Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers sent an urgent e-mail to members of Kansas University’s athletic department Wednesday night.
“Gerald said they’re expecting 12 to 15 inches through Friday,” KU senior associate athletic director Larry Keating stated.
That’s 15 inches of snow … the white stuff that forced the postponement of last Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Oklahoma State and Nebraska.
So KU’s Lew Perkins put into motion plans for the Jayhawks’ hoops charter flight to Lubbock, Texas, to leave a day early to make sure the team was safe and sound – and at Texas Tech for Saturday’s 3 p.m. tip – when the white stuff is accumulating.
“We’ll get there, get to eat a nice dinner as a team,” KU coach Bill Self said of alternate plans.
He directed his team through a late morning/early afternoon practice Thursday. His Jayhawks flew out of Topeka’s Forbes Field at 4 p.m. The Jayhawks dined at Texas Land and Cattle in Lubbock following their safe arrival.
“We’ve not been to a nice restaurant in a while. We’ll get in their place (United Spirit Center) twice tomorrow (today), maybe catch a flick. I don’t think it’ll be a huge deal at all. There won’t be any excuses over this.”
The Jayhawks, who will take a 16-2 record and 3-0 mark in Big 12 Conference play into Saturday’s game against Texas Tech (13-5, 2-1), said heading out early was no big deal.
“I was anticipating seeing buddies come back to school,” said Julian Wright, noting today is the official start of second-semester classes. “But you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to get there on time. We will be able to practice for a tough game. They are a patient, disciplined team with a great coach (Bob Knight). We’ve got to stick to our principles as well.”
Junior Russell Robinson noted: “I’m not very excited about going to Lubbock early, but this gives us a chance to focus in and get ready. They’ve got a very good team, set a lot of screens and run motion. It will give us time to prepare.”
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Chalmers keeps head up: KU coach Bill Self called a 1-on-1 meeting with sophomore guard Mario Chalmers on Wednesday.
He just wanted to make sure Chalmers knew he hadn’t lost confidence in him.
Remember, Chalmers, who has been one of KU’s go-to guys late in games (with Brandon Rush), was on the bench at the end of the Jayhawks’ 80-77 victory over Missouri on Monday night.
Self went with Rush, Robinson, Wright, Sherron Collins and Darrell Arthur.
Collins definitely had the hot hand, scoring a career-best 23 points, while Chalmers had an off night with six points in 21 minutes.
“We spoke yesterday for quite a while. He was fine. I’m not the least bit disappointed in Mario. I’ve been very pleased with him,” Self said. “There’s no way that one poor game should jolt you because he’s going to have another one, too. Everybody does. You just have to respond. I love his attitude. His attitude was, ‘Gosh, I’m glad Sherron came through. It wasn’t my night but thank goodness it was Sherron’s.’
“He’ll be fine. He’s shown the most poise of anybody on our team in big games. He didn’t like not being out there, but he understood why. I don’t think that will happen very often again,” Self added of Chalmers not playing in crunch time.
Chalmers said: “I talked to coach yesterday. He called me in. We had a good talk, and I talked to some family members who helped get my hopes back up. Coach does what’s best for the team. I was on the bench cheering for Sherron and everybody else. I wanted to win that game.”
Chalmers, who hit two of five shots versus Missouri with five turnovers, admitted he had “a tough game. Some nights you will not have a good game. It was good Sherron and Russell did well and we were able to get a victory.”
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Cloudy return for Arthur: Weather conditions will put a bit of a damper on Darrell Arthur’s first trip back to his home state of Texas.
The freshman forward from Dallas was going to have family members make the drive up to Lubbock to watch the game, but plans will more than likely be changed due to the wintery forecast.
“I don’t know how far it’s going to be because I heard there’s supposed to be a big storm, so I don’t know if my family will be able to go up there,” Arthur said. “It depends on what the weather’s like. They’re going to be at Waco (for KU’s game at Baylor on Wednesday), but I’m not sure if they’re going to be at Texas Tech. But I’ve got some friends in Lubbock right now, so they’ll probably find a way to watch me.”
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The intimidating General: Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight always has received complete attention from his own players, but his coaching style also puts a little fear in the hearts of opposing players.
“I just think he’s going to start yelling – yelling at me or something,” Russell Robinson said. “That’s what you think when you think about past incidents and stuff. But he’s a great coach and has a lot of wins. … Every once in a while, when you run down the court you see him sitting there, and you’re kind of like, ‘Wow, that’s Bob Knight.’ … It’s just an honor to be on the court playing against him.”
