I
Section A · Page 14
The Univer sity Daily Kansan
Monday, March 9, 1999
LaFrentz to lead Jayhawks in search of elusive title
Continued from page 16A
thing. He was too nice to do anything."
Kansas forward Raef LaFrentz accepts the 1998 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year trophy. This season LaFrentz moved into second on the Kansas all-time scoring and rebounding lists. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Opponents wouldn't know that by his performance the past two seasons.
When Scot Pollard suffered a broken foot last season, LaFrentz emerged as the Jayhawks' most explosive and dominating player.
LaFrentz recorded a remarkable 21 double-doubles last season, including 13 in the last 18 games. He led the team in points (18.5) and rebounds (9.3) per game.
A challenging senior season May 5,1997
He was a unanimous pick for Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and for All-American honors last season. But the question after his breakthrough season was whether LaFrentz would return for a senior encore.
May, 1975.
LaFrentz and teammate Paul Pierce announced that they would return to Kansas for another season. Jayhawk basketball fans from across the state breathed a collective sign of relief when the decision was made public.
He had a career-high 32 points in a 98-87 victory against Arizona, and he followed that performance with seven consecutive double-doubles, showing why he was a consensus All-American.
LaFrentz took out a $2.7 million insurance policy and all seemed well in Kansas. But the road he traveled proved to be a rocky drive through peaks and valleys
The season had been a success until trouble struck in paradise.
LaFrentz broke his right hand during a practice Dec. 26 in Hawaii when center Eric Chenowith attempted to swat a LaFrentz shot. The injury forced him to the bench, where he watched Kansas lose 76-65 to Hawaii in the championship game of the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu.
The Jayhawks also lost Jan. 19 at Missouri, 74-73, as they finished a 7-2 run without their big man.
"watching the games was the hardest part," LaFrentz said while he was injured. "It gives you a new appreciation for things that you may have taken for granted. I never thought I'd miss going to practice."
LaFrentz returned to the start-
ing lineup Jan. 24 against Texas
Tech, five days after the Missouri
loss. He recorded game highs of 31
points and 15 rebounds and added
three steals in his commanding performance.
LaFrentz said Williams warned him not to try to make up for lost time in one afternoon.
Dollars and sense
"The way I played, it was coming to me easily, and the guys eased me back into the lineup."
LaFrentz said after the Texas Tech game. "Coach made it a point and said 'Don't try to get back those nine games right away.' But those nine games were tough to sit through."
Less than one month away from the NCAA Tournament, members of the media wondered whether LaFrentz had any regrets about returning for his senior season.
He paused when a reporter asked about the NBA's lucrative contracts and about the lure of being a millionaire.
being a marketer.
"I always think about that question when it is asked of me because of a couple million dollars," LaFrentz said. "Would I like to have a couple million dollars right now?
"Yeah, I'd like to be rich right now," he said. "But the money will be there, and I don't think that money could ever replace the experiences that I've had and the maturing that I've done in the past year."
People who have known LaFrentz would argue that he already had matured.
Shana Burton, Monona junior,
has known LaFrentz since she was
in the sixth grade and LaFrentz
the seventh.
"I think he was always goal-oriented, though I think he knew he would go somewhere with basketball," Burton said. "He knew he had the ability, but he was always modest about what he accomplished."
Last week, LaFrentz was named a unanimous selection for the first team All-Big 12 Conference team and won Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors. He averages 20.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Still, people created theories about why LaFrentz returned for his senior season.
He wanted national Player of the Year honors. He wanted a trip to the Final Four. He wanted the national championship. He wanted to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
But maybe the fact that LaFrentz is the son of two teachers helped persuade LaFrentz to
"I want to complete things that I start," LaFrentz said. "At the time I made the decision, I felt that if I had left early after three years, my career never would have come to an end. And academically, I was not complete. I was not done."
The end of a journey
The Final Chapter of this story has not been written.
But LaFrentz, that small-town
child, never considered himself a long-shot to succeed. And according to those who have known him longest, he has not changed much.
"Some people in Monona do ask for autographs and things of that nature, but most of the time he's just like anyone else." Burton said. "Maybe that's because we've known him as a friend first and a basketball player second."
Most people across Kansas know Raef LaFrentz the basketball player. The All-American, the southpaw dunks. The fade
away jumpshot with finesse.
Those are the memories of Kansas basketball fans as the Jayhawks prepare for the NCAA Tournament this week.
LaFrentz is No. 2 among scoring and rebounding leaders in Kansas history. He and Danny Manning are the only Jayhawks to record more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their careers.
But statistics alone cannot define a team player, one who covets his last opportunity to win the NCAA Championship this month.
LaFrentz said yesterday that winning the NCAA Tournament would fulfill a childhood dream
"It would be a great way to cap off my career," LaFrentz said. "It's something that I've dreamed of. In the four years that I've been here, we've had four great teams.
your great team.
"This is my last chance," he said. "It's something that we're just going to have to do. We have the coaches. We have the players. And we have the pride and heart to get it done."
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