players in the offseason.
“The more contact we have with the players, the better job we can do coaching them and understanding their strengths and weaknesses.”
