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2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
MARCH 3,2008
Seniors' fieldhouse farewell
Senior guard Jeremy Case shares the spotlight with his parents before Monday's Senior Night game against Texas Tech. Kansas would go on to defeat the Red Raiders 109-51, giving the seniors a nice sendoff.
Big victory against Texas Tech tops off a memorable Senior Night
Jon Goerina/KANSAN
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
One by one they moved on.
David Padgett left for Louisville and an opportunity to play on the wing. Omar Wilkes transferred to Cal to play closer to home. J.R. Giddens' questionable off-court decisions paved the way for his exodus to New Mexico.
Jeremy Case, the other member of that recruiting class, lasted through all of it and a redshirt year in the 2004-2005 season. It wasn't easy. Case would be lying if he told you thoughts of quitting and leaving Kansas never entered his mind.
"The guys in my class," Case said, "they made me think about it a lot."
Case may not have ever gained a consistent role in his career, but his perseverance paid off in Kansas' 109-51 victory against Texas Tech on Senior Night. In his last home game, Case, a fifth-year senior, made three three-pointers in a stretch of two minutes and helped turn Kansas' routine romp against the Red Raiders into a record display of senior power.
Case, Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun, Rodrick Stewart and Darnell Jackson went out with a bang, and led the Jayhawks to their largest margin of victory in a conference game ever. The seniors combined for 50 points.
"I got goosebumps," Case said. "I can't even describe it."
Case came to Kansas in 2003 as a member of Roy Williams' final recruiting class. Fans heard how he made 45 percent of his treys in high school and immediately thought Case could be the second coming of Jeff Boschee.
Somehow, it didn't quite work out for Case. He drew iron or sometimes even nothing at all when he checked into the game for short playing bursts his first season.
That act continued throughout Case's career. He's never made more than 14 three-pointers in a season, while getting fewer minutes than any scholarship player.
Case could've gone to a smaller school and found more playing time, but that's just not the type of person he is. He learned he could help the team through practice and during his limited minutes, so he began to embrace the role. Case didn't want to leave like Padgett, Wilkes and Giddens did.
"Every team is going to have players that don't play as much as they want to play," Kansas coach Bill Self said, "but what gives you a chance to be a great team is if those guys are great teammates. If those guys are great teammates, they get the big picture, and Jeremy certainly gets the big picture."
Case said he couldn't have scripted a better ending to his career at Allen Fieldhouse. The day went by slowly for Case until the afternoon. That's when he started getting nervous for his final game.
Case's butterflies showed early. He missed his first two three-point attempts and said he felt exhausted after playing the first few minutes of the game. But in the second half, as Max Falkenstein said after the game, Case found the zone.
Kansas led 77-36 with 10:31 left in the game. Case proceeded to make a threepointer on three of the Jayhawks' next four possessions. After he sunk his last long ball, he handed out two assists. The run sparked by Case extended the KU lead to 93-40 with 7:14 remaining.
Kansas played brilliantly on offense all night. The Jayhawks scored a season-high 109 points, made 14 three-pointers and shot an absurd 59.7 percent for the game. Heck, the walk-ons came in with about six minutes left and still ran up the score.
"I could've taken Kobe tonight," Robinson said, referring to Lakers star Kobe Bryant. "Brennan Bechard could've taken Kobe tonight. Everybody was playing today."
Self talked earlier in the season about peaking at the right time, in late February
and early March. After back-to-back solid performances, Kansas might be doing just that.
"Just in this six-day stretch," Self said, "we've looked like a totally different team."
Regardless of how much he played in the next month, Case knew the end of his final season would be special. He was glad he'd stuck around through the tough times. Now, Case said he was happy to have years of memories and connections that would help him make it in his planned coaching career.
"I'm going to always be a Jayhawk," Case said. "It's in my blood now."
That's something all five seniors can say. Self said this class, the first one he's ever coached from the beginning to end at any of his coaching stops, matured in times of adversity to turn into one of the most successful classes in school history.
"To see them go through tough times," Self said, "and rally around each other, I take great pride in that ... We couldn't have a better group of guys to represent us."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN