Keegan: UCLA had edge in poise

By Tom Keegan     Mar 25, 2007

? Missed the West Regional final and don’t have time to watch the entire replay? Just watch the last first-half possession for each team and you’ve seen it all.

Mario Chalmers drove to the hoop, missed the shot, got the rebound and dished to Kansas University backcourtmate Russell Robinson, who missed a gimme with 22 seconds left.

At the other end, UCLA had a chance to attack right away, but made the wise decision to pull back and work for a final shot. Arron Afflalo tried to drive past Brandon Rush, couldn’t, and found Josh Shipp in the left corner. Shipp hit a three-point shot at the buzzer.

It was like that all day. The younger team, less tested in such big games, blew easy opportunities. The Bruins, headed to their second consecutive Final Four after a 68-55 victory Saturday night, made clutch shots with time expiring.

Kansas never used the youth excuse through a season packed with highlights because it didn’t apply. In this game, it did. That’s not an excuse. That’s a fact.

Rush, Darnell Jackson and Russell Robinson, all 21, combined for 37 points. Younger teammates Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins and Julian Wright totaled 14 points.

Kansas, with the exception of Rush, played like a jittery team. UCLA played like one that had been there, done that.

Afterward, every wave of reporters that visited Rush at his locker asked if he’ll return. A year ago, when asked that question after the Bradley loss, he assured he would come back. This time, he dodged the issue repeatedly. Perhaps hoping it would make the question go away for the rest of the night at least, he talked about next season.

“We’ll be better,” Rush said. “We’ll be more experienced. This will be our third year together, and we’ll learn how to play in big games like this.”

What will be the most important lesson learned from the loss?

“Don’t get rattled,” Rush said. “Don’t get nervous. Play our type of game. I think we got sped up a little bit. We weren’t doing things we were supposed to do. Part of it was their defense. It seemed like it was open, but it wasn’t. Every time we tried to do something, they closed down on us.”

Rush led Kansas with 18 points. Afflalo had 24 points, a number of which came when Rush was on the bench or had switched onto another man.

“They’re a tough team,” Rush said of the Bruins. “They’ve been here before. They had experience to know how to play in these games.”

Rush called the loss “very disappointing. We had big expectations for all our Jayhawk fans.”

Kansas finished 33-5, one game away from the Final Four for the second time in four years, a successful season by any measure and an entertaining journey that fell just short, like so many KU free throws in HP Pavilion, where the Jayhawks made 15 of 30 from the line in the two games.

“We won two championships, got past that first-round hump, and we got to the Elite Eight,” Rush said. “So I think our fans would be proud.”

Proud of the season, disappointed in its final day. Only one team won’t be.

“The season’s over, and we’ve got to watch UCLA go to the Final Four right now,” Rush said. “That really hurts.”

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