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SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
1B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2003
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Jonah Ballow jballow@kansan.com
Williams saga continues
Kansas hoops will persevere without Roy
If Roy Williams decides to leave Kansas for Chapel Hill to coach the North Carolina Tar Heels, the quality of Kansas basketball will not decline.
There is no doubt that Kansas is one of the premier basketball programs in the country. It has a long standing tradition dating back to the man who created the sport, James Naismith.
This weekend everyone around the University of Kansas will be biting their nails in anxiety of Williams (or is it Roy because the media seems to be on a first name basis with the coach) hitting the road.
The question needs to be asked, what would a post-Williams regime look like at Kansas?
There is no doubt that Williams is seen as an icon in the state of Kansas. He has achieved success in 15 seasons with 418 victories and four Final Fours. But more importantly, he hasn't won a national championship.
According to Andy Katz of ESPN, there is a possible coaching candidate to fill the shoes of Williams.
The man is Bill Self, coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini. In his first two seasons at Illinois, Self led the team to back-to-back Big 10 Conference championships along with 27 victories in 2001 and 26 in 2002. During the 2001 season, the Fighting Illini marched to the Elite Eight while beating the Jayhawks. Last season, while in a rebuilding year, Illinois posted a 25-7 season and 11-5 in the Big 10 before losing to Notre Dame in the regional quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
Before arriving at Illinois, Self coached at Tulsa and led it to a 32-5 record and an Elite Eight appearance in 2000. That year he was also named the National Coach of the Year by The Sporting News.
Kansan File Photo
Ballow is a Littleton, Colo., junior in journalism.
Updating back to 1987, Self was an assistant at Oklahoma State for six seasons where the team went 128-88 during his time.
Self was a part of the Kansas program and understood the tradition along with the winning ways that have been established over the years in Lawrence.
team with six wins.
The biggest and most important part of Self's résumé is that he was a former assistant at Kansas under Larry Brown. During the 1985 to 1986 season, the team went 35-4 and advanced to the Final Four.
revival of a new culture Kansas fans, stay optimistic whether Williams leaves the University, the basketball program will continue to have success in the many years to come.
Also like Williams, Self has not won a national championship, but the man is only 41 years old and is recognized as one of the best young coaches in America.
Kansas fans need to remain calm about the future of the basketball program heading into the weekend when Williams will talk with North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour.
In comparison to the rest of the athletics program, basketball will stay at a high level whether Williams decides to leave or stay. Williams has done a great job in creating a successful and clean basketball program.
However, a new coach is not necessarily a bad prospect for a team that has not won a national championship since 1988. Players are still going to want to attend the University because of its tradition and die-hard fans. A new coach could also bring new recruits that would have not looked at Kansas in the past.
It may be in the best interest of Williams to head back to the university where he was once an assistant. He might need the revival a new place brings, and Kansas might need the revival of a new coach.
Rumors have been flying around the sports world about the status of Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams. Williams has yet to comment on the vacant basketball coaching position at North Carolina.
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswriter
These are the facts; There is a coaching vacancy at North Carolina; Al Bohl's title is now former athletics director; Dick Baddour is still North Carolina's athletics director and he released a statement saying he had spoken to Williams; Williams declined the North Carolina job three years ago; Williams graduated from and coached at North Carolina; Williams hasn't publicly said if he would take the job at North Carolina if it were offered.
North Carolina are the facts, and so far they have been mixed together into a Rubik's Cube of speculation.
Hypotheses have Williams using a possible flight to North Carolina to oust Bohl, former Tar Heel coach Dean Smith holding secret meetings with Williams, alumni using donation money as leverage to fire Bohl and appease Williams. Williams staying to continue his Kansas legacy or leaving to save the struggling North Carolina basketball program.
There was even a rumor from a North Carolina CBS affiliate that a North Carolina alumnus was sending a private jet to transport Williams yesterday morning from Fairfax Airport in Kansas City, Kan., to Chapel Hill, N.C. This was reported despite the fact that Fairfax closed in 1985 and that a Kansan staffer spotted Williams jogging along Jayhawk Boulevard at 1 p.m.yesterday.
Baddour said in his release that he would continue to speak to Williams throughout the weekend,but he had not offered him the job.
"Typically I do not comment on job searches. However, this is obviously not a typical situation. Coach Williams and I both felt there was so much misinformation out there that an update to confirm our talks was both responsible and necessary." Baddour said.
"Coach Williams and I feel the timing is too near the Final Four and there is too much going on in Lawrence at this time to conclude our talks," Baddour said. "I have not offered the job to coach Williams, but we have had good conversations that will continue over the next few days. He understands we will continue to proceed with other candidates, as well.
- Edited by Andrew Ward
Reactions vary to Bohl's speech
By Kevin Flaherty and Henry C. Jackson
kflaherty@kansan.com and
cjackson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writers
"It is a sad day for college athletics when a basketball coach has the power to hire and fire a university athletics director," Al Bohl, former Kansas athletics director, said Wednesday.
At his press conference, Bohl made remarks that quickly sparked conversations and arguments on sports talk shows throughout the area.
Bohl's statement, read at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, said that Roy Williams, Kansas basketball coach, was at fault in his firing.
"A source close to the Athletic Department believes that I am one of the misfortunate people in America who personally
have endured the results of Roy Williams' hatred and vindictiveness," Bohl said.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway's response was that the decision was not that simple.
that simple.
"This was not a Roy and Al issue," Hemenway said. "This was an issue that has to do with responses to the Athletics Department from many different quarters."
on talk radio Wednesday and yesterday
the opinions varied as to the validity of Bohl's statement. Some callers supported Bohl, saying that to come out and make a statement with such disregard for his image and future employment showed character. Others ripped his speech as "stupid" and referred to Bohl as a crybaby or a jerk.
Hemenway said the statements were
SEE BOHL ON PAGE 6B
Phog Allen's son, former player dies
By Kelley Weiss
kweiss@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas lost a piece of its basketball history April 3 when Dr. Robert Allen of Mission Hills died at the age of 83.
Allen was an All-American basketball player and the son of a legendary basketball coach. Robert Allen went on to become a legend of his own in Kansas City.
Allen was the son of Phog Allen and played basketball for him at the University from 1938 to 1941. Robert Allen is the only player in Final Four history who played for his father in a national title game and also led the team in scoring during that game.
Howard Engleman, who played basketball with Allen, said Allen's contribution to the team as a point guard was invaluable.
"He was a team leader," Engleman said. "It was a pleasure. He was a great basketball player and passer. I wouldn't have made All-American without him passing to me."
Allen's wife, Jean, said she started dating Allen when she was 16 and they continued dating through college. Dating a KU basketball player wasn't the easiest thing to do, she said.
"It wasn't much fun," Allen said. "He
SEE ALLEN ON PAGE 6B
Kansan File Photo
Forrest "Phog" Allen, left, coached his All-American son Robert, right, at Kansas from 1938 to 1941. Dr. Robert Allen died April 3 at the age of 83.
Defense looks to linemen for results
By Kevin Flaherty
kflaherty@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
In the physical world of the Big 12 Conference, it is often who wins in the trenches that wins the game.
While most of the Big 12 teams have powerful offensive lines, it is the defensive lines that gain the most attention. Several teams look to have standout defensive lines next fall, with Oklahoma
SEE DEFENSE ON PAGE 6B
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