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B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASKETBALL
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2004
Seniors stick together in hopes of championship
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWATER
Senior guard Mike Lee remembers his freshman year at Kansas. He and high school teammate Aaron Miles thought they did everything right.
Enter their senior season.
"We thought we did, but we didn't have a clue," Lee said. "And slowly each year we figured things out and got to this point."
Lee, Miles, Keith Langford and Wayne Simien, they are now leaders. There is no next year. And they are hungry for a national championship.
"I felt like last year they said, 'Hey, no matter what happens, Coach, we'll be all right,'" coach Bill Self said. "I believe now they see it as 'Hey, if it doesn't happen this year, there is no next year.' I like being able to see the finish line from a hunger standpoint."
team, the Jayhawks averaged 75.8 points per game.
In addition to points, each senior contributes character and leadership elements, and none is more important than the other.
Self said a team is only as good as its seniors allow it to be. For Kansas, these seniors have been in two Final Fours and one Elite Eight. Langford, Lee, Miles and Simien averaged a combined 47.9 points per game last season. As a
"One great thing about these four is that they like each other so much that I sense it's each other's team," Self said. "I don't think you say it is one person's team, I think it is the seniors' team."
Simien leads by example, Self said. He averaged almost 18 points and nine rebounds per game last season, while playing with an injured groin.
Miles leads with the ball is in his hands.
"It is natural for me because all of my life I have been a point guard, and I have been told that point guards are supposed to be leaders." Miles said.
Self said Langford provided the team with energy.
And Lee is the vocal leader.
"Mike is the best talker on the team hands down," Self said. "Bush and Kerry wouldn't want to get in a debate with Lee."
But when they do, the topic will most likely trigger some emotion.
son is their last at Kansas.
Jared Sears/KANSAN
For as much as Lee and the other seniors talk, Self said they don't talk about the fact this sea-
"We try not to talk about it too much between the four of us because we want to make the most out of things this year," Simien said. "But you can't help but think about it, things like this being our last boot camp and our last Late Night."
Lee is still shocked that his senior season is here.
"It is kind of a trip, just to sit back and think of time," Lee said. "People always said it would go fast and it really went by fast."
Miles said the reality of the situation motivated him.
"As freshman, sophomores and juniors, you always said 'you have another year,'" he said. "But this is our last year and our last chance and we want to go down as one of the great teams in college basketball."
Langford responded like an emotional leader would.
"I've enjoyed my time, but now it's time to put up or shut up, basically," Langford said. "I am going try to soak up every second that I have with this team, but at the end we just want
All of the seniors said that anything short of a national championship would be a disappointment.
to focus on winning."
Seniors Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Mike Lee and Aaron Miles hope to and their college careers by cutting down the nets in St. Louis, Mo in March.
"We've been to the tournament, won the Big 12, be to Final Four, been to a national championship." Lee said. "We've done everything but win."
In today's era of college basketball, when players jump early to the NBA, Kansas has a unique situation with four seniors. Self said.
"In today's time, Kansas has been blessed in recent memory," Self said. "Think of the great teams that Kansas has had and go back into Kansas history, How many guys have left early?"
Only two players in Kansas history have left early for the NBA: Paul Pierce and Drew Gooden. Pierce left after his junior season in 1998 and Gooden left in 2002 also after his junior season.
"To have these four guys stay together 16 out of a possible 16 years, that gives us a leg up," Self said.
Only Oklahoma State, with six seniors, has more seniors than Kansas. The Cowboys' seniors combine for two points more per
game than Langford, Lee, Miles and Simien.
Despite all of the preseason hype surrounding this team, Self said his team thought the experience of the four seniors is what could separate the Jayhawks from the other great teams in the country.
think it's not the talent, because there are a lot of teams with good players," Self said. "It's not athletic ability; its not perimeter shooting; there are a lot of teams that have that. But few teams have four seniors that have been through the fire like these guys have."
"I asked our guys what our biggest advantage was, and I
— Edited by Rupal Gor
Experience, depth lead to high rankings and expectations
BY FRED A. DAVIS III AND JONATHAN KEALING sports@kansan.com KANSAN SPORTSWITHERS
There is a number constantly being used in conjunction with the Kansas basketball team; one.
The Jayhawks are ranked number one in a bevy of preseason basketball polls.
Coaches contend that preseason polls are used to excite fans. Some fans are unnerved by early season superiority.
Whatever the case, high expectations aren't new for jayhawk basketball.
"Last year, we were preseason four," said Kansas coach Bill
Self. "I think the expectations are high no matter what."
There are several reasons why analysts claim Kansas should tear down the nets in St. Louis.
Start with the experience. The senior foursome of Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Michael Lee and Wayne Simien have been to an Elite Eight and two Final Fours in three years. They are 87-21 overall and 42-6 in Big 12 play.
Miles is 67 assists away from becoming the school's all-time assist leader. Langford, at 1,408 points for his career, is within striking distance of becoming only the third Jayhawk ever to amass 2,000 points.
The revenge factor could also play a part. With how close the Jayhawks have been each of the last three years, lack of motivation will not be a factor.
"These last four years, if it's taught us anything, it taught us you have to play the game," Langford said.
Sophomore J.R. Giddens also proved his ability to make an impact. Giddens has the ability to finish in the open court or pull up from downtown. Giddens also can hit the shots that count.
In addition to the team's stars, the Jayhawks also have more depth than they've had on previous teams. Self brought in guys from all over the country. The
Jayhawks now feature a New York-bred point guard in Russell Robinson and shooting guard/small forward Alex Galindo from New Jersey.
The frontcourt also received attention, landing three solid bangers. Kansas added 6-foot-11 Sasha Kaun, 6-foot-8 Darnell Jackson and 6-foot-10 C.J. Giles to compliment Simien down low.
Juniors Christian Moody, Moulaye Niang and Jeff Hawkins also have valuable conference and tournament experience.
Time will tell if the Jayhawks can use this combination of depth and talent to bring home
USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25
PRESEASON POLL
1. Kansas (8)
2. Wake Forest (12)
3. North Carolina (6)
4. Georgia Tech (1)
5. Syracuse
6. Connecticut
7. Oklahoma State (1)
9. Kentucky
10. Michigan State
11. Arizona
12. Duke
13. Louisville (1)
14. Mississippi State
15. Texas
16. Maryland
17. Pittsburgh
18. Alabama
19. N.C.State
20. Wisconsin
21. Notre Dame
22. Florida
23. Memphis
24. Washington
25. Stanford
the first Kansas national championship since 1988, but Self said one thing was certain this
Source: USA Today
season.
"It has a chance to be an awfully fun trip," he said.
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