Monday, August 21, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 9
Experience lifts 'Hawks
Continued from page 1B
but at KU, there's always a lot of hype around the basketball team."
Helping lift that inexperience was the summer travel of four Jayhawks. Senior center Eric Chenowith headed to Hawaii last week to touch up his pivot skills at the highly regarded Pete Newell Big Man's Camp in Honolulu.
Meanwhile, senior guard Luke Axell is finishing his tour of duty with a team of Big 12 All-Stars in Austria. Axell was averaging more than 10 points a game in Europe before he pulled his groin and was hampered for the remainder of the tournament.
The tournament also represented Axtell's first return to action since January. Axtell missed the final two months of last season because of an undisclosed medical condition. Before he left, Axtell he was excited about the opportunity.
"This experience will help me prepare for next season in that it's a high level of competition," Axtell said. "I've been playing a lot, though, and I think I'm already in playing shape."
Axtell wasn't the only Jayhawk who benefited from international competition. Both Collison and sophomore forward Drew
Gooden traveled to Brazil in late July as members of the 2000 USA Basketball World Championships for Young Men Qualifying Team. The team started off the tournament 4-0 before dropping its final game 92-77 to Argentina.
"It was a really good experience," Collison said. "But we didn't play as a team and really struggled offensively."
Next up for Collision is a chance to compete against the best. Next week, Collision will head to Maul with 11 other collegiate players to practice and compete against the USA Senior National Team — otherwise known as the Dream Team.
Collison will practice against the team of NBA stars starting Aug. 28, then the collegians will play the Dream Team in a nationally televised game Sept. 2.
"I'll have a lot of fun, and at the same time I'll learn from some of the best players in the world," Collison said. "If it be incredible to be playing against the players on the Dream Team, and I think it will help me prepare even more for the upcoming season."
And so, probably, will everyone else's travels — and Williams' lack thereof.
Drew Gooden slams a dunk over an Iowa State defender last season, Kansan file photo
—Edited by Erin McDaniel
Knights coach should recruit alumni
Hey, Kevin Pritchard, how's about a little love for some of your Javhawks?
In case you didn't know, the new Kansas City ABA basketball team, coached by former Jayhawk Kevin Pritchard, is in the process of assembling its roster. So far, the Kansas City Knights have only one other former Jayhawk besides Pritchard on their roster: high-flying Darrin Hancock.
Oh, and they got JaRon Rush. He was supposed to be a Jayhawk, but, well, you know his story.
so maybe Pritchard should further alienate Jayhawk fans and pick up Jason Sutherland? I'm sure he's not too busy these days. Maybe he's the manager of the french fry grease at a Wendy's in Columbia, Mo. After Sutherland, they could import Ivan Drago from Russia. Add Rush, and there's a team I could totally hate.
I know Pritchard's first concern is winning games. But he also needs to worry about putting fans in the stands, and adding a couple of Jayhawks to the roster could help both his winning percentage and his
Sports Columnist
Seth Jones
sports@kansan.com
attendance.
So let me then say that snagging the rights to Darrin Hancock was a fantastic move. Any true Jayhawk fan can easily close his or her eyes and envision one of the finest moves made by a Jayhawk in recent history.
Against Indiana back in 1993, Hancock drives the baseline, jumps on the right side of the rim, cupping the ball, and then ends up slamming the ball on the left side in windmill-like fashion.
The camera crew caught it from about three different angles and replayed it in super slow motion for everyone's appreciation of the move.
The only dunk I can think of that
comes close — maybe — is Raef LaFrentz's left-handed follow-up dunk after Jacque Vaughn bricked a layup. Kenny Gregory has had a couple nasty ones too, but I remember Hancock being downright scary, he jumped so high.
Pritchard did score some other good picks. Kansas City native Derek Hood makes for a nice addition. Fred Hoiberg was selected, but doesn't he have an NBA team to go to? And Richie Framm from Gonzaga, who Pritchard is calling "a steal." He might add some points to the board.
Pritchard has stated that open tryouts for the team happen in late September. When asked if he's considering any Jayhawks, Pritchard dropped the names of Ryan Robertson, Steve Woodberry, Billy Thomas and Nick Bradford.
Don't look for Ryan Robertson to go anywhere. He might be able to stand behind the Sacramento Kings bench for another year for three times the money he'd make from the Knights.
Woodberry back in the states playing in Kansas City. He plays pro ball in Australia, and while I haven't seen any Aussie basketball on ESPN2, word is that our man Woodberry dominates the outback. The ABA pays on average between $80,000 to $90,000, so maybe he could be lured from Down Under back to the Kansas City area.
It would be great to see Steve
Billy Thomas? Well, I've never been a big Billy Thomas fan. If I wanted a streaky three-point shooter who didn't play defense, I wait a year and sign Luke Axtell. At least Luke plays guitar.
Will Nick Bradford don a Kansas City Knights jersey? I'd sign him. He's versatile, young and aggressive. He knows how to stay out of trouble. Why not?
So, Coach Pritchard, we're waiting to see if you can give all of us in Jayhawkland a little more of an excuse to drive your way and watch this team. Hopefully, by late September we'll see a little more crimson and blue in the Knights.
Jones is a Mulvane senior in journalism.
Williams proves that he should be trusted
From the While You Were Away department ...
The biggest news to hit the state of Kansas this summer was the story that wasn't.
In case you missed it (perhaps you were studying abroad on Mars or someplace equally desolate Manhattan?), Roy Williams is still the men's basketball coach at Kansas.
Sure, there was a serial killer arrested in Overland Park and the WorldCom-Sprint merger was blocked, but ... Roy Williams is still the coach at Kansas!
And, oh yeah, he turned down the "Best Job in College Coaching." Williams said no to his mentor Dean Smith and the chance to go home to friends, family and his alma mater.
A quick recap:
quit occupy
June 29 - Bill Guthridge steps down as coach at North Carolina, Williams is assumed to be the leading candidate to take over the Tar Heel program.
June 30 — Williams confirms his interest in the job at a news conference.
July 3-4 — Williams visits UNC campus and meets with athletics director Dick Baddour and Dean Smith.
July 6 - Back in Lawrence, Williams announces he will stay at Kansas, citing loyalty to his players.
It sounds simple when put like that, but it was so much more. Rumor, speculation and innuendo dominated the pages of newspapers across the country every day that Williams spent making up his mind. Chat rooms and message boards were packed with fans weighing in on the Roy Williams' saga.
The consensus was goodbye Kansas, hello Carolina blue.
Sports Columnist
How could he not go?
Recruiting would be easier.
He would have a legitimate superstar (which he lacks at Kansas) in Joseph Forte. Not to mention that he would be going home to live near fam-
Derek Prater
sports@kansan.com
All the signs pointed to Williams leaving. Except for what he kept telling us.
ily and friends. His son, Scott, is a recent UNC grad, and his daughter, Kimberly, is a student there.
Again and again, he denied reports that he had decided to leave. He maintained that he just needed time to make up his mind.
For some strange reason, we refused to believe him. He already had a house in Chapel Hill, didn't he? He had always planned to return to North Carolina some day, hadn't he? He's just giving Bob Frederick time to put out feelers for a replacement, isn't he?
And why should we believe him? Sure, he had been nothing but exceedingly honest in his 12 years here, but "anonymous sources" who were "close to the program" at Chapel Hill were cited in North Carolina newspapers as saving it was a done deal.
Some of us held it against him, too. Messages posted on Web sites like espn.com referred to Williams as a traitor and a liar. It seemed that for every fan that wished him well whatever his decision would be, there was one that felt betrayed by the coach.
But he proved once again when it comes to Roy Williams, there's only one reliable source. Journalists rush to print information from less-than-reliable sources, and fans jump to how-dare-he conclusions.
But for the real scoop, only one man could be trusted. And he needed just 2.5 words to state it: "I'm staying."
Prater is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism.
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