DEVILS University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, April 2, 1991 The Title: Opportunity Lost 9 Devils clip Jayhawks' wings Frustration mounts as shots miss Kansas' Mark Randall misses a dunk but draws a foul from Duke's Brian Davis. Randall scored 18 points last night. By S. J. Bailey Kansan sportswriter INDIANAPOLIS — The fairy tale season is over. The Kansas basketball team's Cinderella quest for an NCAA title came to an abrupt end last night. Their carriage transformed into a fiery spectacle before the stroke of midnight in Indianapolis. The Duke Blue Devils, who lost the title in an embarrassing blowout to UNLV last year, redeemed themselves with a 72-65 victory against the Kansas Jawhaws. "The only team in America that wouldn't trade places with Kansas right now is Duke," a puffy-eyed Roy Williams said after the game. "I've never been around a group of kids that I have been as proud of as those in that locker room." The Jayhawks trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before scaring the Blue Devils with a little more than a minute left to play in the game. But Kansas' problems started in the first half as Duke jumped out to an early 9-3 lead that it would never relinquish. But most of the Jayhawks shots simply would not fall. They made numerous layups Kansas twice pulled to within one point at 11-10 and 26-25, both on three-pointers by senior guard Terry Brown. "You put pressure on the other team by scoring." Maddox said. "We couldn't hit the easy shots, and it's tough to come back and win against the team if you can't make the easy baskets." Duke continued to fire away at the Jay- cock and increased their advantage to 42-34 at halftime. Senior forward Mike Maddox said the missed#7 shots frustrated the Jayhawks at 14-6. Senior forward Mark Randall and Duke's Christian Laettern provided the offensive firepower for their teams in the first 20 minutes of action. "We came out flat and just could not get into our game." junior forward Olonzo Jamison said. "They weren't doing anything special defensively. The shots just wouldn't The Blue Devils scorched the Jayhawks in the first half, hitting 13 of 22 shots from the floor for 59 percent. Kansas ended the period making only 4 of 31 shots for 45 percent. Laetnet scored 18 points, including a perfect 12 of 12 from the free throw line, matching Randall's 18 points on seven-of-nine shooting from the field. As they had done on numerous occasions during the season and in the tournament, Kansas charged at Duke during the opening minutes of the second half. The Jayhawks cut the lead to 44-40 before the Blue Devils began to answer every Jayhawk bucket. "We made a run early and started to play Kansas basketball." Jamison said. "But they started matching us basket for basket. They killed our run with about 15 minutes left." But then the Jayhawks stopped themselves. A Richard Scott tip-in at the 12:46 mark preceded a five-minute scoring drought that ended with a Kirk Wagner basket with only seven minutes remaining. After the card opens, Jackie asks, At that point, the Jayhaws could have folded up their tents and gone home but instead had one more trump card left to play. Trailing 70-59 with 10 remaining, two baskets by sophomore guard Adonis Jordan and one by junior guard Sean Tunstall, each after Duke turnovers, turn out to the lead 70-65. But Duke would seal the victory seconds later as Brian Davis pounded the final nail into the Javhawk's championship coffin. Williams said he thought the Blue Devils deserved the championship after playing a Duke reacted to everything we threw at them," he said. "This team has played with poise all season, but there were a few times tonight I thought we lost our poise for a moment. But as much as it was Kansas not doing the things it had to in order to win, it was also a case of Duke executing very well." Randall led the Jayhawks with 18 points and 10 rebounds, a performance that was good enough to put him on the 1901 Final Four team. He had three rebounds in the game with 16 points, and Jordan added 11. Duke was led by Laettten, named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. He scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Reserve guard Bill McCaffrey added 16, and scored 12 points. The Jayhawks will return tomorrow afternoon for a rally at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Due to the rally, classes between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. have been canceled. Kansas is blue after Duke loss By S. J. Bailey Kansan sportswriter INDIANAPOLIS - For many members of the Kansas basketball team, last night's loss to the Duke Blue Devils was a painful reminder of the agony that can accompany the ectasy of playing college basketball. "How much does this hurt?" a bleary-eyed Alonzo Jamison asked himself in the locker room after the game. "I can't even put it into words right now." Jamison said that although the Jayhawks came in second in the quest for a national title, that would "Not when we had first place right in our hands," he said. Senior forward Mike Maddox said he had not totally realized the fact that he had to work with the team. "I'm sure it will sink in over the next couple of days when there's no practice to go back to," Maddox said. "It's difficult to come that close to winning a national championship and come up just short." However, Maddax said the loss should not dimm the season because it would season the team. "We had a great season, and I'm very proud of the way we hung together and played." Senior forward Kirk Wagner said the defeat could not overshadow the great times he had as a member of the Jay- hawks. "It's tough, but I've got a lot of special memories that I wouldn't trade for anything else in the world," Wagner said. Senior guard Terry Brown added that the loss was not the way he'd planned to do it. "I feel really bad that we didn't win, because it would have been nice to go out with a national championship," Brown said. "But I'm not complaining. Like nobody else. It's one hundred and ninety-some teams out there that would like to have second place." Couch Roy Williams said the loss could never take away from the feelings of pride in her. "So much time is spent talking about the bad things in sports," Williams said. "But tonight you saw the good things. Those things you saw you saw who put on a great show tonight." I really proud of those kids of mine. I hope they will always remember how they came together and played their hearts out at the end of the season." Old, new 'Hawks thrilled Recruits look to the future; alums recall past victories By Mark Spencer Kansan sportswriter The excitement about the Kansas basketball team is not limited to the players who rampaged through this year's NCAA tournament. Yesterday, before the championship game, it also was alive in the hearts of former KU players and fans. It would not yet put on a Kansas uniform "It's awesome," said Kansas signee Greg Osterglast of Duncanville, Texas. "I can't wait until next year. I think we can back again." The 7-foot-1 Ostertag said he had watched all the tournament games with his family. "I have picked them to win all the way," he said. "I think they — uh, we — will do it tonight." School in Overland Park, said his first-of-the-year doubts about the Jayhawks had been steadily erased throughout the season. "I knew they were good enough to do this." he said. "They're overachievers. It's going to be fun to see how far we'll go the next few years." Another Kansas signee, Greg Gurley of Shawnee Mission South High Danny Manning, a crucial player in the Jayhawks' 1888 championship drive, said he had followed KU's path to the tournament in the past weeks. While Ostertag and Gurley look to the future, former players now in the NBA took pride in this year's Jay-hawk team. "I'm really proud of what Kansas has accomplished," the Los Angeles Clippers forward said. "Mark Runyon was the player who got the finals before. They and the other seniors know what it takes to win Golden State Warriors guard Kevin Pritchard, another member of the 88 championship team, said that he had been "very much" in Roy Williams and his style of play. "I wish them the best tonight, and everybody should be proud of what they have accomplished," Manning said. "I'd do anything to be in Lawrence tonight," he said. "We've decorated the house with posters and everything." Pritchard said he liked the Jayhawks' chances against Duke because of the deep bench Williams had developed. "If you look at us last year, I think it's a similar situation," he said. "He's got them peaking at the right time, and that's what it all about." Kansas coach Roy Williams buries his head in his hands during the closing minutes of the 72-65 Jayhawk loss to the Duke Blue Devils. | | M | FG | FT | OA | R | A | F | TP | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Jamison | 15 | 1-10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | | Maddux | 19 | 2-4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | | Randall | 13 | 7-9 | 3/6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 18 | | Jordan | 31 | 4-6 | 3/6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 18 | | Jordan | 34 | 4-6 | 1/2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | | Woodberry | 18 | 1-4 | 1/2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | Scott | 15 | 3-9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | | Tussettal | 15 | 1-5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | | Wagley | 13 | 1-5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | | Johnhamn | 3 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | Richey | 3 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Percentages: 4.5G, FT. 15, 8.0T. Three-point percentage: 7.18 (Brown 4.11) 4.24 (Jordan 2-2) Randall, Jordan 2-2 Blocked shoes: 2 (Maddox, Scott). Turnovers: 14 (Randall 3, Jordan 3, Maddox 2, Brown 2, Jamison, Woodberry, Tunstaill). Steals: 6 (Jordan 3, Jordan 4, Woodberry, Technicals). non DUKE M M FG FG FG A R F TP Koubek 17 14 24 5 4 0 1 5 G. Hill 28 46 26 8 3 1 10 Laetner 32 6-12 18-12 8-1 3 0 18 Hurley 20 35 44 9 1 9 12 Jenkins 40 4-5 4-4 4-2 1 2 18 Davis 24 15 12 1-2 1 4 12 Palmer 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lang 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lang 68 68 2-2 1 0 1 18 Percentages: FG 56.1, FT 71.4. Three-point goals: 6-10 McCaffrey 2-, Hurley 2-, T 4-, T 1-, Koubek 2-. Blocked shots: 2 (G Hill 2)