UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, February 9, 1996
3B
ROBERTSON: Faith comes first
Continued from Page 1.
for five months, stared at the wall across the room.
"I can honestly say there's never been one day that I've been home-sick or cried at night," he said.
He hasn't had much time to be homebesick. Playing basketball for the nation's No. 3 team involves five or six hours of practice, lifting weights and watching videotape every day. Although Robertson said everything revolved around basketball, he can still take time out for ESPN's SportsCenter.
"In the morning when it's on, I watch it four times in a row. Every time I'll just laugh at the same jokes," Robertson said. "And I am the biggest ER fan on campus."
Being able to balance basketball and school has always been second nature. St. Charles West High School boys' basketball coach Terry Hollander said Robertson maintained a 4.0 grade point average, participated in clubs such as Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Education and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and then began acting in school plays during his junior year.
Robertson wasn't afraid to try any
thing. Even if it meant wearing red tights when he played the Knave of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland."
Kansas and Williams first noticed Robertson at summer camp and built a relationship with him from that time on.
"I knew in my heart the whole time KU was for me," Robertson said. "The last three weeks before I signed, Missouri just flooded me. My judgment may have gotten a little clouded at the end because they were recruiting so hard."
In addition to sending two or three Federal Express packages each day, Missouri coach Norm Stewart went so far as to visit Robertson's mother at work.
"Then he came and ate lunch with me one day — sat with my friends at the lunch table." Robertson said.
But Stewart's lunchtime recruiting didn't cut the mustard. Robertson signed with the Jayhawks during the early fall signing period.
Angie Robertson said that immediately after her son's decision to leave Missouri, callers on sports talk shows started on in Ryan.
In time, those sentiments have died down. Part of that could have been because St. Charles West was in the middle of a 30-2 season — a
run that would take the Warriors to the Missouri state championship.
"The fact that we won was great," Robertson said. "But the fact that I was able to make other people so happy was fantastic. I had grown men coming up to me, crying."
More than one Robertson was a part of that championship. Robertson's younger brother, Troy, was a junior on the team. Now he leads the Warriors and is headed to St. Louis University next year.
"He's a little bit bulker than I am where I'm a little bit quicker than he is," Robertson said. "We've had some brawls on the court before. But Troy makes me laugh more than anybody in the world."
Laughing may not have always been easy for him this year, but Robertson remains positive and has kept everything in perspective.
"I'm really protective about being humble," Robertson said. "There was a time in high school that I was perceived as kind of cocky or arrogant. That really hurt."
But it doesn't hurt to plan for the future a little.
"I may be the 11th man this year, but next season, I may be sixth," Robertson said. "It's a dream of mine to be able to start."
Robertson returns to home state
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Ryan Robertson's return to Missouri has a new twist.
The freshman guard may back up starting point guard Jacque Vaughn during the third-ranked Jayhawks' game tomorrow, which tips off at 3:05 p.m. at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. That is due to an injury sustained by senior guard Calvin Rayford.
"Whether I get to back up Jacque or whether Calvin can play, I'll be ready to play," said Robertson, who sustained an injury of his own Wednesday. Junior forward Scot Pollard's elbow cut Robertson on the left temple, requiring four stitches.
Rayford hyperextended several
toes during Wednesday's 89-70 victory against Iowa State, which improved Kansas' record to 19-1 and 7-0 in the Big Eight Conference. The injury occurred when Rayford slid into the visitors' bench late in the game.
He spent much of yesterday on crutches. No decision on Rayford's availability will be made until today, said Kansas coach Roy Williams.
But even before Rayford's injury, Robertson had circled tomorrow's game on his calendar, he said.
After Missouri lost Robertson to Kansas, Missouri coach norm Stempart retaliated. Stewart told Robertson's father to go put on his blue jacket when the two met at a speech last year.
Robertson said. "But I have a feeling my reaction at Mizzou is going to be very, very violent."
If Robertson erupts during tomorrow's game it could be reminiscent of junior center Scot Pollard during last year's game at Missouri. Pollard scored a career-high 22 points.
To repeat that kind of performance, Pollard will have to go through 7-foot Simeon Haley and his twin brother, 7-1 Sanmie.
"I like playing against guys who are big," Pollard said. "I don't change the way I play, but it's definitely easier to get excited for the game."
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BOWLING & BILLIARDS TOURNAMENT Saturday, February 10, 1996
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HAVE FUN IN THE FIELDHOUSE TWICE THIS WEEKEND!
WOMEN'S
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