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COLUMN 3
The J.H.P., 1-on-1, and Kansas basketball
My favorite game I've ever seen in Allen Fieldhouse took place 13 years ago. I was just 8 years old and my dad took my sister, brother and me to see the Jayhawks play Oklahoma State. It was a night I'll never forget.
Led by Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase, Kansas dismantled the Cowboys and won 104-72. Four players scored in double figures and the team put up 60 points in the second half.The game featured a lot of great plays, but the J.H.P. was easily my favorite.
During the second half, Jerod Haase came up with a steal and took off the other way. Paul Pierce raced ahead of the Oklahoma State defenders and Haase threw a one-handed bounce pass from half court to him for the dunk. My brother Mark and I quickly dubbed the play the J.H.P. -the Jerod Haase Pass -and went home from the game with a new play for the driveway.
Mark and I used to play basketball all the time. Through wind, snow, rain or even in the dark, we would play on our driveway almost every day and practice the J.H.P. Before long, we had everything down except the dunk, but that was close enough for us.
We also used to play one-on-one to 100. I can't remember a game that was not within five points. We couldn't get enough basketball and we
often talked about what it would be like to play for the Jayhawks.
One of our favorite things to do was to bring a radio outside and listen to KU games as we played on our driveway. If we heard Billy Thomas make a three from the corner, we would go to the corner and try the same shot. If a game ever did get really close, we would go watch the final few minutes inside to make sure they pulled out a win. We were big Jayhawk fans and our love for the team grew directly out of our first experience in Allen Fieldhouse.
A year after the Oklahoma State game, we got to go to KU Basketball Camp for the first time. We went back once more in 2001 with our brother Kent, just as he was getting old enough to start playing competitively. Whether it was having our T-shirts signed by all of the players or playing a pick-up game with Aaron Miles and Nick Collison in Allen
Fieldhouse, we loved every minute of it.
As I move closer to finishing my last semester at the University, I am reminding myself of how lucky I have been to be a part of Kansas basketball. Kansas has maintained such a great tradition because the fans have not allowed all of the victories and great plays to become routine.
Instead, Jayhawk fans have savored every moment of the experience. As students, we should do the same. Enjoy every moment in the Fieldhouse and never take anything for granted.
Not only did that game make me into the most devoted eight-year-old fan you could find, but it also made me realize what one team can do for a state or just for two brothers playing one-on-one on their driveway.
I have seen a lot of great games during my time at the University, but there is something about my first game in the Fieldhouse that sets it apart.
Every time I see the Jayhawks get out on a fast break, I can still picture the J.H.P. - a great pass for a dunk and the roar of the Jayhawk faithful. And more than anything, I can still remember the first game I ever watched in Allen Fieldhouse.
Weston White/KANSAN
Freshman Xavier Henry drives in for a lay-up on Wednesday night against the Baylor Bears in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks won 81-75.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE JANUARY 25,2010
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