Nets work out KU duo
The New Jersey Nets, who have picks 10, 21 and 40 in the 2008 NBA Draft, will be working out a pair of Jayhawks next week.
Darrell Arthur will be in New Jersey on Wednesday and Brandon Rush on Friday.
Former Jayhawk J.R. Giddens, who completed his career at New Mexico, will work out with the Nets on Thursday.
Rush to Suns?
ESPN.com’s Chad Ford on Wednesday looked into rumors that Rush would be a lock to be tapped by Phoenix at No. 15 in the first round.
“I spoke with Steve Kerr (Suns’ GM) and Rush’s agent, Mark Bartelstein,” Ford wrote in his column. “Kerr acknowledged that the Suns like Rush and he’d be a great fit, but also said the Suns are bringing in around 20 players (for workouts) for their pick. Bartelstein said Rush is working out for teams drafting before and after the Suns.”
Henry tastes AAU glory
Xavier Henry, the No. 2 prospect in the recruiting Class of 2009, scored 17 points to help Oklahoma Athletes First to a 71-70 victory over New York’s Gauchos in the title game of the Nike Memorial Day AAU Classic on Monday in Nashville.
Henry, a 6-foot-6 senior-to-be out of Putnam City (Okla.) High, is expected ultimately to choose KU or Memphis.
“Henry’s squad won the championship, and he was the main reason for their success,” Rivals.com analyst Jerry Meyer said. “The top prospect in the tournament, Henry put up big scoring numbers throughout the event. Most impressive from a scouting perspective was the way Henry attacked the basket off the dribble rather than settling for long-range jumpers. He looks bigger and stronger every time we see him, and Henry is getting more mileage out of his impressive physique.”
Analysts are starting to believe he may not stick around long in college.
“Simply put, this guy is one of the most well-rounded prospects out there, and he has ‘one-and-done’ written all over him,” said Nathan McCauley of hoopsreport.com.
Lawson takes stance
KU coach Bill Self recently made a bold statement concerning players like KU’s Arthur and Mario Chalmers who declare for the draft, but do not sign with agents.
“When they declare, I don’t think they really want to be here anyway,” Self said of players in general.
North Carolina sophomore Ty Lawson confirmed that stance. He pointed out to ESPN’s Andy Katz that it was not correct to say he was merely “testing the waters,” as a North Carolina news release indicated.
“That’s not the truth,” he told Katz. “Everybody is in the draft to stay in the draft unless (they get hurt). Comments like that are misleading to NBA teams, to say we’re just testing the waters.”
Kansas University and Texas A&M will meet today for the second time in eight days. The Jayhawks stopped the Aggies, 72-55, a week ago today in College Station, Texas.
The game assured KU a piece of the Big 12 regular-season title.
“We played our best road game of the season down there,” KU coach Bill Self said. “We know they are capable of playing with us and having a great chance to win if they perform. It’s a great preparation game for the (NCAA) Tournament.”
Of the matchup, KU’s Russell Robinson said: “A&M is physical, very physical. They’ve got good players. Our motivation is to survive and move on to the Big 12 championship game.”
Brandon Rush noted: “I don’t care who we are playing. We just want to move to the championship game.”
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Ouch: KU forward Darnell Jackson took a hard elbow to the chest from NU’s Ryan Anderson and went down to the floor to catch his breath with three minutes left.
“I was upset. I was like, ‘There’s no point in playing dirty,”‘ Jackson said. “If you want to compete, compete, don’t play dirty.”
“I just saw him make contact, but the official said it wasn’t a flagrant foul,” Self said. “Hey it’s basketball. People get hit all the time.”
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Collins nets T: Sherron Collins received a technical foul after barking at NU’s Ade Dagunduro, who fouled Collins on a breakaway layup try with 1:19 left. Nebraska’s bench also received a technical for words uttered during the sequence.
“I felt I had to protect myself,” Collins said. “I thought he tried to cheap-shot me. Coach wasn’t that mad (at technical), but he said I had to make smart decisions. That could hurt us in the (NCAA) Tournament.”
Self said: “I think you can show a spark without getting a technical. Hard fouls happen all the time. Maybe it was (a cheap foul). Maybe it wasn’t. Who knows? But there’s a way to conduct your business and get your point across without getting T’d up. I didn’t like it. I love the fire. He (Collins) just has to do a better job controlling it.”
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Late layup: NU’s Sek Henry swiped the ball from Rush and raced in for a layup try with KU trying to run out the clock on the double-digit victory. Henry was fouled and hit two free throws with 6.8 ticks left.
“Anyone else would have let the game be over. I guess he wanted his two points,” Rush said.
“I wouldn’t have done it. At the same time, I understand where he’s coming from. He wanted to play the whole game,” Robinson said. “Congratulations to him. He finished with four (points) in 21 (minutes).”
KU coach Self wasn’t miffed at NU’s actions.
“That should never happen,” Self said of his players not protecting the ball even in trying to let the clock simply expire. “Brandon, Sherron and Mario (Chalmers) I think were gonna have a little tea party there with 19 seconds left. If they got any closer they could have probably held hands. Why wouldn’t the defender go take the ball when you got three guys standing there?”
Technically speaking: Kansas University’s Darrell Arthur and Oklahoma State’s Ibrahima Thomas were called for technical fouls in the first half.
They were reacting to Sasha Kaun’s battling Terrel Harris for a rebound and several players yapping after Kaun finally came away with the ball.
“Somebody pushed. He supposedly pushed back in retaliation,” coach Bill Self said of Arthur. “If he doesn’t make that play, he’s not in foul trouble.”
Arthur, who had six points and two boards in 17 foul-plagued minutes, said: “There was a lot of pushing and shoving. I was trying to keep my teammates safe.”
Of Arthur’s play, Self said: “One of these days we’ll get 27, 30 minutes from him. His fifth foul (on Byron Eaton with 6:04 left) … we had Eaton on the sideline with nowhere to go. We put our hands on him.”
¢ Off day: Brandon Rush scored 12 points off 5-of-16 shooting. All his points came in the second half.
“He had a terrible day. We just didn’t play as a group, in large part due to Oklahoma State,” Self said. “They did a good job on him. We can go down the line as far as individuals. Even the guys that put up decent numbers made mental mistakes.”
Rush said: “It was non-stop missing for me the whole game.”
¢ Collins hobbled: Sherron Collins, who has a bruised right knee, had no points and two fouls in 11 minutes.
“He practiced 15 minutes yesterday. It’s the first time since the Colorado game (last Saturday),” Self said. “Obviously he is a shadow of what he can be. Hopefully he’ll get back to where he can help us soon. We would have played him more if he was capable.”
¢ Losing ground: KU is now a game behind Texas in the league standings.
“I’m not worried about it. Coach obviously is,” Russell Robinson said after scoring nine points with three assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes. “You know as well as I do the most important thing is the postseason. We’ve been up and down. We want to win it (league). We want to win every game. Hopefully we’ll be able to turn it around at Iowa State (Wednesday).”
¢ Appleton to decide Monday: Tyrone Appleton, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Midland (Texas) College, will hold a 5 p.m. news conference Monday to announce his college choice. Appleton, who has visited KU twice in the past several weeks, has a final list of KU, Kentucky, Texas and Iowa State.
¢ Scary scene: Fans stormed the court after the game. Several KU players, including Rush and Mario Chalmers, were trapped in the mass of bodies. Security tried to pull the Jayhawks away. Nobody was injured.
¢ Stats, facts: KU’s 21 turnovers were one off a season high. KU had 22 at USC. … KU did outrebound OSU, 34-21. … KU had just seven assists to OSU’s 10. KU had six assists at USC.
¢ Beleaguered coach: John Rohde addressed OSU coach Sean Sutton’s job security, or lack of it, in a Saturday column in the Daily Oklahoman.
Sutton’s brother, Scott, head coach at Oral Roberts told Rohde: “Sean’s been around coaching all his life. He understands that’s all part of the territory. There’s nobody who’ll fight more than Sean. He’s the biggest competitor I’ve ever been around. And I’ve been around some great, great competitors.”
Self, who coached Sutton during Sutton’s days as a point guard at OSU. added: “I don’t know what coaches at other programs are going through. I’ve got my hands full with my own program. I’m an expert with only one team, and that’s ours. And to be honest, some people aren’t convinced I’m an expert with our team.”
¢ Sutton on KU: “I think they can (win the national championship) because they’ve got so many different weapons, you can’t key on one or two guys. They’re definitely explosive enough on offense to get by anybody.”
Rice is nice: Boston College’s Tyrese Rice scored 14 of the Eagles’ first 22 points and finished with 18 the first half.
He scored just two points the second half, hindered after picking up his fourth foul with 16:39 left.
“I told our guys if we really hunker down and guard we could hold him to 22 or 24 at halftime,” KU coach Bill Self said. “Fortunately for us, he didn’t score the last four minutes of the half. He kicked our butt. We caught a break when he got his fourth foul.”
Rice hit five of nine shots the first half, including four of seven threes. He hit one of seven shots the second half, missing two three-point tries.
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Family affair: KU’s Russell Robinson, who hails from New York, and Mario Chalmers, who has relatives in Boston, New York and North Carolina, each had family members on hand. “I probably had 15, 20 people here,” Chalmers said.
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KU well represented in stands: There were at least 1,000 KU fans in the sellout crowd of 8,606. “I was surprised,” Chalmers said. “KU fans do travel. It’s one of the best things about KU fans. They travel to see the team.”
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Faces in crowd: Ex-Jayhawk JoJo White, who works for the Boston Celtics, attended and sat near KU’s bench. He received applause from the fans as he exited the game with about five minutes left.
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Bowl talk: Self was definitely impressed with KU’s football victory in the Orange Bowl. “I just hope our basketball team plays to the level they played Thursday night,” Self said. “If we do that, we’ll be pretty good.”
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Stats, facts: It was BC’s worst home loss since an 78-53 loss to UConn on Feb. 11, 2001. : KU is 14-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when the Jayhawks opened the year 14-0 : KU is 2-1 all-time against BC : KU is 37-3 in men’s and women’s basketball and football this season. That’s a 93 win percentage. : The win marked the 11th time KU has had a 10-point victory in a true road game under Self and the fourth 20-point victory. It was the largest KU road win since an 82-56 win at Baylor last season. : Kansas had a season-high 10 dunks. : KU outrebounded Boston College 39-24 to mark the fourth double-digit rebound advantage this season. : Kansas’ 10 steals marked the 10th time this season KU has double-digit steals.
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Boston revisited: Saturday’s game was KU’s first in Boston since 1949, when Bob Cousy’s Holy Cross team beat Clyde Lovellette and the Jayhawks, 57-53, at Boston Garden.
“KU basketball started with the man who invented the game (Naismith) coaching the team,” Lovellette, who lives in Munising, Mich., told the Boston Globe in a history piece this week. “Dr. James Naismith taught the game to Phog Allen, who was the dean of college basketball coaches for so many years. From those beginnings, there’s a rich history and a great tradition to Kansas basketball that has carried through to the present day.”
Naismith invented the game in nearby Springfield, Mass.
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Knee brace: Brandon Rush told ESPN’s Andy Katz his right knee brace is starting to bother him and he’ll likely discard it in February. Self says it’s up to Rush if he wants to wear the brace or not. Rush has said he likes the brace and the support it gives his surgically repaired knee.
Kansas University has agreed to play Tennessee in a home-and-home series starting next season.
The Volunteers will visit Allen Fieldhouse next Dec. 20, with the Jayhawks returning the trip to Knoxville, Tenn., the following season.
“It should be a great game,” KU coach Bill Self said. “They play fast. You would think with a bunch of young guys (on KU team) it would be a very difficult game, but a game that should give us preparation before we play someone in our league like Missouri in the way they press.”
KU also will travel to Arizona for a Dec. 23 game and visit Michigan State in a game set for the first week of January.
KU also will compete in the CBE Tournament, which starts with two games at Allen Fieldhouse. If the Jayhawks win those two against yet-to-be-determined opponents, they would advance to the semifinals at Kansas City’s Sprint Center.
Syracuse, Florida and Washington are the other host schools for the event.
KU is looking to schedule another home game from a school in a major conference, such as a Tennessee, senior associate AD Larry Keating indicated.
¢ What a line: KU junior Mario Chalmers came close to a quadruple-double, with 12 points, a career-high nine rebounds, a career-best seven steals and seven assists.
“It’s the best game he’s played all year by far,” Self said. “He’s played some other good games. He’s the best anticipator I’ve ever coached defensively (for steals). He’s the best I ever had off the ball.”
“That’s a good line as far as stats,” senior Russell Robinson said, adding with a smile, “I think he got some of my steals.”
Robinson had two steals and tied a career high with nine assists in 31 minutes. He also skied for a dunk off an offensive rebound.
“I was surprised. I’ve done it in practice, never in a game,” Robinson said.
Self seemed to enjoy that dunk, as well as several alley-oops for slams, including a one-handed jam by Darnell Jackson.
¢ No boards for big man: KU sophomore Darrell Arthur scored 13 points, but didn’t grab a rebound in 22 minutes.
“That’s unheard of. How can you go 22 minutes and not get any rebounds?” Self said. “I’ll watch the tape to see if he didn’t go after the ball or it was one of those days he didn’t put himself in position to get them because the ball was bouncing the other way.”
¢ Ankle sprain shelves Reed: KU freshman Tyrel Reed did not play because of a sprained ankle. He should be able to play in Saturday’s game against Ohio (4 p.m., Sprint Center).
¢ Football recognized: On a day several football recruits were in attendance, Jayhawks James McClinton and Marcus Hereford were introduced during timeouts. Also, coach Mark Mangino was interviewed by ESPN at press row during the second half. He was cheered wildly as he made his way to the announcers.
¢ Stats, facts: KU had its 100th consecutive home sellout dating to the second home game of the 2001-02 season. : KU is 9-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when the Jayhawks opened 14-0. : KU is 8-1 versus DePaul. : Darnell Jackson, who had eight boards, has 30 in the last three games. : The Jayhawks recorded 25 assists, marking the seventh time this season they have assisted on 20 or more baskets.
Brandon Rush will continue to practice this week as he makes steady progress from June 1 ACL surgery.
Kansas University coach Bill Self was asked if the junior guard/forward could play in Thursday’s 7 p.m. game against Washburn in Allen Fieldhouse.
“I wouldn’t go that far. He is practicing, though,” Self said after a long pause, adding, “I don’t think his knee would keep him from playing. I don’t know with his timing if he’s ready to play in a game. He’s doing well.”
Rush sat out Sunday’s game, of course, as did his best friend – UMKC senior Tim Blackwell, who served a suspension for violation of team rules.
¢ Bad matchup for Cole: Freshman big man Cole Aldrich had two rebounds and two turnovers while playing the final three minutes.
Self said Aldrich would have played more had UMKC used big man Alex Pledger, a 7-footer who went just four minutes.
“It was a tough matchup with their big guys out on the perimeter,” Self indicated. “UMKC is hard to guard. Their big guys can shoot. It’s the reason Cole didn’t play much. He’d go against No. 14 (Pledger), and No. 14 didn’t play much.”
¢ Collins OK: KU sophomore Sherron Collins sprained his left ankle in the second half after going down hard in the north end zone and went to the locker room for a few minutes, presumably to get re-taped.
“He’ll be fine,” Self said of the guard who returned to the court and finished the game. Overall, Collins had 10 points off 3-of-10 shooting with four assists, seven boards, three turnovers and two steals in 29 minutes.
¢ Hotly contested: Tempers came close to flaring at times. Darnell Jackson marched next to Kangaroo Jeremiah Hartsock, after Hartsock fouled Russell Robinson. Also, in the second half, KU’s Rodrick Stewart had a few words for Brent Stephens after they were tangled up.
“I was impressed with UMKC. You’d think they might be frightened coming in the fieldhouse. They played hard the whole game and didn’t back down. That was a good team we played,” Robinson said.
¢ Woes from the stripe: KU hit 16 of 31 free throws for 51.6 percent. UMKC hit seven of 11.
“It was brutal tonight,” Self said of KU’s charity work. “Last game we were 15-of-19. Tonight we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. We’ve got to do a better job of that.”
¢ Last-second score: Self was miffed at his team at halftime for allowing Reggie Hamilton to go coast-to-coast for a layup, cutting KU’s lead to 43-30 at the break.
“Anytime you let a team score before halftime, it gives them momentum,” Mario Chalmers said. “We didn’t want them to have momentum.”
¢ Stats, facts: Chalmers tied a career high with 23 points. He had 23 against Iowa State on Feb. 11, 2006. : Robinson tied a career high with nine assists. He had as many against Baylor on Feb. 21, 2006. : Collins had a career-best seven rebounds, topping his total of six against Texas last season. : Chalmers had four steals and passed Kevin Pritchard for fifth on the all-time school steals list (193). : Robinson tied career highs with three-pointers made (three) and attempted (six). : Sasha Kaun tied a career high with four blocks. : The Jayhawks went on a 19-9 run after UMKC closed to 22-21 with eight minutes left in the first half.
Kansas University coach Bill Self was unhappy with his squad’s defense, to say the least. Louisiana-Monroe hit 51 percent of its shots in becoming the third team in the last 75 games to hit 50 percent or better against the Jayhawks.
“Our transition defense was brutal,” Self said. “Their guards torched us. It was a good thing Hooper (Tony, 19 points) got in foul trouble because he was scoring at will. Our guys did so much running – running downhill on offense and uphill on defense. I never knew the court was tilted that way.”
¢He didn’t call ‘bank’: Darrell Arthur banked in a three-pointer off a pass from Mario Chalmers to close the first half and give KU a 50-35 lead.
“I shot it out of desperation,” Arthur said. “The play was set up for him (Chalmers) to shoot it. He got double teamed so I was open.”
¢Debuts: Freshman guard Tyrel Reed had 11 points in 11 minutes. His three 3-pointers in four tries are most by a KU freshman in a debut since the inception of the 3-point line in the 1986-87 season.
“I was not too nervous tonight,” Burlington native Reed said. “I always dreamed of playing on this court. I had no expectations of how I’d do, how many shots I’d make. That doesn’t matter. All that matters is we won.”
Freshman Cole Aldrich had six points and six boards in 10 minutes.
“Cole asked me this morning, ‘Are you nervous D-Block?”‘ Darnell Jackson said. “I said, ‘No.’ I told him, ‘Relax, you’ll be fine.’ He played well.”‘
¢Rush update: KU coach Self said Brandon Rush won’t play Sunday against UMKC. However, Rush, who had right ACL surgery on June 1, is practicing full-go, which means he plays in scrimmages every day.
“He’s doing everything,” Self said. “He’s not as active rebounding the ball. When he doesn’t look good, it’s not his knee, but timing. His timing is off. His knee and quickness look good to me.”
¢One extra chest bump: Jackson, who pounds his chest three times after made free throws (one for his mom, one for his grandmother, one for friend Don Davis), pounded his chest four times Friday night.
“I did it an extra time after my last free throw. It was for a friend. I told a friend I was going to do it,” Jackson said.
Jackson wasn’t willing to divulge any further information.
“C’mon,” Jackson said.
¢Notables: Rodrick Stewart had a career-high eight assists. His previous high was five against Washington as a freshman at Southern Cal. : Cody Larson, a 6-7, 190-pound sophomore forward from Sioux Falls, S.D., attended on an unofficial visit. : KU has scored 100 or more points four times in Self’s five years. : KU went on an 12-0 run to up a 58-43 lead to 70-43 after standout Hooper picked up his fourth foul. : A fan displayed a sign that said: ‘Pay Heed, Top Five,’ referring to KU being ranked in the top five in both football and basketball. : Sasha Kaun hit four of six shots and had eight points with five boards, but just two points and one board the first half. “Sasha had a couple of opportunities to help us blow the game open. He fumbled some balls. We’ve got to get Sasha playing better around the basket,” Self said.
Warned by Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers of impending bad weather, the Jayhawks flew their charter plane to Lubbock on Thursday, instead of Friday.
As it turned out, the Lubbock airport remained open all day Friday despite light snow and freezing rain.
“In hindsight, we could have done it,” KU senior associate athletic director Larry Keating said of arriving the day before the game. “But it really looked bad for a while. The weather was bad just north of here.”
Texas Tech’s women’s team also flew charter out of Lubbock to Stillwater, Okla., Thursday for Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State.
KU had to spring for an extra night of room and board because of its early arrival. The charter cost remained the same.
The Jayhawks were able to depart Lubbock after 8 p.m. Saturday after a de-icing of the charter.
They landed a little after 9 without incident.
“We’ll look at it on a case-by-case basis,” Keating said of leaving for road trips earlier than usual the rest of this season because of ice and snow.
The league already has one postponement this year – last Saturday’s Oklahoma State game at Nebraska, which will be made up Monday, March 5.
Russell Robinson said coming a day early was no hassle and no reason for a 69-64 loss to Tech.
“We came up early. It was almost like the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “We got some practices in, went to a movie (The Hitcher). We watched a lot of film. Everybody got enough rest like a normal trip. We just came a day earlier.”
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Bears vs. Saints today: KU sophomore Julian Wright, who hails from Chicago, is a Bears fan.
“Yes, I’ll watch the game. And yes, they’ll win,” Wright said of today’s NFC championship game against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field.
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Good defense: Robinson held Tech’s leading scorer, Jarrius Jackson, to no field goals in three tries during the first half.
“I think I did a good job on him early, but he got free throws late, and that maybe gave him some confidence,” Robinson said.
After hitting three free throws late in the half, Jackson scored 12 points in the second 20 minutes.
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Notes: The Jayhawks lead the all-time series against Tech, 16-3, with all three losses in Lubbock. : Texas Tech is 9-1 at home this season. : Tech lost to Baylor, 73-70, last Saturday. Baylor was drilled by Oklahoma, 91-51, Saturday. KU will play Baylor on Wednesday night in Waco.
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Bob Knight on the fans storming the court after the game: “I didn’t understand why all the fans were on the court. Then I realized it was because we broke our record again.”
Knight, of course, recently broke Dean Smith’s record for all-time coaching victories.
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Good crowd considering: Because of bad weather, Texas Tech provided a free student shuttle running a continuous route from campus dorms to the arena and back. The shuttle ran for an hour and half before the game and continued afterward until all students were taken back to their dorms. One parking lot was closed because of the possibility of falling ice.
All the extra effort helped, as 11,469 fans attended on a wintry day. The building seats 15,098.
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Head coach designate: Pat Knight will take over for his dad, Bob, the day the Hall of Famer decides to retire. Like Sean Sutton did for his dad, Eddie, the last couple of seasons at Oklahoma State, Pat sometimes subs for Bob at media sessions.
“We’ve been working on attitude and being competitive,” Pat told the Lubbock Avalanche Journal before the game. “We were like a team of tin men (in a three-point loss to Baylor on Jan. 13). We had no heart.”
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On Knight: KU sophomore Brandon Rush was asked if it was neat playing against the legendary Knight.
“Not really. It’s just another Big 12 conference game. He passed the record. I’m not really worried about that. He’s not on my team.”
¢ Ball State of the Mid-America Conference is located in Muncie, Ind. Enrollment is 17,728. Nickname is Colonials. Colors are Cardinal and White.
¢ KU and Ball State are tied 1-1 all-time. KU won, 94-72, in a 1993 NCAA Midwest Regional game in Chicago; the Cardinals won, 93-91, in the 2001 Maui Invitational, a game in which Aaron Miles and Nick Collison suffered severe cramping.
¢ Ball State’s Chris Ames is out at least four weeks with a broken jaw. He took an inadvertent elbow from center Micah Rollin at practice. Ames’ mouth is wired shut. Chris Mills has been suffering from tendinitis in a leg. Jarelle Redden has turf toe.
¢ It could be a good thing this game is on a neutral floor. Ball State is 166-46 all-time at Worthen Arena in Muncie.
¢ Ball State is traveling 4,893 miles in a five-day stretch, competing in Vegas against KU and Western Kentucky and at Georgetown on Monday.
¢ This marks the first meeting between the schools.
¢ Tennessee State of the Ohio Valley Conference is located in Nashville, Tenn. Enrollment is 9,024. Nickname is Tigers. Colors are Royal Blue and White.
¢ Cy Alexander enters 34-54 in four seasons at TSU, 311-255 lifetime (.549).
¢ Alexander led South Carolina State to five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including four trips to the tournament in his last eight years. South Carolina State was named American Sports Wire Black College National Champions three times under Alexander’s guidance. His teams received the recognition in 1996, 1998, and 2000.
¢ Tennessee State went 13-15 last season, 11-9 in the Ohio Valley. The Tigers lost in the first round of the conference postseason tournament.
¢ A key newcomer is Mississippi State transfer Jerrell Houston, a 6-8 sophomore who played in 13 games for the Bulldogs, starting one, as a freshman. Houston will be eligible after the fall semester.
¢ The Tigers were picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley behind Samford.
¢ TSU is 18-6 at home the past two seasons. The squad won five road games a year ago.
¢ KU leads the series, 7-3. The teams last played in 1993 when the Jayhawks rolled, 140-72, in Allen Fieldhouse. The 68-point margin is the second widest margin of victory in KU history behind a 115-45 victory over Brown on Jan. 3, 1989.
¢ KU beat ORU, 93-90, in the 1974 NCAA Elite Eight in Tulsa.
¢ ORU has seven wins against Top 25 wins, including a 75-72 win over No. 2 KU in 1979 in Tulsa.
¢ KU has won eight straight games in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are 164-10 at home since the 1994-95 season.
¢ Bill Self is 73-24 in four seasons at KU; Scott Sutton 121-92 in his eighth season as ORU head coach. It’s his 12th year overall at the school.
¢ Oral Roberts freshman forward Sylvester Spicer graduated from South Oak Cliff, the same high school as Kansas freshman forward Darrell Arthur and Kansas football players Xavier Rambo, Anthony Webb and Dexton Fields.
¢ Former KU coach Ted Owens was seventh head coach in ORU history, compiling a 21-35 record from 1982-84.
¢ ORU assistant head coach Corey Williams played basketball at Oklahoma State from 1989-92. During that time, Self was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
Kansas University junior guard Jeremy Case did not dress for the game. He suffered a groin pull in practice this week and will be out at least seven to 10 days.
“Hopefully, we’ll get him back possibly for Northern Arizona (regular-season opener, Nov. 11). Realistically, it’ll be Oral Roberts (Nov. 15). We need to get him back as soon as possible,” coach Bill Self said. “He’s probably at least a week away as of today. We need to get him back. It’s unfortunate because he’s had a real good camp.”
How’d it happen? “A noncontact deal. He turned to run and felt a pop,” Self said.
Case also had a groin pull two seasons ago.
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Giles meeting set: Self said he would meet with C.J. Giles today and hoped to come to a decision about the player’s future at KU. Giles has been suspended since missing a morning practice Oct. 16. He has had some academic and behavioral issues, as well as a pending court date in a child-support case.
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Kaun doing OK: Self said injured big man Sasha Kaun, who suffered a slightly torn patellar tendon in his right knee at practice Sunday, was doing well thus far in rehab.
Kaun is walking with just a slight limp.
“What we know is he is on a quicker-than-average pace for rehab, which is positive. That doesn’t mean he’ll be back in three weeks. It doesn’t mean he’ll be back in six. He’d have very little chance of getting back closer to three if he wasn’t feeling the way he felt right now. That’s a positive sign,” Self said.
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Highlights: Julian Wright had ESPN’s No. 7 play of the night on SportsCenter on Thursday. It was his fast-break, one-handed dunk off a dish from Sherron Collins.
Other notable plays of the game: Wright went coast to coast for a layup; Collins fed Mario Chalmers with an underhanded pass for a slam; Collins hit a pair of second-half threes; Wright had a follow dunk off a Chalmers miss; Wright had a tip pass to Chalmers for a three; Darrell Arthur had a steal and ensuing bank shot for a bucket; Brandon Rush drove for a one-handed slam; Arthur had a steal near midcourt and was able to stay in bounds and stormed to the other end, where he had a bucket and was fouled.
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This, that: KU has won 25 straight exhibition games. … KU forced 25 turnovers while committing 14. The 25 Washburn turnovers were turned into 35 KU points. KU’s turnovers led to 12 Ichabod points. : Wright had nine rebounds. Had it been a real game, it would have tied a career high. : Arthur’s six blocks would have tied a freshman record for blocks in a game set by Nick Collison against Nebraska in 2000. : Darnell Jackson had seven offensive rebounds.
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KSU next: The Ichabods travel to Manhattan on Saturday to play Bob Huggins’ Wildcats. It’s a special game for WU coach Bob Chipman, who is a KSU graduate.
“With coach Huggins’ hiring, they have made a commitment to winning there,” Chipman said of the former Cincinnati coach. “He knows how to do that (win). To be part of that start again and play them will be a great learning experience and fun. They have it going there.
“With coach Huggins there, it’s going to be fun for Kansas and Kansas State basketball fans. I think there will be a true rivalry again. K-State will challenge them, bring back the rivalry.”
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We’re No. 4: Washburn on Wednesday was tapped fourth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Assn. coaches poll. Emporia State, KU’s opponent Tuesday, was picked ninth in the 10-team league.
“They usually stick us first. The year we had last year they couldn’t pick us first,” said Chipman, whose Ichabods went 4-12 in the league.
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Chipman on KU’s freshmen: “They are very athletic, very mature, just more of the same at KU. Great talents : what a treat it is for KU fans to have those kids in the program with others. It’s so much fun with that kind of talent.”
Green tapped by IU
Former Kansas University assistant coach Jerry Green on Monday was named director of basketball operations at Indiana University. Green worked in a similar capacity for new IU coach Kelvin Sampson last year at Oklahoma.
Roby not on campus
Colorado’s Richard Roby told the Boulder Daily Camera he was taking several classes over the Internet to make sure he maintained his eligibility should he need to return to Boulder.
“I won’t get an agent until a team says they will take me, enough teams,” Roby told the paper in a phone interview from his home in San Bernardino, Calif.
Roby said he had gained 10 pounds since the end of the season and was working out in nearby Riverside, Calif., with a personal trainer he was introduced to by New Jersey Nets rookie Antoine Wright.
Arthur’s LSU visit over
Darrell Arthur, a 6-foot-9 senior forward from Dallas’ South Oak Cliff High, returned from his campus visit to LSU on Sunday. His mom, Sandra, told rivals.com the family this week would discuss finalists LSU, Kansas and Baylor.
“We really did have a nice visit,” she said.
Darrell Arthur told Dallas Fox 4 TV on Monday that KU was his leader. He indicated he might announce his decision live on the Dallas TV station on Sunday, May 14.
Legion’s list
Alex Legion, a 6-4 junior from Detroit who has backed out of a verbal commitment to Michigan, tells rivals.com he has a final list of Michigan, Villanova, UCLA, Kansas, Illinois, UConn, Arizona and Louisville. Legion will attend Oak Hill Academy in Virginia his senior season.
Kirk Hinrich felt some mental anguish but no physical pain after Kansas University’s 84-78 men’s basketball loss to Oregon on Saturday at the Rose Garden.
The 6-foot-3 senior said his strained back didn’t bother him a bit during his 24-point, 39-minute outing.
“It feels good,” said Hinrich, who didn’t play in Wednesday’s victory over Central Missouri State; he received treatment for several days after KU’s return from the Preseason NIT in New York. “The doctors didn’t think it was serious. I received treatment and was ready to play.”
Hinrich looked like he sprained his ankle in the second half, but said that wasn’t the case.
“I was just cramping. I don’t know if it was not doing anything for a week or not,” Hinrich said.
The fact his back felt OK wasn’t the only good thing to come out of the game, he noted.
He liked the spunk KU showed in battling back from a 14-point first-half deficit.
“I think we made some steps,” he said. “We had the fight tonight we didn’t have in the past (in losses to North Carolina and Florida). We didn’t do some little things we could have done to change the outcome of the game. That’s unfortunate.
“I don’t know if it is nerves or what, but this team is still trying to find itself. We’re not going to give up. We’re going to stick together. This team will accept nothing but winning.”
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Career-best game in hometown: KU sophomore Michael Lee of Portland scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
He hit his only three-point try and made four of five free throws, looking good before a big contingent of fans who had watched him play football and basketball at Portland’s Jefferson High.
“I tried to be ready to play. It was a boost playing in front of friends and family members,” Lee said. “I know what I’m capable of. The biggest thing is I played hard. That should never surprise anybody.”
The 6-3, 215-pound Lee spent time at both guard and power forward.
Yes, power forward.
Somebody had to step in with Nick Collison and Wayne Simien in foul trouble most of the game.
“Tonight I was a guard and forward, a little of both,” said Lee, who received the bulk of the bench minutes with Jeff Graves and Moulaye Niang.
“The bench was important for us tonight. It’s a big key because both Nick and Wayne were in foul trouble,” Lee said. “We had to come in and do the job.”
Lee’s best friend, fellow Portland native Aaron Miles, struggled big-time in his return home.
Miles missed 10 of 11 shots, including four of five threes. He had four points, four assists and seven turnovers.
“I think Aaron played well at times, but at times he could have been more poised,” Lee said. “Coach even mentioned that.”
Lee said it was fun playing in Portland.
“To have 20,000 fans, it reminded me some of Allen Fieldhouse. I think it was big for the city of Portland,” Lee said. “Oregon has a great program and great team. It’s always good to see family. Coach let me go home and see my family a couple of hours, but we were here on business.”
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Langford pots 21: Sophomore Keith Langford scored 21 points, including 14 in the second half.
“When we tied it we had a lot of momentum at that point. I thought we’d pull it out,” Langford said of KU forging a 74-all tie at 3:46 on his jumper in the lane.
Oregon, however, scored with three minutes left on a stickback by Luke Jackson.
“We didn’t do a very good job of responding down the stretch,” he said.
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Proud papa: Michael Lee’s dad, John, wore a No. 25 KU jersey and snapped photos during warmups. Several of Miles’ relatives wore No. 11 jerseys.
“I was just telling the AD (Al Bohl) that we’re so happy coach Williams does this for the kids,” John Lee said. “We’re so happy for Michael and Aaron, first that they are playing at a school like Kansas, but to come home and have the opportunity to play before people who’ve supported them all their lives : we’re excited and they are excited.”
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Stats, facts: KU is 3-3 for the first time since the 1979-80 squad opened with the same record after six games. : KU is 0-2 against top-25 teams this season, 64-48 against ranked foes under Roy Williams. : Oregon had just one offensive rebound in the first half. : Hinrich and Miles played all 20 minutes of the first half. : Collison, who scored seven points, had scored in double figures in nine straight games. : Hinrich’s 19 field-goal attempts mark the most by a Jayhawk this season. : KU’s only lead was 6-5 after Langford’s dunk in the first half. : Collison was forced to the bench at the 7:55 mark of the first half after picking up his third foul. At that point, Collison had five of KU’s 19 points. Just over a minute later, Wayne Simien picked up his third foul. He had eight of KU’s 21 points before heading to the pine. : For the second straight game, KU allowed seven first-half threes. : Lee’s 11 points marked a career high. His previous best was seven against Pittsburg State last year. : KU had a season-high 22 turnovers.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoIronman Kirk Hinrich will sit out the first game of his college basketball career on Wednesday night.
Hinrich, a 6-foot-3 senior guard from Sioux City, Iowa, who has played in 108 straight games, will not dress for the Kansas-Central Missouri State contest, which tips off at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
Hinrich is expected to be back for Saturday’s contest at Oregon, keeping alive his streak of consecutive games played against NCAA Div. I teams.
He suffered a back strain in last Wednesday’s 67-56 Preseason NIT semifinal loss to North Carolina and played in pain during Friday’s 83-73 loss to Florida in the consolation finals in New York.
“We’ve done extensive tests on Kirk and it is still diagnosed as a back strain,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “I decided I wanted to see if it’d help him to have five straight days off with no practice. I fully expect him to resume practice later in the week and then play against Oregon.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoThe Jayhawks did not practice Saturday and Sunday. Everybody but Hinrich practiced two hours on Monday. Hinrich took the court and shot free throws after the practice.
“Hopefully with five days off, it’ll be better. I’m not looking back on it, (but) I probably shouldn’t have played him Friday night,” Williams said. “He felt much better and thought he could go. He wanted to try it desperately. He wanted to see if he could help us win, yet his back bothered him so much he’s 2-for-8 (shooting).”
Even with a bad back, Hinrich earned defensive player of the game honors against the Gators.
“He is just relentless, as tough as you can possibly be,” Williams said.
Sophomore power forward Wayne Simien, who twisted his right ankle twice against North Carolina, practiced Monday, and barring any other problems, should play Wednesday. Simien has tendinitis in his right ankle.
“He will probably have some pain in the ankle a long time, maybe even the whole season,” Williams said. “It’s something we can rest him for two months and there’s a chance he’d be better. (Even then) you don’t know if he’d hurt it the first day he comes out or starts trying to condition. Wayne is a tough youngster. He had a tough time in New York, but Wayne worked very hard in practice today and is doing some nice things.”
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No intensity: Williams told his Monday night “Hawk Talk” radio show audience he still doesn’t understand the team’s lack of fire in Wednesday’s loss to North Carolina.
“I was stunned. Mike Montgomery of Stanford said, ‘Roy I’ve seen your teams for 15 years. I’ve probably seen 50 games and I’ve never seen a team of yours that little emotionally into it and not being alert and not being as active as they were that night.’
“I said, ‘I agree with you.’ Why did it happen? We’ve had some meetings and talks trying to figure out why it happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Jayhawk players and coaches held a team meeting after eating 40 pounds of turkey, 8 pounds of ham and 248 home made dinner rolls at the home of Roy and Wanda Williams on Sunday night.
“We’ve had a couple instances, guys showing up a little bit late or right on time. That kind of thing. I ended up blasting them in New York. I said, ‘We don’t act like that. That’s going to change. We’re not going to have that any more,”’ Williams said. “Kids have to step forward. This team is pulling together even more. We’ve had some open discussions like last night after Thanksgiving dinner. It’s something I’m not that concerned about. I think it’s going to be a basketball team that will be together.”
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Hard workout: Williams was active at practice Monday, barking orders all over the court during drills.
“We had a really good, brisk practice for two hours,” Williams said. “We’ve got to have a lot of those.
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Free speech: Williams was asked by a Hawk Talk caller if he’d ever “had a talk with” one of the mothers of a KU player who the caller said likes to “stir things up,” on Internet message boards.
Williams said he wasn’t sure who the caller was talking about. The caller was referring to Keith Langford’s mom, who is a frequent contributor on phog.net’s message board. She speaks her mind – with some positive and negative comments about recruiting, coaching decisions in games and the like.
“I never had a discussion with ’em about it,” Williams said. “It is America. Do I appreciate it? If it’s negative, not one iota. I don’t care if it’s your mom, my mom, anybody’s mom, I don’t appreciate any negativity about our basketball team. But it is America.”
Williams isn’t a big fan of the Internet.
“If you ever see Roy Williams in a chat room you know it’s a lie,” he said.
Some fans in the student section started chanting, “We want Tar Heels, we want Tar Heels,” in the waning moments of Kansas University’s 105-66 rout of UNC Greensboro on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The taunting didn’t last long; KU coach Roy Williams politely asked the fans under the north goal to quiet down.
“I said, ‘There’s no need for that. Let’s enjoy tonight,'” Williams said after the victory, which set up a Preseason NIT semifinal battle between KU and North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. CST Wednesday in New York.
“They are going to show up. A lot of times you wish for things you later wish you hadn’t wished for. I want to enjoy tonight, enjoy the journey, see what happens when we get there.”
Williams said he was not looking forward to going up against his former KU assistant, Matt Doherty, who now is head coach at North Carolina, Williams’ alma mater.
“A few years ago in the Preseason NIT, we played Florida State when coach Robinson (Steve, KU assistant) was head coach there,” Williams said of that KU victory over the Seminoles. “It’s not pleasant for me. It will not be pleasant answering all the questions. I’m going to try to focus on the game, and I think Matt will do the same thing. I wanted this team to go to New York. We’ve got to play them. It’s on the schedule whether I like it or not. If I had my choice, I’d choose not to play them until Final Four time. I’d be excited playing anybody at that point.”
Williams has a policy not to play his former assistant coaches. He makes an exception when former assistants like TCU’s Neil Dougherty want to play.
“He said it’s good for his program at this time,” Williams said, noting he’s setting up a series with the Horned Frogs.
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Pre-game talk: Williams made sure his team didn’t take UNC Greensboro lightly.
“I gave ’em a little motivation. I said, ‘You can play your rears off and go to New York, or stay with me for nine straight practices.’ That’s pretty good incentive,” Williams said.
Had KU lost, the Jayhawks’ next game would have been Dec. 4 against Central Missouri State.
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Rings: All of KU’s players, trainers, doctors, managers and some staff members received Final Four rings after the game. The rings cost $300 apiece and were paid for by KUAC.
“It was a surprise. They’d not seen them,” Williams said of his players. “They (rings) came in several weeks ago. Some of them were not in very good shape, so we had them redone. The company agreed they were not done as well as they wanted them to be.”
What was wrong with the first batch?
“They were pretty shabbily, shoddily done, if that’s a word :quot; pretty sorry,” Williams said. “The company agreed they weren’t the quality they wanted and fixed ’em. I’ll probably get a letter from them now.”
“I heard they were just ugly,” said KU senior Kirk Hinrich, who added he loved the final product. “This is a sweet looking thing. I might wear it a couple times. I want to make sure I know where it’s at.”
KU senior Nick Collison admired his ring, then gave it to his mom and dad for safekeeping.
“I sent it home with my parents. I don’t want to lose it and I probably wouldn’t wear it much,” he said.
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Ankle is OK: Keith Langford left the court with trainer Mark Cairns for a couple of minutes in the second half after turning an ankle. Langford said the ankle was fine.
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This, that: Jay Joseph’s nine field goals in the first half marked the most by an opponent in a half since SW Missouri State’s Mike Wallace hit for nine on Dec. 30, 2000. : Hinrich had a career-best 10 field goals. His previous high was nine, set three times. : KU had just two turnovers the first half, believed to be low-water mark in a half in the Roy Williams era. KU had nine bobbles the second half.
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Wilkes in the house: KU signee Omar Wilkes, a 6-foot-4 guard from Los Angeles, attended and wore a No. 10 Kirk Hinrich jersey, sitting right behind the KU bench.
Roy Williams hugged Adonis Jordan before Monday night’s Kansas University-EA Sports All-Stars exhibition basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.
And Williams, Kansas’ basketball coach, draped his arms around his former point guard after Jordan fouled out in the waning moments of KU’s 111-94 exhibition victory.
He even talked to Jordan during the game after Jordan was called for a foul while nearly blocking Aaron Miles’ shot with 1:44 left in the first half.
“I said he never blocked a shot while he was here, so why should he try now?” Williams said with a smile. “He’s a great, great youngster. I’m really happy how the crowd treated him.”
KU’s fans gave Jordan who led KU to Final Fours in 1991 and ’93 after signing on as Williams’ first marquee recruit a prolonged standing ovation during warmups as Jordan bowed several times in appreciation.
“I don’t know if people really understand how important he was to us 15 long years ago,” Williams said. “He stuck with us when times were tough here.”
In fact, the Reseda, Calif., product inked with KU despite the fact a serious probation had just been handed down.
“Two kids had given us commitments and had changed their minds (after probation was announced in ’88),” Williams said. “Some kids canceled visits. It was dark and gloomy around here. Adonis was one kid who stuck with us. He was rewarded very well. He started, was point guard for two Final Fours, played in the national championship game and was great for our program.”
Jordan spoke to KU’s players in the Jayhawks’ locker room after the game.
“He talked to us about staying together and having a great year,” KU forward Nick Collison said. “Ask coach Williams and he’ll tell you Adonis was probably the most important player in building our program.”
Graves still not on team: Junior college transfer Jeff Graves scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes.
Williams, however, said Graves still wasn’t officially a member of the team. He hasn’t passed his running test.
He must complete 612 laps of the Memorial Stadium track in 12 minutes. He fell about 140 yards short in his last try on Sunday.
“For 15 years you’ve heard me call these glorified practices,” Williams said. “It’s the reason I let him play. He’s still not talking to the media, still not officially on our team. He’s still got some running to do.
“It remains to be seen if I’d continue playing him if the regular season gets here if he hasn’t passed his test yet. It’s going to be a long winter out there cause it’s as cold as the dickens trying to run. If it was me, I’d just make it and get it over with.”
Williams was asked when the 6-foot-9 Graves who reported to campus at 293 pounds, but now looks more like 280 would try again.
“Whenever I tell him to,” Williams said. “We try to make it good and cold and sleet and freezing rain. He’ll run it several times. When he finally decides to make it, his life will get a lot easier. It’s one thing as head coach you get to be stubborn and I’m not going to give in so he might as well make it.”
The run has confounded some players in the past.
“Some guys do well at it,” Williams said. “Some don’t mind it. Some hate it. You’ve got to do it. Like taxes.”
Baggy shorts: KU forward Collison left the bench area for the locker room early in the game. He wasn’t injured, so what was he doing?
“My shorts were too big. I had to cut the string so I could tie them together,” he said. “I was afraid they’d fall down.”
Endorsements: Drew Gooden has reached an endorsement deal with EA Sports. Gooden, a No. 1 pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA Draft, will appear on all packaging, advertising and marketing materials for NCAA March Madness 2003.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“It’s an honor for me to be chosen to be on the cover of a game like NCAA March Madness 2003,” Gooden said. “I play a lot of video games, and to see myself on the cover of an EA Sports game is a great feeling. I can’t wait to sit down and play as the Kansas Jayhawks.”
EA Sports bills itself as the leading interactive sports software brand in the world.
Stats, facts: KU has now won 17 straight home exhibition games dating to a 93-82 loss to Australia on Nov. 29, 1993. KU is now 31-7 all-time in exhibition play. KU is 24-2 all-time in home exhibition action. … KU is now 5-0 versus the EA All-Stars, playing the team five straight seasons.
Roy Williams hugged Adonis Jordan before Monday night’s Kansas University-EA Sports All-Stars exhibition basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.
And Williams, Kansas’ basketball coach, draped his arms around his former point guard after Jordan fouled out in the waning moments of KU’s 111-94 exhibition victory.
He even talked to Jordan during the game after Jordan was called for a foul while nearly blocking Aaron Miles’ shot with 1:44 left in the first half.
“I said he never blocked a shot while he was here, so why should he try now?” Williams said with a smile. “He’s a great, great youngster. I’m really happy how the crowd treated him.”
KU’s fans gave Jordan who led KU to Final Fours in 1991 and ’93 after signing on as Williams’ first marquee recruit a prolonged standing ovation during warmups as Jordan bowed several times in appreciation.
“I don’t know if people really understand how important he was to us 15 long years ago,” Williams said. “He stuck with us when times were tough here.”
In fact, the Reseda, Calif., product inked with KU despite the fact a serious probation had just been handed down.
“Two kids had given us commitments and had changed their minds (after probation was announced in ’88),” Williams said. “Some kids canceled visits. It was dark and gloomy around here. Adonis was one kid who stuck with us. He was rewarded very well. He started, was point guard for two Final Fours, played in the national championship game and was great for our program.”
Jordan spoke to KU’s players in the Jayhawks’ locker room after the game.
“He talked to us about staying together and having a great year,” KU forward Nick Collison said. “Ask coach Williams and he’ll tell you Adonis was probably the most important player in building our program.”
Graves still not on team: Junior college transfer Jeff Graves scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes.
Williams, however, said Graves still wasn’t officially a member of the team. He hasn’t passed his running test.
He must complete 612 laps of the Memorial Stadium track in 12 minutes. He fell about 140 yards short in his last try on Sunday.
“For 15 years you’ve heard me call these glorified practices,” Williams said. “It’s the reason I let him play. He’s still not talking to the media, still not officially on our team. He’s still got some running to do.
“It remains to be seen if I’d continue playing him if the regular season gets here if he hasn’t passed his test yet. It’s going to be a long winter out there cause it’s as cold as the dickens trying to run. If it was me, I’d just make it and get it over with.”
Williams was asked when the 6-foot-9 Graves who reported to campus at 293 pounds, but now looks more like 280 would try again.
“Whenever I tell him to,” Williams said. “We try to make it good and cold and sleet and freezing rain. He’ll run it several times. When he finally decides to make it, his life will get a lot easier. It’s one thing as head coach you get to be stubborn and I’m not going to give in so he might as well make it.”
The run has confounded some players in the past.
“Some guys do well at it,” Williams said. “Some don’t mind it. Some hate it. You’ve got to do it. Like taxes.”
Baggy shorts: KU forward Collison left the bench area for the locker room early in the game. He wasn’t injured, so what was he doing?
“My shorts were too big. I had to cut the string so I could tie them together,” he said. “I was afraid they’d fall down.”
Endorsements: Drew Gooden has reached an endorsement deal with EA Sports. Gooden, a No. 1 pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA Draft, will appear on all packaging, advertising and marketing materials for NCAA March Madness 2003.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“It’s an honor for me to be chosen to be on the cover of a game like NCAA March Madness 2003,” Gooden said. “I play a lot of video games, and to see myself on the cover of an EA Sports game is a great feeling. I can’t wait to sit down and play as the Kansas Jayhawks.”
EA Sports bills itself as the leading interactive sports software brand in the world.
Stats, facts: KU has now won 17 straight home exhibition games dating to a 93-82 loss to Australia on Nov. 29, 1993. KU is now 31-7 all-time in exhibition play. KU is 24-2 all-time in home exhibition action. … KU is now 5-0 versus the EA All-Stars, playing the team five straight seasons.
Roy Williams hugged Adonis Jordan before Monday night’s Kansas University-EA Sports All-Stars exhibition basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.
And Williams, Kansas’ basketball coach, draped his arms around his former point guard after Jordan fouled out in the waning moments of KU’s 111-94 exhibition victory.
He even talked to Jordan during the game after Jordan was called for a foul while nearly blocking Aaron Miles’ shot with 1:44 left in the first half.
“I said he never blocked a shot while he was here, so why should he try now?” Williams said with a smile. “He’s a great, great youngster. I’m really happy how the crowd treated him.”
KU’s fans gave Jordan who led KU to Final Fours in 1991 and ’93 after signing on as Williams’ first marquee recruit a prolonged standing ovation during warmups as Jordan bowed several times in appreciation.
“I don’t know if people really understand how important he was to us 15 long years ago,” Williams said. “He stuck with us when times were tough here.”
In fact, the Reseda, Calif., product inked with KU despite the fact a serious probation had just been handed down.
“Two kids had given us commitments and had changed their minds (after probation was announced in ’88),” Williams said. “Some kids canceled visits. It was dark and gloomy around here. Adonis was one kid who stuck with us. He was rewarded very well. He started, was point guard for two Final Fours, played in the national championship game and was great for our program.”
Jordan spoke to KU’s players in the Jayhawks’ locker room after the game.
“He talked to us about staying together and having a great year,” KU forward Nick Collison said. “Ask coach Williams and he’ll tell you Adonis was probably the most important player in building our program.”
Graves still not on team: Junior college transfer Jeff Graves scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes.
Williams, however, said Graves still wasn’t officially a member of the team. He hasn’t passed his running test.
He must complete 612 laps of the Memorial Stadium track in 12 minutes. He fell about 140 yards short in his last try on Sunday.
“For 15 years you’ve heard me call these glorified practices,” Williams said. “It’s the reason I let him play. He’s still not talking to the media, still not officially on our team. He’s still got some running to do.
“It remains to be seen if I’d continue playing him if the regular season gets here if he hasn’t passed his test yet. It’s going to be a long winter out there cause it’s as cold as the dickens trying to run. If it was me, I’d just make it and get it over with.”
Williams was asked when the 6-foot-9 Graves who reported to campus at 293 pounds, but now looks more like 280 would try again.
“Whenever I tell him to,” Williams said. “We try to make it good and cold and sleet and freezing rain. He’ll run it several times. When he finally decides to make it, his life will get a lot easier. It’s one thing as head coach you get to be stubborn and I’m not going to give in so he might as well make it.”
The run has confounded some players in the past.
“Some guys do well at it,” Williams said. “Some don’t mind it. Some hate it. You’ve got to do it. Like taxes.”
Baggy shorts: KU forward Collison left the bench area for the locker room early in the game. He wasn’t injured, so what was he doing?
“My shorts were too big. I had to cut the string so I could tie them together,” he said. “I was afraid they’d fall down.”
Endorsements: Drew Gooden has reached an endorsement deal with EA Sports. Gooden, a No. 1 pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA Draft, will appear on all packaging, advertising and marketing materials for NCAA March Madness 2003.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“It’s an honor for me to be chosen to be on the cover of a game like NCAA March Madness 2003,” Gooden said. “I play a lot of video games, and to see myself on the cover of an EA Sports game is a great feeling. I can’t wait to sit down and play as the Kansas Jayhawks.”
EA Sports bills itself as the leading interactive sports software brand in the world.
Stats, facts: KU has now won 17 straight home exhibition games dating to a 93-82 loss to Australia on Nov. 29, 1993. KU is now 31-7 all-time in exhibition play. KU is 24-2 all-time in home exhibition action. … KU is now 5-0 versus the EA All-Stars, playing the team five straight seasons.
Roy Williams hugged Adonis Jordan before Monday night’s Kansas University-EA Sports All-Stars exhibition basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.
And Williams, Kansas’ basketball coach, draped his arms around his former point guard after Jordan fouled out in the waning moments of KU’s 111-94 exhibition victory.
He even talked to Jordan during the game after Jordan was called for a foul while nearly blocking Aaron Miles’ shot with 1:44 left in the first half.
“I said he never blocked a shot while he was here, so why should he try now?” Williams said with a smile. “He’s a great, great youngster. I’m really happy how the crowd treated him.”
KU’s fans gave Jordan who led KU to Final Fours in 1991 and ’93 after signing on as Williams’ first marquee recruit a prolonged standing ovation during warmups as Jordan bowed several times in appreciation.
“I don’t know if people really understand how important he was to us 15 long years ago,” Williams said. “He stuck with us when times were tough here.”
In fact, the Reseda, Calif., product inked with KU despite the fact a serious probation had just been handed down.
“Two kids had given us commitments and had changed their minds (after probation was announced in ’88),” Williams said. “Some kids canceled visits. It was dark and gloomy around here. Adonis was one kid who stuck with us. He was rewarded very well. He started, was point guard for two Final Fours, played in the national championship game and was great for our program.”
Jordan spoke to KU’s players in the Jayhawks’ locker room after the game.
“He talked to us about staying together and having a great year,” KU forward Nick Collison said. “Ask coach Williams and he’ll tell you Adonis was probably the most important player in building our program.”
Graves still not on team: Junior college transfer Jeff Graves scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes.
Williams, however, said Graves still wasn’t officially a member of the team. He hasn’t passed his running test.
He must complete 612 laps of the Memorial Stadium track in 12 minutes. He fell about 140 yards short in his last try on Sunday.
“For 15 years you’ve heard me call these glorified practices,” Williams said. “It’s the reason I let him play. He’s still not talking to the media, still not officially on our team. He’s still got some running to do.
“It remains to be seen if I’d continue playing him if the regular season gets here if he hasn’t passed his test yet. It’s going to be a long winter out there cause it’s as cold as the dickens trying to run. If it was me, I’d just make it and get it over with.”
Williams was asked when the 6-foot-9 Graves who reported to campus at 293 pounds, but now looks more like 280 would try again.
“Whenever I tell him to,” Williams said. “We try to make it good and cold and sleet and freezing rain. He’ll run it several times. When he finally decides to make it, his life will get a lot easier. It’s one thing as head coach you get to be stubborn and I’m not going to give in so he might as well make it.”
The run has confounded some players in the past.
“Some guys do well at it,” Williams said. “Some don’t mind it. Some hate it. You’ve got to do it. Like taxes.”
Baggy shorts: KU forward Collison left the bench area for the locker room early in the game. He wasn’t injured, so what was he doing?
“My shorts were too big. I had to cut the string so I could tie them together,” he said. “I was afraid they’d fall down.”
Endorsements: Drew Gooden has reached an endorsement deal with EA Sports. Gooden, a No. 1 pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA Draft, will appear on all packaging, advertising and marketing materials for NCAA March Madness 2003.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“It’s an honor for me to be chosen to be on the cover of a game like NCAA March Madness 2003,” Gooden said. “I play a lot of video games, and to see myself on the cover of an EA Sports game is a great feeling. I can’t wait to sit down and play as the Kansas Jayhawks.”
EA Sports bills itself as the leading interactive sports software brand in the world.
Stats, facts: KU has now won 17 straight home exhibition games dating to a 93-82 loss to Australia on Nov. 29, 1993. KU is now 31-7 all-time in exhibition play. KU is 24-2 all-time in home exhibition action. … KU is now 5-0 versus the EA All-Stars, playing the team five straight seasons.
Matt Daugherty/Journal-World PhotoNo longer involved directly with basketball, Ted Owens still likes to watch a game or two in person or on TV.
The 73-year-old Owens especially likes watching Kansas, the program he directed to a 348-182 mark as head coach from 1964 to 1983. Owens, who also served three seasons as KU assistant under coach Dick Harp, now works in the capital investment business in Tulsa, Okla.
“I have always said there are effective teams and artistic teams. Last year, they were both,” Owens said of coach Roy Williams’ third Final Four team. “They were effective and beautiful to watch.”
Owens and his son, Ted, Jr., watched Monday’s practice at Allen Fieldhouse, a day after attending a Fifty Years of Kansas basketball celebration banquet benefiting the Jewish Community Center of Kansas City.
“As I sat and watched last year’s team, I thought, ‘I don’t know whether I’ve ever enjoyed a team like that one a team that played basketball the way it’s meant to be played,'” Owens said of the 33-4 Jayhawks. “They pushed the ball on offense, pressured the ball on defense. Roy did a magnificent job with that team as he always does. I think they’ll be terrific again this year.”
So does ex-Jayhawk assistant Jerry Green, who scouted the past two practices for his long-time buddy and former boss, Williams.
“The big thing is KU has got players who can play with any players in the country and have got some young kids who can come on and hopefully give them some depth,” Green said.
He agrees with analysts who say the starting five of Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Wayne Simien, Keith Langford and Aaron Miles is one of the best in the U.S. Depth with unproven players like Bryant Nash, Jeff Hawkins, Jeff Graves, Moulaye Niang and Michael Lee has been a preseason concern.
“It appears to be a different team that he’s had and probably one that has some playing time to be gained down the line from the six to 10 positions,” said Green, who coached on Williams’ KU staff from 1989 to ’92 and was head coach at both Oregon and Tennessee before being replaced at UT two seasons ago.
He’s lived in Surf City, N.C., basically “playing golf, fishing, boating and piddling” since departing Knoxville.
“Kansas has some young kids. The opportunity to play certainly appears to be there,” Green said. “You can’t play five or even six people the entire time. They have some kids who will be needed. He (Williams) certainly has a different challenge maybe than when we went to the ’91 final game. We were very solid and deep. Our second team didn’t fall off much from what we started.”
He loves Hinrich and the 6-foot-9 Collison, who have been impressive this preseason.
“I think Hinrich certainly looks like a lottery pick and Collison will be very, very good,” Green said. “The thing I like about him (Collison) even more this year than ever is he can shoot the ball from the perimeter, which is a big strength for somebody his size.
“Not that I’d want him out there shooting it, but he certainly has a fine touch out there. He does everything well and there’s a lot of (NBA) people who will like him this year.”
Olson makes final cut: Perseverance has paid for Brett Olson, a 6-6 senior forward from Chanute, who has made KU’s team via walk-on tryouts. Olson he averaged 26 points a game his senior year in earning all-state honors at Chanute High tried out his sophomore year and again this season. Two players who’d been practicing with the Jayhawks the past week Tim Alexander, 6-9 from Wichita and Ryan Woodman, 6-11 from Andover, didn’t make the squad.
“I didn’t sleep much the past week. I was pretty nervous. I think I drove my girlfriend crazy,” Olson said. “I’m excited but it’s bittersweet because I like Tim and Ryan, too. I’m excited about getting this opportunity.”
Alexander says he has no regrets. After all, he and Woodman survived the cut from 55 to 18 down to the final three. He was able to practice with one of the top teams in the country for a week.
“It’s disappointing but I couldn’t ask for much more than a shot with such a great program,” Alexander said. “Practices were tough and very demanding, at the same time I’d take time to think about what a great opportunity it was. Coach Williams gave it straight to us. He appreciated us working hard for him.”
Woodman, a junior who played at Washburn last year, would not have been able to play in games this season in accordance with transfer rules. He can try out again next year if he so desires. Alexander will graduate in May, so “it looks my basketball career is over.”
Of Olson, Alexander said: “He plays real strong. He’s a physical guy. I think he’ll be able to give them some good looks in practice and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him come in a game.”
Elbow wrap: KU junior Jeff Graves practiced full-go Monday with his left arm wrapped. He hyperextended his elbow at Sunday’s practice but shouldn’t miss any practice time.
Manning unsigned: Detroit Pistons officials this week said they considered the possibility of inviting ex-Jayhawk Danny Manning to join the team for a veteran presence. But Pistons’ officials said they never officially talked to Manning’s representatives. Manning is continuing to practice with KU’s team with the hopes of being picked up by an NBA team sometime this season.
There was a bit of the old and new at last Friday’s Late Night With Roy Williams.
Former Kansas University basketball players Brett Ballard, Todd Kappelmann and Jeff Boschee senior members of last year’s 33-4 Jayhawk squad joined KU’s 10 scholarship players and two walk-ons for the night’s 20-minute midnight scrimmage at Allen Fieldhouse.
Boschee, Kappelmann and former Jayhawk Steve Woodberry have been practicing with the KU team this week, providing coach Roy Williams with some experienced bodies for drills.
“I am going to help out some (at practice), Jeff and Todd quite a bit,” Ballard, a 6-foot-1 Hutchinson native, said. “Practices are fun, (but) there are some things I don’t miss, like the running.”
Ballard is only available to help out at KU practices on weekends.
He’s tied up from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, serving as co-host of the “Rock Chalk Sports Talk” show on KLWN radio.
“It’s fun. But this is a temporary thing. I still want to coach,” said Ballard, who will complete his degree in secondary education next May.
He’s looking forward to monitoring the progress of several KU players this school year, including guards Michael Lee and Jeff Hawkins.
“I really think Mike Lee will step up. I know he has worked awfully hard,” Ballard said of the 6-3 Portland native. “Jeff Hawkins (5-11, Kansas City) will step up. I played with Jeff in practice last year. He only got better and better. His attitude got better over the summer and he’s really improved. I think you’ll see Moulaye (Niang, 6-10 frosh, Senegal) contribute all the guys.”
On Friday, Ballard guarded sophomore Keith Langford, who scored 15 points off 7-of-10 shooting.
“Keith may have seen the old man, Brett, was guarding him. That may have had something to do with it,” KU coach Roy Williams needled.
Boschee, who, like Ballard, wants to be a coach, will intern in the KU basketball office next spring. Boschee’s book, “Long Shot: Beating the Odds to Live a KU Dream,” has been printed and should be available for sale at area bookstores on Oct. 25.
In past years, former Jayhawks like Billy Thomas and Nick Bradford have helped out at practice.
More trips for Boone: Josh Boone, a 6-8, 205-pound forward from West Nottingham Academy in Maryland, who visited KU last weekend, told rivalshoops.com he would visit UConn on Friday and Saturday and Georgetown on Sunday.
He will visit Virginia the following weekend. St. Joe’s and Rutgers also remain on his final list.
“I was really impressed with the fans and the support the basketball team has at Kansas,” Boone told analyst Mike Sullivan. “I had a great time (at Late Night). The fans are excited about the team. It’s a great atmosphere to play.”
“I can’t have a leader right now,” Boone said. “I haven’t seen all the schools. Once I have seen all the schools I should have an idea on where I might go.”
Ibekwe chooses Maryland: Ikene Ibekwe, 6-9 from Carson, Calif., who at one time was on KU’s recruiting list, has committed to Maryland. Ibekwe chose the Terps over Southern California. KU dropped him as a recruit following the recent commitment of David Padgett.
NBA talk in Minnesota: It seemed every day last year some media member asked Drew Gooden about possibly heading to the NBA after his junior season.
This year, Minnesota sophomore center Rick Rickert, who averaged 14.2 ppg last year and was chosen Big 10 freshman of the year, will be fielding the same sort of NBA queries.
“I’ll consider it,” Rickert told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “It’s got to be an option. I’ve got to keep all my options open. It’ll depend on my year, on who’s going out, a lot of things. It all depends on how I develop and how things are going with the team.”
Rickert at one time was on KU’s recruiting list.
“It’s a very good problem,” UM coach Dan Monson said. “If you have a player the NBA is looking at, it’s a very good thing to deal with. If he’s ready to leave after this year, he had a very good season and that means we probably had a very good season. He knows right now he’s not ready.”
Drew Gooden poured in 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to fuel the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a Southern California Summer Pro League game on Friday night in Long Beach, Calif. Gooden, the Grizzlies’ first-round NBA Draft choice out of Kansas, made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and 12 of 14 free throws while playing 41 minutes.
Thomas to Nets: Former KU guard Billy Thomas, who scored 15 points for Indiana in a summer league game last week, left the Pacers Friday to join the New Jersey Nets’ summer league team.
Manning to become Bull?: Former KU All-American Danny Manning is apparently on the wish list of the Chicago Bulls.
Manning, 36, who played in 41 games for Dallas last season, could serve as a mentor to the Bulls’ young big men, including Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
“He’s definitely going to play next season,” Manning’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald. “He played really well when he was on the court (for Dallas). We’re talking to a number of different teams.”
The 6-foot-10 Manning, the Herald said, is a longtime favorite of Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who likes to point out that he selected Manning’s father, Ed, for the Baltimore Bullets in the eighth round of the 1967 draft. Ed Manning went on to play nine seasons in the NBA and ABA.
Manning, who recently was brought in by Bulls’ management for a visit, would likely sign for the veteran’s minimum of $1 million.
“One of the main reasons we’re bringing some guys in for visits is to conduct physicals, because a lot of the guys we’re looking at are far along in their careers,” Krause told the Chicago Sun Times. “But as far as visits, a lot of the guys we’re looking at already know us.”
The Bulls are also interested in Washington’s Popeye Jones, Denver’s Scott Williams and Houston’s Kevin Willis.
Drew Gooden poured in 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to fuel the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a Southern California Summer Pro League game on Friday night in Long Beach, Calif. Gooden, the Grizzlies’ first-round NBA Draft choice out of Kansas, made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and 12 of 14 free throws while playing 41 minutes.
Thomas to Nets: Former KU guard Billy Thomas, who scored 15 points for Indiana in a summer league game last week, left the Pacers Friday to join the New Jersey Nets’ summer league team.
Manning to become Bull?: Former KU All-American Danny Manning is apparently on the wish list of the Chicago Bulls.
Manning, 36, who played in 41 games for Dallas last season, could serve as a mentor to the Bulls’ young big men, including Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
“He’s definitely going to play next season,” Manning’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald. “He played really well when he was on the court (for Dallas). We’re talking to a number of different teams.”
The 6-foot-10 Manning, the Herald said, is a longtime favorite of Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who likes to point out that he selected Manning’s father, Ed, for the Baltimore Bullets in the eighth round of the 1967 draft. Ed Manning went on to play nine seasons in the NBA and ABA.
Manning, who recently was brought in by Bulls’ management for a visit, would likely sign for the veteran’s minimum of $1 million.
“One of the main reasons we’re bringing some guys in for visits is to conduct physicals, because a lot of the guys we’re looking at are far along in their careers,” Krause told the Chicago Sun Times. “But as far as visits, a lot of the guys we’re looking at already know us.”
The Bulls are also interested in Washington’s Popeye Jones, Denver’s Scott Williams and Houston’s Kevin Willis.
Drew Gooden poured in 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to fuel the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a Southern California Summer Pro League game on Friday night in Long Beach, Calif. Gooden, the Grizzlies’ first-round NBA Draft choice out of Kansas, made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and 12 of 14 free throws while playing 41 minutes.
Thomas to Nets: Former KU guard Billy Thomas, who scored 15 points for Indiana in a summer league game last week, left the Pacers Friday to join the New Jersey Nets’ summer league team.
Manning to become Bull?: Former KU All-American Danny Manning is apparently on the wish list of the Chicago Bulls.
Manning, 36, who played in 41 games for Dallas last season, could serve as a mentor to the Bulls’ young big men, including Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
“He’s definitely going to play next season,” Manning’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald. “He played really well when he was on the court (for Dallas). We’re talking to a number of different teams.”
The 6-foot-10 Manning, the Herald said, is a longtime favorite of Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who likes to point out that he selected Manning’s father, Ed, for the Baltimore Bullets in the eighth round of the 1967 draft. Ed Manning went on to play nine seasons in the NBA and ABA.
Manning, who recently was brought in by Bulls’ management for a visit, would likely sign for the veteran’s minimum of $1 million.
“One of the main reasons we’re bringing some guys in for visits is to conduct physicals, because a lot of the guys we’re looking at are far along in their careers,” Krause told the Chicago Sun Times. “But as far as visits, a lot of the guys we’re looking at already know us.”
The Bulls are also interested in Washington’s Popeye Jones, Denver’s Scott Williams and Houston’s Kevin Willis.
Drew Gooden poured in 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to fuel the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a Southern California Summer Pro League game on Friday night in Long Beach, Calif. Gooden, the Grizzlies’ first-round NBA Draft choice out of Kansas, made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and 12 of 14 free throws while playing 41 minutes.
Thomas to Nets: Former KU guard Billy Thomas, who scored 15 points for Indiana in a summer league game last week, left the Pacers Friday to join the New Jersey Nets’ summer league team.
Manning to become Bull?: Former KU All-American Danny Manning is apparently on the wish list of the Chicago Bulls.
Manning, 36, who played in 41 games for Dallas last season, could serve as a mentor to the Bulls’ young big men, including Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
“He’s definitely going to play next season,” Manning’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald. “He played really well when he was on the court (for Dallas). We’re talking to a number of different teams.”
The 6-foot-10 Manning, the Herald said, is a longtime favorite of Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who likes to point out that he selected Manning’s father, Ed, for the Baltimore Bullets in the eighth round of the 1967 draft. Ed Manning went on to play nine seasons in the NBA and ABA.
Manning, who recently was brought in by Bulls’ management for a visit, would likely sign for the veteran’s minimum of $1 million.
“One of the main reasons we’re bringing some guys in for visits is to conduct physicals, because a lot of the guys we’re looking at are far along in their careers,” Krause told the Chicago Sun Times. “But as far as visits, a lot of the guys we’re looking at already know us.”
The Bulls are also interested in Washington’s Popeye Jones, Denver’s Scott Williams and Houston’s Kevin Willis.
How good a basketball player is future Kansas University combo guard Jeremy Case?
He’s a blue-chip “can’t miss” prospect says recruiting analyst Greg Swaim, who has watched the 6-foot-1, 160-pound point guard/shooting guard not only excel for McAlester (Okla.) High School, but also Athletes First AAU out of Oklahoma City.
Case played point guard last summer for Athletes First, which boasted major college prospects in Shelden Williams (Duke), Kelenna Azubuike (Kentucky), Marques Hayden (Kansas State) and others.
“If Jeremy can get a little stronger, he is an absolute steal,” said Swaim, tourney director of the BigTime men’s challenge July 8-10 in Oklahoma City and author of www.gregswaim.com.
“He has a sweet shot. He knows when to pull up and take the three and also when to give it up and pass. He has the skills of a shooting guard and skills as a point guard.”
Swaim said the McAlester High junior who verbally committed on Friday to KU over Oklahoma not only has a sweet outside shot, but also is known for taking care of the basketball.
“He’s a very smart player,” Swaim said of Case, who will sign his letter of intent in November. “He’s a coach’s son and everybody knows how coach (Roy) Williams loves coach’s sons. (Kirk) Hinrich and (Nick) Collison came in to Kansas so fundamentally sound, in large part because they are coach’s sons. Jeremy is the same way.”
Case is the son of former Oklahoma State standout Win Case, who is in his 12th year head coach at Oklahoma City University. Case’s mother, Rita Kemp, played college basketball at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College.
“I want to give his mom a lot of credit,” Win Case said Friday. “A lot of people try to give me credit, since I’m a coach. His mom was a good player and starting out she was a big influence. He spends the summers with me and is in the gym all day. He’s a gym rat who loves the game.”
Jeremy shoots right-handed like his mom. Win was a sharpshooting lefty for Okie State.
“I tell you what’s weird. He writes left-handed and shoots with his right hand,” Win Case said. “I’m left-handed. His mom is right-handed. He got both mixes. He can shoot with both hands, actually.”
Sullivan on Case: Analyst Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com saw Case play last summer.
“I thought he was a good player,” Sullivan said. “Nationally not many have seen him play. He sounds like a well-rounded player and much improved. A bunch of schools wanted him. Sounds like Kansas did its homework and got a good commitment early.”
Swaim says you won’t find Case on many top 100 lists but that is sure to change.
“Watch how fast he goes from being in nobody’s top 100 to top 40 in a matter of weeks,” Swaim said. “Roy Williams is known as an outstanding judge of talent and he (Case) will immediately be one of the higher ranked players in the country. I had him as a possible top 100 player, but remember he’s just a junior in high school. He’s sure to go up this summer.”
McAlester’s finest: McAlester High coach Jimmy Williams says Case is the best player he’s coached in his 12 years at the Oklahoma Class 5A school.
“My high school coach, Bob Brumley was here 28 years. He said he’s the best player he’s seen in this area,” said Williams.
Close to home: Proximity to home was an important factor in Case choosing KU at such an early date.
“I told my husband we need to get a new vehicle. We’ll be coming to a lot of games,” Rita Kemp said.
Hightower paid dues: In a wild coincidence, former Kansas basketball great Wayne Hightower made official contact with his alma mater for the first time in five years shortly before he died last week.
Hightower’s $25 K-Club dues were received by the Williams Fund office late last week. The last time he paid his K-club dues was back in 1997.
In the envelope with his dues, Philadelphia native Hightower included an initialed picture of himself dunking the basketball during his days at Philly’s famed Overbrook High. Hightower died of a heart attack last Thursday at age 62.
Book coming out: The 96-page softcover book, ‘One Great Ride,’ a pictorial story of this year’s KU basketball team will hit the presses next week. The book has been produced by KU photographer Jeff Jacobsen and is available at kustore.com.
How good a basketball player is future Kansas University combo guard Jeremy Case?
He’s a blue-chip “can’t miss” prospect says recruiting analyst Greg Swaim, who has watched the 6-foot-1, 160-pound point guard/shooting guard not only excel for McAlester (Okla.) High School, but also Athletes First AAU out of Oklahoma City.
Case played point guard last summer for Athletes First, which boasted major college prospects in Shelden Williams (Duke), Kelenna Azubuike (Kentucky), Marques Hayden (Kansas State) and others.
“If Jeremy can get a little stronger, he is an absolute steal,” said Swaim, tourney director of the BigTime men’s challenge July 8-10 in Oklahoma City and author of www.gregswaim.com.
“He has a sweet shot. He knows when to pull up and take the three and also when to give it up and pass. He has the skills of a shooting guard and skills as a point guard.”
Swaim said the McAlester High junior who verbally committed on Friday to KU over Oklahoma not only has a sweet outside shot, but also is known for taking care of the basketball.
“He’s a very smart player,” Swaim said of Case, who will sign his letter of intent in November. “He’s a coach’s son and everybody knows how coach (Roy) Williams loves coach’s sons. (Kirk) Hinrich and (Nick) Collison came in to Kansas so fundamentally sound, in large part because they are coach’s sons. Jeremy is the same way.”
Case is the son of former Oklahoma State standout Win Case, who is in his 12th year head coach at Oklahoma City University. Case’s mother, Rita Kemp, played college basketball at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College.
“I want to give his mom a lot of credit,” Win Case said Friday. “A lot of people try to give me credit, since I’m a coach. His mom was a good player and starting out she was a big influence. He spends the summers with me and is in the gym all day. He’s a gym rat who loves the game.”
Jeremy shoots right-handed like his mom. Win was a sharpshooting lefty for Okie State.
“I tell you what’s weird. He writes left-handed and shoots with his right hand,” Win Case said. “I’m left-handed. His mom is right-handed. He got both mixes. He can shoot with both hands, actually.”
Sullivan on Case: Analyst Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com saw Case play last summer.
“I thought he was a good player,” Sullivan said. “Nationally not many have seen him play. He sounds like a well-rounded player and much improved. A bunch of schools wanted him. Sounds like Kansas did its homework and got a good commitment early.”
Swaim says you won’t find Case on many top 100 lists but that is sure to change.
“Watch how fast he goes from being in nobody’s top 100 to top 40 in a matter of weeks,” Swaim said. “Roy Williams is known as an outstanding judge of talent and he (Case) will immediately be one of the higher ranked players in the country. I had him as a possible top 100 player, but remember he’s just a junior in high school. He’s sure to go up this summer.”
McAlester’s finest: McAlester High coach Jimmy Williams says Case is the best player he’s coached in his 12 years at the Oklahoma Class 5A school.
“My high school coach, Bob Brumley was here 28 years. He said he’s the best player he’s seen in this area,” said Williams.
Close to home: Proximity to home was an important factor in Case choosing KU at such an early date.
“I told my husband we need to get a new vehicle. We’ll be coming to a lot of games,” Rita Kemp said.
Hightower paid dues: In a wild coincidence, former Kansas basketball great Wayne Hightower made official contact with his alma mater for the first time in five years shortly before he died last week.
Hightower’s $25 K-Club dues were received by the Williams Fund office late last week. The last time he paid his K-club dues was back in 1997.
In the envelope with his dues, Philadelphia native Hightower included an initialed picture of himself dunking the basketball during his days at Philly’s famed Overbrook High. Hightower died of a heart attack last Thursday at age 62.
Book coming out: The 96-page softcover book, ‘One Great Ride,’ a pictorial story of this year’s KU basketball team will hit the presses next week. The book has been produced by KU photographer Jeff Jacobsen and is available at kustore.com.
How good a basketball player is future Kansas University combo guard Jeremy Case?
He’s a blue-chip “can’t miss” prospect says recruiting analyst Greg Swaim, who has watched the 6-foot-1, 160-pound point guard/shooting guard not only excel for McAlester (Okla.) High School, but also Athletes First AAU out of Oklahoma City.
Case played point guard last summer for Athletes First, which boasted major college prospects in Shelden Williams (Duke), Kelenna Azubuike (Kentucky), Marques Hayden (Kansas State) and others.
“If Jeremy can get a little stronger, he is an absolute steal,” said Swaim, tourney director of the BigTime men’s challenge July 8-10 in Oklahoma City and author of www.gregswaim.com.
“He has a sweet shot. He knows when to pull up and take the three and also when to give it up and pass. He has the skills of a shooting guard and skills as a point guard.”
Swaim said the McAlester High junior who verbally committed on Friday to KU over Oklahoma not only has a sweet outside shot, but also is known for taking care of the basketball.
“He’s a very smart player,” Swaim said of Case, who will sign his letter of intent in November. “He’s a coach’s son and everybody knows how coach (Roy) Williams loves coach’s sons. (Kirk) Hinrich and (Nick) Collison came in to Kansas so fundamentally sound, in large part because they are coach’s sons. Jeremy is the same way.”
Case is the son of former Oklahoma State standout Win Case, who is in his 12th year head coach at Oklahoma City University. Case’s mother, Rita Kemp, played college basketball at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College.
“I want to give his mom a lot of credit,” Win Case said Friday. “A lot of people try to give me credit, since I’m a coach. His mom was a good player and starting out she was a big influence. He spends the summers with me and is in the gym all day. He’s a gym rat who loves the game.”
Jeremy shoots right-handed like his mom. Win was a sharpshooting lefty for Okie State.
“I tell you what’s weird. He writes left-handed and shoots with his right hand,” Win Case said. “I’m left-handed. His mom is right-handed. He got both mixes. He can shoot with both hands, actually.”
Sullivan on Case: Analyst Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com saw Case play last summer.
“I thought he was a good player,” Sullivan said. “Nationally not many have seen him play. He sounds like a well-rounded player and much improved. A bunch of schools wanted him. Sounds like Kansas did its homework and got a good commitment early.”
Swaim says you won’t find Case on many top 100 lists but that is sure to change.
“Watch how fast he goes from being in nobody’s top 100 to top 40 in a matter of weeks,” Swaim said. “Roy Williams is known as an outstanding judge of talent and he (Case) will immediately be one of the higher ranked players in the country. I had him as a possible top 100 player, but remember he’s just a junior in high school. He’s sure to go up this summer.”
McAlester’s finest: McAlester High coach Jimmy Williams says Case is the best player he’s coached in his 12 years at the Oklahoma Class 5A school.
“My high school coach, Bob Brumley was here 28 years. He said he’s the best player he’s seen in this area,” said Williams.
Close to home: Proximity to home was an important factor in Case choosing KU at such an early date.
“I told my husband we need to get a new vehicle. We’ll be coming to a lot of games,” Rita Kemp said.
Hightower paid dues: In a wild coincidence, former Kansas basketball great Wayne Hightower made official contact with his alma mater for the first time in five years shortly before he died last week.
Hightower’s $25 K-Club dues were received by the Williams Fund office late last week. The last time he paid his K-club dues was back in 1997.
In the envelope with his dues, Philadelphia native Hightower included an initialed picture of himself dunking the basketball during his days at Philly’s famed Overbrook High. Hightower died of a heart attack last Thursday at age 62.
Book coming out: The 96-page softcover book, ‘One Great Ride,’ a pictorial story of this year’s KU basketball team will hit the presses next week. The book has been produced by KU photographer Jeff Jacobsen and is available at kustore.com.
How good a basketball player is future Kansas University combo guard Jeremy Case?
He’s a blue-chip “can’t miss” prospect says recruiting analyst Greg Swaim, who has watched the 6-foot-1, 160-pound point guard/shooting guard not only excel for McAlester (Okla.) High School, but also Athletes First AAU out of Oklahoma City.
Case played point guard last summer for Athletes First, which boasted major college prospects in Shelden Williams (Duke), Kelenna Azubuike (Kentucky), Marques Hayden (Kansas State) and others.
“If Jeremy can get a little stronger, he is an absolute steal,” said Swaim, tourney director of the BigTime men’s challenge July 8-10 in Oklahoma City and author of www.gregswaim.com.
“He has a sweet shot. He knows when to pull up and take the three and also when to give it up and pass. He has the skills of a shooting guard and skills as a point guard.”
Swaim said the McAlester High junior who verbally committed on Friday to KU over Oklahoma not only has a sweet outside shot, but also is known for taking care of the basketball.
“He’s a very smart player,” Swaim said of Case, who will sign his letter of intent in November. “He’s a coach’s son and everybody knows how coach (Roy) Williams loves coach’s sons. (Kirk) Hinrich and (Nick) Collison came in to Kansas so fundamentally sound, in large part because they are coach’s sons. Jeremy is the same way.”
Case is the son of former Oklahoma State standout Win Case, who is in his 12th year head coach at Oklahoma City University. Case’s mother, Rita Kemp, played college basketball at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College.
“I want to give his mom a lot of credit,” Win Case said Friday. “A lot of people try to give me credit, since I’m a coach. His mom was a good player and starting out she was a big influence. He spends the summers with me and is in the gym all day. He’s a gym rat who loves the game.”
Jeremy shoots right-handed like his mom. Win was a sharpshooting lefty for Okie State.
“I tell you what’s weird. He writes left-handed and shoots with his right hand,” Win Case said. “I’m left-handed. His mom is right-handed. He got both mixes. He can shoot with both hands, actually.”
Sullivan on Case: Analyst Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com saw Case play last summer.
“I thought he was a good player,” Sullivan said. “Nationally not many have seen him play. He sounds like a well-rounded player and much improved. A bunch of schools wanted him. Sounds like Kansas did its homework and got a good commitment early.”
Swaim says you won’t find Case on many top 100 lists but that is sure to change.
“Watch how fast he goes from being in nobody’s top 100 to top 40 in a matter of weeks,” Swaim said. “Roy Williams is known as an outstanding judge of talent and he (Case) will immediately be one of the higher ranked players in the country. I had him as a possible top 100 player, but remember he’s just a junior in high school. He’s sure to go up this summer.”
McAlester’s finest: McAlester High coach Jimmy Williams says Case is the best player he’s coached in his 12 years at the Oklahoma Class 5A school.
“My high school coach, Bob Brumley was here 28 years. He said he’s the best player he’s seen in this area,” said Williams.
Close to home: Proximity to home was an important factor in Case choosing KU at such an early date.
“I told my husband we need to get a new vehicle. We’ll be coming to a lot of games,” Rita Kemp said.
Hightower paid dues: In a wild coincidence, former Kansas basketball great Wayne Hightower made official contact with his alma mater for the first time in five years shortly before he died last week.
Hightower’s $25 K-Club dues were received by the Williams Fund office late last week. The last time he paid his K-club dues was back in 1997.
In the envelope with his dues, Philadelphia native Hightower included an initialed picture of himself dunking the basketball during his days at Philly’s famed Overbrook High. Hightower died of a heart attack last Thursday at age 62.
Book coming out: The 96-page softcover book, ‘One Great Ride,’ a pictorial story of this year’s KU basketball team will hit the presses next week. The book has been produced by KU photographer Jeff Jacobsen and is available at kustore.com.
Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams asked Drew Gooden to inform him of his decision whether to leave for the NBA or return for his senior year at KU via telephone.
“That’d way it’d be easier for him to tell me if he was leaving,” KU coach Williams explained.
Gooden tried but simply couldn’t comply with the request, informing KU’s coach of his NBA dreams in person on Monday afternoon.
“I felt that when he came in my house on my recruiting trip it was a face-to-face deal that I was coming to KU,” said Gooden. “I felt the only way it’d be right to tell him I was leaving was face-to-face. I didn’t want to do it over the phone. The emotional bond is not really there over the phone.
“I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night knowing I had told him that I was leaving over the phone.”
Gooden returned to Williams’ office for another face-to-face chat on Tuesday, catching KU’s coach before he left on a recruiting trip.
“He came back in and said, ‘Coach I had another thought that’s worrying me. Do you think I’m ready?’ I thought that was cool,” Williams said.
Jersey to be hung: Williams says Gooden will return to have his jersey hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’ve been here 14 years. Four guys have been All-Americans Jacque (Vaughn), Paul (Pierce), Raef (LaFrentz) and now Drew,” Williams said. “Drew is the only player in 14 years who was selected as a national player of the year (one of the criteria for retiring jerseys). He was co-national player of the year of the NABC, the coaches association. I think they know a little bit about basketball.
“It’s a tremendous honor. Drew Gooden will be remembered as one of the great players in Kansas basketball. I don’t agree with some things that have been written about hanging his jersey up there,” he added, referring to a Journal-World column suggesting other players deserve to have their jerseys hung before Gooden.
“One of these days we’ll put that jersey up there. Drew will be back that night to see that jersey put up. I’ll be a little emotional. There will be a big smile on my face. He’ll be the same way. In my 14 years he’s the best offensive rebounder I’ve been around.
“Wayne (Simien) and Nick (Collison) I want you guys to erase that (statement) next year.”
The other juniors: Williams is compiling information from NBA officials regarding the possible draft status of juniors Collison and Kirk Hinrich.
Any immediate announcement on their futures forthcoming?
“No, because we’re in no hurry,” Williams said. “I mean if people leave you alone to make a decision, you have until May 12. There’s been so much badgering (of Gooden) we had to come up with something quicker.”
Gooden was the 17th college underclassman to declare for the draft this postseason.
It’s believed Collison and Hinrich will remain on board for their senior seasons.
Recruit: Kris Humphries, a 6-8 junior forward from Minnetonka, Minn., attended the Gooden press conference. He’s considering KU, Duke, Minnesota and others.
Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams asked Drew Gooden to inform him of his decision whether to leave for the NBA or return for his senior year at KU via telephone.
“That’d way it’d be easier for him to tell me if he was leaving,” KU coach Williams explained.
Gooden tried but simply couldn’t comply with the request, informing KU’s coach of his NBA dreams in person on Monday afternoon.
“I felt that when he came in my house on my recruiting trip it was a face-to-face deal that I was coming to KU,” said Gooden. “I felt the only way it’d be right to tell him I was leaving was face-to-face. I didn’t want to do it over the phone. The emotional bond is not really there over the phone.
“I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night knowing I had told him that I was leaving over the phone.”
Gooden returned to Williams’ office for another face-to-face chat on Tuesday, catching KU’s coach before he left on a recruiting trip.
“He came back in and said, ‘Coach I had another thought that’s worrying me. Do you think I’m ready?’ I thought that was cool,” Williams said.
Jersey to be hung: Williams says Gooden will return to have his jersey hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’ve been here 14 years. Four guys have been All-Americans Jacque (Vaughn), Paul (Pierce), Raef (LaFrentz) and now Drew,” Williams said. “Drew is the only player in 14 years who was selected as a national player of the year (one of the criteria for retiring jerseys). He was co-national player of the year of the NABC, the coaches association. I think they know a little bit about basketball.
“It’s a tremendous honor. Drew Gooden will be remembered as one of the great players in Kansas basketball. I don’t agree with some things that have been written about hanging his jersey up there,” he added, referring to a Journal-World column suggesting other players deserve to have their jerseys hung before Gooden.
“One of these days we’ll put that jersey up there. Drew will be back that night to see that jersey put up. I’ll be a little emotional. There will be a big smile on my face. He’ll be the same way. In my 14 years he’s the best offensive rebounder I’ve been around.
“Wayne (Simien) and Nick (Collison) I want you guys to erase that (statement) next year.”
The other juniors: Williams is compiling information from NBA officials regarding the possible draft status of juniors Collison and Kirk Hinrich.
Any immediate announcement on their futures forthcoming?
“No, because we’re in no hurry,” Williams said. “I mean if people leave you alone to make a decision, you have until May 12. There’s been so much badgering (of Gooden) we had to come up with something quicker.”
Gooden was the 17th college underclassman to declare for the draft this postseason.
It’s believed Collison and Hinrich will remain on board for their senior seasons.
Recruit: Kris Humphries, a 6-8 junior forward from Minnetonka, Minn., attended the Gooden press conference. He’s considering KU, Duke, Minnesota and others.
Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams asked Drew Gooden to inform him of his decision whether to leave for the NBA or return for his senior year at KU via telephone.
“That’d way it’d be easier for him to tell me if he was leaving,” KU coach Williams explained.
Gooden tried but simply couldn’t comply with the request, informing KU’s coach of his NBA dreams in person on Monday afternoon.
“I felt that when he came in my house on my recruiting trip it was a face-to-face deal that I was coming to KU,” said Gooden. “I felt the only way it’d be right to tell him I was leaving was face-to-face. I didn’t want to do it over the phone. The emotional bond is not really there over the phone.
“I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night knowing I had told him that I was leaving over the phone.”
Gooden returned to Williams’ office for another face-to-face chat on Tuesday, catching KU’s coach before he left on a recruiting trip.
“He came back in and said, ‘Coach I had another thought that’s worrying me. Do you think I’m ready?’ I thought that was cool,” Williams said.
Jersey to be hung: Williams says Gooden will return to have his jersey hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’ve been here 14 years. Four guys have been All-Americans Jacque (Vaughn), Paul (Pierce), Raef (LaFrentz) and now Drew,” Williams said. “Drew is the only player in 14 years who was selected as a national player of the year (one of the criteria for retiring jerseys). He was co-national player of the year of the NABC, the coaches association. I think they know a little bit about basketball.
“It’s a tremendous honor. Drew Gooden will be remembered as one of the great players in Kansas basketball. I don’t agree with some things that have been written about hanging his jersey up there,” he added, referring to a Journal-World column suggesting other players deserve to have their jerseys hung before Gooden.
“One of these days we’ll put that jersey up there. Drew will be back that night to see that jersey put up. I’ll be a little emotional. There will be a big smile on my face. He’ll be the same way. In my 14 years he’s the best offensive rebounder I’ve been around.
“Wayne (Simien) and Nick (Collison) I want you guys to erase that (statement) next year.”
The other juniors: Williams is compiling information from NBA officials regarding the possible draft status of juniors Collison and Kirk Hinrich.
Any immediate announcement on their futures forthcoming?
“No, because we’re in no hurry,” Williams said. “I mean if people leave you alone to make a decision, you have until May 12. There’s been so much badgering (of Gooden) we had to come up with something quicker.”
Gooden was the 17th college underclassman to declare for the draft this postseason.
It’s believed Collison and Hinrich will remain on board for their senior seasons.
Recruit: Kris Humphries, a 6-8 junior forward from Minnetonka, Minn., attended the Gooden press conference. He’s considering KU, Duke, Minnesota and others.
Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams asked Drew Gooden to inform him of his decision whether to leave for the NBA or return for his senior year at KU via telephone.
“That’d way it’d be easier for him to tell me if he was leaving,” KU coach Williams explained.
Gooden tried but simply couldn’t comply with the request, informing KU’s coach of his NBA dreams in person on Monday afternoon.
“I felt that when he came in my house on my recruiting trip it was a face-to-face deal that I was coming to KU,” said Gooden. “I felt the only way it’d be right to tell him I was leaving was face-to-face. I didn’t want to do it over the phone. The emotional bond is not really there over the phone.
“I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night knowing I had told him that I was leaving over the phone.”
Gooden returned to Williams’ office for another face-to-face chat on Tuesday, catching KU’s coach before he left on a recruiting trip.
“He came back in and said, ‘Coach I had another thought that’s worrying me. Do you think I’m ready?’ I thought that was cool,” Williams said.
Jersey to be hung: Williams says Gooden will return to have his jersey hung in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’ve been here 14 years. Four guys have been All-Americans Jacque (Vaughn), Paul (Pierce), Raef (LaFrentz) and now Drew,” Williams said. “Drew is the only player in 14 years who was selected as a national player of the year (one of the criteria for retiring jerseys). He was co-national player of the year of the NABC, the coaches association. I think they know a little bit about basketball.
“It’s a tremendous honor. Drew Gooden will be remembered as one of the great players in Kansas basketball. I don’t agree with some things that have been written about hanging his jersey up there,” he added, referring to a Journal-World column suggesting other players deserve to have their jerseys hung before Gooden.
“One of these days we’ll put that jersey up there. Drew will be back that night to see that jersey put up. I’ll be a little emotional. There will be a big smile on my face. He’ll be the same way. In my 14 years he’s the best offensive rebounder I’ve been around.
“Wayne (Simien) and Nick (Collison) I want you guys to erase that (statement) next year.”
The other juniors: Williams is compiling information from NBA officials regarding the possible draft status of juniors Collison and Kirk Hinrich.
Any immediate announcement on their futures forthcoming?
“No, because we’re in no hurry,” Williams said. “I mean if people leave you alone to make a decision, you have until May 12. There’s been so much badgering (of Gooden) we had to come up with something quicker.”
Gooden was the 17th college underclassman to declare for the draft this postseason.
It’s believed Collison and Hinrich will remain on board for their senior seasons.
Recruit: Kris Humphries, a 6-8 junior forward from Minnetonka, Minn., attended the Gooden press conference. He’s considering KU, Duke, Minnesota and others.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoAAtlanta ? Roy Williams’ final locker-room speech to his 2001-02 Kansas basketball players is one the Jayhawks will never forget.
“Looking at him crying up there talking to us it got everybody’s emotions. It was just a sentimental moment for us,” KU junior Drew Gooden said, reflecting on the moments immediately after KU’s 97-88 loss to Maryland in the Final Four semifinals.
“He told us he just wished he could have won a national championship for us and we wish we could have won it for him. One of my goals was for him to have a smile on his face after our last game. I wanted to do that for my coach. It didn’t happen.”
Williams said a lot of things to the Jayhawks following a wacky semifinal in which KU cut a 20-point deficit to four late.
“It’s the most inadequate feeling you can ever have as a coach, figuring out what to say,” Williams said. “When you realize it’s the end of the season the suddenness that it hits you that it’s over it’s just hard.
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo“I said a lot of things to the kids. I said they took me for a great ride. It’s as fun a team as I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
Williams says he trusted this team more than any in recent memory and he had a blast every day coaching this group.
“I think kids have a great ability to bounce back. It comes with youth. They are so much better at that than coaches,” Williams said. “It won’t be long that they’ll feel good about what they accomplished. They will always have the sorrow of not winning the last game, but they’ll feel good about the season.”
It was a season in which KU went undefeated in the Big 12 and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1993.
“Coach said he’s proud of us, that he had a lot of fun and not to remember this season based on one game,” junior forward Nick Collison said after scoring 21 points, 15 the second half. “After a while we are going to look back and realize we had a good season. It’s not what everybody wanted. We felt this was our year. It’s good we went down swinging, but at the same time, we are not into moral victories.”
Mike Yoder/Journal-World PhotoKU relished each of its 33 victories.
“We had a lot of fun with this team. You can’t replace that,” Gooden said. “I look at all the good this team accomplished. Nobody can take away what we accomplished this year, to get this far. A lot of people didn’t think we could do it. We did it. We just didn’t bring our A-game and Maryland did.”
Miles dandy: Aaron Miles, who helped fuel KU’s late comeback, finished the final game of his freshman year with 10 assists, three turnovers and two steals.
“I never thought we were out of the game. As a ballplayer you’ve gotta believe,” Miles said. “You gotta believe.”
“Aaron is the one who brought us back,” Collison said. “He was telling everybody to keep playing. Aaron was stealing the ball. He made us believe with his play.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoFinale revisited: Gooden reflected on the finale in which he had four points at halftime and finished with 15 on 5-of-12 shooting.
“I had one of the worst games of my life and it was on the wrong day,” he said. “I feel I couldn’t get in rhythm, couldn’t get in a groove.”
Kirk’s take: Kirk Hinrich on the Jayhawks’ season-ending loss: “It seems the closer you get to your goal the more it hurts. There’s a lot of emotion. It’s our last time playing with coach Dougherty (Neil, who is off to TCU to be head coach). It’s the last time playing with ‘Bosch’ (Jeff Boschee). I played a lot of minutes with Jeff Boschee. I don’t know what it’ll be like without Jeff out there.”
Great career: Boschee finishes as the all-time leading three-point bomber in Big 12 history with 338 threes in 843 attempts. He also had more threes than anybody who played in the Big Eight.
“I don’t regret any choice I made coming out of high school,” said the Valley City, N.D. native. “I wanted to play for this program since I was a young kid and accomplish some of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. To win the conference championship, make it to the Final Four, win the regional finals, you can’t ask for much more. It was a dream season. We didn’t reach our final goal.”
Mum on flight time: KU’s players and team managers were to fly commercially to KC International today at an undisclosed time.
“Everything is returning to normal,” KU associate athletics director Doug Vance said, noting the students were returning so they could go to class. The KU coaches will return Tuesday in time for a 4 p.m. celebration at Memorial Stadium.
Wet floor again: KU’s first and last games of the season were played on slippery floors. At the Maui Invitational, the Jayhawks slipped and suffered cramps in a steamy Lahaina Civic Center gym. On Saturday, a rainstorm resulted in a leaky Georgia Dome roof.
KU’s Keith Langford slipped and fell on his left wrist and was in pain after the game. He’s lucky, however, as KU’s team doctor said he has a sprain, not a break.
Anything that can be done to prevent the wet floor for tonight’s final?
“Bring extra towels,” NCAA media coordinator Jim Marchiony told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a very, very humid, warm day and evening. That contributed to the stoppages (to wipe floor).”
Players get shaft?: Critics note the NCAA makes millions of dollars off men’s basketball and yet the organization won’t fly relatives of players to games.
KU’s Brett Ballard was asked about the situation.
“I’ve got a lot of other relatives who would have liked to come, but it’s very expensive airfare, hotel,” Ballard said. “It’s tough and I wish there was something the NCAA could do. Our family is not filled with doctors and lawyers. It’s filled with teachers and farmers.”
His parents, sister and uncle traveled to the tourney.
The NCAA has said if it paid for expenses for men’s basketball players’ family members, they’d have to do so at all NCAA championships, including nonrevenue sports.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoAAtlanta ? Roy Williams’ final locker-room speech to his 2001-02 Kansas basketball players is one the Jayhawks will never forget.
“Looking at him crying up there talking to us it got everybody’s emotions. It was just a sentimental moment for us,” KU junior Drew Gooden said, reflecting on the moments immediately after KU’s 97-88 loss to Maryland in the Final Four semifinals.
“He told us he just wished he could have won a national championship for us and we wish we could have won it for him. One of my goals was for him to have a smile on his face after our last game. I wanted to do that for my coach. It didn’t happen.”
Williams said a lot of things to the Jayhawks following a wacky semifinal in which KU cut a 20-point deficit to four late.
“It’s the most inadequate feeling you can ever have as a coach, figuring out what to say,” Williams said. “When you realize it’s the end of the season the suddenness that it hits you that it’s over it’s just hard.
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo“I said a lot of things to the kids. I said they took me for a great ride. It’s as fun a team as I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
Williams says he trusted this team more than any in recent memory and he had a blast every day coaching this group.
“I think kids have a great ability to bounce back. It comes with youth. They are so much better at that than coaches,” Williams said. “It won’t be long that they’ll feel good about what they accomplished. They will always have the sorrow of not winning the last game, but they’ll feel good about the season.”
It was a season in which KU went undefeated in the Big 12 and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1993.
“Coach said he’s proud of us, that he had a lot of fun and not to remember this season based on one game,” junior forward Nick Collison said after scoring 21 points, 15 the second half. “After a while we are going to look back and realize we had a good season. It’s not what everybody wanted. We felt this was our year. It’s good we went down swinging, but at the same time, we are not into moral victories.”
Mike Yoder/Journal-World PhotoKU relished each of its 33 victories.
“We had a lot of fun with this team. You can’t replace that,” Gooden said. “I look at all the good this team accomplished. Nobody can take away what we accomplished this year, to get this far. A lot of people didn’t think we could do it. We did it. We just didn’t bring our A-game and Maryland did.”
Miles dandy: Aaron Miles, who helped fuel KU’s late comeback, finished the final game of his freshman year with 10 assists, three turnovers and two steals.
“I never thought we were out of the game. As a ballplayer you’ve gotta believe,” Miles said. “You gotta believe.”
“Aaron is the one who brought us back,” Collison said. “He was telling everybody to keep playing. Aaron was stealing the ball. He made us believe with his play.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoFinale revisited: Gooden reflected on the finale in which he had four points at halftime and finished with 15 on 5-of-12 shooting.
“I had one of the worst games of my life and it was on the wrong day,” he said. “I feel I couldn’t get in rhythm, couldn’t get in a groove.”
Kirk’s take: Kirk Hinrich on the Jayhawks’ season-ending loss: “It seems the closer you get to your goal the more it hurts. There’s a lot of emotion. It’s our last time playing with coach Dougherty (Neil, who is off to TCU to be head coach). It’s the last time playing with ‘Bosch’ (Jeff Boschee). I played a lot of minutes with Jeff Boschee. I don’t know what it’ll be like without Jeff out there.”
Great career: Boschee finishes as the all-time leading three-point bomber in Big 12 history with 338 threes in 843 attempts. He also had more threes than anybody who played in the Big Eight.
“I don’t regret any choice I made coming out of high school,” said the Valley City, N.D. native. “I wanted to play for this program since I was a young kid and accomplish some of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. To win the conference championship, make it to the Final Four, win the regional finals, you can’t ask for much more. It was a dream season. We didn’t reach our final goal.”
Mum on flight time: KU’s players and team managers were to fly commercially to KC International today at an undisclosed time.
“Everything is returning to normal,” KU associate athletics director Doug Vance said, noting the students were returning so they could go to class. The KU coaches will return Tuesday in time for a 4 p.m. celebration at Memorial Stadium.
Wet floor again: KU’s first and last games of the season were played on slippery floors. At the Maui Invitational, the Jayhawks slipped and suffered cramps in a steamy Lahaina Civic Center gym. On Saturday, a rainstorm resulted in a leaky Georgia Dome roof.
KU’s Keith Langford slipped and fell on his left wrist and was in pain after the game. He’s lucky, however, as KU’s team doctor said he has a sprain, not a break.
Anything that can be done to prevent the wet floor for tonight’s final?
“Bring extra towels,” NCAA media coordinator Jim Marchiony told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a very, very humid, warm day and evening. That contributed to the stoppages (to wipe floor).”
Players get shaft?: Critics note the NCAA makes millions of dollars off men’s basketball and yet the organization won’t fly relatives of players to games.
KU’s Brett Ballard was asked about the situation.
“I’ve got a lot of other relatives who would have liked to come, but it’s very expensive airfare, hotel,” Ballard said. “It’s tough and I wish there was something the NCAA could do. Our family is not filled with doctors and lawyers. It’s filled with teachers and farmers.”
His parents, sister and uncle traveled to the tourney.
The NCAA has said if it paid for expenses for men’s basketball players’ family members, they’d have to do so at all NCAA championships, including nonrevenue sports.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoAAtlanta ? Roy Williams’ final locker-room speech to his 2001-02 Kansas basketball players is one the Jayhawks will never forget.
“Looking at him crying up there talking to us it got everybody’s emotions. It was just a sentimental moment for us,” KU junior Drew Gooden said, reflecting on the moments immediately after KU’s 97-88 loss to Maryland in the Final Four semifinals.
“He told us he just wished he could have won a national championship for us and we wish we could have won it for him. One of my goals was for him to have a smile on his face after our last game. I wanted to do that for my coach. It didn’t happen.”
Williams said a lot of things to the Jayhawks following a wacky semifinal in which KU cut a 20-point deficit to four late.
“It’s the most inadequate feeling you can ever have as a coach, figuring out what to say,” Williams said. “When you realize it’s the end of the season the suddenness that it hits you that it’s over it’s just hard.
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo“I said a lot of things to the kids. I said they took me for a great ride. It’s as fun a team as I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
Williams says he trusted this team more than any in recent memory and he had a blast every day coaching this group.
“I think kids have a great ability to bounce back. It comes with youth. They are so much better at that than coaches,” Williams said. “It won’t be long that they’ll feel good about what they accomplished. They will always have the sorrow of not winning the last game, but they’ll feel good about the season.”
It was a season in which KU went undefeated in the Big 12 and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1993.
“Coach said he’s proud of us, that he had a lot of fun and not to remember this season based on one game,” junior forward Nick Collison said after scoring 21 points, 15 the second half. “After a while we are going to look back and realize we had a good season. It’s not what everybody wanted. We felt this was our year. It’s good we went down swinging, but at the same time, we are not into moral victories.”
Mike Yoder/Journal-World PhotoKU relished each of its 33 victories.
“We had a lot of fun with this team. You can’t replace that,” Gooden said. “I look at all the good this team accomplished. Nobody can take away what we accomplished this year, to get this far. A lot of people didn’t think we could do it. We did it. We just didn’t bring our A-game and Maryland did.”
Miles dandy: Aaron Miles, who helped fuel KU’s late comeback, finished the final game of his freshman year with 10 assists, three turnovers and two steals.
“I never thought we were out of the game. As a ballplayer you’ve gotta believe,” Miles said. “You gotta believe.”
“Aaron is the one who brought us back,” Collison said. “He was telling everybody to keep playing. Aaron was stealing the ball. He made us believe with his play.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoFinale revisited: Gooden reflected on the finale in which he had four points at halftime and finished with 15 on 5-of-12 shooting.
“I had one of the worst games of my life and it was on the wrong day,” he said. “I feel I couldn’t get in rhythm, couldn’t get in a groove.”
Kirk’s take: Kirk Hinrich on the Jayhawks’ season-ending loss: “It seems the closer you get to your goal the more it hurts. There’s a lot of emotion. It’s our last time playing with coach Dougherty (Neil, who is off to TCU to be head coach). It’s the last time playing with ‘Bosch’ (Jeff Boschee). I played a lot of minutes with Jeff Boschee. I don’t know what it’ll be like without Jeff out there.”
Great career: Boschee finishes as the all-time leading three-point bomber in Big 12 history with 338 threes in 843 attempts. He also had more threes than anybody who played in the Big Eight.
“I don’t regret any choice I made coming out of high school,” said the Valley City, N.D. native. “I wanted to play for this program since I was a young kid and accomplish some of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. To win the conference championship, make it to the Final Four, win the regional finals, you can’t ask for much more. It was a dream season. We didn’t reach our final goal.”
Mum on flight time: KU’s players and team managers were to fly commercially to KC International today at an undisclosed time.
“Everything is returning to normal,” KU associate athletics director Doug Vance said, noting the students were returning so they could go to class. The KU coaches will return Tuesday in time for a 4 p.m. celebration at Memorial Stadium.
Wet floor again: KU’s first and last games of the season were played on slippery floors. At the Maui Invitational, the Jayhawks slipped and suffered cramps in a steamy Lahaina Civic Center gym. On Saturday, a rainstorm resulted in a leaky Georgia Dome roof.
KU’s Keith Langford slipped and fell on his left wrist and was in pain after the game. He’s lucky, however, as KU’s team doctor said he has a sprain, not a break.
Anything that can be done to prevent the wet floor for tonight’s final?
“Bring extra towels,” NCAA media coordinator Jim Marchiony told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a very, very humid, warm day and evening. That contributed to the stoppages (to wipe floor).”
Players get shaft?: Critics note the NCAA makes millions of dollars off men’s basketball and yet the organization won’t fly relatives of players to games.
KU’s Brett Ballard was asked about the situation.
“I’ve got a lot of other relatives who would have liked to come, but it’s very expensive airfare, hotel,” Ballard said. “It’s tough and I wish there was something the NCAA could do. Our family is not filled with doctors and lawyers. It’s filled with teachers and farmers.”
His parents, sister and uncle traveled to the tourney.
The NCAA has said if it paid for expenses for men’s basketball players’ family members, they’d have to do so at all NCAA championships, including nonrevenue sports.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoAAtlanta ? Roy Williams’ final locker-room speech to his 2001-02 Kansas basketball players is one the Jayhawks will never forget.
“Looking at him crying up there talking to us it got everybody’s emotions. It was just a sentimental moment for us,” KU junior Drew Gooden said, reflecting on the moments immediately after KU’s 97-88 loss to Maryland in the Final Four semifinals.
“He told us he just wished he could have won a national championship for us and we wish we could have won it for him. One of my goals was for him to have a smile on his face after our last game. I wanted to do that for my coach. It didn’t happen.”
Williams said a lot of things to the Jayhawks following a wacky semifinal in which KU cut a 20-point deficit to four late.
“It’s the most inadequate feeling you can ever have as a coach, figuring out what to say,” Williams said. “When you realize it’s the end of the season the suddenness that it hits you that it’s over it’s just hard.
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo“I said a lot of things to the kids. I said they took me for a great ride. It’s as fun a team as I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
Williams says he trusted this team more than any in recent memory and he had a blast every day coaching this group.
“I think kids have a great ability to bounce back. It comes with youth. They are so much better at that than coaches,” Williams said. “It won’t be long that they’ll feel good about what they accomplished. They will always have the sorrow of not winning the last game, but they’ll feel good about the season.”
It was a season in which KU went undefeated in the Big 12 and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1993.
“Coach said he’s proud of us, that he had a lot of fun and not to remember this season based on one game,” junior forward Nick Collison said after scoring 21 points, 15 the second half. “After a while we are going to look back and realize we had a good season. It’s not what everybody wanted. We felt this was our year. It’s good we went down swinging, but at the same time, we are not into moral victories.”
Mike Yoder/Journal-World PhotoKU relished each of its 33 victories.
“We had a lot of fun with this team. You can’t replace that,” Gooden said. “I look at all the good this team accomplished. Nobody can take away what we accomplished this year, to get this far. A lot of people didn’t think we could do it. We did it. We just didn’t bring our A-game and Maryland did.”
Miles dandy: Aaron Miles, who helped fuel KU’s late comeback, finished the final game of his freshman year with 10 assists, three turnovers and two steals.
“I never thought we were out of the game. As a ballplayer you’ve gotta believe,” Miles said. “You gotta believe.”
“Aaron is the one who brought us back,” Collison said. “He was telling everybody to keep playing. Aaron was stealing the ball. He made us believe with his play.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoFinale revisited: Gooden reflected on the finale in which he had four points at halftime and finished with 15 on 5-of-12 shooting.
“I had one of the worst games of my life and it was on the wrong day,” he said. “I feel I couldn’t get in rhythm, couldn’t get in a groove.”
Kirk’s take: Kirk Hinrich on the Jayhawks’ season-ending loss: “It seems the closer you get to your goal the more it hurts. There’s a lot of emotion. It’s our last time playing with coach Dougherty (Neil, who is off to TCU to be head coach). It’s the last time playing with ‘Bosch’ (Jeff Boschee). I played a lot of minutes with Jeff Boschee. I don’t know what it’ll be like without Jeff out there.”
Great career: Boschee finishes as the all-time leading three-point bomber in Big 12 history with 338 threes in 843 attempts. He also had more threes than anybody who played in the Big Eight.
“I don’t regret any choice I made coming out of high school,” said the Valley City, N.D. native. “I wanted to play for this program since I was a young kid and accomplish some of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. To win the conference championship, make it to the Final Four, win the regional finals, you can’t ask for much more. It was a dream season. We didn’t reach our final goal.”
Mum on flight time: KU’s players and team managers were to fly commercially to KC International today at an undisclosed time.
“Everything is returning to normal,” KU associate athletics director Doug Vance said, noting the students were returning so they could go to class. The KU coaches will return Tuesday in time for a 4 p.m. celebration at Memorial Stadium.
Wet floor again: KU’s first and last games of the season were played on slippery floors. At the Maui Invitational, the Jayhawks slipped and suffered cramps in a steamy Lahaina Civic Center gym. On Saturday, a rainstorm resulted in a leaky Georgia Dome roof.
KU’s Keith Langford slipped and fell on his left wrist and was in pain after the game. He’s lucky, however, as KU’s team doctor said he has a sprain, not a break.
Anything that can be done to prevent the wet floor for tonight’s final?
“Bring extra towels,” NCAA media coordinator Jim Marchiony told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a very, very humid, warm day and evening. That contributed to the stoppages (to wipe floor).”
Players get shaft?: Critics note the NCAA makes millions of dollars off men’s basketball and yet the organization won’t fly relatives of players to games.
KU’s Brett Ballard was asked about the situation.
“I’ve got a lot of other relatives who would have liked to come, but it’s very expensive airfare, hotel,” Ballard said. “It’s tough and I wish there was something the NCAA could do. Our family is not filled with doctors and lawyers. It’s filled with teachers and farmers.”
His parents, sister and uncle traveled to the tourney.
The NCAA has said if it paid for expenses for men’s basketball players’ family members, they’d have to do so at all NCAA championships, including nonrevenue sports.
Jayhawks flock: More than 30 former Kansas players are expected to attend tonight’s game at Georgia Dome, including NBA players Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard. Many of the former Jayhawks played for KU coach Roy Williams but not all of them.
“I am aware of the former players that are here,” Williams said. “We’ll have four or five guys who played on the 1952 national championship team that will be here. I didn’t coach those guys.
“I think it’s important to me that the players, when they leave Kansas, feel like it is their program and will always be their program, so I am happy that they’re back here and will be back here.”
Williams also was expecting some of his former high school players from North Carolina to be in attendance.
Speaking of Jacque: Vaughn, a former Jayhawk and current member of the Atlanta Hawks, spoke to KU’s team Thursday after the Jayhawks practiced at the Hawks’ training facility.
“He had some motivational words,” KU’s Wayne Simien said. “He said he was proud of us. He said he never made a Final Four and wanted us to know former players are proud of us. He said he hoped we had a great time, yet remained focused on winning the championship.”
KU’s players attended Thursday’s Hawks-Toronto Raptors game and watched Vaughn score nine points and dish two assists in an 85-83 loss.
“I know him a little bit from playing with him and against him in the preseason (in past years),” Simien said of Vaughn. “He’s a good guy and good player both.”
Keith keeps hair: Keith Langford’s mother has won out.
KU’s freshman guard was going to get a haircut earlier this week, but superstitious mom, Charlene Taylor, told him to keep his locks.
“You see the hair’s still here. I didn’t cut it,” Langford said Friday. “I’ve still got my hair because she wanted me to keep it.”
As far as tonight’s game, Langford may spend some time guarding Maryland senior sensation Juan Dixon.
“I’m sure it’ll happen,” Langford said. “I’ve guarded a lot of good perimeter players this year and this won’t be much of a change. He’s good, very good, but so are we. I look forward to guarding anybody coach tells me to guard.”
Langford was wearing a special T-shirt on Friday. A fan gave him a T-shirt with the letter K encased in a Superman logo. The shirt is a replica of a tattoo on Langford’s shoulder.
“Somebody made it for me back in Lawrence and I’m just wearing it to show love,” Langford said.
No dunk for Dougherty: KU assistant coach Neil Dougherty tried to dunk as KU’s practice concluded at the Dome.
He was unsuccessful.
“In practice the guys always get on me. They want me to try to dunk,” Dougherty said. “It started with a guy named Jacque Vaughn trying to get me to dunk at practice several years ago. I said, ‘I won’t dunk until we make the Final Four.’ We made it, so I had to try it. I was just trying to survive. I didn’t want to wind up on my butt.”
Dougherty didn’t fall, but didn’t dunk either.
Indoor lighting OK: Shooters sometimes say it’s difficult to hit jumpers in vast buildings like the Georgia Dome.
KU senior Jeff Boschee disagrees.
“It feels no different out there,” sharpshooter Boschee said after Friday’s practice. “The rims feel soft. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”
Good luck charms missing: So far, Williams hasn’t pulled out stuffed monkey ‘Stank-em’ or had the Jayhawks do any spitting in bodies of water for good luck.
“Hey, whatever coach wants, I’d do it,” Zerbe said. “He knows what’s best for this team.”
What’s the team been doing?
“Mainly we’re just kicking it at the hotel and having fun with teammates,” Langford said.
Win it for Roy: The Jayhawks were hammered with questions from the national media about winning a title for Williams, thought to be the best coach to never have won a national title.
“We want to win it for him. It would shut everybody up,” Collison said. “People still will write what they want to write whether it’s true or not. If we win the title, everybody will be on top of the world, not just coach.”
Would a national title shut up Williams’ critics?
“I imagine,” Hinrich said. “Coach takes a lot of crap and that’s what it is, crap. He is a great coach, period. He works harder than anybody and wants it more than anybody.”
Drew’s a good one: ESPN’s Dick Vitale had high praise for KU All-American Drew Gooden.
“I’ve not seen a better offensive rebounder in the last decade than Drew Gooden,” Vitale said.
This and that: Some teams can puff their chests in pride despite not being here at the Final Four. Remember Ball State defeated Kansas; Butler topped Indiana; Texas Tech stopped Oklahoma; and N.C. State nudged Maryland. The Big 12, of course, has two teams in the Final Four. It’s the 12th time in the past 18 years including each of the last four that one conference had at least two teams at the Final Four. Experience counts, as 80 percent of the starters of the four teams here are juniors or seniors. Barring injuries or surprises, the Final Four starting lineups will include seven seniors, nine juniors, three sophs and one freshman KU’s Aaron Miles.
Money isn’t everything: Williams was asked if only schools with “more resources” can advance to the Final Four.
“A lot of people think everything can be broken down to money. That’s what it sounds like you are asking me,” Williams said. “I don’t know I would agree with that. I think at Kansas we do have some money. There’s a lot of other schools that have just as much money. Our tradition is extremely important to us.
“The history of our program, the importance of our program to the people within the state. We’re going to have 16,300 people at our opening practice much less every game.
“Yes, you do need more dollars to recruit those players and things, but I don’t think it can be just broken down like that. I’m sure there’s going to be a Cinderella to make a run on this. The more young teams get I still don’t think that is a thing of the past.”
Jayhawks flock: More than 30 former Kansas players are expected to attend tonight’s game at Georgia Dome, including NBA players Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard. Many of the former Jayhawks played for KU coach Roy Williams but not all of them.
“I am aware of the former players that are here,” Williams said. “We’ll have four or five guys who played on the 1952 national championship team that will be here. I didn’t coach those guys.
“I think it’s important to me that the players, when they leave Kansas, feel like it is their program and will always be their program, so I am happy that they’re back here and will be back here.”
Williams also was expecting some of his former high school players from North Carolina to be in attendance.
Speaking of Jacque: Vaughn, a former Jayhawk and current member of the Atlanta Hawks, spoke to KU’s team Thursday after the Jayhawks practiced at the Hawks’ training facility.
“He had some motivational words,” KU’s Wayne Simien said. “He said he was proud of us. He said he never made a Final Four and wanted us to know former players are proud of us. He said he hoped we had a great time, yet remained focused on winning the championship.”
KU’s players attended Thursday’s Hawks-Toronto Raptors game and watched Vaughn score nine points and dish two assists in an 85-83 loss.
“I know him a little bit from playing with him and against him in the preseason (in past years),” Simien said of Vaughn. “He’s a good guy and good player both.”
Keith keeps hair: Keith Langford’s mother has won out.
KU’s freshman guard was going to get a haircut earlier this week, but superstitious mom, Charlene Taylor, told him to keep his locks.
“You see the hair’s still here. I didn’t cut it,” Langford said Friday. “I’ve still got my hair because she wanted me to keep it.”
As far as tonight’s game, Langford may spend some time guarding Maryland senior sensation Juan Dixon.
“I’m sure it’ll happen,” Langford said. “I’ve guarded a lot of good perimeter players this year and this won’t be much of a change. He’s good, very good, but so are we. I look forward to guarding anybody coach tells me to guard.”
Langford was wearing a special T-shirt on Friday. A fan gave him a T-shirt with the letter K encased in a Superman logo. The shirt is a replica of a tattoo on Langford’s shoulder.
“Somebody made it for me back in Lawrence and I’m just wearing it to show love,” Langford said.
No dunk for Dougherty: KU assistant coach Neil Dougherty tried to dunk as KU’s practice concluded at the Dome.
He was unsuccessful.
“In practice the guys always get on me. They want me to try to dunk,” Dougherty said. “It started with a guy named Jacque Vaughn trying to get me to dunk at practice several years ago. I said, ‘I won’t dunk until we make the Final Four.’ We made it, so I had to try it. I was just trying to survive. I didn’t want to wind up on my butt.”
Dougherty didn’t fall, but didn’t dunk either.
Indoor lighting OK: Shooters sometimes say it’s difficult to hit jumpers in vast buildings like the Georgia Dome.
KU senior Jeff Boschee disagrees.
“It feels no different out there,” sharpshooter Boschee said after Friday’s practice. “The rims feel soft. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”
Good luck charms missing: So far, Williams hasn’t pulled out stuffed monkey ‘Stank-em’ or had the Jayhawks do any spitting in bodies of water for good luck.
“Hey, whatever coach wants, I’d do it,” Zerbe said. “He knows what’s best for this team.”
What’s the team been doing?
“Mainly we’re just kicking it at the hotel and having fun with teammates,” Langford said.
Win it for Roy: The Jayhawks were hammered with questions from the national media about winning a title for Williams, thought to be the best coach to never have won a national title.
“We want to win it for him. It would shut everybody up,” Collison said. “People still will write what they want to write whether it’s true or not. If we win the title, everybody will be on top of the world, not just coach.”
Would a national title shut up Williams’ critics?
“I imagine,” Hinrich said. “Coach takes a lot of crap and that’s what it is, crap. He is a great coach, period. He works harder than anybody and wants it more than anybody.”
Drew’s a good one: ESPN’s Dick Vitale had high praise for KU All-American Drew Gooden.
“I’ve not seen a better offensive rebounder in the last decade than Drew Gooden,” Vitale said.
This and that: Some teams can puff their chests in pride despite not being here at the Final Four. Remember Ball State defeated Kansas; Butler topped Indiana; Texas Tech stopped Oklahoma; and N.C. State nudged Maryland. The Big 12, of course, has two teams in the Final Four. It’s the 12th time in the past 18 years including each of the last four that one conference had at least two teams at the Final Four. Experience counts, as 80 percent of the starters of the four teams here are juniors or seniors. Barring injuries or surprises, the Final Four starting lineups will include seven seniors, nine juniors, three sophs and one freshman KU’s Aaron Miles.
Money isn’t everything: Williams was asked if only schools with “more resources” can advance to the Final Four.
“A lot of people think everything can be broken down to money. That’s what it sounds like you are asking me,” Williams said. “I don’t know I would agree with that. I think at Kansas we do have some money. There’s a lot of other schools that have just as much money. Our tradition is extremely important to us.
“The history of our program, the importance of our program to the people within the state. We’re going to have 16,300 people at our opening practice much less every game.
“Yes, you do need more dollars to recruit those players and things, but I don’t think it can be just broken down like that. I’m sure there’s going to be a Cinderella to make a run on this. The more young teams get I still don’t think that is a thing of the past.”
Jayhawks flock: More than 30 former Kansas players are expected to attend tonight’s game at Georgia Dome, including NBA players Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard. Many of the former Jayhawks played for KU coach Roy Williams but not all of them.
“I am aware of the former players that are here,” Williams said. “We’ll have four or five guys who played on the 1952 national championship team that will be here. I didn’t coach those guys.
“I think it’s important to me that the players, when they leave Kansas, feel like it is their program and will always be their program, so I am happy that they’re back here and will be back here.”
Williams also was expecting some of his former high school players from North Carolina to be in attendance.
Speaking of Jacque: Vaughn, a former Jayhawk and current member of the Atlanta Hawks, spoke to KU’s team Thursday after the Jayhawks practiced at the Hawks’ training facility.
“He had some motivational words,” KU’s Wayne Simien said. “He said he was proud of us. He said he never made a Final Four and wanted us to know former players are proud of us. He said he hoped we had a great time, yet remained focused on winning the championship.”
KU’s players attended Thursday’s Hawks-Toronto Raptors game and watched Vaughn score nine points and dish two assists in an 85-83 loss.
“I know him a little bit from playing with him and against him in the preseason (in past years),” Simien said of Vaughn. “He’s a good guy and good player both.”
Keith keeps hair: Keith Langford’s mother has won out.
KU’s freshman guard was going to get a haircut earlier this week, but superstitious mom, Charlene Taylor, told him to keep his locks.
“You see the hair’s still here. I didn’t cut it,” Langford said Friday. “I’ve still got my hair because she wanted me to keep it.”
As far as tonight’s game, Langford may spend some time guarding Maryland senior sensation Juan Dixon.
“I’m sure it’ll happen,” Langford said. “I’ve guarded a lot of good perimeter players this year and this won’t be much of a change. He’s good, very good, but so are we. I look forward to guarding anybody coach tells me to guard.”
Langford was wearing a special T-shirt on Friday. A fan gave him a T-shirt with the letter K encased in a Superman logo. The shirt is a replica of a tattoo on Langford’s shoulder.
“Somebody made it for me back in Lawrence and I’m just wearing it to show love,” Langford said.
No dunk for Dougherty: KU assistant coach Neil Dougherty tried to dunk as KU’s practice concluded at the Dome.
He was unsuccessful.
“In practice the guys always get on me. They want me to try to dunk,” Dougherty said. “It started with a guy named Jacque Vaughn trying to get me to dunk at practice several years ago. I said, ‘I won’t dunk until we make the Final Four.’ We made it, so I had to try it. I was just trying to survive. I didn’t want to wind up on my butt.”
Dougherty didn’t fall, but didn’t dunk either.
Indoor lighting OK: Shooters sometimes say it’s difficult to hit jumpers in vast buildings like the Georgia Dome.
KU senior Jeff Boschee disagrees.
“It feels no different out there,” sharpshooter Boschee said after Friday’s practice. “The rims feel soft. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”
Good luck charms missing: So far, Williams hasn’t pulled out stuffed monkey ‘Stank-em’ or had the Jayhawks do any spitting in bodies of water for good luck.
“Hey, whatever coach wants, I’d do it,” Zerbe said. “He knows what’s best for this team.”
What’s the team been doing?
“Mainly we’re just kicking it at the hotel and having fun with teammates,” Langford said.
Win it for Roy: The Jayhawks were hammered with questions from the national media about winning a title for Williams, thought to be the best coach to never have won a national title.
“We want to win it for him. It would shut everybody up,” Collison said. “People still will write what they want to write whether it’s true or not. If we win the title, everybody will be on top of the world, not just coach.”
Would a national title shut up Williams’ critics?
“I imagine,” Hinrich said. “Coach takes a lot of crap and that’s what it is, crap. He is a great coach, period. He works harder than anybody and wants it more than anybody.”
Drew’s a good one: ESPN’s Dick Vitale had high praise for KU All-American Drew Gooden.
“I’ve not seen a better offensive rebounder in the last decade than Drew Gooden,” Vitale said.
This and that: Some teams can puff their chests in pride despite not being here at the Final Four. Remember Ball State defeated Kansas; Butler topped Indiana; Texas Tech stopped Oklahoma; and N.C. State nudged Maryland. The Big 12, of course, has two teams in the Final Four. It’s the 12th time in the past 18 years including each of the last four that one conference had at least two teams at the Final Four. Experience counts, as 80 percent of the starters of the four teams here are juniors or seniors. Barring injuries or surprises, the Final Four starting lineups will include seven seniors, nine juniors, three sophs and one freshman KU’s Aaron Miles.
Money isn’t everything: Williams was asked if only schools with “more resources” can advance to the Final Four.
“A lot of people think everything can be broken down to money. That’s what it sounds like you are asking me,” Williams said. “I don’t know I would agree with that. I think at Kansas we do have some money. There’s a lot of other schools that have just as much money. Our tradition is extremely important to us.
“The history of our program, the importance of our program to the people within the state. We’re going to have 16,300 people at our opening practice much less every game.
“Yes, you do need more dollars to recruit those players and things, but I don’t think it can be just broken down like that. I’m sure there’s going to be a Cinderella to make a run on this. The more young teams get I still don’t think that is a thing of the past.”
Jayhawks flock: More than 30 former Kansas players are expected to attend tonight’s game at Georgia Dome, including NBA players Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard. Many of the former Jayhawks played for KU coach Roy Williams but not all of them.
“I am aware of the former players that are here,” Williams said. “We’ll have four or five guys who played on the 1952 national championship team that will be here. I didn’t coach those guys.
“I think it’s important to me that the players, when they leave Kansas, feel like it is their program and will always be their program, so I am happy that they’re back here and will be back here.”
Williams also was expecting some of his former high school players from North Carolina to be in attendance.
Speaking of Jacque: Vaughn, a former Jayhawk and current member of the Atlanta Hawks, spoke to KU’s team Thursday after the Jayhawks practiced at the Hawks’ training facility.
“He had some motivational words,” KU’s Wayne Simien said. “He said he was proud of us. He said he never made a Final Four and wanted us to know former players are proud of us. He said he hoped we had a great time, yet remained focused on winning the championship.”
KU’s players attended Thursday’s Hawks-Toronto Raptors game and watched Vaughn score nine points and dish two assists in an 85-83 loss.
“I know him a little bit from playing with him and against him in the preseason (in past years),” Simien said of Vaughn. “He’s a good guy and good player both.”
Keith keeps hair: Keith Langford’s mother has won out.
KU’s freshman guard was going to get a haircut earlier this week, but superstitious mom, Charlene Taylor, told him to keep his locks.
“You see the hair’s still here. I didn’t cut it,” Langford said Friday. “I’ve still got my hair because she wanted me to keep it.”
As far as tonight’s game, Langford may spend some time guarding Maryland senior sensation Juan Dixon.
“I’m sure it’ll happen,” Langford said. “I’ve guarded a lot of good perimeter players this year and this won’t be much of a change. He’s good, very good, but so are we. I look forward to guarding anybody coach tells me to guard.”
Langford was wearing a special T-shirt on Friday. A fan gave him a T-shirt with the letter K encased in a Superman logo. The shirt is a replica of a tattoo on Langford’s shoulder.
“Somebody made it for me back in Lawrence and I’m just wearing it to show love,” Langford said.
No dunk for Dougherty: KU assistant coach Neil Dougherty tried to dunk as KU’s practice concluded at the Dome.
He was unsuccessful.
“In practice the guys always get on me. They want me to try to dunk,” Dougherty said. “It started with a guy named Jacque Vaughn trying to get me to dunk at practice several years ago. I said, ‘I won’t dunk until we make the Final Four.’ We made it, so I had to try it. I was just trying to survive. I didn’t want to wind up on my butt.”
Dougherty didn’t fall, but didn’t dunk either.
Indoor lighting OK: Shooters sometimes say it’s difficult to hit jumpers in vast buildings like the Georgia Dome.
KU senior Jeff Boschee disagrees.
“It feels no different out there,” sharpshooter Boschee said after Friday’s practice. “The rims feel soft. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”
Good luck charms missing: So far, Williams hasn’t pulled out stuffed monkey ‘Stank-em’ or had the Jayhawks do any spitting in bodies of water for good luck.
“Hey, whatever coach wants, I’d do it,” Zerbe said. “He knows what’s best for this team.”
What’s the team been doing?
“Mainly we’re just kicking it at the hotel and having fun with teammates,” Langford said.
Win it for Roy: The Jayhawks were hammered with questions from the national media about winning a title for Williams, thought to be the best coach to never have won a national title.
“We want to win it for him. It would shut everybody up,” Collison said. “People still will write what they want to write whether it’s true or not. If we win the title, everybody will be on top of the world, not just coach.”
Would a national title shut up Williams’ critics?
“I imagine,” Hinrich said. “Coach takes a lot of crap and that’s what it is, crap. He is a great coach, period. He works harder than anybody and wants it more than anybody.”
Drew’s a good one: ESPN’s Dick Vitale had high praise for KU All-American Drew Gooden.
“I’ve not seen a better offensive rebounder in the last decade than Drew Gooden,” Vitale said.
This and that: Some teams can puff their chests in pride despite not being here at the Final Four. Remember Ball State defeated Kansas; Butler topped Indiana; Texas Tech stopped Oklahoma; and N.C. State nudged Maryland. The Big 12, of course, has two teams in the Final Four. It’s the 12th time in the past 18 years including each of the last four that one conference had at least two teams at the Final Four. Experience counts, as 80 percent of the starters of the four teams here are juniors or seniors. Barring injuries or surprises, the Final Four starting lineups will include seven seniors, nine juniors, three sophs and one freshman KU’s Aaron Miles.
Money isn’t everything: Williams was asked if only schools with “more resources” can advance to the Final Four.
“A lot of people think everything can be broken down to money. That’s what it sounds like you are asking me,” Williams said. “I don’t know I would agree with that. I think at Kansas we do have some money. There’s a lot of other schools that have just as much money. Our tradition is extremely important to us.
“The history of our program, the importance of our program to the people within the state. We’re going to have 16,300 people at our opening practice much less every game.
“Yes, you do need more dollars to recruit those players and things, but I don’t think it can be just broken down like that. I’m sure there’s going to be a Cinderella to make a run on this. The more young teams get I still don’t think that is a thing of the past.”
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoDrew Gooden, who led Kansas to an undefeated regular season in the Big 12 Conference and the Final Four, has been chosen as the 2001-02 National Player of the Year by Basketball America magazine.
Gooden averages 20.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds for the 33-3 Jayhawks.
He was previously named co-national player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The junior was a first team All-American.
Namesake: Jeff Boschee has heard second-hand about Scott and Jodi Schlesener of Perry naming their baby girl Deavynn (pronounced Devon) Boschee Christine Schlesener.
“One of my friends told me. They said it was in the Journal-World (Tuesday). Some lady called my house last night and told my roommates to watch the 6 o’clock news on Channel 6. They said it was gonna be on the news. I didn’t get to see it, but they were telling me about it anyway,” Boschee said.
“I think her middle name was Boschee or something like that. It’s flattering to be recognized like that.”
He was told the family named the dog, “Raef LaTerrier” for Raef LaFrentz.
“We’ll let Raef handle that,” Boschee laughed.
Faces to be in crowd: KU officials said NBA players Danny Manning and Raef LaFrentz of the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly going to charter a flight from Boston, site of Friday’s game against the Celtics, to Atlanta to attend KU’s Final Four game against Maryland at the Georgia Dome.
Then they would fly back to Washington after the game for Sunday’s game against the Wizards.
After that, Dallas doesn’t play again until April 4 at home against the Clippers.
Paul Pierce’s Boston team is idle Saturday.
Atlanta’s Jacque Vaughn and Sacramento’s Scot Pollard also should be on hand. The Hawks and Kings play on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Neither team plays on Saturday.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoDrew Gooden, who led Kansas to an undefeated regular season in the Big 12 Conference and the Final Four, has been chosen as the 2001-02 National Player of the Year by Basketball America magazine.
Gooden averages 20.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds for the 33-3 Jayhawks.
He was previously named co-national player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The junior was a first team All-American.
Namesake: Jeff Boschee has heard second-hand about Scott and Jodi Schlesener of Perry naming their baby girl Deavynn (pronounced Devon) Boschee Christine Schlesener.
“One of my friends told me. They said it was in the Journal-World (Tuesday). Some lady called my house last night and told my roommates to watch the 6 o’clock news on Channel 6. They said it was gonna be on the news. I didn’t get to see it, but they were telling me about it anyway,” Boschee said.
“I think her middle name was Boschee or something like that. It’s flattering to be recognized like that.”
He was told the family named the dog, “Raef LaTerrier” for Raef LaFrentz.
“We’ll let Raef handle that,” Boschee laughed.
Faces to be in crowd: KU officials said NBA players Danny Manning and Raef LaFrentz of the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly going to charter a flight from Boston, site of Friday’s game against the Celtics, to Atlanta to attend KU’s Final Four game against Maryland at the Georgia Dome.
Then they would fly back to Washington after the game for Sunday’s game against the Wizards.
After that, Dallas doesn’t play again until April 4 at home against the Clippers.
Paul Pierce’s Boston team is idle Saturday.
Atlanta’s Jacque Vaughn and Sacramento’s Scot Pollard also should be on hand. The Hawks and Kings play on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Neither team plays on Saturday.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoDrew Gooden, who led Kansas to an undefeated regular season in the Big 12 Conference and the Final Four, has been chosen as the 2001-02 National Player of the Year by Basketball America magazine.
Gooden averages 20.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds for the 33-3 Jayhawks.
He was previously named co-national player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The junior was a first team All-American.
Namesake: Jeff Boschee has heard second-hand about Scott and Jodi Schlesener of Perry naming their baby girl Deavynn (pronounced Devon) Boschee Christine Schlesener.
“One of my friends told me. They said it was in the Journal-World (Tuesday). Some lady called my house last night and told my roommates to watch the 6 o’clock news on Channel 6. They said it was gonna be on the news. I didn’t get to see it, but they were telling me about it anyway,” Boschee said.
“I think her middle name was Boschee or something like that. It’s flattering to be recognized like that.”
He was told the family named the dog, “Raef LaTerrier” for Raef LaFrentz.
“We’ll let Raef handle that,” Boschee laughed.
Faces to be in crowd: KU officials said NBA players Danny Manning and Raef LaFrentz of the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly going to charter a flight from Boston, site of Friday’s game against the Celtics, to Atlanta to attend KU’s Final Four game against Maryland at the Georgia Dome.
Then they would fly back to Washington after the game for Sunday’s game against the Wizards.
After that, Dallas doesn’t play again until April 4 at home against the Clippers.
Paul Pierce’s Boston team is idle Saturday.
Atlanta’s Jacque Vaughn and Sacramento’s Scot Pollard also should be on hand. The Hawks and Kings play on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Neither team plays on Saturday.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoDrew Gooden, who led Kansas to an undefeated regular season in the Big 12 Conference and the Final Four, has been chosen as the 2001-02 National Player of the Year by Basketball America magazine.
Gooden averages 20.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds for the 33-3 Jayhawks.
He was previously named co-national player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The junior was a first team All-American.
Namesake: Jeff Boschee has heard second-hand about Scott and Jodi Schlesener of Perry naming their baby girl Deavynn (pronounced Devon) Boschee Christine Schlesener.
“One of my friends told me. They said it was in the Journal-World (Tuesday). Some lady called my house last night and told my roommates to watch the 6 o’clock news on Channel 6. They said it was gonna be on the news. I didn’t get to see it, but they were telling me about it anyway,” Boschee said.
“I think her middle name was Boschee or something like that. It’s flattering to be recognized like that.”
He was told the family named the dog, “Raef LaTerrier” for Raef LaFrentz.
“We’ll let Raef handle that,” Boschee laughed.
Faces to be in crowd: KU officials said NBA players Danny Manning and Raef LaFrentz of the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly going to charter a flight from Boston, site of Friday’s game against the Celtics, to Atlanta to attend KU’s Final Four game against Maryland at the Georgia Dome.
Then they would fly back to Washington after the game for Sunday’s game against the Wizards.
After that, Dallas doesn’t play again until April 4 at home against the Clippers.
Paul Pierce’s Boston team is idle Saturday.
Atlanta’s Jacque Vaughn and Sacramento’s Scot Pollard also should be on hand. The Hawks and Kings play on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Neither team plays on Saturday.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSt. Louis ? Drew Gooden had a king-sized chip on his shoulder entering Saturday’s Kansas University-Stanford second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game at Edward Jones Dome.
“I was pissed off, pissed off most at answering stupid questions from the media after the Holy Cross game,” Gooden, a junior forward, said after the Jayhawks bounced back from a shaky 70-59 victory over the Crusaders with an 86-63 win over the Cardinal.
“It was the worst day I’ve had answering questions. Everybody acted like there was some problem with our team. All that was ammunition.”
Gooden finished with 15 points and six boards in 28 minutes.
“I hope you guys rip us after this game,” he told the media, “so we’ll be ready for the Sweet 16.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoHe grinned when he said that. But make no mistake, he hasn’t enjoyed negative reviews in the press from KU’s previous two games. Also, some Jayhawks felt the fans had lost faith in the team that went undefeated in Big 12 regular-season play.
“Like I said, people ripping us made us angry. It was all firepower,” Gooden said. “We’ve been showing people all year. We had two bad games and people thought we were going to roll over and be out of the tournament.”
KU junior Nick Collison, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, also was upset at recent talk the Jayhawks might be ready to bow out of the postseason.
“You do get sick of the media saying some things. I saw an article in the Journal-World a guy was talking about how we’ll be all right in 2003 because we’ve got a lot of guys back.
“It was like the season was going to end. He said, ‘Collison takes a disappearing potion in big games.'”
Collison didn’t disappear Saturday, scoring eight points in KU’s 15-0 surge that opened the contest.
“We were pissed off at how we played and how things were going,” Collison said of the reason for Saturday’s 15-0 start. “Everybody was laughing at us saying, ‘Kansas is going to lose again.’ The way we played today it takes away all doubt. We can play well.”
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Three-point goals: 3-22 (Barnes 2-4, Hernandez 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Lottich 0-1, Borchardt 0-2, Jacobsen 0-3, Giovacchini 0-3, Childress 0-4). Assists: 15 (Johnson 3, Borchardt 3, Giovacchini 3, Jacobsen, Barnes, Kirchofer, Childress, Lottich, Little). Turnovers: 14 (Jacobsen 5, Giovacchini 5, Hernandez 2, Johnson, Little). Blocked shots: 4 (Borchardt 2, Childress, Little). Steals: 7 (Johnson, Jacobsen, Borchardt, Barnes, Giovacchini, Davis, Little). |
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Three-point goals: 9-19 (Boschee 5-8, Hinrich 3-4, Collison 1-2, Langford 0-1, Ballard 0-1, Gooden 0-3). Assists: 21 (Hinrich 8, Miles 5, Boschee 5, Langford 2, Collison). Turnovers: 12 (Gooden 4, Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Collison, Langford). Blocked shots: 4 (Gooden 3, Collison). Steals: 7 (Boshcee 3, Langford, Gooden, Miles, Simien). |
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| Stanford | 26 | 37 | 63 |
| Kansas | 48 | 38 | 86 |
Officials: Ted Valentine, Bob Donato, Donnee Gray. Attendance: 31,484.
KU coach Roy Williams also felt there were some doubters that the Jayhawks could reach the Sweet 16 a second straight year.
“I did not read the article, Nick did,” Williams said of a Bill Mayer column in Saturday’s J-W. “It is amazing to us. We were 30-3 before this game and even people in Kansas were sort of saying bad things about this team.”
People are saying good things today about the Jayhawks, who will take a 31-3 record into next Friday’s game against the winner of today’s Illinois-Creighton game.
l
Hinrich update: Kirk Hinrich, who hurt his left ankle in Thursday’s win over Holy Cross, but was able to play after non-stop treatment the past two days, was touched by a generous act on Saturday.
“Two girls brought me a get-well card. I thought that was nice,” Hinrich said.
“It was funny to hear all the talk (about his injury). I just want to thank our doctors and trainers. They did a great job working with me the past two days.”
Trainer Mark Cairns said: “He just had a lot of treatment and did everything Dr. (Larry) Magee asked him to do. It was nothing fancy, ice packs and compression and electrical stim. I did a few hands-on things to take away muscle spasms, nothing fancy.”
One thing is for sure. Hinrich came a long way in two days.
“When I was lying on the X-ray table Thursday night I wouldn’t have believed I could play,” Hinrich said. “But the next morning it felt better and I kept getting stim (electrical stimulation) and ice treatments. I just feel fortunate I was able to go.”
Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSt. Louis ? Drew Gooden had a king-sized chip on his shoulder entering Saturday’s Kansas University-Stanford second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game at Edward Jones Dome.
“I was pissed off, pissed off most at answering stupid questions from the media after the Holy Cross game,” Gooden, a junior forward, said after the Jayhawks bounced back from a shaky 70-59 victory over the Crusaders with an 86-63 win over the Cardinal.
“It was the worst day I’ve had answering questions. Everybody acted like there was some problem with our team. All that was ammunition.”
Gooden finished with 15 points and six boards in 28 minutes.
“I hope you guys rip us after this game,” he told the media, “so we’ll be ready for the Sweet 16.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoHe grinned when he said that. But make no mistake, he hasn’t enjoyed negative reviews in the press from KU’s previous two games. Also, some Jayhawks felt the fans had lost faith in the team that went undefeated in Big 12 regular-season play.
“Like I said, people ripping us made us angry. It was all firepower,” Gooden said. “We’ve been showing people all year. We had two bad games and people thought we were going to roll over and be out of the tournament.”
KU junior Nick Collison, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, also was upset at recent talk the Jayhawks might be ready to bow out of the postseason.
“You do get sick of the media saying some things. I saw an article in the Journal-World a guy was talking about how we’ll be all right in 2003 because we’ve got a lot of guys back.
“It was like the season was going to end. He said, ‘Collison takes a disappearing potion in big games.'”
Collison didn’t disappear Saturday, scoring eight points in KU’s 15-0 surge that opened the contest.
“We were pissed off at how we played and how things were going,” Collison said of the reason for Saturday’s 15-0 start. “Everybody was laughing at us saying, ‘Kansas is going to lose again.’ The way we played today it takes away all doubt. We can play well.”
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Three-point goals: 3-22 (Barnes 2-4, Hernandez 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Lottich 0-1, Borchardt 0-2, Jacobsen 0-3, Giovacchini 0-3, Childress 0-4). Assists: 15 (Johnson 3, Borchardt 3, Giovacchini 3, Jacobsen, Barnes, Kirchofer, Childress, Lottich, Little). Turnovers: 14 (Jacobsen 5, Giovacchini 5, Hernandez 2, Johnson, Little). Blocked shots: 4 (Borchardt 2, Childress, Little). Steals: 7 (Johnson, Jacobsen, Borchardt, Barnes, Giovacchini, Davis, Little). |
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Three-point goals: 9-19 (Boschee 5-8, Hinrich 3-4, Collison 1-2, Langford 0-1, Ballard 0-1, Gooden 0-3). Assists: 21 (Hinrich 8, Miles 5, Boschee 5, Langford 2, Collison). Turnovers: 12 (Gooden 4, Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Collison, Langford). Blocked shots: 4 (Gooden 3, Collison). Steals: 7 (Boshcee 3, Langford, Gooden, Miles, Simien). |
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| Stanford | 26 | 37 | 63 |
| Kansas | 48 | 38 | 86 |
Officials: Ted Valentine, Bob Donato, Donnee Gray. Attendance: 31,484.
KU coach Roy Williams also felt there were some doubters that the Jayhawks could reach the Sweet 16 a second straight year.
“I did not read the article, Nick did,” Williams said of a Bill Mayer column in Saturday’s J-W. “It is amazing to us. We were 30-3 before this game and even people in Kansas were sort of saying bad things about this team.”
People are saying good things today about the Jayhawks, who will take a 31-3 record into next Friday’s game against the winner of today’s Illinois-Creighton game.
l
Hinrich update: Kirk Hinrich, who hurt his left ankle in Thursday’s win over Holy Cross, but was able to play after non-stop treatment the past two days, was touched by a generous act on Saturday.
“Two girls brought me a get-well card. I thought that was nice,” Hinrich said.
“It was funny to hear all the talk (about his injury). I just want to thank our doctors and trainers. They did a great job working with me the past two days.”
Trainer Mark Cairns said: “He just had a lot of treatment and did everything Dr. (Larry) Magee asked him to do. It was nothing fancy, ice packs and compression and electrical stim. I did a few hands-on things to take away muscle spasms, nothing fancy.”
One thing is for sure. Hinrich came a long way in two days.
“When I was lying on the X-ray table Thursday night I wouldn’t have believed I could play,” Hinrich said. “But the next morning it felt better and I kept getting stim (electrical stimulation) and ice treatments. I just feel fortunate I was able to go.”
Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSt. Louis ? Drew Gooden had a king-sized chip on his shoulder entering Saturday’s Kansas University-Stanford second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game at Edward Jones Dome.
“I was pissed off, pissed off most at answering stupid questions from the media after the Holy Cross game,” Gooden, a junior forward, said after the Jayhawks bounced back from a shaky 70-59 victory over the Crusaders with an 86-63 win over the Cardinal.
“It was the worst day I’ve had answering questions. Everybody acted like there was some problem with our team. All that was ammunition.”
Gooden finished with 15 points and six boards in 28 minutes.
“I hope you guys rip us after this game,” he told the media, “so we’ll be ready for the Sweet 16.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoHe grinned when he said that. But make no mistake, he hasn’t enjoyed negative reviews in the press from KU’s previous two games. Also, some Jayhawks felt the fans had lost faith in the team that went undefeated in Big 12 regular-season play.
“Like I said, people ripping us made us angry. It was all firepower,” Gooden said. “We’ve been showing people all year. We had two bad games and people thought we were going to roll over and be out of the tournament.”
KU junior Nick Collison, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, also was upset at recent talk the Jayhawks might be ready to bow out of the postseason.
“You do get sick of the media saying some things. I saw an article in the Journal-World a guy was talking about how we’ll be all right in 2003 because we’ve got a lot of guys back.
“It was like the season was going to end. He said, ‘Collison takes a disappearing potion in big games.'”
Collison didn’t disappear Saturday, scoring eight points in KU’s 15-0 surge that opened the contest.
“We were pissed off at how we played and how things were going,” Collison said of the reason for Saturday’s 15-0 start. “Everybody was laughing at us saying, ‘Kansas is going to lose again.’ The way we played today it takes away all doubt. We can play well.”
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Three-point goals: 3-22 (Barnes 2-4, Hernandez 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Lottich 0-1, Borchardt 0-2, Jacobsen 0-3, Giovacchini 0-3, Childress 0-4). Assists: 15 (Johnson 3, Borchardt 3, Giovacchini 3, Jacobsen, Barnes, Kirchofer, Childress, Lottich, Little). Turnovers: 14 (Jacobsen 5, Giovacchini 5, Hernandez 2, Johnson, Little). Blocked shots: 4 (Borchardt 2, Childress, Little). Steals: 7 (Johnson, Jacobsen, Borchardt, Barnes, Giovacchini, Davis, Little). |
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Three-point goals: 9-19 (Boschee 5-8, Hinrich 3-4, Collison 1-2, Langford 0-1, Ballard 0-1, Gooden 0-3). Assists: 21 (Hinrich 8, Miles 5, Boschee 5, Langford 2, Collison). Turnovers: 12 (Gooden 4, Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Collison, Langford). Blocked shots: 4 (Gooden 3, Collison). Steals: 7 (Boshcee 3, Langford, Gooden, Miles, Simien). |
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| Stanford | 26 | 37 | 63 |
| Kansas | 48 | 38 | 86 |
Officials: Ted Valentine, Bob Donato, Donnee Gray. Attendance: 31,484.
KU coach Roy Williams also felt there were some doubters that the Jayhawks could reach the Sweet 16 a second straight year.
“I did not read the article, Nick did,” Williams said of a Bill Mayer column in Saturday’s J-W. “It is amazing to us. We were 30-3 before this game and even people in Kansas were sort of saying bad things about this team.”
People are saying good things today about the Jayhawks, who will take a 31-3 record into next Friday’s game against the winner of today’s Illinois-Creighton game.
l
Hinrich update: Kirk Hinrich, who hurt his left ankle in Thursday’s win over Holy Cross, but was able to play after non-stop treatment the past two days, was touched by a generous act on Saturday.
“Two girls brought me a get-well card. I thought that was nice,” Hinrich said.
“It was funny to hear all the talk (about his injury). I just want to thank our doctors and trainers. They did a great job working with me the past two days.”
Trainer Mark Cairns said: “He just had a lot of treatment and did everything Dr. (Larry) Magee asked him to do. It was nothing fancy, ice packs and compression and electrical stim. I did a few hands-on things to take away muscle spasms, nothing fancy.”
One thing is for sure. Hinrich came a long way in two days.
“When I was lying on the X-ray table Thursday night I wouldn’t have believed I could play,” Hinrich said. “But the next morning it felt better and I kept getting stim (electrical stimulation) and ice treatments. I just feel fortunate I was able to go.”
Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSt. Louis ? Drew Gooden had a king-sized chip on his shoulder entering Saturday’s Kansas University-Stanford second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game at Edward Jones Dome.
“I was pissed off, pissed off most at answering stupid questions from the media after the Holy Cross game,” Gooden, a junior forward, said after the Jayhawks bounced back from a shaky 70-59 victory over the Crusaders with an 86-63 win over the Cardinal.
“It was the worst day I’ve had answering questions. Everybody acted like there was some problem with our team. All that was ammunition.”
Gooden finished with 15 points and six boards in 28 minutes.
“I hope you guys rip us after this game,” he told the media, “so we’ll be ready for the Sweet 16.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoHe grinned when he said that. But make no mistake, he hasn’t enjoyed negative reviews in the press from KU’s previous two games. Also, some Jayhawks felt the fans had lost faith in the team that went undefeated in Big 12 regular-season play.
“Like I said, people ripping us made us angry. It was all firepower,” Gooden said. “We’ve been showing people all year. We had two bad games and people thought we were going to roll over and be out of the tournament.”
KU junior Nick Collison, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, also was upset at recent talk the Jayhawks might be ready to bow out of the postseason.
“You do get sick of the media saying some things. I saw an article in the Journal-World a guy was talking about how we’ll be all right in 2003 because we’ve got a lot of guys back.
“It was like the season was going to end. He said, ‘Collison takes a disappearing potion in big games.'”
Collison didn’t disappear Saturday, scoring eight points in KU’s 15-0 surge that opened the contest.
“We were pissed off at how we played and how things were going,” Collison said of the reason for Saturday’s 15-0 start. “Everybody was laughing at us saying, ‘Kansas is going to lose again.’ The way we played today it takes away all doubt. We can play well.”
|
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Three-point goals: 3-22 (Barnes 2-4, Hernandez 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Lottich 0-1, Borchardt 0-2, Jacobsen 0-3, Giovacchini 0-3, Childress 0-4). Assists: 15 (Johnson 3, Borchardt 3, Giovacchini 3, Jacobsen, Barnes, Kirchofer, Childress, Lottich, Little). Turnovers: 14 (Jacobsen 5, Giovacchini 5, Hernandez 2, Johnson, Little). Blocked shots: 4 (Borchardt 2, Childress, Little). Steals: 7 (Johnson, Jacobsen, Borchardt, Barnes, Giovacchini, Davis, Little). |
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Three-point goals: 9-19 (Boschee 5-8, Hinrich 3-4, Collison 1-2, Langford 0-1, Ballard 0-1, Gooden 0-3). Assists: 21 (Hinrich 8, Miles 5, Boschee 5, Langford 2, Collison). Turnovers: 12 (Gooden 4, Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Collison, Langford). Blocked shots: 4 (Gooden 3, Collison). Steals: 7 (Boshcee 3, Langford, Gooden, Miles, Simien). |
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| Stanford | 26 | 37 | 63 |
| Kansas | 48 | 38 | 86 |
Officials: Ted Valentine, Bob Donato, Donnee Gray. Attendance: 31,484.
KU coach Roy Williams also felt there were some doubters that the Jayhawks could reach the Sweet 16 a second straight year.
“I did not read the article, Nick did,” Williams said of a Bill Mayer column in Saturday’s J-W. “It is amazing to us. We were 30-3 before this game and even people in Kansas were sort of saying bad things about this team.”
People are saying good things today about the Jayhawks, who will take a 31-3 record into next Friday’s game against the winner of today’s Illinois-Creighton game.
l
Hinrich update: Kirk Hinrich, who hurt his left ankle in Thursday’s win over Holy Cross, but was able to play after non-stop treatment the past two days, was touched by a generous act on Saturday.
“Two girls brought me a get-well card. I thought that was nice,” Hinrich said.
“It was funny to hear all the talk (about his injury). I just want to thank our doctors and trainers. They did a great job working with me the past two days.”
Trainer Mark Cairns said: “He just had a lot of treatment and did everything Dr. (Larry) Magee asked him to do. It was nothing fancy, ice packs and compression and electrical stim. I did a few hands-on things to take away muscle spasms, nothing fancy.”
One thing is for sure. Hinrich came a long way in two days.
“When I was lying on the X-ray table Thursday night I wouldn’t have believed I could play,” Hinrich said. “But the next morning it felt better and I kept getting stim (electrical stimulation) and ice treatments. I just feel fortunate I was able to go.”
Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.
KU junior guard Kirk Hinrich, who suffered a severe left ankle sprain Thursday night versus Holy Cross trainer Mark Cairns called it a grade two sprain with the worst a grade three had a rough night.
“I woke up four, five, six times because of the pain,” Hinrich said. “I had to re-wrap it a couple of times.”
Hinrich has had numerous ice and electrical stimulation treatments in an attempt to play tonight.
“He was up and out of bed quite a bit,” said Ballard, Hinrich’s roommate this trip. “He had ice on it with the trainers coming in and out of the room between 12 and 1. He had trouble sleeping and got up a couple times to turn on the A/C. I didn’t hear him after 2 when I fell asleep.”
Ballard has tried to boost Hinrich’s spirits.
“I said I wanted to thank him for looking out for me, making sure I get more playing time,” Ballard said. “He knows I’m joking.
“I loaned him an undershirt for the game,” Ballard continued, referring to the Holy Cross game. “He said that’s why it happened, that he had bad luck because of my shirt. I don’t know if he’s putting on a front, but he’s trying to be positive. I think he’s doing it for the team as much as himself.”
What will KU do if Hinrich can’t play tonight? Williams said he would have started Keith Langford for Hinrich if KU had a game Friday night.
“I think Keith will be the starter and I could be first off the bench,” Ballard said. “All our perimeter players have to step up. I just have to play a normal game and not try to do too much.”
Senior Jeff Boschee, who practiced with his sprained left ankle taped Friday, also will be pivotal.
“We will miss Kirk. He works so hard on the floor. Every time there’s a loose ball, he is diving for it,” Boschee said. “But I don’t think this team will slow down.”
Today’s call on Hinrich’s availability: KU trainer Mark Cairns said today Kansas coach Roy Williams would listen to the advice of Dr. Larry Magee, then make a coach’s decision on whether Hinrich can be effective if put in the game.
“No question in the NCAA Tournament it’s a different mindset. If his was a preseason game there’s no way we’d let him play tomorrow,” Cairns said. “I definitely would be inclined to say he’d be ready to go by next Friday as long as we get by tomorrow.
“Kirk has been great, upbeat. He talked to his folks, family and friends. He’s done everything he can to make himself better.”
Remember Jerod’s wrist?: KU administrative assistant Jerod Haase is watching the Hinrich situation closely.
Remember, Haase tried to play initially with a broken bone in his right hand, but didn’t last long in a loss to Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the 1997 Tournament.
“The difference is last night our guys pulled out a tough game with one of the players being hurt,” Haase said. “In ’97 we weren’t able to do that. Certain injuries are part of the game, but I don’t think Kirk’s ankle is going to be something to last four, five, six months. We’ve still got a shot at getting him back.
“Other guys will have to pick up the slack whether it’s the leadership, the ball-handling, the scoring, the defense. You can look at the psychology of teams in a lot of different ways. Most of the time you look at teams that get to the Final Four and win and NCAA championship, you say, ‘Boy they really could have lost that game,’ or ‘They got lucky,’ or ‘How did they get by that game?’ Hopefully this team will go on a great run here and look back and say, ‘Boy that was sure a scare with the 1 vs. 16 game and Kirk hurting his ankle.’ So it’s almost nice if we can say, ‘OK we got that one out of the way.”‘
The series: Kansas leads the all-time series, 7-1. KU won the last meeting, 83-61, on Dec. 30, 1989, in Kansas City at the BMA Holiday Classic. KU has won three straight games over the Cardinal. KU is 54-22 versus schools from California and 48-26 against schools from the Pac 10.
Welcome back: The Jayhawks are scheduled to return to Allen Fieldhouse at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
KU junior guard Kirk Hinrich, who suffered a severe left ankle sprain Thursday night versus Holy Cross trainer Mark Cairns called it a grade two sprain with the worst a grade three had a rough night.
“I woke up four, five, six times because of the pain,” Hinrich said. “I had to re-wrap it a couple of times.”
Hinrich has had numerous ice and electrical stimulation treatments in an attempt to play tonight.
“He was up and out of bed quite a bit,” said Ballard, Hinrich’s roommate this trip. “He had ice on it with the trainers coming in and out of the room between 12 and 1. He had trouble sleeping and got up a couple times to turn on the A/C. I didn’t hear him after 2 when I fell asleep.”
Ballard has tried to boost Hinrich’s spirits.
“I said I wanted to thank him for looking out for me, making sure I get more playing time,” Ballard said. “He knows I’m joking.
“I loaned him an undershirt for the game,” Ballard continued, referring to the Holy Cross game. “He said that’s why it happened, that he had bad luck because of my shirt. I don’t know if he’s putting on a front, but he’s trying to be positive. I think he’s doing it for the team as much as himself.”
What will KU do if Hinrich can’t play tonight? Williams said he would have started Keith Langford for Hinrich if KU had a game Friday night.
“I think Keith will be the starter and I could be first off the bench,” Ballard said. “All our perimeter players have to step up. I just have to play a normal game and not try to do too much.”
Senior Jeff Boschee, who practiced with his sprained left ankle taped Friday, also will be pivotal.
“We will miss Kirk. He works so hard on the floor. Every time there’s a loose ball, he is diving for it,” Boschee said. “But I don’t think this team will slow down.”
Today’s call on Hinrich’s availability: KU trainer Mark Cairns said today Kansas coach Roy Williams would listen to the advice of Dr. Larry Magee, then make a coach’s decision on whether Hinrich can be effective if put in the game.
“No question in the NCAA Tournament it’s a different mindset. If his was a preseason game there’s no way we’d let him play tomorrow,” Cairns said. “I definitely would be inclined to say he’d be ready to go by next Friday as long as we get by tomorrow.
“Kirk has been great, upbeat. He talked to his folks, family and friends. He’s done everything he can to make himself better.”
Remember Jerod’s wrist?: KU administrative assistant Jerod Haase is watching the Hinrich situation closely.
Remember, Haase tried to play initially with a broken bone in his right hand, but didn’t last long in a loss to Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the 1997 Tournament.
“The difference is last night our guys pulled out a tough game with one of the players being hurt,” Haase said. “In ’97 we weren’t able to do that. Certain injuries are part of the game, but I don’t think Kirk’s ankle is going to be something to last four, five, six months. We’ve still got a shot at getting him back.
“Other guys will have to pick up the slack whether it’s the leadership, the ball-handling, the scoring, the defense. You can look at the psychology of teams in a lot of different ways. Most of the time you look at teams that get to the Final Four and win and NCAA championship, you say, ‘Boy they really could have lost that game,’ or ‘They got lucky,’ or ‘How did they get by that game?’ Hopefully this team will go on a great run here and look back and say, ‘Boy that was sure a scare with the 1 vs. 16 game and Kirk hurting his ankle.’ So it’s almost nice if we can say, ‘OK we got that one out of the way.”‘
The series: Kansas leads the all-time series, 7-1. KU won the last meeting, 83-61, on Dec. 30, 1989, in Kansas City at the BMA Holiday Classic. KU has won three straight games over the Cardinal. KU is 54-22 versus schools from California and 48-26 against schools from the Pac 10.
Welcome back: The Jayhawks are scheduled to return to Allen Fieldhouse at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
KU junior guard Kirk Hinrich, who suffered a severe left ankle sprain Thursday night versus Holy Cross trainer Mark Cairns called it a grade two sprain with the worst a grade three had a rough night.
“I woke up four, five, six times because of the pain,” Hinrich said. “I had to re-wrap it a couple of times.”
Hinrich has had numerous ice and electrical stimulation treatments in an attempt to play tonight.
“He was up and out of bed quite a bit,” said Ballard, Hinrich’s roommate this trip. “He had ice on it with the trainers coming in and out of the room between 12 and 1. He had trouble sleeping and got up a couple times to turn on the A/C. I didn’t hear him after 2 when I fell asleep.”
Ballard has tried to boost Hinrich’s spirits.
“I said I wanted to thank him for looking out for me, making sure I get more playing time,” Ballard said. “He knows I’m joking.
“I loaned him an undershirt for the game,” Ballard continued, referring to the Holy Cross game. “He said that’s why it happened, that he had bad luck because of my shirt. I don’t know if he’s putting on a front, but he’s trying to be positive. I think he’s doing it for the team as much as himself.”
What will KU do if Hinrich can’t play tonight? Williams said he would have started Keith Langford for Hinrich if KU had a game Friday night.
“I think Keith will be the starter and I could be first off the bench,” Ballard said. “All our perimeter players have to step up. I just have to play a normal game and not try to do too much.”
Senior Jeff Boschee, who practiced with his sprained left ankle taped Friday, also will be pivotal.
“We will miss Kirk. He works so hard on the floor. Every time there’s a loose ball, he is diving for it,” Boschee said. “But I don’t think this team will slow down.”
Today’s call on Hinrich’s availability: KU trainer Mark Cairns said today Kansas coach Roy Williams would listen to the advice of Dr. Larry Magee, then make a coach’s decision on whether Hinrich can be effective if put in the game.
“No question in the NCAA Tournament it’s a different mindset. If his was a preseason game there’s no way we’d let him play tomorrow,” Cairns said. “I definitely would be inclined to say he’d be ready to go by next Friday as long as we get by tomorrow.
“Kirk has been great, upbeat. He talked to his folks, family and friends. He’s done everything he can to make himself better.”
Remember Jerod’s wrist?: KU administrative assistant Jerod Haase is watching the Hinrich situation closely.
Remember, Haase tried to play initially with a broken bone in his right hand, but didn’t last long in a loss to Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the 1997 Tournament.
“The difference is last night our guys pulled out a tough game with one of the players being hurt,” Haase said. “In ’97 we weren’t able to do that. Certain injuries are part of the game, but I don’t think Kirk’s ankle is going to be something to last four, five, six months. We’ve still got a shot at getting him back.
“Other guys will have to pick up the slack whether it’s the leadership, the ball-handling, the scoring, the defense. You can look at the psychology of teams in a lot of different ways. Most of the time you look at teams that get to the Final Four and win and NCAA championship, you say, ‘Boy they really could have lost that game,’ or ‘They got lucky,’ or ‘How did they get by that game?’ Hopefully this team will go on a great run here and look back and say, ‘Boy that was sure a scare with the 1 vs. 16 game and Kirk hurting his ankle.’ So it’s almost nice if we can say, ‘OK we got that one out of the way.”‘
The series: Kansas leads the all-time series, 7-1. KU won the last meeting, 83-61, on Dec. 30, 1989, in Kansas City at the BMA Holiday Classic. KU has won three straight games over the Cardinal. KU is 54-22 versus schools from California and 48-26 against schools from the Pac 10.
Welcome back: The Jayhawks are scheduled to return to Allen Fieldhouse at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
KU junior guard Kirk Hinrich, who suffered a severe left ankle sprain Thursday night versus Holy Cross trainer Mark Cairns called it a grade two sprain with the worst a grade three had a rough night.
“I woke up four, five, six times because of the pain,” Hinrich said. “I had to re-wrap it a couple of times.”
Hinrich has had numerous ice and electrical stimulation treatments in an attempt to play tonight.
“He was up and out of bed quite a bit,” said Ballard, Hinrich’s roommate this trip. “He had ice on it with the trainers coming in and out of the room between 12 and 1. He had trouble sleeping and got up a couple times to turn on the A/C. I didn’t hear him after 2 when I fell asleep.”
Ballard has tried to boost Hinrich’s spirits.
“I said I wanted to thank him for looking out for me, making sure I get more playing time,” Ballard said. “He knows I’m joking.
“I loaned him an undershirt for the game,” Ballard continued, referring to the Holy Cross game. “He said that’s why it happened, that he had bad luck because of my shirt. I don’t know if he’s putting on a front, but he’s trying to be positive. I think he’s doing it for the team as much as himself.”
What will KU do if Hinrich can’t play tonight? Williams said he would have started Keith Langford for Hinrich if KU had a game Friday night.
“I think Keith will be the starter and I could be first off the bench,” Ballard said. “All our perimeter players have to step up. I just have to play a normal game and not try to do too much.”
Senior Jeff Boschee, who practiced with his sprained left ankle taped Friday, also will be pivotal.
“We will miss Kirk. He works so hard on the floor. Every time there’s a loose ball, he is diving for it,” Boschee said. “But I don’t think this team will slow down.”
Today’s call on Hinrich’s availability: KU trainer Mark Cairns said today Kansas coach Roy Williams would listen to the advice of Dr. Larry Magee, then make a coach’s decision on whether Hinrich can be effective if put in the game.
“No question in the NCAA Tournament it’s a different mindset. If his was a preseason game there’s no way we’d let him play tomorrow,” Cairns said. “I definitely would be inclined to say he’d be ready to go by next Friday as long as we get by tomorrow.
“Kirk has been great, upbeat. He talked to his folks, family and friends. He’s done everything he can to make himself better.”
Remember Jerod’s wrist?: KU administrative assistant Jerod Haase is watching the Hinrich situation closely.
Remember, Haase tried to play initially with a broken bone in his right hand, but didn’t last long in a loss to Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the 1997 Tournament.
“The difference is last night our guys pulled out a tough game with one of the players being hurt,” Haase said. “In ’97 we weren’t able to do that. Certain injuries are part of the game, but I don’t think Kirk’s ankle is going to be something to last four, five, six months. We’ve still got a shot at getting him back.
“Other guys will have to pick up the slack whether it’s the leadership, the ball-handling, the scoring, the defense. You can look at the psychology of teams in a lot of different ways. Most of the time you look at teams that get to the Final Four and win and NCAA championship, you say, ‘Boy they really could have lost that game,’ or ‘They got lucky,’ or ‘How did they get by that game?’ Hopefully this team will go on a great run here and look back and say, ‘Boy that was sure a scare with the 1 vs. 16 game and Kirk hurting his ankle.’ So it’s almost nice if we can say, ‘OK we got that one out of the way.”‘
The series: Kansas leads the all-time series, 7-1. KU won the last meeting, 83-61, on Dec. 30, 1989, in Kansas City at the BMA Holiday Classic. KU has won three straight games over the Cardinal. KU is 54-22 versus schools from California and 48-26 against schools from the Pac 10.
Welcome back: The Jayhawks are scheduled to return to Allen Fieldhouse at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
Kansas City, Mo. ? Jeff Boschee was in dire need of a catnap on Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena.
“It’s hard to stay in the game. I was thinking about what I’m going to eat at the steakhouse tonight,” Kansas University’s senior guard said of his daydreams on the bench during the final eight minutes of KU’s 90-50 Big 12 semifinal rout of Texas Tech.
He actually was caught with his eyes closed in a Kemper scoreboard closeup late in the game. KU coach Roy Williams played the reserves the final seven minutes of the blowout.
“It wasn’t the most exciting game in the world. We pretty much shut them down defensively,” Boschee said after his three-point, three-assist performance.
Title in KU’s grasp: KU junior Drew Gooden longs for a victory over Oklahoma today in the Big 12 finals, set for 2 p.m. at Kemper Arena.
“I’m starting to get hooked on cutting down nets,” Gooden said. “I’ve had my first taste, cutting down my first one, so I want to have a taste of cutting down two.”
Kansas cut down all but three strands of the north Allen Fieldhouse net after clinching a share of the regular season title with a win over Iowa State on Feb. 18.
KU today will try for its first Big 12 tournament title since winning three in a row from 1997 to 1999.
“It’s big,” freshman Keith Langford said after scoring 10 points in 20 minutes. “This is the Big 12 tournament, another opportunity to beat people to prove we are the best in the league. It’s what we’ve wanted since Day One.”
Double trouble: Gooden recorded his 21st double-double, tying Raef LaFrentz for the single-season KU record set in 1996-97.
“I didn’t know about that. I forgot about that. It’s nice to make history,” Gooden said.
KU-OU revisited: KU today will play Oklahoma for just the second time this season. The Jayhawks won, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse. Gooden scored 19, Nick Collison 17, Kirk Hinrich 15 and Langford 12 for KU. Ebi Ere and Quannas White had 17 apiece and Hollis Price 11 for OU.
“Oklahoma is as physical as anybody in the country,” Collison said. “They do beat on you. Plus, they are very talented. They do like a little slower tempo than Texas.”
KU outrebounded the Sooners, 38-33, in Lawrence. OU hit 41.7 percent of its shots to KU’s 50 percent.
“Oklahoma likes to slow it down more,” Gooden said. “When we play Oklahoma, it’s a tough battle.”
No. 1 seed to be announced: KU today will be granted a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s expected the Jayhawks will be sent to St. Louis for first- and second-round tourney games Thursday and Saturday. It’s also expected KU will be in the Midwest Regional, with its next destination Madison, Wis., for the Sweet 16.
“It means you’ve had a helluva year,” Williams said of a No. 1 seed. “Between No. 1 and 2 there’s not a lot of other teams. It is pride, knowing you’ve had a great year.
“The so-called experts say no No. 16 (seeded) team has beat a No. 1. That’s going to happen one of these days. You hope not to us.”
Lee plays seven minutes: Freshman Michael Lee hit a three and another long range jumper to finish with five points and three rebounds in seven minutes.
“I feel pretty confident with my shot. I just have to focus on other aspects like my defense,” Lee said. “I have to get smarter defensively, stay in a defensive stance and I’ve got to get in better game shape. I know what I need to work on for next year.”
His buddy, fellow Portland, Ore., native Aaron Miles, had a career high 15 assists.
“Amazing, amazing,” Lee said. “I know he’s more than capable of that. He was focused. He knew what he had to do.”
Stats, facts: KU has 29 wins, its most since going 35-4 in 1997-98. KU has a 16-game win streak, biggest since winning 22 straight from Nov. 22, 1996 to Feb. 4, 1997. KU is in the title game of the tournament for the first time since 1999 and fourth time in the six-year history of the tourney. KU’s season-high 31 assists set a new Big 12 tourney game high. Previous best was KU’s 27 versus K-State in 2000. Gooden’s 21 rebounds tied a career high and were the most by a player in a league tourney game. He also had 21 boards against South Carolina State, most rebounds by a player in the Williams era. Gooden’s 20 defensive boards are most by a Jayhawk in the Williams era. Miles’ 15 assists were a career high and Big 12 record. Doug Gottlieb of Oklahoma State had 14 assists against Baylor in 1999. Boschee’s three points marked his lowest scoring output of the season and lowest since scoring three versus Illinois in the Sweet 16 last year. KU has won 18 of its last 20 in Kemper.
Kansas City, Mo. ? Jeff Boschee was in dire need of a catnap on Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena.
“It’s hard to stay in the game. I was thinking about what I’m going to eat at the steakhouse tonight,” Kansas University’s senior guard said of his daydreams on the bench during the final eight minutes of KU’s 90-50 Big 12 semifinal rout of Texas Tech.
He actually was caught with his eyes closed in a Kemper scoreboard closeup late in the game. KU coach Roy Williams played the reserves the final seven minutes of the blowout.
“It wasn’t the most exciting game in the world. We pretty much shut them down defensively,” Boschee said after his three-point, three-assist performance.
Title in KU’s grasp: KU junior Drew Gooden longs for a victory over Oklahoma today in the Big 12 finals, set for 2 p.m. at Kemper Arena.
“I’m starting to get hooked on cutting down nets,” Gooden said. “I’ve had my first taste, cutting down my first one, so I want to have a taste of cutting down two.”
Kansas cut down all but three strands of the north Allen Fieldhouse net after clinching a share of the regular season title with a win over Iowa State on Feb. 18.
KU today will try for its first Big 12 tournament title since winning three in a row from 1997 to 1999.
“It’s big,” freshman Keith Langford said after scoring 10 points in 20 minutes. “This is the Big 12 tournament, another opportunity to beat people to prove we are the best in the league. It’s what we’ve wanted since Day One.”
Double trouble: Gooden recorded his 21st double-double, tying Raef LaFrentz for the single-season KU record set in 1996-97.
“I didn’t know about that. I forgot about that. It’s nice to make history,” Gooden said.
KU-OU revisited: KU today will play Oklahoma for just the second time this season. The Jayhawks won, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse. Gooden scored 19, Nick Collison 17, Kirk Hinrich 15 and Langford 12 for KU. Ebi Ere and Quannas White had 17 apiece and Hollis Price 11 for OU.
“Oklahoma is as physical as anybody in the country,” Collison said. “They do beat on you. Plus, they are very talented. They do like a little slower tempo than Texas.”
KU outrebounded the Sooners, 38-33, in Lawrence. OU hit 41.7 percent of its shots to KU’s 50 percent.
“Oklahoma likes to slow it down more,” Gooden said. “When we play Oklahoma, it’s a tough battle.”
No. 1 seed to be announced: KU today will be granted a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s expected the Jayhawks will be sent to St. Louis for first- and second-round tourney games Thursday and Saturday. It’s also expected KU will be in the Midwest Regional, with its next destination Madison, Wis., for the Sweet 16.
“It means you’ve had a helluva year,” Williams said of a No. 1 seed. “Between No. 1 and 2 there’s not a lot of other teams. It is pride, knowing you’ve had a great year.
“The so-called experts say no No. 16 (seeded) team has beat a No. 1. That’s going to happen one of these days. You hope not to us.”
Lee plays seven minutes: Freshman Michael Lee hit a three and another long range jumper to finish with five points and three rebounds in seven minutes.
“I feel pretty confident with my shot. I just have to focus on other aspects like my defense,” Lee said. “I have to get smarter defensively, stay in a defensive stance and I’ve got to get in better game shape. I know what I need to work on for next year.”
His buddy, fellow Portland, Ore., native Aaron Miles, had a career high 15 assists.
“Amazing, amazing,” Lee said. “I know he’s more than capable of that. He was focused. He knew what he had to do.”
Stats, facts: KU has 29 wins, its most since going 35-4 in 1997-98. KU has a 16-game win streak, biggest since winning 22 straight from Nov. 22, 1996 to Feb. 4, 1997. KU is in the title game of the tournament for the first time since 1999 and fourth time in the six-year history of the tourney. KU’s season-high 31 assists set a new Big 12 tourney game high. Previous best was KU’s 27 versus K-State in 2000. Gooden’s 21 rebounds tied a career high and were the most by a player in a league tourney game. He also had 21 boards against South Carolina State, most rebounds by a player in the Williams era. Gooden’s 20 defensive boards are most by a Jayhawk in the Williams era. Miles’ 15 assists were a career high and Big 12 record. Doug Gottlieb of Oklahoma State had 14 assists against Baylor in 1999. Boschee’s three points marked his lowest scoring output of the season and lowest since scoring three versus Illinois in the Sweet 16 last year. KU has won 18 of its last 20 in Kemper.
Kansas City, Mo. ? Jeff Boschee was in dire need of a catnap on Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena.
“It’s hard to stay in the game. I was thinking about what I’m going to eat at the steakhouse tonight,” Kansas University’s senior guard said of his daydreams on the bench during the final eight minutes of KU’s 90-50 Big 12 semifinal rout of Texas Tech.
He actually was caught with his eyes closed in a Kemper scoreboard closeup late in the game. KU coach Roy Williams played the reserves the final seven minutes of the blowout.
“It wasn’t the most exciting game in the world. We pretty much shut them down defensively,” Boschee said after his three-point, three-assist performance.
Title in KU’s grasp: KU junior Drew Gooden longs for a victory over Oklahoma today in the Big 12 finals, set for 2 p.m. at Kemper Arena.
“I’m starting to get hooked on cutting down nets,” Gooden said. “I’ve had my first taste, cutting down my first one, so I want to have a taste of cutting down two.”
Kansas cut down all but three strands of the north Allen Fieldhouse net after clinching a share of the regular season title with a win over Iowa State on Feb. 18.
KU today will try for its first Big 12 tournament title since winning three in a row from 1997 to 1999.
“It’s big,” freshman Keith Langford said after scoring 10 points in 20 minutes. “This is the Big 12 tournament, another opportunity to beat people to prove we are the best in the league. It’s what we’ve wanted since Day One.”
Double trouble: Gooden recorded his 21st double-double, tying Raef LaFrentz for the single-season KU record set in 1996-97.
“I didn’t know about that. I forgot about that. It’s nice to make history,” Gooden said.
KU-OU revisited: KU today will play Oklahoma for just the second time this season. The Jayhawks won, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse. Gooden scored 19, Nick Collison 17, Kirk Hinrich 15 and Langford 12 for KU. Ebi Ere and Quannas White had 17 apiece and Hollis Price 11 for OU.
“Oklahoma is as physical as anybody in the country,” Collison said. “They do beat on you. Plus, they are very talented. They do like a little slower tempo than Texas.”
KU outrebounded the Sooners, 38-33, in Lawrence. OU hit 41.7 percent of its shots to KU’s 50 percent.
“Oklahoma likes to slow it down more,” Gooden said. “When we play Oklahoma, it’s a tough battle.”
No. 1 seed to be announced: KU today will be granted a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s expected the Jayhawks will be sent to St. Louis for first- and second-round tourney games Thursday and Saturday. It’s also expected KU will be in the Midwest Regional, with its next destination Madison, Wis., for the Sweet 16.
“It means you’ve had a helluva year,” Williams said of a No. 1 seed. “Between No. 1 and 2 there’s not a lot of other teams. It is pride, knowing you’ve had a great year.
“The so-called experts say no No. 16 (seeded) team has beat a No. 1. That’s going to happen one of these days. You hope not to us.”
Lee plays seven minutes: Freshman Michael Lee hit a three and another long range jumper to finish with five points and three rebounds in seven minutes.
“I feel pretty confident with my shot. I just have to focus on other aspects like my defense,” Lee said. “I have to get smarter defensively, stay in a defensive stance and I’ve got to get in better game shape. I know what I need to work on for next year.”
His buddy, fellow Portland, Ore., native Aaron Miles, had a career high 15 assists.
“Amazing, amazing,” Lee said. “I know he’s more than capable of that. He was focused. He knew what he had to do.”
Stats, facts: KU has 29 wins, its most since going 35-4 in 1997-98. KU has a 16-game win streak, biggest since winning 22 straight from Nov. 22, 1996 to Feb. 4, 1997. KU is in the title game of the tournament for the first time since 1999 and fourth time in the six-year history of the tourney. KU’s season-high 31 assists set a new Big 12 tourney game high. Previous best was KU’s 27 versus K-State in 2000. Gooden’s 21 rebounds tied a career high and were the most by a player in a league tourney game. He also had 21 boards against South Carolina State, most rebounds by a player in the Williams era. Gooden’s 20 defensive boards are most by a Jayhawk in the Williams era. Miles’ 15 assists were a career high and Big 12 record. Doug Gottlieb of Oklahoma State had 14 assists against Baylor in 1999. Boschee’s three points marked his lowest scoring output of the season and lowest since scoring three versus Illinois in the Sweet 16 last year. KU has won 18 of its last 20 in Kemper.
Kansas City, Mo. ? Jeff Boschee was in dire need of a catnap on Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena.
“It’s hard to stay in the game. I was thinking about what I’m going to eat at the steakhouse tonight,” Kansas University’s senior guard said of his daydreams on the bench during the final eight minutes of KU’s 90-50 Big 12 semifinal rout of Texas Tech.
He actually was caught with his eyes closed in a Kemper scoreboard closeup late in the game. KU coach Roy Williams played the reserves the final seven minutes of the blowout.
“It wasn’t the most exciting game in the world. We pretty much shut them down defensively,” Boschee said after his three-point, three-assist performance.
Title in KU’s grasp: KU junior Drew Gooden longs for a victory over Oklahoma today in the Big 12 finals, set for 2 p.m. at Kemper Arena.
“I’m starting to get hooked on cutting down nets,” Gooden said. “I’ve had my first taste, cutting down my first one, so I want to have a taste of cutting down two.”
Kansas cut down all but three strands of the north Allen Fieldhouse net after clinching a share of the regular season title with a win over Iowa State on Feb. 18.
KU today will try for its first Big 12 tournament title since winning three in a row from 1997 to 1999.
“It’s big,” freshman Keith Langford said after scoring 10 points in 20 minutes. “This is the Big 12 tournament, another opportunity to beat people to prove we are the best in the league. It’s what we’ve wanted since Day One.”
Double trouble: Gooden recorded his 21st double-double, tying Raef LaFrentz for the single-season KU record set in 1996-97.
“I didn’t know about that. I forgot about that. It’s nice to make history,” Gooden said.
KU-OU revisited: KU today will play Oklahoma for just the second time this season. The Jayhawks won, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse. Gooden scored 19, Nick Collison 17, Kirk Hinrich 15 and Langford 12 for KU. Ebi Ere and Quannas White had 17 apiece and Hollis Price 11 for OU.
“Oklahoma is as physical as anybody in the country,” Collison said. “They do beat on you. Plus, they are very talented. They do like a little slower tempo than Texas.”
KU outrebounded the Sooners, 38-33, in Lawrence. OU hit 41.7 percent of its shots to KU’s 50 percent.
“Oklahoma likes to slow it down more,” Gooden said. “When we play Oklahoma, it’s a tough battle.”
No. 1 seed to be announced: KU today will be granted a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s expected the Jayhawks will be sent to St. Louis for first- and second-round tourney games Thursday and Saturday. It’s also expected KU will be in the Midwest Regional, with its next destination Madison, Wis., for the Sweet 16.
“It means you’ve had a helluva year,” Williams said of a No. 1 seed. “Between No. 1 and 2 there’s not a lot of other teams. It is pride, knowing you’ve had a great year.
“The so-called experts say no No. 16 (seeded) team has beat a No. 1. That’s going to happen one of these days. You hope not to us.”
Lee plays seven minutes: Freshman Michael Lee hit a three and another long range jumper to finish with five points and three rebounds in seven minutes.
“I feel pretty confident with my shot. I just have to focus on other aspects like my defense,” Lee said. “I have to get smarter defensively, stay in a defensive stance and I’ve got to get in better game shape. I know what I need to work on for next year.”
His buddy, fellow Portland, Ore., native Aaron Miles, had a career high 15 assists.
“Amazing, amazing,” Lee said. “I know he’s more than capable of that. He was focused. He knew what he had to do.”
Stats, facts: KU has 29 wins, its most since going 35-4 in 1997-98. KU has a 16-game win streak, biggest since winning 22 straight from Nov. 22, 1996 to Feb. 4, 1997. KU is in the title game of the tournament for the first time since 1999 and fourth time in the six-year history of the tourney. KU’s season-high 31 assists set a new Big 12 tourney game high. Previous best was KU’s 27 versus K-State in 2000. Gooden’s 21 rebounds tied a career high and were the most by a player in a league tourney game. He also had 21 boards against South Carolina State, most rebounds by a player in the Williams era. Gooden’s 20 defensive boards are most by a Jayhawk in the Williams era. Miles’ 15 assists were a career high and Big 12 record. Doug Gottlieb of Oklahoma State had 14 assists against Baylor in 1999. Boschee’s three points marked his lowest scoring output of the season and lowest since scoring three versus Illinois in the Sweet 16 last year. KU has won 18 of its last 20 in Kemper.
Kansas has six, not five, seniors on its men’s basketball roster.
That fact, of course, meant one senior player would have to sit at the start of Wednesday’s Senior Night contest against Kansas State.
That senior was Todd Kappelmann.
“I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind at all,” said Kappelmann after KU’s 103-68 victory. “Coach figured a way to get us all introduced, and that was a great deal in itself.”
KU coach Roy Williams had all six seniors take the court for the opening tipoff. Kappelmann strolled to the bench only after ref Scott Thornley told KU’s coach in an orchestrated move that one player had to go.
“It was fun to walk off and get the crowd into it. I didn’t mind taking a seat,” Kappelmann said.
Kappelmann was the last senior to play, entering with 10:15 left in the second half, the fans chanting “Kappelmann” and “We Want Todd.”
“I have a lot of friends out there. I used to sit in the stands with them my first year here,” said Kappelmann, a two-year walk-on who did not play his first year at KU after transferring from Butler County Community College. “I didn’t know what they were saying at first. I asked Lewis (Harrison) what was going on. It got louder and louder.”
He was active during his six minutes of playing time, missing four shots, including a three.
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (DeJesus 3-4, Atchison 3-5, Reid 0-2). Assists: 17 (Reid 7, Williams 6, Siebrandt, Pasco, Atchison, Canby). Turnovers: 28 (Reid 8, Siebrandt 4, Williams 4, Pasco 3, Da Barrosa 2, Sulic 2, DeJesus 2, Atchison, Buchanan, team). Blocked shots: 8 (Canby 4, Pasco 3, Williams). Steals: 3 (Williams 2, Reid). |
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Three-point goals: 9-20 (Boschee 5-9, Hinrich 3-7, Langford 1-1, Zerbe 0-1, Harrison 0-1, Kappelmann 0-1). Assists: 23 (Miles 8, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Gooden 2, Zerbe, Harrison, Ballard, Collison, Langford, Kappelmann). Turnovers: 7 (Boschee, Gooden, Collison, Langford, Hinrich, Miles, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 11 (Gooden 5, Simien 4, Collison 2). Steals: 17 (Boschee 4, Collison 3, Gooden 2, Langford 2, Hinrich 2, Ballard, Miles, Nash, Kappelmann). |
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| K-State | 30 | 38 | 68 |
| Kansas | 50 | 53 | 103 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Eddie Jackson, Kerry Sitton. Attendance: 16,300.
“I killed my shooting percentage,” he joked. “I came in 5-for-6. Now I’m 5-for-10.”
During his senior speech, he drew roars from the stands by joking: “Sorry if I’m a little winded. I’ve never played this much since high school.”
Speeches: The six seniors all thanked their teammates, coaches and family members during the postgame speech session that took 50 minutes.
Brett Ballard alluded to former Chiefs quarterback Warren Moon being in the stands but leaving right after the game.
“I wish Warren Moon could have stayed. He could have shown Drew a thing or two about throwing the football,” Ballard said of Drew Gooden, who plays quarterback during preseason football pickup games.
Harrison quipped to the crowd: “You don’t have to worry. I promised my teammates I’d make this speech similar to my playing time.”
Of Chris Zerbe’s nine-minute speech, Williams said: “I told Chris we’d calm him down before the (awards) banquet so we could get out quicker. He talked a minute for every bucket (in his career).”
Zerbe retorted: “Coach was joking around and told me he needed to tell me to shorten it up. The guys were kidding me, too, about the length of it. I felt it was important to show my appreciation to my parents, the time and money they put in to make me the person and player I am.”
Jeff Carey told the crowd about his upcoming wedding to Mollie Hampton: “We’d love to invite everybody here to the wedding, but the church is not big enough. Feel free to send any gifts.”
On a serious note: “This game was a great way to end my home career. Keep cheering us on. We’re going to make some stuff happen later on.”
And Jeff Boschee told a story to the crowd: “One time we were in the locker room at halftime at the Big 12 tournament my sophomore year. We didn’t rise up to the challenge. Coach Williams was in the locker room, his face was red, he gets up there and tries to throw a Gatorade bottle but realizes Kenny (Gregory) is on the other side of the room.
“He can’t throw the bottle so he says something about drawing a line in the sand and, ‘I’ll fight all you guys.’ It was pretty memorable.”
Stats, facts: KU went undefeated at home for the first time since the 1997-98 team went 16-0 at Allen. Aaron Miles had eight assists and broke Jacque Vaughn’s freshman assist record. Miles has 186; Vaughn had 181 in 1994.
Kansas has six, not five, seniors on its men’s basketball roster.
That fact, of course, meant one senior player would have to sit at the start of Wednesday’s Senior Night contest against Kansas State.
That senior was Todd Kappelmann.
“I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind at all,” said Kappelmann after KU’s 103-68 victory. “Coach figured a way to get us all introduced, and that was a great deal in itself.”
KU coach Roy Williams had all six seniors take the court for the opening tipoff. Kappelmann strolled to the bench only after ref Scott Thornley told KU’s coach in an orchestrated move that one player had to go.
“It was fun to walk off and get the crowd into it. I didn’t mind taking a seat,” Kappelmann said.
Kappelmann was the last senior to play, entering with 10:15 left in the second half, the fans chanting “Kappelmann” and “We Want Todd.”
“I have a lot of friends out there. I used to sit in the stands with them my first year here,” said Kappelmann, a two-year walk-on who did not play his first year at KU after transferring from Butler County Community College. “I didn’t know what they were saying at first. I asked Lewis (Harrison) what was going on. It got louder and louder.”
He was active during his six minutes of playing time, missing four shots, including a three.
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (DeJesus 3-4, Atchison 3-5, Reid 0-2). Assists: 17 (Reid 7, Williams 6, Siebrandt, Pasco, Atchison, Canby). Turnovers: 28 (Reid 8, Siebrandt 4, Williams 4, Pasco 3, Da Barrosa 2, Sulic 2, DeJesus 2, Atchison, Buchanan, team). Blocked shots: 8 (Canby 4, Pasco 3, Williams). Steals: 3 (Williams 2, Reid). |
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Three-point goals: 9-20 (Boschee 5-9, Hinrich 3-7, Langford 1-1, Zerbe 0-1, Harrison 0-1, Kappelmann 0-1). Assists: 23 (Miles 8, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Gooden 2, Zerbe, Harrison, Ballard, Collison, Langford, Kappelmann). Turnovers: 7 (Boschee, Gooden, Collison, Langford, Hinrich, Miles, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 11 (Gooden 5, Simien 4, Collison 2). Steals: 17 (Boschee 4, Collison 3, Gooden 2, Langford 2, Hinrich 2, Ballard, Miles, Nash, Kappelmann). |
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| K-State | 30 | 38 | 68 |
| Kansas | 50 | 53 | 103 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Eddie Jackson, Kerry Sitton. Attendance: 16,300.
“I killed my shooting percentage,” he joked. “I came in 5-for-6. Now I’m 5-for-10.”
During his senior speech, he drew roars from the stands by joking: “Sorry if I’m a little winded. I’ve never played this much since high school.”
Speeches: The six seniors all thanked their teammates, coaches and family members during the postgame speech session that took 50 minutes.
Brett Ballard alluded to former Chiefs quarterback Warren Moon being in the stands but leaving right after the game.
“I wish Warren Moon could have stayed. He could have shown Drew a thing or two about throwing the football,” Ballard said of Drew Gooden, who plays quarterback during preseason football pickup games.
Harrison quipped to the crowd: “You don’t have to worry. I promised my teammates I’d make this speech similar to my playing time.”
Of Chris Zerbe’s nine-minute speech, Williams said: “I told Chris we’d calm him down before the (awards) banquet so we could get out quicker. He talked a minute for every bucket (in his career).”
Zerbe retorted: “Coach was joking around and told me he needed to tell me to shorten it up. The guys were kidding me, too, about the length of it. I felt it was important to show my appreciation to my parents, the time and money they put in to make me the person and player I am.”
Jeff Carey told the crowd about his upcoming wedding to Mollie Hampton: “We’d love to invite everybody here to the wedding, but the church is not big enough. Feel free to send any gifts.”
On a serious note: “This game was a great way to end my home career. Keep cheering us on. We’re going to make some stuff happen later on.”
And Jeff Boschee told a story to the crowd: “One time we were in the locker room at halftime at the Big 12 tournament my sophomore year. We didn’t rise up to the challenge. Coach Williams was in the locker room, his face was red, he gets up there and tries to throw a Gatorade bottle but realizes Kenny (Gregory) is on the other side of the room.
“He can’t throw the bottle so he says something about drawing a line in the sand and, ‘I’ll fight all you guys.’ It was pretty memorable.”
Stats, facts: KU went undefeated at home for the first time since the 1997-98 team went 16-0 at Allen. Aaron Miles had eight assists and broke Jacque Vaughn’s freshman assist record. Miles has 186; Vaughn had 181 in 1994.
Kansas has six, not five, seniors on its men’s basketball roster.
That fact, of course, meant one senior player would have to sit at the start of Wednesday’s Senior Night contest against Kansas State.
That senior was Todd Kappelmann.
“I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind at all,” said Kappelmann after KU’s 103-68 victory. “Coach figured a way to get us all introduced, and that was a great deal in itself.”
KU coach Roy Williams had all six seniors take the court for the opening tipoff. Kappelmann strolled to the bench only after ref Scott Thornley told KU’s coach in an orchestrated move that one player had to go.
“It was fun to walk off and get the crowd into it. I didn’t mind taking a seat,” Kappelmann said.
Kappelmann was the last senior to play, entering with 10:15 left in the second half, the fans chanting “Kappelmann” and “We Want Todd.”
“I have a lot of friends out there. I used to sit in the stands with them my first year here,” said Kappelmann, a two-year walk-on who did not play his first year at KU after transferring from Butler County Community College. “I didn’t know what they were saying at first. I asked Lewis (Harrison) what was going on. It got louder and louder.”
He was active during his six minutes of playing time, missing four shots, including a three.
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (DeJesus 3-4, Atchison 3-5, Reid 0-2). Assists: 17 (Reid 7, Williams 6, Siebrandt, Pasco, Atchison, Canby). Turnovers: 28 (Reid 8, Siebrandt 4, Williams 4, Pasco 3, Da Barrosa 2, Sulic 2, DeJesus 2, Atchison, Buchanan, team). Blocked shots: 8 (Canby 4, Pasco 3, Williams). Steals: 3 (Williams 2, Reid). |
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Three-point goals: 9-20 (Boschee 5-9, Hinrich 3-7, Langford 1-1, Zerbe 0-1, Harrison 0-1, Kappelmann 0-1). Assists: 23 (Miles 8, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Gooden 2, Zerbe, Harrison, Ballard, Collison, Langford, Kappelmann). Turnovers: 7 (Boschee, Gooden, Collison, Langford, Hinrich, Miles, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 11 (Gooden 5, Simien 4, Collison 2). Steals: 17 (Boschee 4, Collison 3, Gooden 2, Langford 2, Hinrich 2, Ballard, Miles, Nash, Kappelmann). |
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| K-State | 30 | 38 | 68 |
| Kansas | 50 | 53 | 103 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Eddie Jackson, Kerry Sitton. Attendance: 16,300.
“I killed my shooting percentage,” he joked. “I came in 5-for-6. Now I’m 5-for-10.”
During his senior speech, he drew roars from the stands by joking: “Sorry if I’m a little winded. I’ve never played this much since high school.”
Speeches: The six seniors all thanked their teammates, coaches and family members during the postgame speech session that took 50 minutes.
Brett Ballard alluded to former Chiefs quarterback Warren Moon being in the stands but leaving right after the game.
“I wish Warren Moon could have stayed. He could have shown Drew a thing or two about throwing the football,” Ballard said of Drew Gooden, who plays quarterback during preseason football pickup games.
Harrison quipped to the crowd: “You don’t have to worry. I promised my teammates I’d make this speech similar to my playing time.”
Of Chris Zerbe’s nine-minute speech, Williams said: “I told Chris we’d calm him down before the (awards) banquet so we could get out quicker. He talked a minute for every bucket (in his career).”
Zerbe retorted: “Coach was joking around and told me he needed to tell me to shorten it up. The guys were kidding me, too, about the length of it. I felt it was important to show my appreciation to my parents, the time and money they put in to make me the person and player I am.”
Jeff Carey told the crowd about his upcoming wedding to Mollie Hampton: “We’d love to invite everybody here to the wedding, but the church is not big enough. Feel free to send any gifts.”
On a serious note: “This game was a great way to end my home career. Keep cheering us on. We’re going to make some stuff happen later on.”
And Jeff Boschee told a story to the crowd: “One time we were in the locker room at halftime at the Big 12 tournament my sophomore year. We didn’t rise up to the challenge. Coach Williams was in the locker room, his face was red, he gets up there and tries to throw a Gatorade bottle but realizes Kenny (Gregory) is on the other side of the room.
“He can’t throw the bottle so he says something about drawing a line in the sand and, ‘I’ll fight all you guys.’ It was pretty memorable.”
Stats, facts: KU went undefeated at home for the first time since the 1997-98 team went 16-0 at Allen. Aaron Miles had eight assists and broke Jacque Vaughn’s freshman assist record. Miles has 186; Vaughn had 181 in 1994.
Kansas has six, not five, seniors on its men’s basketball roster.
That fact, of course, meant one senior player would have to sit at the start of Wednesday’s Senior Night contest against Kansas State.
That senior was Todd Kappelmann.
“I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind at all,” said Kappelmann after KU’s 103-68 victory. “Coach figured a way to get us all introduced, and that was a great deal in itself.”
KU coach Roy Williams had all six seniors take the court for the opening tipoff. Kappelmann strolled to the bench only after ref Scott Thornley told KU’s coach in an orchestrated move that one player had to go.
“It was fun to walk off and get the crowd into it. I didn’t mind taking a seat,” Kappelmann said.
Kappelmann was the last senior to play, entering with 10:15 left in the second half, the fans chanting “Kappelmann” and “We Want Todd.”
“I have a lot of friends out there. I used to sit in the stands with them my first year here,” said Kappelmann, a two-year walk-on who did not play his first year at KU after transferring from Butler County Community College. “I didn’t know what they were saying at first. I asked Lewis (Harrison) what was going on. It got louder and louder.”
He was active during his six minutes of playing time, missing four shots, including a three.
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (DeJesus 3-4, Atchison 3-5, Reid 0-2). Assists: 17 (Reid 7, Williams 6, Siebrandt, Pasco, Atchison, Canby). Turnovers: 28 (Reid 8, Siebrandt 4, Williams 4, Pasco 3, Da Barrosa 2, Sulic 2, DeJesus 2, Atchison, Buchanan, team). Blocked shots: 8 (Canby 4, Pasco 3, Williams). Steals: 3 (Williams 2, Reid). |
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Three-point goals: 9-20 (Boschee 5-9, Hinrich 3-7, Langford 1-1, Zerbe 0-1, Harrison 0-1, Kappelmann 0-1). Assists: 23 (Miles 8, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Gooden 2, Zerbe, Harrison, Ballard, Collison, Langford, Kappelmann). Turnovers: 7 (Boschee, Gooden, Collison, Langford, Hinrich, Miles, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 11 (Gooden 5, Simien 4, Collison 2). Steals: 17 (Boschee 4, Collison 3, Gooden 2, Langford 2, Hinrich 2, Ballard, Miles, Nash, Kappelmann). |
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| K-State | 30 | 38 | 68 |
| Kansas | 50 | 53 | 103 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Eddie Jackson, Kerry Sitton. Attendance: 16,300.
“I killed my shooting percentage,” he joked. “I came in 5-for-6. Now I’m 5-for-10.”
During his senior speech, he drew roars from the stands by joking: “Sorry if I’m a little winded. I’ve never played this much since high school.”
Speeches: The six seniors all thanked their teammates, coaches and family members during the postgame speech session that took 50 minutes.
Brett Ballard alluded to former Chiefs quarterback Warren Moon being in the stands but leaving right after the game.
“I wish Warren Moon could have stayed. He could have shown Drew a thing or two about throwing the football,” Ballard said of Drew Gooden, who plays quarterback during preseason football pickup games.
Harrison quipped to the crowd: “You don’t have to worry. I promised my teammates I’d make this speech similar to my playing time.”
Of Chris Zerbe’s nine-minute speech, Williams said: “I told Chris we’d calm him down before the (awards) banquet so we could get out quicker. He talked a minute for every bucket (in his career).”
Zerbe retorted: “Coach was joking around and told me he needed to tell me to shorten it up. The guys were kidding me, too, about the length of it. I felt it was important to show my appreciation to my parents, the time and money they put in to make me the person and player I am.”
Jeff Carey told the crowd about his upcoming wedding to Mollie Hampton: “We’d love to invite everybody here to the wedding, but the church is not big enough. Feel free to send any gifts.”
On a serious note: “This game was a great way to end my home career. Keep cheering us on. We’re going to make some stuff happen later on.”
And Jeff Boschee told a story to the crowd: “One time we were in the locker room at halftime at the Big 12 tournament my sophomore year. We didn’t rise up to the challenge. Coach Williams was in the locker room, his face was red, he gets up there and tries to throw a Gatorade bottle but realizes Kenny (Gregory) is on the other side of the room.
“He can’t throw the bottle so he says something about drawing a line in the sand and, ‘I’ll fight all you guys.’ It was pretty memorable.”
Stats, facts: KU went undefeated at home for the first time since the 1997-98 team went 16-0 at Allen. Aaron Miles had eight assists and broke Jacque Vaughn’s freshman assist record. Miles has 186; Vaughn had 181 in 1994.
It was, perhaps, poetic justice that Kansas senior Chris Zerbe hit the free throw that gave Kansas 100 points in Monday’s 102-66 victory over Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I figure it’s payback to the fans for letting the ball slip out of my hands in Manhattan. I blew it and tell everybody I blew it over there,” Zerbe said.
Remember, he fumbled a pass out of bounds in the closing seconds of KU’s 98-71 win over KSU on Feb. 4 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Zerbe carried a strand of net along with an ice pack out of the fieldhouse Monday. He suffered a hard fall late in the game.
“I landed right on my hip. It’s a little sore,” he said. “I’ll go home and lay on my good hip, relax and enjoy this. This is awesome, a thrill, a blast,” he said of winning a share of the Big 12 title.
KU topped the 100-point mark for a school record ninth time.
Locker Door Woes: Iowa State outscored the Jayhawks, 6-0, to begin the second half. The Jayhawks may have lost a bit of momentum after getting stuck in their own locker room for an extra minute or two.
“We got locked in. The door handle came off,” junior Nick Collison said with a laugh. “Somebody pounded on the door and they let us out of there.”
“I think we lost a little momentum coming out. The door handle broke and we couldn’t get out of there,” frosh Wayne Simien explained. “It’s a faulty door handle or something. Looking back it’s kind of funny, really funny.”
Gooden chant: The fans chanted “One more year” to KU senior Drew Gooden who scored 26 points. Most everybody is expecting the 6-foot-11 junior to turn pro after this season with scouts saying he’s a lottery pick.
“I heard them (chants),” Gooden said, “but I’m just focusing on this season right now.”
No Dizzy Spell: KU coach Roy Williams looked like he had one of his dizzy spells in the second half. He didn’t.
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Three-point goals: 3-5 (Sullivan 2-4, Power 1-1). Assists: 6 (Sullivan 2, Power 2, Morgan, Homan). Turnovers: 18 (Morgan 6, Pearson 4, Fries 2, Homan 2, Bynum, Sullivan, Power, Jefferson). Blocked shots: 2 (Homan 2). Steals: 5 (Bynum 3, Sullivan, Power). |
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (Boschee 3-4, Hinrich 2-5, Ballard 1-1, Gooden 0-1). Assists: 25 (Miles 9, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Nash, Carey). Turnovers: 10 (Boschee 3, Collison 2, Miles, Harrison, Langford, Nash, Simien). Blocked shots: 9 (Gooden 3, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford, Carey). Steals: 12 (Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Gooden, Collison, Nash, Carey). |
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| Iowa State | 25 | 41 | 66 |
| Kansas | 49 | 53 | 102 |
Officials: Steve Welmer, Ted Hillary, Steve Olson. Attendance: 16,300.
“I didn’t really fall. It wasn’t one of those blackout things. Instead of saying something emotional (to his players after an error) I decided to stay there with my head down. It was a pretty comfortable spot on the floor.”
Famous Guests: Golfing great Tom Watson attended the game as did former KU chancellor Gene Budig.
Practice Makes Perfect: An intense KU practice on Sunday helped KU on Monday night.
“I got on them really hard yesterday about, ‘Let’s try to get better or let’s not be out here.’ I think it has to be our challenge every day,” said Williams, not impressed with Saturday’s win over Baylor.
No. 1 Again: The Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 in the country in the AP poll for the second time this season. KU ascended to the No. 1 ranking after Duke’s loss to Florida State on Jan. 6, but the Jayhawks immediately lost to UCLA the following weekend.
KU has won 11 straight games since the loss in Los Angeles.
“If you sit and think about it, being No. 1 later is much better than earlier because it means you’re having a heck of a year. I think it should mean a little more because you have already accomplished something,” Williams said.
“If you are No. 1 the first week, it’s what people expect you to do. If you are No. 1 after a couple of weeks, you’ve still just been in your nonconference play. There’s no doubt I think it’s more impressive the longer into the season you go.”
Championship Hats, Shirts: Former KU player Greg Gurley, a sales representative for Prairie Graphics, brought several Big 12 championship T-shirts and hats to the game. The players wore the gear after the contest.
So far, 4,000 shirts and 1,500 hats are ready for sale at kustore.com and the KU bookstores.
Opposite Ends: KU’s men, of course, are undefeated in Big 12 play, while the Jayhawk women are winless.
“It’s something I feel very sad for what Marian (Washington) is going through and strongly in support of our women’s program,” Williams said. “I came to the (KU-K-State) game yesterday for a little while before we had to go get ready for our own practice.
“I surely know she doesn’t need to hear about my situation (having no losses). She’s got all the problems in the world she needs to worry about. I think that would be inappropriate for me to talk to her about the differences of the two programs. She knows that I support her. The kids know that I support them. I do get the chance to see several of the girls quite a bit. Those kids are trying very, very hard. It’s just an unfortunate situation they are going through. Hopefully, we’ll get lucky and get a couple as we start down the stretch.”
Referee Injured: Referees Steve Welmer and Ted Hillary worked as a two-man crew for the last 12 minutes after Steve Olson, the third official, was unable to continue because of a leg injury.
It was, perhaps, poetic justice that Kansas senior Chris Zerbe hit the free throw that gave Kansas 100 points in Monday’s 102-66 victory over Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I figure it’s payback to the fans for letting the ball slip out of my hands in Manhattan. I blew it and tell everybody I blew it over there,” Zerbe said.
Remember, he fumbled a pass out of bounds in the closing seconds of KU’s 98-71 win over KSU on Feb. 4 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Zerbe carried a strand of net along with an ice pack out of the fieldhouse Monday. He suffered a hard fall late in the game.
“I landed right on my hip. It’s a little sore,” he said. “I’ll go home and lay on my good hip, relax and enjoy this. This is awesome, a thrill, a blast,” he said of winning a share of the Big 12 title.
KU topped the 100-point mark for a school record ninth time.
Locker Door Woes: Iowa State outscored the Jayhawks, 6-0, to begin the second half. The Jayhawks may have lost a bit of momentum after getting stuck in their own locker room for an extra minute or two.
“We got locked in. The door handle came off,” junior Nick Collison said with a laugh. “Somebody pounded on the door and they let us out of there.”
“I think we lost a little momentum coming out. The door handle broke and we couldn’t get out of there,” frosh Wayne Simien explained. “It’s a faulty door handle or something. Looking back it’s kind of funny, really funny.”
Gooden chant: The fans chanted “One more year” to KU senior Drew Gooden who scored 26 points. Most everybody is expecting the 6-foot-11 junior to turn pro after this season with scouts saying he’s a lottery pick.
“I heard them (chants),” Gooden said, “but I’m just focusing on this season right now.”
No Dizzy Spell: KU coach Roy Williams looked like he had one of his dizzy spells in the second half. He didn’t.
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Three-point goals: 3-5 (Sullivan 2-4, Power 1-1). Assists: 6 (Sullivan 2, Power 2, Morgan, Homan). Turnovers: 18 (Morgan 6, Pearson 4, Fries 2, Homan 2, Bynum, Sullivan, Power, Jefferson). Blocked shots: 2 (Homan 2). Steals: 5 (Bynum 3, Sullivan, Power). |
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (Boschee 3-4, Hinrich 2-5, Ballard 1-1, Gooden 0-1). Assists: 25 (Miles 9, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Nash, Carey). Turnovers: 10 (Boschee 3, Collison 2, Miles, Harrison, Langford, Nash, Simien). Blocked shots: 9 (Gooden 3, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford, Carey). Steals: 12 (Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Gooden, Collison, Nash, Carey). |
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| Iowa State | 25 | 41 | 66 |
| Kansas | 49 | 53 | 102 |
Officials: Steve Welmer, Ted Hillary, Steve Olson. Attendance: 16,300.
“I didn’t really fall. It wasn’t one of those blackout things. Instead of saying something emotional (to his players after an error) I decided to stay there with my head down. It was a pretty comfortable spot on the floor.”
Famous Guests: Golfing great Tom Watson attended the game as did former KU chancellor Gene Budig.
Practice Makes Perfect: An intense KU practice on Sunday helped KU on Monday night.
“I got on them really hard yesterday about, ‘Let’s try to get better or let’s not be out here.’ I think it has to be our challenge every day,” said Williams, not impressed with Saturday’s win over Baylor.
No. 1 Again: The Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 in the country in the AP poll for the second time this season. KU ascended to the No. 1 ranking after Duke’s loss to Florida State on Jan. 6, but the Jayhawks immediately lost to UCLA the following weekend.
KU has won 11 straight games since the loss in Los Angeles.
“If you sit and think about it, being No. 1 later is much better than earlier because it means you’re having a heck of a year. I think it should mean a little more because you have already accomplished something,” Williams said.
“If you are No. 1 the first week, it’s what people expect you to do. If you are No. 1 after a couple of weeks, you’ve still just been in your nonconference play. There’s no doubt I think it’s more impressive the longer into the season you go.”
Championship Hats, Shirts: Former KU player Greg Gurley, a sales representative for Prairie Graphics, brought several Big 12 championship T-shirts and hats to the game. The players wore the gear after the contest.
So far, 4,000 shirts and 1,500 hats are ready for sale at kustore.com and the KU bookstores.
Opposite Ends: KU’s men, of course, are undefeated in Big 12 play, while the Jayhawk women are winless.
“It’s something I feel very sad for what Marian (Washington) is going through and strongly in support of our women’s program,” Williams said. “I came to the (KU-K-State) game yesterday for a little while before we had to go get ready for our own practice.
“I surely know she doesn’t need to hear about my situation (having no losses). She’s got all the problems in the world she needs to worry about. I think that would be inappropriate for me to talk to her about the differences of the two programs. She knows that I support her. The kids know that I support them. I do get the chance to see several of the girls quite a bit. Those kids are trying very, very hard. It’s just an unfortunate situation they are going through. Hopefully, we’ll get lucky and get a couple as we start down the stretch.”
Referee Injured: Referees Steve Welmer and Ted Hillary worked as a two-man crew for the last 12 minutes after Steve Olson, the third official, was unable to continue because of a leg injury.
It was, perhaps, poetic justice that Kansas senior Chris Zerbe hit the free throw that gave Kansas 100 points in Monday’s 102-66 victory over Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I figure it’s payback to the fans for letting the ball slip out of my hands in Manhattan. I blew it and tell everybody I blew it over there,” Zerbe said.
Remember, he fumbled a pass out of bounds in the closing seconds of KU’s 98-71 win over KSU on Feb. 4 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Zerbe carried a strand of net along with an ice pack out of the fieldhouse Monday. He suffered a hard fall late in the game.
“I landed right on my hip. It’s a little sore,” he said. “I’ll go home and lay on my good hip, relax and enjoy this. This is awesome, a thrill, a blast,” he said of winning a share of the Big 12 title.
KU topped the 100-point mark for a school record ninth time.
Locker Door Woes: Iowa State outscored the Jayhawks, 6-0, to begin the second half. The Jayhawks may have lost a bit of momentum after getting stuck in their own locker room for an extra minute or two.
“We got locked in. The door handle came off,” junior Nick Collison said with a laugh. “Somebody pounded on the door and they let us out of there.”
“I think we lost a little momentum coming out. The door handle broke and we couldn’t get out of there,” frosh Wayne Simien explained. “It’s a faulty door handle or something. Looking back it’s kind of funny, really funny.”
Gooden chant: The fans chanted “One more year” to KU senior Drew Gooden who scored 26 points. Most everybody is expecting the 6-foot-11 junior to turn pro after this season with scouts saying he’s a lottery pick.
“I heard them (chants),” Gooden said, “but I’m just focusing on this season right now.”
No Dizzy Spell: KU coach Roy Williams looked like he had one of his dizzy spells in the second half. He didn’t.
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Three-point goals: 3-5 (Sullivan 2-4, Power 1-1). Assists: 6 (Sullivan 2, Power 2, Morgan, Homan). Turnovers: 18 (Morgan 6, Pearson 4, Fries 2, Homan 2, Bynum, Sullivan, Power, Jefferson). Blocked shots: 2 (Homan 2). Steals: 5 (Bynum 3, Sullivan, Power). |
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (Boschee 3-4, Hinrich 2-5, Ballard 1-1, Gooden 0-1). Assists: 25 (Miles 9, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Nash, Carey). Turnovers: 10 (Boschee 3, Collison 2, Miles, Harrison, Langford, Nash, Simien). Blocked shots: 9 (Gooden 3, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford, Carey). Steals: 12 (Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Gooden, Collison, Nash, Carey). |
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| Iowa State | 25 | 41 | 66 |
| Kansas | 49 | 53 | 102 |
Officials: Steve Welmer, Ted Hillary, Steve Olson. Attendance: 16,300.
“I didn’t really fall. It wasn’t one of those blackout things. Instead of saying something emotional (to his players after an error) I decided to stay there with my head down. It was a pretty comfortable spot on the floor.”
Famous Guests: Golfing great Tom Watson attended the game as did former KU chancellor Gene Budig.
Practice Makes Perfect: An intense KU practice on Sunday helped KU on Monday night.
“I got on them really hard yesterday about, ‘Let’s try to get better or let’s not be out here.’ I think it has to be our challenge every day,” said Williams, not impressed with Saturday’s win over Baylor.
No. 1 Again: The Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 in the country in the AP poll for the second time this season. KU ascended to the No. 1 ranking after Duke’s loss to Florida State on Jan. 6, but the Jayhawks immediately lost to UCLA the following weekend.
KU has won 11 straight games since the loss in Los Angeles.
“If you sit and think about it, being No. 1 later is much better than earlier because it means you’re having a heck of a year. I think it should mean a little more because you have already accomplished something,” Williams said.
“If you are No. 1 the first week, it’s what people expect you to do. If you are No. 1 after a couple of weeks, you’ve still just been in your nonconference play. There’s no doubt I think it’s more impressive the longer into the season you go.”
Championship Hats, Shirts: Former KU player Greg Gurley, a sales representative for Prairie Graphics, brought several Big 12 championship T-shirts and hats to the game. The players wore the gear after the contest.
So far, 4,000 shirts and 1,500 hats are ready for sale at kustore.com and the KU bookstores.
Opposite Ends: KU’s men, of course, are undefeated in Big 12 play, while the Jayhawk women are winless.
“It’s something I feel very sad for what Marian (Washington) is going through and strongly in support of our women’s program,” Williams said. “I came to the (KU-K-State) game yesterday for a little while before we had to go get ready for our own practice.
“I surely know she doesn’t need to hear about my situation (having no losses). She’s got all the problems in the world she needs to worry about. I think that would be inappropriate for me to talk to her about the differences of the two programs. She knows that I support her. The kids know that I support them. I do get the chance to see several of the girls quite a bit. Those kids are trying very, very hard. It’s just an unfortunate situation they are going through. Hopefully, we’ll get lucky and get a couple as we start down the stretch.”
Referee Injured: Referees Steve Welmer and Ted Hillary worked as a two-man crew for the last 12 minutes after Steve Olson, the third official, was unable to continue because of a leg injury.
It was, perhaps, poetic justice that Kansas senior Chris Zerbe hit the free throw that gave Kansas 100 points in Monday’s 102-66 victory over Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I figure it’s payback to the fans for letting the ball slip out of my hands in Manhattan. I blew it and tell everybody I blew it over there,” Zerbe said.
Remember, he fumbled a pass out of bounds in the closing seconds of KU’s 98-71 win over KSU on Feb. 4 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Zerbe carried a strand of net along with an ice pack out of the fieldhouse Monday. He suffered a hard fall late in the game.
“I landed right on my hip. It’s a little sore,” he said. “I’ll go home and lay on my good hip, relax and enjoy this. This is awesome, a thrill, a blast,” he said of winning a share of the Big 12 title.
KU topped the 100-point mark for a school record ninth time.
Locker Door Woes: Iowa State outscored the Jayhawks, 6-0, to begin the second half. The Jayhawks may have lost a bit of momentum after getting stuck in their own locker room for an extra minute or two.
“We got locked in. The door handle came off,” junior Nick Collison said with a laugh. “Somebody pounded on the door and they let us out of there.”
“I think we lost a little momentum coming out. The door handle broke and we couldn’t get out of there,” frosh Wayne Simien explained. “It’s a faulty door handle or something. Looking back it’s kind of funny, really funny.”
Gooden chant: The fans chanted “One more year” to KU senior Drew Gooden who scored 26 points. Most everybody is expecting the 6-foot-11 junior to turn pro after this season with scouts saying he’s a lottery pick.
“I heard them (chants),” Gooden said, “but I’m just focusing on this season right now.”
No Dizzy Spell: KU coach Roy Williams looked like he had one of his dizzy spells in the second half. He didn’t.
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Three-point goals: 3-5 (Sullivan 2-4, Power 1-1). Assists: 6 (Sullivan 2, Power 2, Morgan, Homan). Turnovers: 18 (Morgan 6, Pearson 4, Fries 2, Homan 2, Bynum, Sullivan, Power, Jefferson). Blocked shots: 2 (Homan 2). Steals: 5 (Bynum 3, Sullivan, Power). |
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Three-point goals: 6-11 (Boschee 3-4, Hinrich 2-5, Ballard 1-1, Gooden 0-1). Assists: 25 (Miles 9, Hinrich 4, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Nash, Carey). Turnovers: 10 (Boschee 3, Collison 2, Miles, Harrison, Langford, Nash, Simien). Blocked shots: 9 (Gooden 3, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford, Carey). Steals: 12 (Miles 4, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Gooden, Collison, Nash, Carey). |
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| Iowa State | 25 | 41 | 66 |
| Kansas | 49 | 53 | 102 |
Officials: Steve Welmer, Ted Hillary, Steve Olson. Attendance: 16,300.
“I didn’t really fall. It wasn’t one of those blackout things. Instead of saying something emotional (to his players after an error) I decided to stay there with my head down. It was a pretty comfortable spot on the floor.”
Famous Guests: Golfing great Tom Watson attended the game as did former KU chancellor Gene Budig.
Practice Makes Perfect: An intense KU practice on Sunday helped KU on Monday night.
“I got on them really hard yesterday about, ‘Let’s try to get better or let’s not be out here.’ I think it has to be our challenge every day,” said Williams, not impressed with Saturday’s win over Baylor.
No. 1 Again: The Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 in the country in the AP poll for the second time this season. KU ascended to the No. 1 ranking after Duke’s loss to Florida State on Jan. 6, but the Jayhawks immediately lost to UCLA the following weekend.
KU has won 11 straight games since the loss in Los Angeles.
“If you sit and think about it, being No. 1 later is much better than earlier because it means you’re having a heck of a year. I think it should mean a little more because you have already accomplished something,” Williams said.
“If you are No. 1 the first week, it’s what people expect you to do. If you are No. 1 after a couple of weeks, you’ve still just been in your nonconference play. There’s no doubt I think it’s more impressive the longer into the season you go.”
Championship Hats, Shirts: Former KU player Greg Gurley, a sales representative for Prairie Graphics, brought several Big 12 championship T-shirts and hats to the game. The players wore the gear after the contest.
So far, 4,000 shirts and 1,500 hats are ready for sale at kustore.com and the KU bookstores.
Opposite Ends: KU’s men, of course, are undefeated in Big 12 play, while the Jayhawk women are winless.
“It’s something I feel very sad for what Marian (Washington) is going through and strongly in support of our women’s program,” Williams said. “I came to the (KU-K-State) game yesterday for a little while before we had to go get ready for our own practice.
“I surely know she doesn’t need to hear about my situation (having no losses). She’s got all the problems in the world she needs to worry about. I think that would be inappropriate for me to talk to her about the differences of the two programs. She knows that I support her. The kids know that I support them. I do get the chance to see several of the girls quite a bit. Those kids are trying very, very hard. It’s just an unfortunate situation they are going through. Hopefully, we’ll get lucky and get a couple as we start down the stretch.”
Referee Injured: Referees Steve Welmer and Ted Hillary worked as a two-man crew for the last 12 minutes after Steve Olson, the third official, was unable to continue because of a leg injury.
Missouri coach Quin Snyder tossed bouquets at Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich on Monday, saying if Drew Gooden wasn’t the best player in the Big 12 Conference, then Hinrich was.
“It makes me feel good,” Hinrich said with a big smile after the Jayhawks’ 105-73 victory over Missouri on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“It is obviously a great compliment. It’s blown up a little bit because of this game, but it makes me feel really good.”
Hinrich awed a jam-packed fieldhouse by scoring 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four of five threes. He hit all three of his free throws and had six assists against two turnovers in 33 minutes.
What’s more, he guarded MU’s Kareem Rush, who hit six of 19 shots, just one of seven threes, good for 13 points in 33 minutes.
“I tried to make him limit his touches. He’s a great shooter, an All-American,” Hinrich said. “A lot of people didn’t think I could handle him. He has three inches on me.”
Indeed, Hinrich is 6-foot-3; Rush 6-6.
“I got lucky. He missed some shots. We guarded their butts, came down on the run and were on fire,” Hinrich noted.
Indeed, KU hit 20 of 31 shots the second half in busting open a 43-42 game. KU outscored MU, 62-31 the final 20 minutes.
“I finally played one of my complete games,” Hinrich said.
Freshman point guard Aaron Miles had a busy night chasing Clarence Gilbert, who hit four of five threes the first half for 16 points, then made one of four the second half and finished with 19 on the night.
“We denied them more, pushed them out farther,” Miles said. “He is great,” he added of Gilbert. “It’s hard to guard somebody who can shoot from anywhere like that. I tried to not let him touch it as much the second half.”
Nick Collison had a big second half with nine of his 13 points and five boards in those 20 minutes.
Proud papa: Gooden’s dad, Andrew, met with the media after the game. He was, of course, asked about his son, who most people say is likely to turn pro after this season.
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Three-point goals: 10-28 (Gilbert 5-9, Paulding 3-8, Stokes 1-2, Johnson 1-7, Kroenke 0-1, Echols 0-1). Assists: 11 (Rush 4, Stokes 3, Gilbert 2, Johnson, Kroenke). Turnovers: 18 (Bryant 4, Rush 4, Gilbert 2, Stokes 2, Echols 2, Johnson, Paulding, Kroenke, Ferguson). Blocked shots: 5 (Johnson 3, Paulding, John). Steals: 6 (Kiernan 2, Bryant, Rush, Paulding, Gage). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 4-5, Boschee 3-6, Nash 1-1, Langford 0-1). Assists: 26 (Miles 8, Hinrich 6, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 13 (Gooden 3, Simien 3, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Collison, Lee, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 7 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford). Steals: 10 (Gooden 3, Miles 2, Langford 2, Simien 2). |
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| Missouri | 42 | 31 | 73 |
| Kansas | 43 | 62 | 105 |
Officials: John Clougherty, Mark Whitebread, Rick Hartzell. Attendance: 16,300.
The 20 NBA scouts had to be impressed Monday night.
“I stress what he came here for is to be a student first. To graduate college then go to the next level is the perfect way,” Gooden Sr. said. “This summer we’ll talk and see what Drew thinks. I hope he stays.”
Gooden’s dad says money is no big deal. “I’ve been poor all my life,” he said. “The money doesn’t bother me. The wealth is not in our face. I look as wealth as boring. But the NBA is calling him and, hopefully, he’ll make a wise decision.”
Horde of scouts: The 20 scouts most ever to watch a game at Allen Fieldhouse, attended. Included were former KU assistant R.C. Buford (San Antonio), plus NBA general managers Pete Babcock (Atlanta Hawks), Randy Pfund (Miami Heat), Jim Paxson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Scott Layden (New York Knicks) and Glen Grunwald (Toronto Raptors), plus former head coaches Tony Barone (Memphis Grizzlies scout, Texas A&M) and Steve Yoder (Indiana Pacers scout, Wisconsin).
Also on hand was Marty Blake, NBA scouting director.
Vitale works game: ESPN analyst Dick Vitale worked the game.
“I love the atmosphere of this place,” said Vitale, who last worked a KU home game two seasons ago when the Jayhawks beat Ohio State, 80-67.
“Kirk Hinrich is the most underrated player in the country,” Vitale added. “What can’t he do? He can play three positions and play them all well.”
Stats, facts: It was originally believed KU had its biggest win over Missouri in Lawrence. Upon further review, it was deemed Monday’s 32-point win was fourth biggest. … Gooden’s eight first-half field goals tied for second most in a half in the Roy Williams era, most since Gooden had eight against Colorado on Jan. 5. …KU’s 61.9 percent shooting was a season best. KU’s 61.5 percent mark from three-point range was also a season high. ….KU hit a season-best 90.5 percent of its free throws, fifth highest percentage in the Williams era. … KU’s 105 points were second most against the Tigers in the series history. Most is 112 in 1974.
Scalpers: A scalper outside Allen Fieldhouse said he had better luck selling K-State women’s tickets in Manhattan than peddling KU-MU tickets Monday night. This particular scalper was asking $300 for $30 tickets. He eventually dropped the price to $50. Another scalper said his tickets were going for $200 and he would not drop the price until game time.
Missouri coach Quin Snyder tossed bouquets at Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich on Monday, saying if Drew Gooden wasn’t the best player in the Big 12 Conference, then Hinrich was.
“It makes me feel good,” Hinrich said with a big smile after the Jayhawks’ 105-73 victory over Missouri on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“It is obviously a great compliment. It’s blown up a little bit because of this game, but it makes me feel really good.”
Hinrich awed a jam-packed fieldhouse by scoring 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four of five threes. He hit all three of his free throws and had six assists against two turnovers in 33 minutes.
What’s more, he guarded MU’s Kareem Rush, who hit six of 19 shots, just one of seven threes, good for 13 points in 33 minutes.
“I tried to make him limit his touches. He’s a great shooter, an All-American,” Hinrich said. “A lot of people didn’t think I could handle him. He has three inches on me.”
Indeed, Hinrich is 6-foot-3; Rush 6-6.
“I got lucky. He missed some shots. We guarded their butts, came down on the run and were on fire,” Hinrich noted.
Indeed, KU hit 20 of 31 shots the second half in busting open a 43-42 game. KU outscored MU, 62-31 the final 20 minutes.
“I finally played one of my complete games,” Hinrich said.
Freshman point guard Aaron Miles had a busy night chasing Clarence Gilbert, who hit four of five threes the first half for 16 points, then made one of four the second half and finished with 19 on the night.
“We denied them more, pushed them out farther,” Miles said. “He is great,” he added of Gilbert. “It’s hard to guard somebody who can shoot from anywhere like that. I tried to not let him touch it as much the second half.”
Nick Collison had a big second half with nine of his 13 points and five boards in those 20 minutes.
Proud papa: Gooden’s dad, Andrew, met with the media after the game. He was, of course, asked about his son, who most people say is likely to turn pro after this season.
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Three-point goals: 10-28 (Gilbert 5-9, Paulding 3-8, Stokes 1-2, Johnson 1-7, Kroenke 0-1, Echols 0-1). Assists: 11 (Rush 4, Stokes 3, Gilbert 2, Johnson, Kroenke). Turnovers: 18 (Bryant 4, Rush 4, Gilbert 2, Stokes 2, Echols 2, Johnson, Paulding, Kroenke, Ferguson). Blocked shots: 5 (Johnson 3, Paulding, John). Steals: 6 (Kiernan 2, Bryant, Rush, Paulding, Gage). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 4-5, Boschee 3-6, Nash 1-1, Langford 0-1). Assists: 26 (Miles 8, Hinrich 6, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 13 (Gooden 3, Simien 3, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Collison, Lee, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 7 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford). Steals: 10 (Gooden 3, Miles 2, Langford 2, Simien 2). |
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| Missouri | 42 | 31 | 73 |
| Kansas | 43 | 62 | 105 |
Officials: John Clougherty, Mark Whitebread, Rick Hartzell. Attendance: 16,300.
The 20 NBA scouts had to be impressed Monday night.
“I stress what he came here for is to be a student first. To graduate college then go to the next level is the perfect way,” Gooden Sr. said. “This summer we’ll talk and see what Drew thinks. I hope he stays.”
Gooden’s dad says money is no big deal. “I’ve been poor all my life,” he said. “The money doesn’t bother me. The wealth is not in our face. I look as wealth as boring. But the NBA is calling him and, hopefully, he’ll make a wise decision.”
Horde of scouts: The 20 scouts most ever to watch a game at Allen Fieldhouse, attended. Included were former KU assistant R.C. Buford (San Antonio), plus NBA general managers Pete Babcock (Atlanta Hawks), Randy Pfund (Miami Heat), Jim Paxson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Scott Layden (New York Knicks) and Glen Grunwald (Toronto Raptors), plus former head coaches Tony Barone (Memphis Grizzlies scout, Texas A&M) and Steve Yoder (Indiana Pacers scout, Wisconsin).
Also on hand was Marty Blake, NBA scouting director.
Vitale works game: ESPN analyst Dick Vitale worked the game.
“I love the atmosphere of this place,” said Vitale, who last worked a KU home game two seasons ago when the Jayhawks beat Ohio State, 80-67.
“Kirk Hinrich is the most underrated player in the country,” Vitale added. “What can’t he do? He can play three positions and play them all well.”
Stats, facts: It was originally believed KU had its biggest win over Missouri in Lawrence. Upon further review, it was deemed Monday’s 32-point win was fourth biggest. … Gooden’s eight first-half field goals tied for second most in a half in the Roy Williams era, most since Gooden had eight against Colorado on Jan. 5. …KU’s 61.9 percent shooting was a season best. KU’s 61.5 percent mark from three-point range was also a season high. ….KU hit a season-best 90.5 percent of its free throws, fifth highest percentage in the Williams era. … KU’s 105 points were second most against the Tigers in the series history. Most is 112 in 1974.
Scalpers: A scalper outside Allen Fieldhouse said he had better luck selling K-State women’s tickets in Manhattan than peddling KU-MU tickets Monday night. This particular scalper was asking $300 for $30 tickets. He eventually dropped the price to $50. Another scalper said his tickets were going for $200 and he would not drop the price until game time.
Missouri coach Quin Snyder tossed bouquets at Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich on Monday, saying if Drew Gooden wasn’t the best player in the Big 12 Conference, then Hinrich was.
“It makes me feel good,” Hinrich said with a big smile after the Jayhawks’ 105-73 victory over Missouri on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“It is obviously a great compliment. It’s blown up a little bit because of this game, but it makes me feel really good.”
Hinrich awed a jam-packed fieldhouse by scoring 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four of five threes. He hit all three of his free throws and had six assists against two turnovers in 33 minutes.
What’s more, he guarded MU’s Kareem Rush, who hit six of 19 shots, just one of seven threes, good for 13 points in 33 minutes.
“I tried to make him limit his touches. He’s a great shooter, an All-American,” Hinrich said. “A lot of people didn’t think I could handle him. He has three inches on me.”
Indeed, Hinrich is 6-foot-3; Rush 6-6.
“I got lucky. He missed some shots. We guarded their butts, came down on the run and were on fire,” Hinrich noted.
Indeed, KU hit 20 of 31 shots the second half in busting open a 43-42 game. KU outscored MU, 62-31 the final 20 minutes.
“I finally played one of my complete games,” Hinrich said.
Freshman point guard Aaron Miles had a busy night chasing Clarence Gilbert, who hit four of five threes the first half for 16 points, then made one of four the second half and finished with 19 on the night.
“We denied them more, pushed them out farther,” Miles said. “He is great,” he added of Gilbert. “It’s hard to guard somebody who can shoot from anywhere like that. I tried to not let him touch it as much the second half.”
Nick Collison had a big second half with nine of his 13 points and five boards in those 20 minutes.
Proud papa: Gooden’s dad, Andrew, met with the media after the game. He was, of course, asked about his son, who most people say is likely to turn pro after this season.
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Three-point goals: 10-28 (Gilbert 5-9, Paulding 3-8, Stokes 1-2, Johnson 1-7, Kroenke 0-1, Echols 0-1). Assists: 11 (Rush 4, Stokes 3, Gilbert 2, Johnson, Kroenke). Turnovers: 18 (Bryant 4, Rush 4, Gilbert 2, Stokes 2, Echols 2, Johnson, Paulding, Kroenke, Ferguson). Blocked shots: 5 (Johnson 3, Paulding, John). Steals: 6 (Kiernan 2, Bryant, Rush, Paulding, Gage). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 4-5, Boschee 3-6, Nash 1-1, Langford 0-1). Assists: 26 (Miles 8, Hinrich 6, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 13 (Gooden 3, Simien 3, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Collison, Lee, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 7 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford). Steals: 10 (Gooden 3, Miles 2, Langford 2, Simien 2). |
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| Missouri | 42 | 31 | 73 |
| Kansas | 43 | 62 | 105 |
Officials: John Clougherty, Mark Whitebread, Rick Hartzell. Attendance: 16,300.
The 20 NBA scouts had to be impressed Monday night.
“I stress what he came here for is to be a student first. To graduate college then go to the next level is the perfect way,” Gooden Sr. said. “This summer we’ll talk and see what Drew thinks. I hope he stays.”
Gooden’s dad says money is no big deal. “I’ve been poor all my life,” he said. “The money doesn’t bother me. The wealth is not in our face. I look as wealth as boring. But the NBA is calling him and, hopefully, he’ll make a wise decision.”
Horde of scouts: The 20 scouts most ever to watch a game at Allen Fieldhouse, attended. Included were former KU assistant R.C. Buford (San Antonio), plus NBA general managers Pete Babcock (Atlanta Hawks), Randy Pfund (Miami Heat), Jim Paxson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Scott Layden (New York Knicks) and Glen Grunwald (Toronto Raptors), plus former head coaches Tony Barone (Memphis Grizzlies scout, Texas A&M) and Steve Yoder (Indiana Pacers scout, Wisconsin).
Also on hand was Marty Blake, NBA scouting director.
Vitale works game: ESPN analyst Dick Vitale worked the game.
“I love the atmosphere of this place,” said Vitale, who last worked a KU home game two seasons ago when the Jayhawks beat Ohio State, 80-67.
“Kirk Hinrich is the most underrated player in the country,” Vitale added. “What can’t he do? He can play three positions and play them all well.”
Stats, facts: It was originally believed KU had its biggest win over Missouri in Lawrence. Upon further review, it was deemed Monday’s 32-point win was fourth biggest. … Gooden’s eight first-half field goals tied for second most in a half in the Roy Williams era, most since Gooden had eight against Colorado on Jan. 5. …KU’s 61.9 percent shooting was a season best. KU’s 61.5 percent mark from three-point range was also a season high. ….KU hit a season-best 90.5 percent of its free throws, fifth highest percentage in the Williams era. … KU’s 105 points were second most against the Tigers in the series history. Most is 112 in 1974.
Scalpers: A scalper outside Allen Fieldhouse said he had better luck selling K-State women’s tickets in Manhattan than peddling KU-MU tickets Monday night. This particular scalper was asking $300 for $30 tickets. He eventually dropped the price to $50. Another scalper said his tickets were going for $200 and he would not drop the price until game time.
Missouri coach Quin Snyder tossed bouquets at Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich on Monday, saying if Drew Gooden wasn’t the best player in the Big 12 Conference, then Hinrich was.
“It makes me feel good,” Hinrich said with a big smile after the Jayhawks’ 105-73 victory over Missouri on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“It is obviously a great compliment. It’s blown up a little bit because of this game, but it makes me feel really good.”
Hinrich awed a jam-packed fieldhouse by scoring 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four of five threes. He hit all three of his free throws and had six assists against two turnovers in 33 minutes.
What’s more, he guarded MU’s Kareem Rush, who hit six of 19 shots, just one of seven threes, good for 13 points in 33 minutes.
“I tried to make him limit his touches. He’s a great shooter, an All-American,” Hinrich said. “A lot of people didn’t think I could handle him. He has three inches on me.”
Indeed, Hinrich is 6-foot-3; Rush 6-6.
“I got lucky. He missed some shots. We guarded their butts, came down on the run and were on fire,” Hinrich noted.
Indeed, KU hit 20 of 31 shots the second half in busting open a 43-42 game. KU outscored MU, 62-31 the final 20 minutes.
“I finally played one of my complete games,” Hinrich said.
Freshman point guard Aaron Miles had a busy night chasing Clarence Gilbert, who hit four of five threes the first half for 16 points, then made one of four the second half and finished with 19 on the night.
“We denied them more, pushed them out farther,” Miles said. “He is great,” he added of Gilbert. “It’s hard to guard somebody who can shoot from anywhere like that. I tried to not let him touch it as much the second half.”
Nick Collison had a big second half with nine of his 13 points and five boards in those 20 minutes.
Proud papa: Gooden’s dad, Andrew, met with the media after the game. He was, of course, asked about his son, who most people say is likely to turn pro after this season.
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Three-point goals: 10-28 (Gilbert 5-9, Paulding 3-8, Stokes 1-2, Johnson 1-7, Kroenke 0-1, Echols 0-1). Assists: 11 (Rush 4, Stokes 3, Gilbert 2, Johnson, Kroenke). Turnovers: 18 (Bryant 4, Rush 4, Gilbert 2, Stokes 2, Echols 2, Johnson, Paulding, Kroenke, Ferguson). Blocked shots: 5 (Johnson 3, Paulding, John). Steals: 6 (Kiernan 2, Bryant, Rush, Paulding, Gage). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 4-5, Boschee 3-6, Nash 1-1, Langford 0-1). Assists: 26 (Miles 8, Hinrich 6, Boschee 3, Langford 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 13 (Gooden 3, Simien 3, Hinrich 2, Langford 2, Collison, Lee, Kappelmann). Blocked shots: 7 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Simien 2, Langford). Steals: 10 (Gooden 3, Miles 2, Langford 2, Simien 2). |
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| Missouri | 42 | 31 | 73 |
| Kansas | 43 | 62 | 105 |
Officials: John Clougherty, Mark Whitebread, Rick Hartzell. Attendance: 16,300.
The 20 NBA scouts had to be impressed Monday night.
“I stress what he came here for is to be a student first. To graduate college then go to the next level is the perfect way,” Gooden Sr. said. “This summer we’ll talk and see what Drew thinks. I hope he stays.”
Gooden’s dad says money is no big deal. “I’ve been poor all my life,” he said. “The money doesn’t bother me. The wealth is not in our face. I look as wealth as boring. But the NBA is calling him and, hopefully, he’ll make a wise decision.”
Horde of scouts: The 20 scouts most ever to watch a game at Allen Fieldhouse, attended. Included were former KU assistant R.C. Buford (San Antonio), plus NBA general managers Pete Babcock (Atlanta Hawks), Randy Pfund (Miami Heat), Jim Paxson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Scott Layden (New York Knicks) and Glen Grunwald (Toronto Raptors), plus former head coaches Tony Barone (Memphis Grizzlies scout, Texas A&M) and Steve Yoder (Indiana Pacers scout, Wisconsin).
Also on hand was Marty Blake, NBA scouting director.
Vitale works game: ESPN analyst Dick Vitale worked the game.
“I love the atmosphere of this place,” said Vitale, who last worked a KU home game two seasons ago when the Jayhawks beat Ohio State, 80-67.
“Kirk Hinrich is the most underrated player in the country,” Vitale added. “What can’t he do? He can play three positions and play them all well.”
Stats, facts: It was originally believed KU had its biggest win over Missouri in Lawrence. Upon further review, it was deemed Monday’s 32-point win was fourth biggest. … Gooden’s eight first-half field goals tied for second most in a half in the Roy Williams era, most since Gooden had eight against Colorado on Jan. 5. …KU’s 61.9 percent shooting was a season best. KU’s 61.5 percent mark from three-point range was also a season high. ….KU hit a season-best 90.5 percent of its free throws, fifth highest percentage in the Williams era. … KU’s 105 points were second most against the Tigers in the series history. Most is 112 in 1974.
Scalpers: A scalper outside Allen Fieldhouse said he had better luck selling K-State women’s tickets in Manhattan than peddling KU-MU tickets Monday night. This particular scalper was asking $300 for $30 tickets. He eventually dropped the price to $50. Another scalper said his tickets were going for $200 and he would not drop the price until game time.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosCollege Station, Texas ? Bryant Nash hit the first three-point basket of his college career on Saturday afternoon.
Nash, Kansas’ 6-foot-6, 205-pound reserve forward from nearby Carrollton, Texas, insists it will not be his last.
“I think I do (have three-point range),” shrugged Nash, who was 0-for-5 last year and 0-for-0 this year from three-point land prior to Saturday. “It’s a matter of relaxing out there. Usually I’m uptight. I just went out and played my game.”
The sophomore was playing with seven or eight relatives and friends in attendance. Carrollton is about a three-hour drive from College Station.
“I’ve been thinking to myself, ‘I’m a good player,”’ said Nash, whose six-minute stint was his longest in 11 games. He had not scored in the last eight games.
“I’ve just got to be more aggressive on the court. Coach (Neil) Dougherty said, ‘It’s all about attacking the basket.’ He said I need to work on my handles. It’ll help me get to the hole stronger.”
Nash hit a 14-footer to go with his three for five points.
“I didn’t even know I shot a three,” Nash said. “I thought it was a two. I felt I wanted to play more. It got my hyped. If I attack more in practice, coach will put me in the games.”
‘Clumsy’ Aggie: Texas A&M’s Keith Bean, who elbowed Drew Gooden early in the game, had his shoulder pop out of place after he and teammate Bradley Jackson went up to block Keith Langford’s inside shot the first half.
“He just did his (injury) ’cause he’s clumsy,” Gooden said. “He just fell over and busted his own shoulder, didn’t nobody do that to him didn’t nobody do that to him.”
Gooden wasn’t happy to take an elbow from Bean early.
“Look at this,” he said, showing reporters a gash on the inside of his lip. “I’ll probably need stitches from that.”
Free-throw success: KU’s Nick Collison, who entered a 55-percent free-thrower for the season, swished seven of eight free throws.
“I went through a funk earlier. It’s something I’m capable of doing,” Collison said of hitting charities. “It takes confidence and concentration.”
Has he been working on free throws?
“I have been since Christmas, more and more,” he said.
Back home: Fort Worth, Texas, native Keith Langford had an off day playing before about 20 relatives and friends who made the drive from his hometown.
“It was just another game,” said Langford, who hit one of six shots and scored four points with five turnovers and two assists in 23 minutes. “I was out of sync. I tried to do too much early. I got out of focus and it lasted the rest of the game.”
Lots of shots: Aaron Miles attempted a career-high 10 shots. His previous high was nine three times. He made five baskets and scored 10 points.
“I had open shots. I wanted to take open shots and I’m going to start making most of ’em,” Miles said. “I said, ‘I’m going to shoot if I’m open.’ Sometimes my shot felt good; sometimes it did not feel so good.”
He thought the key to the game was forcing 14 turnovers the first half in building a 43-31 lead.
“I think our defense triggered our offense,” Miles said. “We tried to pressure and deny the passing lanes. We got stops on ‘D’ and were running up and down.”
Ready to play: KU, Kirk Hinrich says, did not take A&M lightly with Missouri looming.
“No way. All of our attention was on A&M. We just didn’t play as well as we should have,” Hinrich said after scoring 15 points with eight assists and six rebounds. “At times we were doing things with good intensity. Then we’d let it slip.”
Tipoff for KU-MU is 8:05 p.m. Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Stats, facts: KU is 17-2 for the second straight season. KU is 7-0 versus A&M. Gooden grabbed his 700th rebound. Only 10 others in KU history have more boards than Gooden (707).
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Three-point goals: 5-14 (Hinrich 3-4, Nash 1-1, Boschee 1-5, Gooden 0-1, Langford 0-1, Miles 0-2). Assists: 25 (Hinrich 8, Miles 7, Gooden 3, Collison 2, Boschee 2, Langford 2, Simien). Turnovers: 17 (Gooden 5, Langford 5, Collison 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Collison 2). Steals: 9 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Miles 2, Hinrich, Boschee, Simien). |
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Three-point goals: 11-22 (B. King 3-5, J. King 2-3, Leatherman 2-4, Ress 1-1, Leal 1-2, Scott 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Jackson 0-1). Assists: 21 (Jackson 7, Leatherman 4, B. King 3, Leal 2, Brookhart 2, Bean, J. King, Ress). Turnovers: 17 (J. King 4, B. King 4, Bean 2, Anderson 2, Jackson 2, Ress 2, Leatherman). Blocked shots: 5 (Anderson 2, Bean, J. King, B King). Steals: 3 (Bean, B. King, Ress). |
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| Kansas | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Texas A&M | 31 | 43 | 74 |
Officials: Bob Sitov, Hal Lusk, Kelly Self. Attendance: 10,706.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosCollege Station, Texas ? Bryant Nash hit the first three-point basket of his college career on Saturday afternoon.
Nash, Kansas’ 6-foot-6, 205-pound reserve forward from nearby Carrollton, Texas, insists it will not be his last.
“I think I do (have three-point range),” shrugged Nash, who was 0-for-5 last year and 0-for-0 this year from three-point land prior to Saturday. “It’s a matter of relaxing out there. Usually I’m uptight. I just went out and played my game.”
The sophomore was playing with seven or eight relatives and friends in attendance. Carrollton is about a three-hour drive from College Station.
“I’ve been thinking to myself, ‘I’m a good player,”’ said Nash, whose six-minute stint was his longest in 11 games. He had not scored in the last eight games.
“I’ve just got to be more aggressive on the court. Coach (Neil) Dougherty said, ‘It’s all about attacking the basket.’ He said I need to work on my handles. It’ll help me get to the hole stronger.”
Nash hit a 14-footer to go with his three for five points.
“I didn’t even know I shot a three,” Nash said. “I thought it was a two. I felt I wanted to play more. It got my hyped. If I attack more in practice, coach will put me in the games.”
‘Clumsy’ Aggie: Texas A&M’s Keith Bean, who elbowed Drew Gooden early in the game, had his shoulder pop out of place after he and teammate Bradley Jackson went up to block Keith Langford’s inside shot the first half.
“He just did his (injury) ’cause he’s clumsy,” Gooden said. “He just fell over and busted his own shoulder, didn’t nobody do that to him didn’t nobody do that to him.”
Gooden wasn’t happy to take an elbow from Bean early.
“Look at this,” he said, showing reporters a gash on the inside of his lip. “I’ll probably need stitches from that.”
Free-throw success: KU’s Nick Collison, who entered a 55-percent free-thrower for the season, swished seven of eight free throws.
“I went through a funk earlier. It’s something I’m capable of doing,” Collison said of hitting charities. “It takes confidence and concentration.”
Has he been working on free throws?
“I have been since Christmas, more and more,” he said.
Back home: Fort Worth, Texas, native Keith Langford had an off day playing before about 20 relatives and friends who made the drive from his hometown.
“It was just another game,” said Langford, who hit one of six shots and scored four points with five turnovers and two assists in 23 minutes. “I was out of sync. I tried to do too much early. I got out of focus and it lasted the rest of the game.”
Lots of shots: Aaron Miles attempted a career-high 10 shots. His previous high was nine three times. He made five baskets and scored 10 points.
“I had open shots. I wanted to take open shots and I’m going to start making most of ’em,” Miles said. “I said, ‘I’m going to shoot if I’m open.’ Sometimes my shot felt good; sometimes it did not feel so good.”
He thought the key to the game was forcing 14 turnovers the first half in building a 43-31 lead.
“I think our defense triggered our offense,” Miles said. “We tried to pressure and deny the passing lanes. We got stops on ‘D’ and were running up and down.”
Ready to play: KU, Kirk Hinrich says, did not take A&M lightly with Missouri looming.
“No way. All of our attention was on A&M. We just didn’t play as well as we should have,” Hinrich said after scoring 15 points with eight assists and six rebounds. “At times we were doing things with good intensity. Then we’d let it slip.”
Tipoff for KU-MU is 8:05 p.m. Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Stats, facts: KU is 17-2 for the second straight season. KU is 7-0 versus A&M. Gooden grabbed his 700th rebound. Only 10 others in KU history have more boards than Gooden (707).
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Three-point goals: 5-14 (Hinrich 3-4, Nash 1-1, Boschee 1-5, Gooden 0-1, Langford 0-1, Miles 0-2). Assists: 25 (Hinrich 8, Miles 7, Gooden 3, Collison 2, Boschee 2, Langford 2, Simien). Turnovers: 17 (Gooden 5, Langford 5, Collison 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Collison 2). Steals: 9 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Miles 2, Hinrich, Boschee, Simien). |
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Three-point goals: 11-22 (B. King 3-5, J. King 2-3, Leatherman 2-4, Ress 1-1, Leal 1-2, Scott 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Jackson 0-1). Assists: 21 (Jackson 7, Leatherman 4, B. King 3, Leal 2, Brookhart 2, Bean, J. King, Ress). Turnovers: 17 (J. King 4, B. King 4, Bean 2, Anderson 2, Jackson 2, Ress 2, Leatherman). Blocked shots: 5 (Anderson 2, Bean, J. King, B King). Steals: 3 (Bean, B. King, Ress). |
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| Kansas | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Texas A&M | 31 | 43 | 74 |
Officials: Bob Sitov, Hal Lusk, Kelly Self. Attendance: 10,706.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosCollege Station, Texas ? Bryant Nash hit the first three-point basket of his college career on Saturday afternoon.
Nash, Kansas’ 6-foot-6, 205-pound reserve forward from nearby Carrollton, Texas, insists it will not be his last.
“I think I do (have three-point range),” shrugged Nash, who was 0-for-5 last year and 0-for-0 this year from three-point land prior to Saturday. “It’s a matter of relaxing out there. Usually I’m uptight. I just went out and played my game.”
The sophomore was playing with seven or eight relatives and friends in attendance. Carrollton is about a three-hour drive from College Station.
“I’ve been thinking to myself, ‘I’m a good player,”’ said Nash, whose six-minute stint was his longest in 11 games. He had not scored in the last eight games.
“I’ve just got to be more aggressive on the court. Coach (Neil) Dougherty said, ‘It’s all about attacking the basket.’ He said I need to work on my handles. It’ll help me get to the hole stronger.”
Nash hit a 14-footer to go with his three for five points.
“I didn’t even know I shot a three,” Nash said. “I thought it was a two. I felt I wanted to play more. It got my hyped. If I attack more in practice, coach will put me in the games.”
‘Clumsy’ Aggie: Texas A&M’s Keith Bean, who elbowed Drew Gooden early in the game, had his shoulder pop out of place after he and teammate Bradley Jackson went up to block Keith Langford’s inside shot the first half.
“He just did his (injury) ’cause he’s clumsy,” Gooden said. “He just fell over and busted his own shoulder, didn’t nobody do that to him didn’t nobody do that to him.”
Gooden wasn’t happy to take an elbow from Bean early.
“Look at this,” he said, showing reporters a gash on the inside of his lip. “I’ll probably need stitches from that.”
Free-throw success: KU’s Nick Collison, who entered a 55-percent free-thrower for the season, swished seven of eight free throws.
“I went through a funk earlier. It’s something I’m capable of doing,” Collison said of hitting charities. “It takes confidence and concentration.”
Has he been working on free throws?
“I have been since Christmas, more and more,” he said.
Back home: Fort Worth, Texas, native Keith Langford had an off day playing before about 20 relatives and friends who made the drive from his hometown.
“It was just another game,” said Langford, who hit one of six shots and scored four points with five turnovers and two assists in 23 minutes. “I was out of sync. I tried to do too much early. I got out of focus and it lasted the rest of the game.”
Lots of shots: Aaron Miles attempted a career-high 10 shots. His previous high was nine three times. He made five baskets and scored 10 points.
“I had open shots. I wanted to take open shots and I’m going to start making most of ’em,” Miles said. “I said, ‘I’m going to shoot if I’m open.’ Sometimes my shot felt good; sometimes it did not feel so good.”
He thought the key to the game was forcing 14 turnovers the first half in building a 43-31 lead.
“I think our defense triggered our offense,” Miles said. “We tried to pressure and deny the passing lanes. We got stops on ‘D’ and were running up and down.”
Ready to play: KU, Kirk Hinrich says, did not take A&M lightly with Missouri looming.
“No way. All of our attention was on A&M. We just didn’t play as well as we should have,” Hinrich said after scoring 15 points with eight assists and six rebounds. “At times we were doing things with good intensity. Then we’d let it slip.”
Tipoff for KU-MU is 8:05 p.m. Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Stats, facts: KU is 17-2 for the second straight season. KU is 7-0 versus A&M. Gooden grabbed his 700th rebound. Only 10 others in KU history have more boards than Gooden (707).
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Three-point goals: 5-14 (Hinrich 3-4, Nash 1-1, Boschee 1-5, Gooden 0-1, Langford 0-1, Miles 0-2). Assists: 25 (Hinrich 8, Miles 7, Gooden 3, Collison 2, Boschee 2, Langford 2, Simien). Turnovers: 17 (Gooden 5, Langford 5, Collison 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Collison 2). Steals: 9 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Miles 2, Hinrich, Boschee, Simien). |
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Three-point goals: 11-22 (B. King 3-5, J. King 2-3, Leatherman 2-4, Ress 1-1, Leal 1-2, Scott 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Jackson 0-1). Assists: 21 (Jackson 7, Leatherman 4, B. King 3, Leal 2, Brookhart 2, Bean, J. King, Ress). Turnovers: 17 (J. King 4, B. King 4, Bean 2, Anderson 2, Jackson 2, Ress 2, Leatherman). Blocked shots: 5 (Anderson 2, Bean, J. King, B King). Steals: 3 (Bean, B. King, Ress). |
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| Kansas | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Texas A&M | 31 | 43 | 74 |
Officials: Bob Sitov, Hal Lusk, Kelly Self. Attendance: 10,706.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosCollege Station, Texas ? Bryant Nash hit the first three-point basket of his college career on Saturday afternoon.
Nash, Kansas’ 6-foot-6, 205-pound reserve forward from nearby Carrollton, Texas, insists it will not be his last.
“I think I do (have three-point range),” shrugged Nash, who was 0-for-5 last year and 0-for-0 this year from three-point land prior to Saturday. “It’s a matter of relaxing out there. Usually I’m uptight. I just went out and played my game.”
The sophomore was playing with seven or eight relatives and friends in attendance. Carrollton is about a three-hour drive from College Station.
“I’ve been thinking to myself, ‘I’m a good player,”’ said Nash, whose six-minute stint was his longest in 11 games. He had not scored in the last eight games.
“I’ve just got to be more aggressive on the court. Coach (Neil) Dougherty said, ‘It’s all about attacking the basket.’ He said I need to work on my handles. It’ll help me get to the hole stronger.”
Nash hit a 14-footer to go with his three for five points.
“I didn’t even know I shot a three,” Nash said. “I thought it was a two. I felt I wanted to play more. It got my hyped. If I attack more in practice, coach will put me in the games.”
‘Clumsy’ Aggie: Texas A&M’s Keith Bean, who elbowed Drew Gooden early in the game, had his shoulder pop out of place after he and teammate Bradley Jackson went up to block Keith Langford’s inside shot the first half.
“He just did his (injury) ’cause he’s clumsy,” Gooden said. “He just fell over and busted his own shoulder, didn’t nobody do that to him didn’t nobody do that to him.”
Gooden wasn’t happy to take an elbow from Bean early.
“Look at this,” he said, showing reporters a gash on the inside of his lip. “I’ll probably need stitches from that.”
Free-throw success: KU’s Nick Collison, who entered a 55-percent free-thrower for the season, swished seven of eight free throws.
“I went through a funk earlier. It’s something I’m capable of doing,” Collison said of hitting charities. “It takes confidence and concentration.”
Has he been working on free throws?
“I have been since Christmas, more and more,” he said.
Back home: Fort Worth, Texas, native Keith Langford had an off day playing before about 20 relatives and friends who made the drive from his hometown.
“It was just another game,” said Langford, who hit one of six shots and scored four points with five turnovers and two assists in 23 minutes. “I was out of sync. I tried to do too much early. I got out of focus and it lasted the rest of the game.”
Lots of shots: Aaron Miles attempted a career-high 10 shots. His previous high was nine three times. He made five baskets and scored 10 points.
“I had open shots. I wanted to take open shots and I’m going to start making most of ’em,” Miles said. “I said, ‘I’m going to shoot if I’m open.’ Sometimes my shot felt good; sometimes it did not feel so good.”
He thought the key to the game was forcing 14 turnovers the first half in building a 43-31 lead.
“I think our defense triggered our offense,” Miles said. “We tried to pressure and deny the passing lanes. We got stops on ‘D’ and were running up and down.”
Ready to play: KU, Kirk Hinrich says, did not take A&M lightly with Missouri looming.
“No way. All of our attention was on A&M. We just didn’t play as well as we should have,” Hinrich said after scoring 15 points with eight assists and six rebounds. “At times we were doing things with good intensity. Then we’d let it slip.”
Tipoff for KU-MU is 8:05 p.m. Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Stats, facts: KU is 17-2 for the second straight season. KU is 7-0 versus A&M. Gooden grabbed his 700th rebound. Only 10 others in KU history have more boards than Gooden (707).
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Three-point goals: 5-14 (Hinrich 3-4, Nash 1-1, Boschee 1-5, Gooden 0-1, Langford 0-1, Miles 0-2). Assists: 25 (Hinrich 8, Miles 7, Gooden 3, Collison 2, Boschee 2, Langford 2, Simien). Turnovers: 17 (Gooden 5, Langford 5, Collison 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Collison 2). Steals: 9 (Gooden 2, Collison 2, Miles 2, Hinrich, Boschee, Simien). |
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Three-point goals: 11-22 (B. King 3-5, J. King 2-3, Leatherman 2-4, Ress 1-1, Leal 1-2, Scott 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Jackson 0-1). Assists: 21 (Jackson 7, Leatherman 4, B. King 3, Leal 2, Brookhart 2, Bean, J. King, Ress). Turnovers: 17 (J. King 4, B. King 4, Bean 2, Anderson 2, Jackson 2, Ress 2, Leatherman). Blocked shots: 5 (Anderson 2, Bean, J. King, B King). Steals: 3 (Bean, B. King, Ress). |
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| Kansas | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Texas A&M | 31 | 43 | 74 |
Officials: Bob Sitov, Hal Lusk, Kelly Self. Attendance: 10,706.
Ames, Iowa ? Relief or happiness?
“A little of both,” Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich said after the Jayhawks’ 88-81 basketball victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.
It marked the Sioux City, Iowa, native’s first win against Iowa State. He had dropped four straight games to the Cyclones, including two at Hilton Coliseum. He also lost a game at Iowa his freshman year.
“It feels great. The frustration of not being able to beat ’em the last couple of years was there,” said Hinrich, who collected 12 points, nine assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
“It’s a big conference road win and is fun to come back to my home state and win.”
The fans booed Hinrich and Iowa Falls junior Nick Collison in pregame warmups.
“Now they are even madder,” Hinrich said with a grin. He had an assist on Jeff Boschee’s tie-breaking three-pointer with :36 left and iced two free throws at :20.7 to put away the pesky Cyclones.
Meanwhile, Collison also had a big game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards.
“It’s really a good win for our team, obviously. For me it’s almost a relief,” Collison said. “I’m relieved to get them here. It’s a tough place to play. It’s a big win for us to play well against a tough defense like that.
“They kept coming and coming,” Collison said of the Cyclones, who battled back from a game-high deficit of 12 points in the second half. “I knew they would after what happened at Kansas State.”
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Three-point goals: 4-8 (Boschee 4-4, Gooden 0-1, Hinrich 0-1, Langford 0-2). Assists: 18 (Hinrich 9, Boschee 4, Gooden 2, Collison, Miles, Langford). Turnovers: 14 (Bosche 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Hinrich 2, Carey 2, Simien 2, Langford). Blocked shots: 6 (Collison 3, Gooden 2, Carey). Steals: 5 (Boschee 2, Gooden, Hinrich, Carey). |
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Three-point goals: 7-13 (Sullivan 5-7, Powe 2-4, Bynum 0-1, Jefferson 0-1). Assists: 15 (Sullivan 6, Power 3, Bynum 2, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2). Turnovers: 17 (Sullivan 9, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2, Power, Morgan, Homan, team). Blocked shots: 11 (Pearson 4, Homan 4, Jefferson 2, Bynum). Steals: 7 (Bynum 3, Pearson 2, Power, Sullivan). |
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| Kansas | 46 | 42 | 88 |
| Iowa State | 41 | 40 | 81 |
Technical fouls: ISU coach Larry Eustachy. Officials: Steve Welmer, Tom O’Neill, Rick Randall. Attendance: 12,771.
The Cyclones were coming off a blowout loss last Saturday at KSU.
“To not win against Iowa teams in five games (0-4 against Iowa State and 0-1 against Iowa) it was a big game,” Collison said.
The Jayhawks wanted to win for the Iowans.
“Most definitely to have them come home and finally get bragging rights was a big focus of our team,” said freshman forward Wayne Simien, who had six points and two boards in seven foul-plagued minutes. “I seem to have hit somewhat of a freshman brick wall and the coaches are keeping me motivated trying to make sure I fight my way through it.”
Cramps in foot: Hinrich went down with 2:24 left, right after Jake Sullivan hit a three to give ISU an 81-79 lead.
“I was cramping. My foot and toes were curled up,” Hinrich said of a foot cramp.
Dunk you very much: Drew Gooden had a steal and amazing one-handed dunk in the second half.
“It was a rock-the-cradle, rock-the-town, Richtown-funk dunk,” said Gooden, a native of Richmond, Calif.
Stats, facts: KU is 16-2 to open the season for the first time since 1997-98. KU is 5-0 in the league for the second straight year. KU has won five straight conference road games. Iowa State hit seven of 13 threes for 53.8 percent, the highest percentage allowed by KU this season. KU tied a season-low with five steals. Hinrich grabbed his 300th career rebound. Boschee’s 4-of-4 three-point effort marked the most threes without a miss by a KU player since Nov. 26, 1999, when he hit four against Xavier.
Last year revisited: Ex-Jayhawk Eric Chenowith stole the show with his comments after KU’s 79-71 loss to Iowa State last February at Hilton Coliseum.
“Sullivan and Power surprised us. To be honest with you they really don’t have any business playing Div. I basketball and they’re out there killing us,” Chenowith said of ISU guards Sullivan and Shane Power, who combined for 40 points.
“Physically look at Sullivan He goes out there and kills us every night. But if I were a coach I’d want them on my team.”
Asked to comment again on Chenowith’s comment, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound Sullivan said Tuesday: “He was trying to mean it as a compliment I’m sure. It just came out wrong.”
Actually Chenowith did mean it as a compliment, but that of course, is old news.
Ames, Iowa ? Relief or happiness?
“A little of both,” Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich said after the Jayhawks’ 88-81 basketball victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.
It marked the Sioux City, Iowa, native’s first win against Iowa State. He had dropped four straight games to the Cyclones, including two at Hilton Coliseum. He also lost a game at Iowa his freshman year.
“It feels great. The frustration of not being able to beat ’em the last couple of years was there,” said Hinrich, who collected 12 points, nine assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
“It’s a big conference road win and is fun to come back to my home state and win.”
The fans booed Hinrich and Iowa Falls junior Nick Collison in pregame warmups.
“Now they are even madder,” Hinrich said with a grin. He had an assist on Jeff Boschee’s tie-breaking three-pointer with :36 left and iced two free throws at :20.7 to put away the pesky Cyclones.
Meanwhile, Collison also had a big game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards.
“It’s really a good win for our team, obviously. For me it’s almost a relief,” Collison said. “I’m relieved to get them here. It’s a tough place to play. It’s a big win for us to play well against a tough defense like that.
“They kept coming and coming,” Collison said of the Cyclones, who battled back from a game-high deficit of 12 points in the second half. “I knew they would after what happened at Kansas State.”
|
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Three-point goals: 4-8 (Boschee 4-4, Gooden 0-1, Hinrich 0-1, Langford 0-2). Assists: 18 (Hinrich 9, Boschee 4, Gooden 2, Collison, Miles, Langford). Turnovers: 14 (Bosche 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Hinrich 2, Carey 2, Simien 2, Langford). Blocked shots: 6 (Collison 3, Gooden 2, Carey). Steals: 5 (Boschee 2, Gooden, Hinrich, Carey). |
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Three-point goals: 7-13 (Sullivan 5-7, Powe 2-4, Bynum 0-1, Jefferson 0-1). Assists: 15 (Sullivan 6, Power 3, Bynum 2, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2). Turnovers: 17 (Sullivan 9, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2, Power, Morgan, Homan, team). Blocked shots: 11 (Pearson 4, Homan 4, Jefferson 2, Bynum). Steals: 7 (Bynum 3, Pearson 2, Power, Sullivan). |
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| Kansas | 46 | 42 | 88 |
| Iowa State | 41 | 40 | 81 |
Technical fouls: ISU coach Larry Eustachy. Officials: Steve Welmer, Tom O’Neill, Rick Randall. Attendance: 12,771.
The Cyclones were coming off a blowout loss last Saturday at KSU.
“To not win against Iowa teams in five games (0-4 against Iowa State and 0-1 against Iowa) it was a big game,” Collison said.
The Jayhawks wanted to win for the Iowans.
“Most definitely to have them come home and finally get bragging rights was a big focus of our team,” said freshman forward Wayne Simien, who had six points and two boards in seven foul-plagued minutes. “I seem to have hit somewhat of a freshman brick wall and the coaches are keeping me motivated trying to make sure I fight my way through it.”
Cramps in foot: Hinrich went down with 2:24 left, right after Jake Sullivan hit a three to give ISU an 81-79 lead.
“I was cramping. My foot and toes were curled up,” Hinrich said of a foot cramp.
Dunk you very much: Drew Gooden had a steal and amazing one-handed dunk in the second half.
“It was a rock-the-cradle, rock-the-town, Richtown-funk dunk,” said Gooden, a native of Richmond, Calif.
Stats, facts: KU is 16-2 to open the season for the first time since 1997-98. KU is 5-0 in the league for the second straight year. KU has won five straight conference road games. Iowa State hit seven of 13 threes for 53.8 percent, the highest percentage allowed by KU this season. KU tied a season-low with five steals. Hinrich grabbed his 300th career rebound. Boschee’s 4-of-4 three-point effort marked the most threes without a miss by a KU player since Nov. 26, 1999, when he hit four against Xavier.
Last year revisited: Ex-Jayhawk Eric Chenowith stole the show with his comments after KU’s 79-71 loss to Iowa State last February at Hilton Coliseum.
“Sullivan and Power surprised us. To be honest with you they really don’t have any business playing Div. I basketball and they’re out there killing us,” Chenowith said of ISU guards Sullivan and Shane Power, who combined for 40 points.
“Physically look at Sullivan He goes out there and kills us every night. But if I were a coach I’d want them on my team.”
Asked to comment again on Chenowith’s comment, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound Sullivan said Tuesday: “He was trying to mean it as a compliment I’m sure. It just came out wrong.”
Actually Chenowith did mean it as a compliment, but that of course, is old news.
Ames, Iowa ? Relief or happiness?
“A little of both,” Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich said after the Jayhawks’ 88-81 basketball victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.
It marked the Sioux City, Iowa, native’s first win against Iowa State. He had dropped four straight games to the Cyclones, including two at Hilton Coliseum. He also lost a game at Iowa his freshman year.
“It feels great. The frustration of not being able to beat ’em the last couple of years was there,” said Hinrich, who collected 12 points, nine assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
“It’s a big conference road win and is fun to come back to my home state and win.”
The fans booed Hinrich and Iowa Falls junior Nick Collison in pregame warmups.
“Now they are even madder,” Hinrich said with a grin. He had an assist on Jeff Boschee’s tie-breaking three-pointer with :36 left and iced two free throws at :20.7 to put away the pesky Cyclones.
Meanwhile, Collison also had a big game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards.
“It’s really a good win for our team, obviously. For me it’s almost a relief,” Collison said. “I’m relieved to get them here. It’s a tough place to play. It’s a big win for us to play well against a tough defense like that.
“They kept coming and coming,” Collison said of the Cyclones, who battled back from a game-high deficit of 12 points in the second half. “I knew they would after what happened at Kansas State.”
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three-point goals: 4-8 (Boschee 4-4, Gooden 0-1, Hinrich 0-1, Langford 0-2). Assists: 18 (Hinrich 9, Boschee 4, Gooden 2, Collison, Miles, Langford). Turnovers: 14 (Bosche 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Hinrich 2, Carey 2, Simien 2, Langford). Blocked shots: 6 (Collison 3, Gooden 2, Carey). Steals: 5 (Boschee 2, Gooden, Hinrich, Carey). |
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Three-point goals: 7-13 (Sullivan 5-7, Powe 2-4, Bynum 0-1, Jefferson 0-1). Assists: 15 (Sullivan 6, Power 3, Bynum 2, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2). Turnovers: 17 (Sullivan 9, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2, Power, Morgan, Homan, team). Blocked shots: 11 (Pearson 4, Homan 4, Jefferson 2, Bynum). Steals: 7 (Bynum 3, Pearson 2, Power, Sullivan). |
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| Kansas | 46 | 42 | 88 |
| Iowa State | 41 | 40 | 81 |
Technical fouls: ISU coach Larry Eustachy. Officials: Steve Welmer, Tom O’Neill, Rick Randall. Attendance: 12,771.
The Cyclones were coming off a blowout loss last Saturday at KSU.
“To not win against Iowa teams in five games (0-4 against Iowa State and 0-1 against Iowa) it was a big game,” Collison said.
The Jayhawks wanted to win for the Iowans.
“Most definitely to have them come home and finally get bragging rights was a big focus of our team,” said freshman forward Wayne Simien, who had six points and two boards in seven foul-plagued minutes. “I seem to have hit somewhat of a freshman brick wall and the coaches are keeping me motivated trying to make sure I fight my way through it.”
Cramps in foot: Hinrich went down with 2:24 left, right after Jake Sullivan hit a three to give ISU an 81-79 lead.
“I was cramping. My foot and toes were curled up,” Hinrich said of a foot cramp.
Dunk you very much: Drew Gooden had a steal and amazing one-handed dunk in the second half.
“It was a rock-the-cradle, rock-the-town, Richtown-funk dunk,” said Gooden, a native of Richmond, Calif.
Stats, facts: KU is 16-2 to open the season for the first time since 1997-98. KU is 5-0 in the league for the second straight year. KU has won five straight conference road games. Iowa State hit seven of 13 threes for 53.8 percent, the highest percentage allowed by KU this season. KU tied a season-low with five steals. Hinrich grabbed his 300th career rebound. Boschee’s 4-of-4 three-point effort marked the most threes without a miss by a KU player since Nov. 26, 1999, when he hit four against Xavier.
Last year revisited: Ex-Jayhawk Eric Chenowith stole the show with his comments after KU’s 79-71 loss to Iowa State last February at Hilton Coliseum.
“Sullivan and Power surprised us. To be honest with you they really don’t have any business playing Div. I basketball and they’re out there killing us,” Chenowith said of ISU guards Sullivan and Shane Power, who combined for 40 points.
“Physically look at Sullivan He goes out there and kills us every night. But if I were a coach I’d want them on my team.”
Asked to comment again on Chenowith’s comment, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound Sullivan said Tuesday: “He was trying to mean it as a compliment I’m sure. It just came out wrong.”
Actually Chenowith did mean it as a compliment, but that of course, is old news.
Ames, Iowa ? Relief or happiness?
“A little of both,” Kansas junior guard Kirk Hinrich said after the Jayhawks’ 88-81 basketball victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.
It marked the Sioux City, Iowa, native’s first win against Iowa State. He had dropped four straight games to the Cyclones, including two at Hilton Coliseum. He also lost a game at Iowa his freshman year.
“It feels great. The frustration of not being able to beat ’em the last couple of years was there,” said Hinrich, who collected 12 points, nine assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
“It’s a big conference road win and is fun to come back to my home state and win.”
The fans booed Hinrich and Iowa Falls junior Nick Collison in pregame warmups.
“Now they are even madder,” Hinrich said with a grin. He had an assist on Jeff Boschee’s tie-breaking three-pointer with :36 left and iced two free throws at :20.7 to put away the pesky Cyclones.
Meanwhile, Collison also had a big game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards.
“It’s really a good win for our team, obviously. For me it’s almost a relief,” Collison said. “I’m relieved to get them here. It’s a tough place to play. It’s a big win for us to play well against a tough defense like that.
“They kept coming and coming,” Collison said of the Cyclones, who battled back from a game-high deficit of 12 points in the second half. “I knew they would after what happened at Kansas State.”
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three-point goals: 4-8 (Boschee 4-4, Gooden 0-1, Hinrich 0-1, Langford 0-2). Assists: 18 (Hinrich 9, Boschee 4, Gooden 2, Collison, Miles, Langford). Turnovers: 14 (Bosche 3, Gooden 2, Collison 2, Hinrich 2, Carey 2, Simien 2, Langford). Blocked shots: 6 (Collison 3, Gooden 2, Carey). Steals: 5 (Boschee 2, Gooden, Hinrich, Carey). |
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Three-point goals: 7-13 (Sullivan 5-7, Powe 2-4, Bynum 0-1, Jefferson 0-1). Assists: 15 (Sullivan 6, Power 3, Bynum 2, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2). Turnovers: 17 (Sullivan 9, Pearson 2, Jefferson 2, Power, Morgan, Homan, team). Blocked shots: 11 (Pearson 4, Homan 4, Jefferson 2, Bynum). Steals: 7 (Bynum 3, Pearson 2, Power, Sullivan). |
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| Kansas | 46 | 42 | 88 |
| Iowa State | 41 | 40 | 81 |
Technical fouls: ISU coach Larry Eustachy. Officials: Steve Welmer, Tom O’Neill, Rick Randall. Attendance: 12,771.
The Cyclones were coming off a blowout loss last Saturday at KSU.
“To not win against Iowa teams in five games (0-4 against Iowa State and 0-1 against Iowa) it was a big game,” Collison said.
The Jayhawks wanted to win for the Iowans.
“Most definitely to have them come home and finally get bragging rights was a big focus of our team,” said freshman forward Wayne Simien, who had six points and two boards in seven foul-plagued minutes. “I seem to have hit somewhat of a freshman brick wall and the coaches are keeping me motivated trying to make sure I fight my way through it.”
Cramps in foot: Hinrich went down with 2:24 left, right after Jake Sullivan hit a three to give ISU an 81-79 lead.
“I was cramping. My foot and toes were curled up,” Hinrich said of a foot cramp.
Dunk you very much: Drew Gooden had a steal and amazing one-handed dunk in the second half.
“It was a rock-the-cradle, rock-the-town, Richtown-funk dunk,” said Gooden, a native of Richmond, Calif.
Stats, facts: KU is 16-2 to open the season for the first time since 1997-98. KU is 5-0 in the league for the second straight year. KU has won five straight conference road games. Iowa State hit seven of 13 threes for 53.8 percent, the highest percentage allowed by KU this season. KU tied a season-low with five steals. Hinrich grabbed his 300th career rebound. Boschee’s 4-of-4 three-point effort marked the most threes without a miss by a KU player since Nov. 26, 1999, when he hit four against Xavier.
Last year revisited: Ex-Jayhawk Eric Chenowith stole the show with his comments after KU’s 79-71 loss to Iowa State last February at Hilton Coliseum.
“Sullivan and Power surprised us. To be honest with you they really don’t have any business playing Div. I basketball and they’re out there killing us,” Chenowith said of ISU guards Sullivan and Shane Power, who combined for 40 points.
“Physically look at Sullivan He goes out there and kills us every night. But if I were a coach I’d want them on my team.”
Asked to comment again on Chenowith’s comment, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound Sullivan said Tuesday: “He was trying to mean it as a compliment I’m sure. It just came out wrong.”
Actually Chenowith did mean it as a compliment, but that of course, is old news.
Roy Williams says he won’t flip a coin to determine his fifth starter for Wednesday’s college basketball exhibition against the EA Sports Central All-Stars.
“No, but it’s not scientific, so flipping a coin might be as good,” said Williams, Kansas’ 14th-year coach, who doesn’t put a lot of stock into probable starters this time of year.
Tipoff for the first exhibition game of the season is 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
Williams said he’d likely open with returning starters Jeff Boschee, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Drew Gooden, then
“That next spot? It may depend who they start, whether they start big or small,” Williams said of the All Stars. “I think probably that fifth guy would be Aaron (Miles), Keith (Langford), Wayne (Simien), probably one of those three freshmen. Jeff Carey (senior forward) could be in the mix, but probably one of the three freshmen.”
Collison, a junior forward, was asked to speculate about the starting five at Monday’s basketball press conference at Parrott Athletic Center.
“Right now? Man I’d say Aaron, Kirk, Jeff (Boschee), me and Drew,” Collison said, “just because I think those are the guys who are playing the best. You could go with Keith instead of Aaron just to have more of a prototype 3 man, maybe get a few more rebounds.”
Miles is 6-foot-1, while Langford is listed as 6-4.
“I think of the three (freshmen), Aaron has done the best job of picking stuff up. It could change in a month because the rest of those guys are coming along. That’s who I’d pick now,” Collison said. “I’m sure things will change.”
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Igoudala tabs Arkansas: Andre Igoudala, a 6-6 guard from Springfield, Ill., on Monday verbally committed to Arkansas over Kansas, Boston College and Arizona.
Some Internet sites had Igoudala headed to Arizona, but it seems he was Arkansas-bound all along.
“When he stepped on Arkansas’ campus he realized that is where he wanted to go in the first five minutes,” Springfield Lanphier coach Craig Patton told Jon Kirby of Alliance Sports.
KU, which has four scholarships to give now that the 5-and-8 rule has been amended to a 5-and-9 rule for the next two seasons (maximum of five scholarships in one year; nine in two-year span), has received commitments from Iowa Western CC forward Jeff Graves and El Cajon, Calif., prep center Moulaye Niang.
“I’d hoped as always we could finish it early,” Williams said of filling all scholarships in the early signing period.
KU will continue looking for players next semester.
“I would think so,” Williams said, “particularly with the ruling and having the other scholarship available. It (5 and 9 rule) allows us to give another scholarship. It’s sort of late in the day, trying to go out and say, ‘Oh wait, we’ve got a couple more scholarships,’ trying to recruit somebody you have not started recruiting beforehand.
“It will for sure not have as big a bearing as it would have if I and everyone else had known about it earlier too ( of 5 and 9).”
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One bad workout: KU has had 19 practices. Williams said all but one of the workouts have been acceptable.
“At practice, we give it all we’ve got except for one that coach didn’t like too much,” sophomore forward Bryant Nash said of a sloppy practice on Oct. 22.
“We ended up having to come in at 7:20 in the morning and work on dummy defense and had to practice the same afternoon,” Nash added.
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Tickets available: The EA All-Stars are led by Kris Johnson, a high-scoring 6-5 guard from UCLA. The tallest players are 6-11 bookends Jeremy Eaton and Jonathan Kerner. A limited number of tickets are available at 1-800-34-HAWKS.
Roy Williams says he won’t flip a coin to determine his fifth starter for Wednesday’s college basketball exhibition against the EA Sports Central All-Stars.
“No, but it’s not scientific, so flipping a coin might be as good,” said Williams, Kansas’ 14th-year coach, who doesn’t put a lot of stock into probable starters this time of year.
Tipoff for the first exhibition game of the season is 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
Williams said he’d likely open with returning starters Jeff Boschee, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Drew Gooden, then
“That next spot? It may depend who they start, whether they start big or small,” Williams said of the All Stars. “I think probably that fifth guy would be Aaron (Miles), Keith (Langford), Wayne (Simien), probably one of those three freshmen. Jeff Carey (senior forward) could be in the mix, but probably one of the three freshmen.”
Collison, a junior forward, was asked to speculate about the starting five at Monday’s basketball press conference at Parrott Athletic Center.
“Right now? Man I’d say Aaron, Kirk, Jeff (Boschee), me and Drew,” Collison said, “just because I think those are the guys who are playing the best. You could go with Keith instead of Aaron just to have more of a prototype 3 man, maybe get a few more rebounds.”
Miles is 6-foot-1, while Langford is listed as 6-4.
“I think of the three (freshmen), Aaron has done the best job of picking stuff up. It could change in a month because the rest of those guys are coming along. That’s who I’d pick now,” Collison said. “I’m sure things will change.”
l
Igoudala tabs Arkansas: Andre Igoudala, a 6-6 guard from Springfield, Ill., on Monday verbally committed to Arkansas over Kansas, Boston College and Arizona.
Some Internet sites had Igoudala headed to Arizona, but it seems he was Arkansas-bound all along.
“When he stepped on Arkansas’ campus he realized that is where he wanted to go in the first five minutes,” Springfield Lanphier coach Craig Patton told Jon Kirby of Alliance Sports.
KU, which has four scholarships to give now that the 5-and-8 rule has been amended to a 5-and-9 rule for the next two seasons (maximum of five scholarships in one year; nine in two-year span), has received commitments from Iowa Western CC forward Jeff Graves and El Cajon, Calif., prep center Moulaye Niang.
“I’d hoped as always we could finish it early,” Williams said of filling all scholarships in the early signing period.
KU will continue looking for players next semester.
“I would think so,” Williams said, “particularly with the ruling and having the other scholarship available. It (5 and 9 rule) allows us to give another scholarship. It’s sort of late in the day, trying to go out and say, ‘Oh wait, we’ve got a couple more scholarships,’ trying to recruit somebody you have not started recruiting beforehand.
“It will for sure not have as big a bearing as it would have if I and everyone else had known about it earlier too ( of 5 and 9).”
l
One bad workout: KU has had 19 practices. Williams said all but one of the workouts have been acceptable.
“At practice, we give it all we’ve got except for one that coach didn’t like too much,” sophomore forward Bryant Nash said of a sloppy practice on Oct. 22.
“We ended up having to come in at 7:20 in the morning and work on dummy defense and had to practice the same afternoon,” Nash added.
l
Tickets available: The EA All-Stars are led by Kris Johnson, a high-scoring 6-5 guard from UCLA. The tallest players are 6-11 bookends Jeremy Eaton and Jonathan Kerner. A limited number of tickets are available at 1-800-34-HAWKS.
Roy Williams says he won’t flip a coin to determine his fifth starter for Wednesday’s college basketball exhibition against the EA Sports Central All-Stars.
“No, but it’s not scientific, so flipping a coin might be as good,” said Williams, Kansas’ 14th-year coach, who doesn’t put a lot of stock into probable starters this time of year.
Tipoff for the first exhibition game of the season is 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
Williams said he’d likely open with returning starters Jeff Boschee, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Drew Gooden, then
“That next spot? It may depend who they start, whether they start big or small,” Williams said of the All Stars. “I think probably that fifth guy would be Aaron (Miles), Keith (Langford), Wayne (Simien), probably one of those three freshmen. Jeff Carey (senior forward) could be in the mix, but probably one of the three freshmen.”
Collison, a junior forward, was asked to speculate about the starting five at Monday’s basketball press conference at Parrott Athletic Center.
“Right now? Man I’d say Aaron, Kirk, Jeff (Boschee), me and Drew,” Collison said, “just because I think those are the guys who are playing the best. You could go with Keith instead of Aaron just to have more of a prototype 3 man, maybe get a few more rebounds.”
Miles is 6-foot-1, while Langford is listed as 6-4.
“I think of the three (freshmen), Aaron has done the best job of picking stuff up. It could change in a month because the rest of those guys are coming along. That’s who I’d pick now,” Collison said. “I’m sure things will change.”
l
Igoudala tabs Arkansas: Andre Igoudala, a 6-6 guard from Springfield, Ill., on Monday verbally committed to Arkansas over Kansas, Boston College and Arizona.
Some Internet sites had Igoudala headed to Arizona, but it seems he was Arkansas-bound all along.
“When he stepped on Arkansas’ campus he realized that is where he wanted to go in the first five minutes,” Springfield Lanphier coach Craig Patton told Jon Kirby of Alliance Sports.
KU, which has four scholarships to give now that the 5-and-8 rule has been amended to a 5-and-9 rule for the next two seasons (maximum of five scholarships in one year; nine in two-year span), has received commitments from Iowa Western CC forward Jeff Graves and El Cajon, Calif., prep center Moulaye Niang.
“I’d hoped as always we could finish it early,” Williams said of filling all scholarships in the early signing period.
KU will continue looking for players next semester.
“I would think so,” Williams said, “particularly with the ruling and having the other scholarship available. It (5 and 9 rule) allows us to give another scholarship. It’s sort of late in the day, trying to go out and say, ‘Oh wait, we’ve got a couple more scholarships,’ trying to recruit somebody you have not started recruiting beforehand.
“It will for sure not have as big a bearing as it would have if I and everyone else had known about it earlier too ( of 5 and 9).”
l
One bad workout: KU has had 19 practices. Williams said all but one of the workouts have been acceptable.
“At practice, we give it all we’ve got except for one that coach didn’t like too much,” sophomore forward Bryant Nash said of a sloppy practice on Oct. 22.
“We ended up having to come in at 7:20 in the morning and work on dummy defense and had to practice the same afternoon,” Nash added.
l
Tickets available: The EA All-Stars are led by Kris Johnson, a high-scoring 6-5 guard from UCLA. The tallest players are 6-11 bookends Jeremy Eaton and Jonathan Kerner. A limited number of tickets are available at 1-800-34-HAWKS.
Roy Williams says he won’t flip a coin to determine his fifth starter for Wednesday’s college basketball exhibition against the EA Sports Central All-Stars.
“No, but it’s not scientific, so flipping a coin might be as good,” said Williams, Kansas’ 14th-year coach, who doesn’t put a lot of stock into probable starters this time of year.
Tipoff for the first exhibition game of the season is 7:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
Williams said he’d likely open with returning starters Jeff Boschee, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Drew Gooden, then
“That next spot? It may depend who they start, whether they start big or small,” Williams said of the All Stars. “I think probably that fifth guy would be Aaron (Miles), Keith (Langford), Wayne (Simien), probably one of those three freshmen. Jeff Carey (senior forward) could be in the mix, but probably one of the three freshmen.”
Collison, a junior forward, was asked to speculate about the starting five at Monday’s basketball press conference at Parrott Athletic Center.
“Right now? Man I’d say Aaron, Kirk, Jeff (Boschee), me and Drew,” Collison said, “just because I think those are the guys who are playing the best. You could go with Keith instead of Aaron just to have more of a prototype 3 man, maybe get a few more rebounds.”
Miles is 6-foot-1, while Langford is listed as 6-4.
“I think of the three (freshmen), Aaron has done the best job of picking stuff up. It could change in a month because the rest of those guys are coming along. That’s who I’d pick now,” Collison said. “I’m sure things will change.”
l
Igoudala tabs Arkansas: Andre Igoudala, a 6-6 guard from Springfield, Ill., on Monday verbally committed to Arkansas over Kansas, Boston College and Arizona.
Some Internet sites had Igoudala headed to Arizona, but it seems he was Arkansas-bound all along.
“When he stepped on Arkansas’ campus he realized that is where he wanted to go in the first five minutes,” Springfield Lanphier coach Craig Patton told Jon Kirby of Alliance Sports.
KU, which has four scholarships to give now that the 5-and-8 rule has been amended to a 5-and-9 rule for the next two seasons (maximum of five scholarships in one year; nine in two-year span), has received commitments from Iowa Western CC forward Jeff Graves and El Cajon, Calif., prep center Moulaye Niang.
“I’d hoped as always we could finish it early,” Williams said of filling all scholarships in the early signing period.
KU will continue looking for players next semester.
“I would think so,” Williams said, “particularly with the ruling and having the other scholarship available. It (5 and 9 rule) allows us to give another scholarship. It’s sort of late in the day, trying to go out and say, ‘Oh wait, we’ve got a couple more scholarships,’ trying to recruit somebody you have not started recruiting beforehand.
“It will for sure not have as big a bearing as it would have if I and everyone else had known about it earlier too ( of 5 and 9).”
l
One bad workout: KU has had 19 practices. Williams said all but one of the workouts have been acceptable.
“At practice, we give it all we’ve got except for one that coach didn’t like too much,” sophomore forward Bryant Nash said of a sloppy practice on Oct. 22.
“We ended up having to come in at 7:20 in the morning and work on dummy defense and had to practice the same afternoon,” Nash added.
l
Tickets available: The EA All-Stars are led by Kris Johnson, a high-scoring 6-5 guard from UCLA. The tallest players are 6-11 bookends Jeremy Eaton and Jonathan Kerner. A limited number of tickets are available at 1-800-34-HAWKS.
The NCAA men’s basketball rules committee is trying to clean up rough play.
Again.
“The emphasis on eliminating rough play was most effective in the early part of last season, but that emphasis did not continue throughout the season to the level that we would have liked,” Kansas coach Roy Williams, chair of the NCAA men’s basketball rules committee, said Monday in announcing renewed emphasis to stop muggings in the paint during the 2001-02 season.
“We knew this would be more than a one-year process,” Williams indicated. “This year, we would like to aim for consistency from the beginning of the season to the end, with particular attention to inside play, where we thought last year’s emphasis was least effectively called.”
The men’s and women’s rules committees held their annual meetings last week, announcing changes and points of emphasis on Monday.
“They (officials) probably did a better job on action away from the ball than post play,” Williams said. “It’s easy to stop the forearms and the busting of people when they are trying to cut. In the past a guy couldn’t make a cut because they were riding him out of bounds. They did a better job. I still think we can do even better in post offense and defense.
“Coaches did a better job of coaching to stay away from that style of play. There has been support. John Wooden (former UCLA coach) was quoted as saying it’s the way we should go. He said it’s the best thing the rules committee has done in several years for basketball.
“Dick Bennett (former Wisconsin coach) wrote me a letter and said he was in favor of it,” Williams added. “Over two-thirds of the coaches in the country have said the game has gotten too physical and we need to clean it up.”
So the fight will go on.
Also starting next season, all technical fouls will carry penalties of two free throws but not loss of possession of the ball. For the women only, a technical foul for calling too many timeouts will result in two free throws and loss of possession.
The rules committees also approved an earlier recommendation requiring a game clock with a tenth-of-a-second readout, a red indicator light mounted behind the backboard to indicate the expiration of time on the game clock and a shot clock that is recessed and mounted on top of the backboard. That policy will go into effect in the 2002-03 season for Division I and 2003-04 in Division II.
The men will have two experimental rules to be used in selected games before Jan. 1.
The committee voted to widen the free throw and three-second lane to the NBA dimensions in a continued attempt to clean up rough play. Also, a return to jump balls at the center circle in all situations in which the alternating-possession arrow was used will be implemented.
Langford scores 15
KU signee Keith Langford scored 15 points to pace the South to an 88-85 victory over the North in the Texas Assn. of Basketball Coaches All-Star Game last weekend in San Antonio.
Langford, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard/forward from Crowley, Texas, hit four of five shots.
He had nine assists and eight rebounds while logging 16 of a possible 32 minutes.
Projected as a shooting guard/small forward at KU, he played mainly point guard in the all-star game.
Langford is hoping to compete in this weekend’s Jayhawk Invitational, Friday through Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse, Horejsi Center and Sport2Sport.
As of Monday, however, he was not sure he would be able to attend. His AAU team, Team Texas, has decided not to participate.
Langford’s mother indicated Monday the future Jayhawk may play for a Lawrence team which would include Free State High player Neil Dougherty, the son of KU assistant Neil Dougherty.
Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
