2B
the university daily kansan
men's basketball
monday,april 5,2004
The best and worst of 2003-04 season
As Kansas fans were forced to once again soak up tears prematurely when the men's basketball season came to an end, there were plenty of ways to put a positive spin on an up-and-down, adventure of a season.
It seems like years ago when Kansas took its first loss of the season to the Stanford Cardinal in Anaheim, Calif. The Jayhawks looked rough that day and it seemed as though nothing could go their way. As Kansas limped to a 64-58 loss, fans immediately yearned for the days of old, when Roy's Boys would run the opponent out of the gym. This high-low stuff Bill Self brought west from Champaign, Ill., looked like it was no fun at all.
As the season grew older, there were still plenty of highs and lows that made this a spring to remember and also forget.
No.3 Worst Moment—In Ames, Iowa, the Jayhawks looked to have the game in hand with an eight-point halftime lead. It looked as though someone slipped sedatives into the Jayhawks' water bottles, though, as Iowa State thoroughly whipped its nationally ranked opponent during the entire second half. After the game, there was yelling and throwing of objects in the locker room, and it started a four-game road losing streak. Not pretty at all.
No.3 Best Moment — The range of emotions displayed in the rematch with Iowa State in Allen Fieldhouse made for an unbelievable game. First, fan-favorite J.R. Giddens exploded for a career-high 24 points, including seven three-pointers. As each of his shots fell, the roof at the Fieldhouse came closer to blowing off. The Jafhawks looked on their way to sweet revenge with a 41-28 halftime lead, but the Cyclones made things interesting in the second half. Iowa State came back and Keith Langford missed a three at the buzzer as the game was sent to overtime. Kansas went on to win, but other than maybe the Michigan State game, it was the best atmosphere all season for a Kansas home game.
No. 2 Worst Moment - Few losses were as humbling as Kansas' loss at Nebraska in February. The Huskers could not seem to miss a shot, and they controlled the paint, which is never easy against Kansas. Part of the problem was that Jeff Graves was in street clothes on the bench because Bill Self questioned his commitment to the program. This was the low-point of the conference season.
sports commentary
Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
No.2 Best Moment—In the Big 12 Conference Tournament, Kansas unleashed one of the finest beatings on the Missouri Tigers in school history. The Jayhawks scored 59 of their 94 points in the second half, and the Tigers looked helpless all along. Wayne Simien scored a career-high 31 points, and had never looked more dominant in a Kansas uniform. Jeff Graves was his usual postseason-self with 14 points, and J.R. Giddens provided the emotion. This was one of the final stops in Missouri's downward spiral that was the 2003-04 season.
No.1 Worst Moment — A loss at home? A loss at home against Richmond? Believe it. There's no problem with the occasional loss in the Fieldhouse, but this one had fans far and wide wondering how good this Kansas team really was. Give Richmond some credit though, because it was a good game. Tony Dobbins jumper in the lane with two seconds left to win the game was one of college basketball's best moments of the season, but for the crowd at the Fieldhouse, it was true heartbreak.
No.1 Best Moment — He's the butt of a lot of stupid jokes and ridiculed by fans sometimes for playing too much like a freshman, but David Padgett provided Kansas fans with the greatest moment in years. In the final game at Missouri's Hearnes Center, the stage was set for Kansas to rip the hearts out of the Tiger players, coaches and fans.
With the game tied at 82 in front of a national television audience, Padgett got the ball on the baseline with just seconds left. He turned and tried to bounce the ball off the rim so someone could tip it back in, but the ball went in instead, and he went from scapegoat to hero with just one shot. After the game, it was the happiest he had looked after any contest this season. Heck, I even remember my jaw dropping as I saw the shot go in. No matter what Padgett goes on to do in his career at Kansas and even afterward, that shot will live in Kansas lore for years and years. Thanks for the memories, DP.
- Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., senior in journalism
NOV.25,2003
The year
No. 6 Kansas - 81 No. 3 Michigan State - 74 The Jayhawks were impressive in the most anticipated home game of the season. Aaron Miles hit eight free throws, with most of them coming down the stretch to secure the victory. Wayne Simien led all scorers with 28 points, and grabbed eight rebounds. Defensively, the Jayhawks held Michigan State's biggest star, forward Paul Davis, to just 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting. It was Kansas' first win over the Spartans in nearly 17 years, and vaulted the Jayhawks to a No. 1 national ranking.
A fired-up Wayne Simien and Jeff Graves embrace after a non-called foul against Simien.
John Nowak/Kansan
Richmond – 69 No.12 Kansas – 88 If there was one game fans would take back from the regular season, this would more than likely be it. Kansas' only home loss of the year came as a shock, but the Richmond Spiders played one of their best games of the season. Led by Mike Skroki's 23 points, Richmond rarely led, but hung around all night. Then, with just
JAN.22, 2004
seconds left, Tony Dobbins' jumper in the lane sealed the Jayhawks' fate. Kansas' 18.2 percent performance from three-point range and 35.6 percentage from the floor certainly didn't help.
Richmond-69 No.12 Kansas-68
Richmond's Mike Skrocki and Jamaal Scott swat a beat by Kansas forward Jeff Graves in the first half of the Jayhawks' 69-68 last-second loss to the Spiders in Allen Fieldhouse. Graves netted 6 points in 18 minutes while Skrocki led all scorers with 23.
Eric Braem/Kansan
NOV 21, 2003 NOV.25 DEC.1 DEC.6 DEC.10 DEC.15 DEC.20 DEC.21 DEC.29 JAN.22,2003 JAN.31
DEC.6,2003
No.21 Stanford -64 No.1 Kansas -58 Kansas' top spot in the rankings did not last long as they were handled all afternoon by Stanford's depth. The Jayhawks shot just 18-of-49 from the floor, including hitting just 3-of-20 from three-point range. Even though Stanford never played particularly well, Kansas could not establish any offensive rhythm. Cardinal guard Matt Lottich eventually broke the Jayhawks by hitting five three-pointers and helped give Kansas coach Bill Self his first loss as the Jayhawks' leader.
DEC.21 2003
Nevada----75 No.6 Kansas----61
Nevada - 75 No. 6 Kansas - 81
In their second game in two days in Reno, Nev., the Jayhawks took their second major tumble of the season. There were simply no answers for a Nevada squad that was red-hot from the floor and never slowed down. Kirk Snyder led the way for the Wolfpack with 29 points as the Jayhawks tried to play catch-up from beyond the arc.
Kansas was unsuccessful, hitting just 3-of-18 attempts and suffering a surprising loss.
JAN.31,2004
Kansas - 01
One of the worst second halves the Jayhawks played all year resulted in their first conference loss of the season.
Despite another double-digit assist performance from Miles and 20 points from Langford, Iowa State never went away.
Keyed by a combined 36 points from guards Curtis Stinson and Jake Sullivan along with Jackson Vroman's presence inside, Kansas looked helpless. The loss began a four-game road losing streak for the Jayhawks.
Iowa State - 68 No.15 Kansas - 61
Kansas guard Aaron Miles cuts to the hole past Iowa State forward Jared Homan. Miles had just 3 points but dished out 11 assists.
Eric Braem/Kansan
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