4B
KU 82 — UF 80
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27. 2006
Julian Wright, sophomore forward, and Mario Chalmers, sophomore guard, accept awards after defeating Florida at the Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday night. Wright was named the tournament's MVP. The award ceremony ended quickly after fans rushed the court.
DANCING NACHOS
Heavyweight battle meets expectations
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
KANSAN SPORTS EDITOR
MPHILLIPS@KANSAN.COM
LAS VEGAS — In a town known for its heavyweight title fights, Saturday's will go down as one of the best.
Kansas defeated Florida 82-80 in an overtime game that left jaws dropped, players exhausted, and, like any good fight, everyone clamoring for a rematch.
"It was the talk of the town, us and Florida," freshman forward Darrell Arthur said. "We've been waiting for this game ever since summertime."
And in a town known for valuing style more than substance, Saturday's game lived up to the hype.
In front of a who's who of NBA scouts, Kansas sophomore forward Julian Wright and Florida junior forward Joakim Noah fought out every possession, at one point finishing tied up on the floor with equal possession of the basketball.
That's not to say the two teams were exactly the same. The Gators are a scrappy team that wins with chemistry, whereas the Jayhawks can overpower opponents with raw talent.
"Kansas to me was ranked so high this year not because of anything they've done, but based on their talent level and their level of recruiting," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.
On Saturday the Jayhawks proved
that they could turn that raw talent into a finished product. Starting at the opening tip-off, they played with a poise that we've yet to see this year. charging out to an 11-2 lead.
"I don't think we've played a team as good as Florida since I've been at Kansas," coach Bill Self said. "They don't have any holes."
From there, the two heavyweights slugged it out for a total of 45 minutes, the kind of battle usually reserved for grainy black-and-white videos.
"I think it's probably the best game I've ever played in my life" he said. "It was just a battle to see who was going to get the last bucket."
Neither did Kansas, including a spectacular performance by Arthur, who looked like he'd played in a hundred big games, even if that's not exactly true.
Jayhawk crowd cheers in Vegas
Those baskets had a Las Vegas- esque quality to them, too. Wright threw down thunder dunks like it was going out of style.
The only question now is whether fans will be treated to an encore. As junior guard Russell Robinson soaked in the atmosphere after the game, there was only one thing he could compare it to.
None of that could distract,
though, from some of the best
basketball we'll get to see this year.
LAS VEGAS — This wasn't your normal college basketball atmosphere.
The 5,000 or so KU fans who descended on Las Vegas this weekend provided a healthy amount of noise, but nobody was confusing Allen Fieldhouse with the Orleans Arena.
"I probably won't have another one of those again unless we win the national championship," he said.
Kansas-Florida IP You don't need Don King to tell you that's a good idea.
the aisles taking drink orders while No. 12 Kansas defeated No.1 Florida on the court below.
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
Phillips is a Wichita senior in journalism.
Fans drawn to 'Allen Fieldhouse West'
The game opened with the "Jock Jams" CD blaring at full volume while the lights dimmed and spotlights
4
Scantily-clad shot girls roamed
Edited by Catherine Odson
danced around. The forced excitement didn't end there, as the song "YMCA" played during a time-out, and the announcer urged the crowd to "do it one more time with ENTHUSIISIIASM!"
"That's one thing about Kansas, we do travel. I think they were definitely worth some points tonight."
It'll take a couple more victories here before Sin City can wrestle that title from Manhattan, but Saturday's was a good place to start.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal was so impressed with the scene, the paper dubbed the arena "Allen Fieldhouse West."
After the game, the two-dozen Jayhawk fans lucky enough to score courtside seats came out to party with the team. Other fans
BILL SELF Coach
"That's one thing about Kansas, we do travel," coach Bill Self said. "I think they were definitely worth some points tonight."
It may not have been normal for Jayhawk fans, but they didn't seem to mind as they descended on Las Vegas in swarms this weekend. It was so similar to a home game that at one point the announcer gave up on being neutral and credited a basket to "your Kansas Jayhawks."
followed, and the court was full of revelers as sophomore forward Julian Wright accepted the tournament MVP award.
Robinson said.
"This is the first time I've ever been a part of storming the court," junior guard Russell
Self dissented, saying it was mostly locals who may have been taking advantage of Las Vegas" "no last call" policy.
"Obviously those weren't students at KU, because that won't happen at home," he said.
It may not have been a home game, but for one weekend Las Vegas felt like home to Jayhawk fans.
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
Sherron Collins, freshman guard, watches Florida's Walter Hodge, guard, in an attempt to steal the ball. Strong defense was a main factor in the victory against Florida.
Brandon Rush, sophomore guard, is fouled while attempting a layup during Saturday's game against Florida. Rush scored the critical baseline lay-up in the final minute of overtime.
from press row...
IT WAS OVER WHEN... Florida forward Al Horford fouled out with 341 remaining in overtime. With the Gators' leading rebounder out, the lane was left vulnerable for Kansas to dominate. Kansas responded with four rebounds. And without Horford's defensive presence inside, Kansas guard Mario Chalmers penetrated the lane and hit guard Brandon Rush under the basket for the go-ahead score to put Kansas up for good.
GAME BALL GOES TO...
No question – Julian Wright.
Without Wright in the first half,
Kansas could have been the
seventh opponent to fall victim
to a Florida beat-down this
season. He had 17 points and six
rebounds in the first half, alone.
He finished the game with a
double-double – 21 points and
10 rebounds – and added three
assists, three steals and a blocked
shot.
GAME TO FORGET...
Kansas center Sasha Kaun-Weeks ago Kansas fans crossed their fingers that Kaun would be able to return in time for the Florida game. His stat line on Saturday: 12 minutes, four fouls, 0-for-2 from the field. Kaun is obviously not yet 100 percent and shouldn't let a subpar performance against one of the top frontcourts in the nation take away from his amazing recovery from a knee injury.
STAT OF THE GAME...
NBA scouts were in attendance and can't complain that they didn't get to see enough of Kansas and Florida's star players. Of the 162 points scored between the Jayhawks and Gators, only six came from bench players. Kansas forward Darnell Jackson had four points and Florida forward Chris Richard had two points.
Shawn Shrown
Mario Chalmers, sophomore guard, shoots for a baked Kansas Davis florida in overtime.
Russell Robinson, junior guard drives the ball past during the last two seconds held on the victory kick.
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