THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN Final Four Preview
SPECIAL SECTION
March 29,2002
Roy Williams cuts down the net in celebration after the Jayhawks defeated Oregon on Sunday and reached the Final Four.
LAURIESISK/KANSAN
Williams back, knocking on Atlanta's door has plans to 'knock the sucker down'
By Doug Pacey Kansan sportswriter
Roy Williams will cry in Atlanta.
Kansas' self-described "corny" coach will sob if he wins and shed tears if he loses. Williams' eyes will water and he'll choke up when someone asks him about his seniors after they've played their last game, whether it's after a loss to Maryland tomorrow night or on the champion's podium Monday night.
A stressed out Roy Williams bows his head in frustration during a game.
Whv will Williams wail?
"Because I'm Roy," he deadpans.
The Jayhawks' 14-year coach admittedly shows his emotions to a fault sometimes.
After his 1997 No.1-seed Jayhawks fell to eventual champion No.4-seed Arizona in the Sweet 16, Williams all but ripped his heart out of his chest.
"I'm going to keep knocking on the door," the red-eyed coach said between gasps, "and one of these days I'm going to knock that sucker down."
CHRISTINA NEFF/KANSAN
Video clips of a bleary-eyed and sullen-faced Williams sitting at a table with a microphone and name tag in front of him and the words "NCAA Tournament" plastered like a checkerboard on the wall behind the coach are familiar to even the most indifferent college basketball fans.
Williams has yet to break that barrier down, but the same emotions the media and public sometimes criticize, his team embraces.
"It's real unusual to see a coach in the spotlight act like he does," junior forward Nick Collison said after Kansas beat Illinois Friday and became Williams' first No. 1-seeded team to advance past the Sweet 16 in five tries. "They try not to show stuff, but coach wears it. You see happiness, you see his hurt. He's out there with us, all of him."
That heart-on-your-sleeve attitude is something the Jayhawks have embraced. After No. 1-seed Kansas (33-3 overall, 16-0 Big 12 Conference) pounded Oregon 104-86 and earned the program's first berth to the Final Four since 1993, the Jayhawks said they did it for Williams. When a reporter told
When Arizona upset top-seeded Kansas 85-82 on Mar. 21, 1997 and Williams had to watch heralded seniors Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase fail to reach the Final Four, he had an epiphany.
the coach after the game what his players had said, Williams choked up and politely excused himself from the media horde.
SEE COACH ON PAGE 5B
Breaking Point
Happy Roy Williams lets his excitement shine through during the NCAA Tournament.
CHRISTINA NEFF/KANSAN
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100.