DickeV next will bring dancing shoes to Lawrence for West Virginia game. #kubball pic.twitter.com/K3fjRAX3gD
— Tom Keegan (@TomKeeganBoston) February 2, 2017
Wednesday night’s 73-68 victory against Baylor captured what sort of season this has been for a Kansas basketball team ranked third in the nation and rising: It was close and when the pressure mounted the Jayhawks remained calm.
How do they do it so consistently in the clutch?
“We talk about it all the time, a winner’s mentality, they’ve got it,” Dick Vitale said courtside, moments after the final buzzer. “An experienced backcourt that won’t let them lose.”
Even by his standards, Vitale was passionate when talking about one of his favorite college basketball players.
“I hope people notice what great defense Frank Mason played at the end, not letting (Manu Lecomte) get up a 3,” Vitale beamed. “That’s tremendous defense. That’s will to win. He doesn’t let them lose.”
And of course, a conversation with Dickie V wouldn’t be complete without him lighting up about a diaper dandy.
“And Josh Jackson, his stock is going up, up, and up,” Vitale said. “He’s got to become a better free-throw shooter, but his explosiveness!”
Jackson, who has made 10 of his last 18 free throws, made 5 of 9 free throws against Baylor, but even that stat wasn’t as bad as it sounds. After one of his misses, Jackson sprung forward, ripped the ball out of the rebounder’s hands and quickly fired a pass to the point, where Devonte’ Graham knocked down a 3-pointer.
The night was quite an event, even by Allen Fieldhouse standards, one made even more entertaining with the presence of the friendly Vitale. As usual, he enjoyed a dance with a member of KU’s spirit squad and as he walked off the court, college basketball’s most famous smile in full bloom, he leaned down and said, “Nobody has more fun than I do.
Nobody!”
Believe it.
The smartest thing he ever did was get out of coaching. Had he stayed in coaching the stress might have caused him to lose his hair.
Now, his only stress comes from setting such ambitious goals for various fundraising efforts on behalf of The V Foundation.
Vitale passed out fliers asking for help with the John Saunders Research Grant for pediatric cancer in memory of the popular broadcaster felled by the disease, urging visits to [www.jimmyv.org/saunders][1].
[1]: http://www.jimmyv.org/saunders
