THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2008
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SPORTS
3B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Legacy four years in the making for Kansas seniors
BY MARK DENT
mdent@kansan.com
Laughter could wait. Jeremy Case had to keep playing his role.
He sat in the corner of the locker room at Ford Field, surrounded by Matt Kleinmann, Chase Buford, Brad Witherspoon, Brennan Bechard, Conner Teahan and Tyrel Reed. They staged a fake interview, and Case was the subject.
"Mr. Case," Buford asked, "in your own personal opinion, how old is Stephen Curry?"
"That's a good question," Case replied, holding back while his teammates cracked up. "Now this is off the record, but I'd say 14."
He finally gave in and started laughing.
These are happy times for Case and his other four senior teammates, guard Russell Robinson, forward Darnell Jackson, center Sasha Kaun and guard Rodrick Stewart. After going through four years of gut-wrenching tournament losses, they're at the Final Four in San Antonio. By Sunday or Tuesday at the latest, their Kansas careers will have come to an end. For now, they're savoring their last days and counting on their senior experience to help Kansas reach the ultimate goal of winning a national title.
"Not too many people get to experience this, even going to the Final Four," Stewart said. "I'm still in awe of that. But to win the whole thing? Pshh. You're talking about making history, man. That's big right there."
Jackson never paid close attention to the Final Four until his sophomore year of high school. That year, 2002, he watched Drew Gooden and the Jayhawks against Maryland from his home in Oklahoma City. After watching Gooden, he asked his mom, Shawn, if she ever thought he
could make it that far.
She just laughed.
During the past three years, Shawn's reaction seemed justified. Jackson and his senior teammates seemed destined to never make it to the final weekend. As freshmen, they sat on the bench together and watched a vaunted Kansas senior class get shocked by Bucknell in the first round. They didn't learn and fell to Bradley the next season.
"Losing in the first round hurts," Jackson said. "It hurts a lot."
Last season,
Jackson sensed that this time it would be different. He told Case before they left for the second weekend of the tournament in San Jose that
"They know at Kansas we're measured at a high level and they want to go out as being recognized as one of the winningest classes," coach Bill Self said earlier this season. "It's hard to do that if you win Big 12 tiles and don't go to the Final Four."
but they needed something more to secure their place in history. They needed a Final Four.
"But to win the whole thing? Pssh. You're talking about making history, man. That's big right there."
The magical run for the seniors started in the Villanova game last
RODRICK STEWART Senior guard
they were going to make the Final Four. Instead, Kansas lost another heartbreaker, this time to UCLA in the Elite Eight.
The losses weren't the worst part either. Jackson went through several well-documented tragedies and a suspension for receiving improper benefits. Stewart struggled to adjust after transferring from Southern California and lost his brother to murder two months ago. Robinson had a bad case of homesickness his freshman year. Case dealt with a redshirt season and playing for a coach that didn't recruit him, and Kaun battled inconsistency problems.
"Just going through stuff like that makes you tougher and brings you closer," Stewart said.
After all the turmoil, the seniors had one final March run to put it all together. They'd already won four Big 12 titles and three conference tournament championships,
ter Cole Aldrich heard another senor, Robinson, make a promise.
Friday. Kansas had won two games already, but the seniors started making a difference that night. Before they ran on the court, Stewart told Jackson this couldn't be their last game. Freshman cen-
"I'm not going to let him score on me," Robinson declared, speaking about Villanova star Scottie Reynolds.
Reynolds didn't score until Kansas already held a big lead. Robinson poured in 13 points in the first half.
Another senior, Kaun, stepped up against Davidson two days later. Kaun admitted that he didn't quite understand the importance of the NCAA Tournament in previous seasons. The guy had only been playing ball in America for about six years. He fully understood it this time because of the sting of last year's Elite Eight loss, so much that he riled the team up in the locker room then backed up his talk with a game-saving 13-point, six-rebound performance.
He couldn't have done that
last season. Robinson probably wouldn't have played with the same desire either. They did it because they were seniors.
"I don't think you could ever tell a junior that a senior cares more than you until next year when he's a senior," Self said. "And then he'll say I cared more than I did because there's no safety net. There is no next year for these guys, so for all these seniors who have given their heart and soul to the program, there is certainly a different feel than if they have a safety net."
Now they're in San Antonio. They're in the Final Four, the goal that seemed so far away after those first round losses and the Elite Eight disappointment.
Next week, they might be champions or they might not. The only guarantee is that they'll be finished with their KU careers. All five seniors are on pace to graduate in May and go their separate ways from there. Case, Kaun, Robinson and Stewart all want to pursue professional careers. Jackson could be a pro if he wants, but he maintains that he's always thought about helping out in Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations after school.
They try to think about the end as little as possible and say they're going to miss the team camaraderie and the fans the most when it's finally over.
But that's the thing. They're not through yet.
They have one more weekend to add to their legacy and mostly to enjoy being a Jayhawk one final time in the place they've dreamt of being for four years.
"From what I hear," Robinson said, "no matter how successful you are at the next level, this is going to be the time that is most memorable for you."
Edited by Russell Davies