2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 4.2008
COMMENTARY
Focus is on Final Four,not Williams
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Former Kansas coach Roy Williams, right, and forward Drew Gooden, left, look on after UCLA built a lead during a Jan. 12, 2002, basketball game in Los Angeles.
If Kansas can defeat North Carolina tomorrow, it will advance to the National Championship Game. And amazingly, it seems as if that's a secondary goal to Jayhawk fans.
National Championship? Nah. No time to worry about that. Collectively, Jayhawk Nation is too preoccupied dreaming about getting back at big, bad Roy to enjoy what is a truly unique experience — the Final Four.
the Final Four.
Kansas has advanced this far only 13 times since the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1939. That's once every six years.
So why waste this once, maybe twice-a-decade excitement by fuming about something that was bound to happen? Especially when the person it's directed toward, North Carolina coach Roy Williams, has a lot to do with where the Kansas program is now, and especially when Williams is approaching the topic in the classiest way possible.
"I have the greatest love for a place that I gave my heart, my body and my soul for 15 years," Williams said at a press conference last weekend.
In 2004, the year after Williams left, it would be understandable if this game contained this amount of ir. But it's 2008 and five years later. It's time to get over it — it's even time to celebrate what Williams accomplished here.
By showing such hostility toward the Tar Heels, jayhawk fans are resembling exactly what they despise. Think about Kansas State basketball this season.
What was so frustrating about the Wildcats was that freshman phenomens Michael Beasley and Bill Walker weren't promising a run in the NCAA Tournament or a Big 12 Conference title. They were talking about beating Kansas.
That's all anyone in Manhattan cared about - Kansas, Kansas, Kansas. The Cats possessed a serious inferiority complex.
But at the end of it all, when Beasley was checking out of K-State's second round rout by Wisconsin, the Jayhawk fans took the high road. Those clad in blue at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., rose to their feet and gave the nation's best player a standing ovation.
And that was for Michael Beasley, who doesn't deserve nearly the same recognition from Kansas fans as Roy Williams does. Nine conference championships. Four Final Fours. 418 career victories. Yeah, Roy's accomplishments at Kansas should speak for themselves.
Don't let that inferiority complex creep southeast down 1-70, and don't think Roy Williams doesn't
look back fondly on those 15 years of dominance. Just ask the only guy who gets more television time than Barack Obama, Flo Rida and Eliot Spitzer combined: North Carolina junior forward Tyler Hansbrough.
"He's got a lot of memories there," Hansbrough said. "And a lot of good people that he knows from there. And he's got a lot of relationships."
True, but he should have even more good relationships in Lawrence. He should be recognized as another iconic figure in the linked history of Kansas and North Carolina basketball.
Dean Smith graduated from Kansas and went on to become arguably the greatest coach of all time at North Carolina. Larry Brown played at North Carolina
before winning a national championship as a coach at Kansas. Both schools are proud to be connected to Smith and Brown. Like it or not, Williams is the next legendary name in this cycle.
Agree or disagree, Williams had to take the chance and return to his alma mater to coach. It just natural to go back to where you came from. Tom Glavine went back to Atlanta to wear a Braves' uniform, Bruce Dickinson re-joined Iron Maiden and E.T. returned to well, wherever it was from.
But you get the point: The animosity towards Roy Williams should stop. Potentially, something a lot more important will be taking place.
Edited by Samuel Lamb
GUEST COMMENTARY
Players will decide game,not coaches
BY DANIEL PRICE
Assistant Sports Editor
The Daily Hooli
The Daily Tar Heel
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — I remember it like it was five years ago. Oh yeah. It was.
The United States had just taken control of Baghdad, ending the rule of Saddam Hussein. Jack Nicholson was psyching up Adam Sandler on the silver screen.
Roy Williams had just taken Kansas to the NCAA Championship, where the Jayhawks would lose to freshman phenom Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse.
Yes. It was that long ago.
Since that tear-filled day in April 2003 — I will reiterate, 2003 — the KU roster has flipped along with its student body. In fact, of the current Kansas players, only Jeremy Case was even
Carmelo Anthony is now well on his way to his second NBA All-Star Game. Saddam Hussein is more than a year removed from this planet. And Bill Self has taken Kansas to his first career Final Four, which tips off Saturday night in San Antonio.
And yes. He and the Jayhawks are set to face Roy Williams' Tar Heels squad. But honestly, why does that matter?
recruited by Williams, and he is averaging just five minutes per game. This is Bill Self's team. But even more so, these are the Kansas Jayhawks and they are playing the North Carolina Tar Heels.
And no matter how many years Williams spent in Lawrence, those years are now irrelevant. At the opening tip tomorrow night, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Russell Robinson, Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur will be taking the court against Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Marcus Ginyard, Deon Thompson and Tyler Hansbrough.
And they, along with the guys who check in at the scorer's table, will determine the outcome of the game.
The coaches will be, rightfully so, in the background. This game is about the players. And neither Self nor Williams would have you believe anything else. Both have said as much many times this week.
So the next time you want to hop back to 2003, just rent Anger Management. The only thing Williams might have wrong with that is the fact that he hasn't aged nearly as gracefully as Marissa Tomei.
— Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
quote of the day
"I hope that some good ol' Carolina barbecue and beer might help the mayor get through the game because it won't be easy against our Tar Heels."
fact of the day
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy
trivia of the day
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy sent locally brewed beer and North Carolina barbecue to Lawrence mayor Michael Dever today. Foy said he did it to promote friendly competition between the two schools.
Q: The University of North Carolina is known for producing famous pro basketball players. But two notable current ESPN personalities graduated from Chapel Hill. Who are they?
A: Sportscenter anchor Stuart Scott and baseball analyst Peter Gammons. Scott graduated in 1987, and Gammons graduated in 1969.
www.funtrivia.com
calendar
TODAY
Baseball vs. Baylor, 6:30 p.m.
Waco, Texas
Track, Texas Relays, All day,
Austin, Texas
SATURDAY
Soccer vs. Drake, 10:30 a.m.,
Tennis vs. Baylor, 11 a.m.,
Lawrence
Soccer vs. Iowa, 2:30 p.m., Lawrence
Softball vs. Baylor, 4 p.m., Waco, Texas
Baseball vs. Baylor, 6:30 p.m., Waco Texas
Men's basketball vs. North Carolina, 7:47 p.m., San Antonio
Track. Texas Relays, All day,
Austin, Texas
SUNDAY
Softball vs. Baylor, noon,
Tennis vs. Texas Tech, 11 a.m., Lawrence
Softball vs. Baylor, noon,
Waco, Texas
Baseball vs. Baylor, 1 p.m., Waco, Texas
Women's golf, Susie Maxwell
Berning Classic, All day, Norman,
Okla.
What do you think?
BY JASON BAKER, ALEX GARRY AND AMRUTA BHADKAMKA
LINSIE ERIKSEN Denver senior
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS TOWARD UNC COACH ROY WILLIAMS?
ANDY SPALDING St. Louis junior
"I don't have a problem with Roy because I love Bill Self. But Tyler Hansbrough looks like a tadpole."
"When he left, I was resilient because I thought it was for the money. But I still respect him and he's a good coach. I can understand why he wanted to go home to North Carolina."
KRISTINA LUPERCIO Overland Park sophomore "He did a lot for Kansas, and people need to appreciate him instead of talking bad about him. It's Bill Self's team now."
JOE FINKELSTEIN
SERINA HEIKES
Oberlin senior
Hopkins, Minn., sophomore "He looked better at KU with brown hair than at UNC with the white-washed hair."
"I don't hate him like most people do. I'm over him leaving and ready to meet him again - and beat him."
ERICA GRONAU Newton sophomore "We had a tradition going that he was a part of and then he screwed us over."
DALLAS SCHMITENDORF Lawrence sophomore
"Ive got no hard feelings. Everyone's pretty bitter about it, but he gave us a lot of great years. You can't blame him for leaving for his alma mater."
JESSE WILLIAMS Wichita senior
"I hate him. I hope he never wins a national championship (at North Carolina). I hope he never shows his face in Kansas again."
AARON SIEMERS Derby senior
"I really appreciate what he did for KU, but I am a little bitter about the way he left, so I would like to see the Jayhawks beat them."
✓
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