Special Section
THE FINAL FOUR
Second row, from left: Marvin Mattox, Mike Maddox, Chris Piper, Danny Manning, Sean Alvarado, Mark Randall, Keith Harris and Lincoln Minor. Front row, from left: Clint Normore, Kevin Pritchard, Milt Newton, Scooter Barry and Jeff Gueldner.
Role players shine in postseason games
By Anne Luscombe
Kansan sports editor
The Kansas Jayhawks. Directed by Larry Brown. Starring: Danny Manning. Also featuring: everyone else.
That is what the playbill has read all season for the Jayhawks. It wasn't until the postseason tournaments that the role players on the Kansas team finally got noticed. The team still centered on superstar Manning, but other little stars began to twinkle and shine. The emergence of the role players had become evident.
A little spark here and there had warned opponents that there was more to Kansas than just Manning. Forwards Milt Newton and Chris Piper effectively had shut down several key players, most notably Kansas State's Mitch Richmond. Newton held him to 11 points both at Manhattan and in the Midwest Regional Championship game in Pontiac, Mich. Newton also stepped forward as an offensive threat against Oklahoma State in the Big Eight Tournament, scoring 29 points against the Cowboys and dishing off seven assists against Vanderbilt.
Piper made his presence known against
vanderbill on the boards by pulling down 10 rebounds. Forward Keith Hammade made two key steals against the Wildcats in Pontiac. And in Kansas City during the Big Eight Tournament, forward Mike Maddox came out and three in three-pointerers that helped spark the Jayhawks.
But it was Scooter Barry, one of the last of the role players to hit the limelight, who helped round out the team. His 15 point, three assist and five rebound performance earned him the Most Valuable Player award in the regional championship game.
Finally, with only one assured game left and a possibility of another, the role players are fitting into the carefully developed scheme. After 12 lineup changes, the
team has settled into one that works.
"I think that anyone who looks at Kansas and doesn't see a team is not a good critic." Barry said. "Anyone who knows basketball knows one man is not a team. Four or five guys have tried to stop Danny and we have still won the game. But that's a credit to Danny and Danny, because the player is unstoppable. The role of the other players is to do what we are capable of doing, not trying to stretch themselves."
"In the beginning, everything was so hectic it was hard to understand what our role was," Maddox said. "But over the last month and a half, we've settled in and become closer as a team. That's been a big factor."
factor:
Brown was just as surprised as the fans who watched the Jayhawks win a berth in the Final Four that the team that had suffered so much adversity was finally clicking.
"I wasn't smart enough to realize it until the injuries and defections," Brown said. "The chemistry was such a factor. I've never seen Danny so relaxed, and that's because of the kids he's playing with."
But it was on these role players that Brown had spent much of his time, shaping them into the caliber of player that can compete in the Final Four.
“There were a lot of kids that were not listening, so they weren’t playing. Those that listened played,” he said. “Look at Milt, he’s so fiercely loyal. Jeff (Gueldner) is so conscientious. Lincoln (Minor) has really grown up and Keith has made a great turnaround.”
Success has come in the form of NCAA tournament victories and cohesion in defense. Kansas is ranked fourth nationally in team field-goal-percentage defense. And it is here that the other Jayhawks know they must excel.
we known we're a team, not just Danny," Gueldner said. "He might score the points but somebody has to give him the ball and defend. Hopefully, by getting to this point, people are aware that we are more than a one-man team. When Danny only scored 20 points against K-State (in the regionals), the others picked up the slack."
The role players have their mission — get the ball to Manning, get the rebounds, play strong defense and, if Manning is not open, take the shot. Their job isn't to be flashy; they are the blue collar workers of the basketball team.
"We do the little things that go unnoticed." said guard Kevin Pritchard. "We play defense and really concentrate on trying to make the game easier for Danny. We just play as hard as we can. Why we do so well is because we don't care who gets the attention."
Perhaps that attitude is why the role players, those other four players on the court, are overlooked, both by opponents and fans.
"I think that to the common fan watching the game, role playing is not a big thing in their minds," Barry said. "They go to watch the flashy things, the outstanding plays. A great example is our team. Every player has his role, especially since we've dwindled away to what we have now.
"The NCAA tournament is the perfect example of people stepping forward. Look at Milt. And Kevin is playing point guard, which is out of his position. Jeff's been starting Milt steps in and does an incredible job of filling in for Archie. Those are big shoes for Milt to fill. He has become an offensive threat inside and outside. He plays a well rounded game. Of course, Danny has been a constant to lean on, which helps us to relax more. It's a great feeling — this molding together. Team defense, rebounding and Danny Manning. Three great ingredients to have to be in the Final Four."
Diploma will be the best reward for mother who reared all-around man
By Joel Zeff
Kansan staff writer
Among the dozens of basketball awards, magazine covers and family pictures that fill Darnell Manning's home, there is one empty space saved for her son's college diploma.
"Some people said that he would have so much money if he left school that he could buy a college, but that's not an education," Manning said. "I want him to have an education. We always told the children that once they started something they would finish it."
A smile sneaked onto Darnelle Manning's face as she began to talk about the No. 1 college basketball player in the nation. But to her he is just her son, Dan Manning.
"With all the things he's done and accomplished, I don't think of him as Dan the star." Darnelle said. "Dan is just Danny. I'll be prouder of him when he walks down the Hill than with the fame and glory."
"I told him to take the money and go," Darnelle said. "He was
Darnelle, a kindergarten teacher at Deerfield School, remembers the day during Danny's junior year when he was thinking about leaving school to become a professional basketball player.
One evening, Danny sat down with Darnelle and asked her opinion about leaving school to play pro basketball.
"When I saw the baby for the first time, he smiled," she said. "Everyone said that he didn't smile, but I know that he smiled at me. From then, I knew he was a special little boy."
shocked; he didn't know what to say. I asked him what he would have if he left school, and he said money. I asked him what he would have if stayed in school. He talked about a college degree, a national championship and the Olympics."
"All my preaching that good things come to those who wait is coming true this week," she said. "I think it was for me that I feel that it was just rushed to be."
Looking at the photographs of
Darnelle said that after her talk with Danny, he understood the importance of staying in college. She said that because of his decision to stay in school he would reap the benefits.
Danny Manning escorts his mother, Darnelle, to center court in Allen Field House before the last home game this season.
However, everything in Darnelle's life didn't fall into place as easily as Kansas' trip to Kansas City and the Final Four.
She had graduated from Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., married Ed Manning, now an assistant basketball coach for KU, and was pregnant with Danny.
The night Danny was born, Darnelle knew she had given birth to a special child.
Darnelle said that it was hard on the family when Ed moved from team to team but that it was more important for her to keep the family together.
Growing up in a small town in Mississippi, Darnelle was conditioned to believe that when a couple met, they would spend the morning and returned at night.
Ed Manning had been drafted by the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA and was on the road extensively during the first years of Danny's life. That meant Darnelle would have to raise Danny and his sister Dawn, a freshman at KU, by herself.
"Danny and I grew up together," Darnelle said. "I had never been away from home, I had never seen an apartment, and I didn't know anybody. When Danny was a baby I would hold his eyes open so that he wouldn't go to sleep. I didn't want alone. I had to learn a lot back then."
"I had a rude awakening. It was hard to accept the fact that Ed was leaving. I cried and told him that he had two babies, and he couldn't leave to play basketball. After he left, I realized that I could do it."
Danny on the wall, Darnelle smiled and began to remember the pain and love of raising two children by herself.
During Danny's childhood, Dar-
nene took the place of Ed by takin him to father-son functions, to his ballgames and to sporting events.
"I always had to explain that Ed loved him, he just couldn't be there all the time. I decided that since Dan had a part-time father, I would be a full-time mother."
Darnelle emphasized the importance of friends, education and family when Danny and Dawn were growing up. Everything she taught Danny about life would stay with him during his basketball career.
"Danny never lost that he was part of the team," said Kansas coach Larry Brown. "So much the way Danny is and the way he acts on the court is from his family."
If there is one thing that Darnelle Manning taught Danny, it was the fact that she loved and cared for him.
"A lot of children don't know that their parents love them," she said. "One thing Dan always knew was that we loved him. He didn't always do things that we liked, but we loved him."
Darnelle remembers times when Danny wasn't the star or the perfect basketball player that pro scouts idolize. She remembers the Danny Manning who at one time would lie about not having any homework and then would spend his time playing ball instead of studying.
Like a coach benching a player for
"I told Dan that the coaches care about the team, but I care about you the person and not you the basketball player," Darnelle said. "I was determined that Dan wasn't just going to be an athlete but an all-around person."
Danny is the first person to acknowledge where his team attitude
disobedience, Darnelle would take sports away from Danny if he didn't study.
and unselfish play on the court have stemmed from.
"It's meant a lot for me to have my mom there all the time," Danny said. "It's meant a lot to her for me to stay in college and get a degree. She's always the one that was there when Dad wasn't."
Still gazing at the photographs and awards lining the room, Darnelle
See DARNELLE. p. 4B col. 1