6B
Monday, March 10, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thanks for the Memories, Seniors! -From The Kansan Staff
Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
The Kansas men's basketball team has one of the country's deepest benches. Jayhawk reserves have filled in both when starters needed a break and when Jacquie Vaughn and Scot Pollard suffered injuries.
Strong bench bolsters team
By Spencer Duncan
Kansan sports editor
Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams was upset with his starters during the Jayhawks' 74-59 victory Friday against Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament — so upset that he yanked all five from the floor and put in the next five guys from the bench.
Those five players lit up the court with nine points in three minutes.
Few coaches in the country can do what Williams did.
"One of the reasons we have been successful is because we have so many guys that can come onto the court and play," said Kansas forward Raef LaFrentz. "We are lucky."
Kansas' luck has helped them win all season.
After the Jayhawks defeated George Washington University early in the season, the Colonials' coach Mike Jarvis said that Kansas never let up. That, he said, was because the Jayhawks had fresh legs on the court.
"I don't know if there is a deeper team in America," Jarvis said. "It's one thing to be able to rotate players in and out of the game on a regular basis. It's another thing when the guys you are bringing in are really good. That's what Kansas has."
Kansas' bench has even been called upon to fill starting spots.
When guard Jacque Vaughn missed 10 games because of a torn ligament
in his wrist, Williams brought in back-up point men Ryan Robertson and C.B. McGrath.
During that stretch, Kansas went 10-0 and earned the No. 1 ranking.
"Ryan and C.B. did a wonderful job," Williams said. "They really didn't get enough credit. I don't know of too many teams that could have a player like Jacque Vaughn go down and still play like we did."
When center Scot Pollard suffered a stress fracture in his left foot, Williams again went to his bench.
Forward B.J. Williams started in Pollard's place and T.J. Pugh became his substitute.
"They did a good job," Pollard said. "B.J. did well for someone who had never started before and T.J. was in there banging. They could probably start somewhere else."
Then there is guard Billy Thomas, Kansas' three point threat.
Thomas is shooting a team-high 43 percent from the three-point line. He has hit 65 three-point shots this season.
Roy Williams has said that Thomas is the only player on the team with the go-ahead to shoot three-pointers at will.
It's a role Thomas has enjoyed.
"I have been able to get good shots," Thomas said. "When I get a good look I step up in the spot and shoot."
These players have been complemented by freshman Nick Bradford,
The Kansas Bench
Player PPG FG% 3F%
B.J. Williams 3.2 43.0 7.0
Ryan Robertson 4.2 39.2 39.1
Nick Bradford 2.4 41.0 13.6
Billy Thomas 8.4 41.7 43.3
T.J. Pugh 3.8 57.9 16.7
Steve Ransom 0.7 58.3 0.0
Joel Branstrom 1.1 58.3 0.0
C.B. McGrath 0.6 45.4 0.0
Terry Nooner 1.2 44.4 36.4
who plays more than seven minutes a game.
Bradford hasn't put the ball in the basket often. He averages just 2.4 points a game. But Roy Williams said that is not where Bradford has been most effective.
"Nick is energetic and very athletic," Roy Williams said. "He plays tough defense and that makes him a good player for us."
These players, combined with the five starters, are one reason Kansas is No. 1. But the Jayhawks know that if they want to be No. 1 when the season ends, the bench will have to continue to play well.
"When we get on the court, we have to play well," Thomas said of himself and his bench buddies. "If we can give the starters a chance to rest and play well enough that they don't have to worry when they sit down, then that makes us a better team. We have to play well if we want to win."
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