2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
35
KANSAS 59 57 DAVIDSON
MARCH 30,2008
Jayhawks defy dropout spell
Hard defense against Davidson allows Kansas to revel in tight slide to Final Four spot
A last-second shot attempt leaves the hands of Davidson guard Jason Richards and floats toward the basket as the clock runs out in the Elite Eight game. Davidson trailed by two, 57-59, when the three-pointer went up. The ball missed wide left, ending Davidson's tournament run.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
DETROIT — One little piece of net wasn't enough.
Russell Robinson and Sherron Collins got their first true taste of NCAA tournament glory with one net-cutting ceremony, but they wanted more. Robinson, walking off the court in his Final Four hat and shirt after Kansas' 59-57 clinching victory against Davidson, told an administration member he wanted the net that was still hanging from the other basket.
"Russell, you should get that whole thing," Collins shouted.
Finally, the other net came down. Robinson took half of it, and Collins took the rest. They wore their prizes around their necks in the locker room.
"Looks real good," Robinson said.
He just sat and smiled. Collins bragged about how he had received 35 congratulatory text messages. No KU player or coach could hide his excitement, and why not? They'd earned a spot in the Final Four — the first for all the players, who had gone through two first round losses and an Elite Eight disaster last season, and the first for Kansas coach Bill Self after coming so close four other times.
"All that negative talk he had in the past," Darnell Jackson said about Self, "now we made it. Now we have a chance to make something happen."
Self climbed the ladder to the net after all the players and pumped his fists toward the crowd out of joy and out of relief. All the criticism from the first round losses and the failures in the Elite Eight had worn on him and his family. Players could tell Self had been stressing out since Friday night. He never thought he had to make the Final Four to validate himself as a great coach, but he wanted it badly.
"We've been so close so many times," Self said. "Even though we're always going to get good players at Kansas, this was the year this needed to happen for the immediate
future."
Funny how the postgame atmosphere could have been so different. Davidson gave the Jayhawks everything they expected after they watched the tape of the Wildcats rolling past higher seeds Georgetown and Wisconsin. With 16 seconds left Kansas clinging to a 59-57 lead, Davidson had the ball and an opportunity to win or tie the game.
Self had one main instruction for his players in the huddle: don't let Stephen Curry take a three-pointer. He'd rather they force Curry, the star of the tournament, to shoot a two or even foul him hard. Curry had the ball in his hands for most of the possession
until Collins, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush collapsed on him. He dumped it to Jason Richards, who missed an off-balanced three with Collins in his face.
"When he got rid of it," Self said, "I was happy."
Curry missed nine of 13 shots in the second half after scoring 15 points in the first 20 minutes. He started to struggle when the Jayhawks switched to a box and one and used Rush to defend Curry.
It was good for Kansas that its defense shut down Davidson. Otherwise, the game could've been significantly different. Outside of Sasha Kaun, who played the role of unlikely hero with 13 points on six of six shooting,
the Jayhawks never got into an offensive flow because of Davidson's double teams, pressure and an inability to force turnovers. Jackson said they were trying too hard.
"We wanted it so bad," he said. "There were a lot of guys so sped up."
Kansas wanted to win a sloppy one. Before the season started, Robinson said the coaches often talked about the importance of winning when they don't play at a high level. Earlier round games against Portland State, UNLV and Villanova provided few challenges, and the Jayhawks rolled.
"To win it all, don't you have to win one like this?" Self said. "Everybody has to go through this."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN