4B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2007
Calendar of memorable events
A month-by-month breakdown of the 2006-07 men's basketball season
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
At the University of Kansas there are two seasons: basketball season and the offseason. The 2006-07 team offered plenty of excitement, as the Jayhawks won the Big 12 Conference title on its way to a 33-5 final record, the fourth-most victories in school history. Not everything was as smooth as a Brandon Rush dunk. Like any team, this year's Jayhawks had to grow into their roles.
October 2006
At 4:45 a.m. most students were asleep. Not Russell Robinson.
Robinson's alarm told him it was time to walk to Allen Fieldhouse for Boot Camp, coach Bill Self's preseason strength and conditioning program.
After visiting the trainer's room to tend to some minor injuries, Robinson was ready to begin the
hour-long practice. It was not a standard practice, though. There were no breaks, as players moved from station to station to do various activities, none of which involved a basketball.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"I think I've been as hard on them this year than I have any time as far as what they're doing out there," Self said. "There's been other years where I've been verbally more like a drill sergeant. But these guys have responded pretty well, and they're in pretty good shape."
soiphomore guard Brandon Rush and junior Rock Chalk Dancer Clara Simmons entertain the fans at Late Night in the Phog last October.
Two weeks later, fans got their first opportunity to see the team at Late Night in the Phog. A rusty scrimmage didn't seem to bother the capacity crowd, which enjoyed the atmosphere and the dancing.During the 20-minute exhibition, one player gave a hint at what the coaches might see from him later in the season.
"I thought Sherron, without question, was one of the best players out there," Self said. "He made things happen."
The month ended on a sour note for the Jayhawks, as junior forward C.J. Giles was dismissed from the team following a variety of personal and academic problems. His absence cleared the way for the team to pick up another player, junior walk-on Brad Witherspoon. Giles transferred to Oregon State, where he will be eligible to play in December of next season.
November
different. Kansas defeated Ball State 64-46 with some largely uninspired basketball.
After defeating Washburn, Emporia State and Northern Arizona to start the season, Kansas was caught off guard by a red-hot Oral Roberts team. The Golden Eagles took away the Jayhawks' No. 3 national ranking, and left them looking for answers just four days before the Las Vegas Invitational.
That night at the hotel, Russell Robinson and Julian Wright led a players-only meeting to allow the team to voice its frustrations. As the players gathered in the hallway outside their rooms, things began to get heated.
In Sin City, things weren't much
"Everybody was pretty much angry and upset with a lot of things." Robinson said.
The players talked through a
variety of issues, including relations with the coaching staff. Self had said that the players weren't playing a mature team game. Instead, they were all trying to play their own game, which turned into more frustration.
"They haven't been real happy with me," he said. "And I haven't really been happy with them."
About 15 minutes later, after everyone had a chance to speak, the meeting ended. The next day, the Jayhawks defeated the No. 1 Florida
Gators 82-80 in overtime.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Five players finished with double-digit points, including 21 from Julian Wright and 19 from Darrell Arthur as the Jayhawk big men held their own against Florida's talented trio inside the paint.
Arthur was in the starting line-up in place of the injured Sasha Kaun. Kaun played 12 minutes of the Florida game as he began to come back from a knee injury and remerge as a starter. In Las Vegas, the spotlight belonged to Arthur, who captured the attention of NBA scouts in the building with his mature play.
Sophomore forward Julian Wright soars above Florida's big men for a dunk in the Jayhawk's 82-80 overtime victory at the Las Vegas invitational.
"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."
December
This is typically a slow month in college basketball as teams take finals week off and then schedule lightly during Christmas and New Year's.
The Jayhawks gave themselves an early present before breaking for the holidays, defeating Boston College 84-66. The 18-point victory was also the perfect opportunity for Kansas to try something new: a zone defense.
After getting in foul trouble early, Self kept his players away from danger by moving to the zone,a rare sight in Allen Fieldhouse.
"We had been practicing the zone the whole break, and I think we ran it pretty well," Brandon Rush said.
Even with the 3-2 zone available to the team, Self didn't use it much the rest of the season, which was not unexpected. Most teams use the style of defense sparingly, if at all.
Kansas was also beginning to see contributions from freshman guard Sherron Collins. After arriving at Kansas more than 15 pounds overweight, the training staff put him on
a grueling regimen of diet and exercise. The results began to pay off, as Collins came back from winter break with, as Self put it, "more energy than ever"
The Jayhawks finished off the non-conference schedule without difficulty, defeating Detroit 63-43 and Rhode Island 80-69 in the type of games that made fans eager for the big games to arrive.
January 2007
At the beginning of the month, Self called Darnell Jackson into his office.
The coach had noticed that Jackson wasn't playing like himself on the court and asked him what was bothering him. Instead of just one thing, Jackson told him about the string of tragedies that had affected his family.
"Ever since I got here," he said.
"From my uncle getting killed, my grandpa and grandma dying, my mom getting in a wreck, and my cousin being shot and killed in a drive-by. It was just a whole bunch of stuff, and it was eating me up on the inside, because I was holding it all in."
After opening up, Jackson felt a weight lift off his shoulders and started playing some of his best basketball of the season. He used his body to create a physical presence in the paint, averaging a rebound every three minutes.
Had Sasha Kaun not secured the starting spot earlier in the season, Jackson would have made a serious run at the position.
"You can't measure him in points," Self said. "He makes a lot of smart, subtle plays."
Those plays were especially evident during the stretch late in January where Kansas blew out every team it faced. Following a loss to Texas Tech, Kansas responded by beating Baylor, Colorado and Nebraska by 26, 23 and 20 points, respectively.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Darnell Jackson, junior forward, sneaks around a Boston College defender to make the easy dunk. The Jayhawks defeated the Eagles 84-66 at Allen Fieldhouse in December. Jackson scored 11 points for Kansas.