22. Kansas
The Jayhawks appear destined for another early exit from the NCAAs. This year, though, their fans won't be so shocked
Posted: Wednesday November 18, 1998 02:12 PM
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The
exit
of two All-Americas means more shots for
Robertson.
John f. Grieshop for Schwartzman Sports |
No
member
of the 101st Jayhawks basketball team has visited the
gravesite of Dr. James Naismith, which lies a few miles
from the Kansas campus. That may not be a bad thing, for a
keen sense of history is something these Jayhawks can do
without. When last
year's squad lost to Rhode Island in the second round of the
NCAA tournament, it became the fifth No. 1- or No. 2-seeded
Jayhawks team in the '90s to fail to advance past the Sweet
16. This prompts a simple question: What on earth goes
wrong in the
tournament? "All of the sudden we start playing not to
lose," says senior guard Ryan Robertson. "I guess
subconsciously we get a bit
tight."
No one expects the Jayhawks to compete for the national
title this season, not with the departures of All-Americas
Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce, who accounted for 42% of the
team's scoring in 1997-98. In their absence 7-foot
sophomore center Eric
Chenowith will be expected to step in and provide more scoring.
After being cuffed around by LaFrentz last season in
practice, Chenowith lifted weights four days a week this
summer and swore off caffeine, carbonated drinks and fast
food. The results: He added
25 pounds to his 240-pound frame and beefed up his bench
press from 200 pounds to 285. "Eric's upside is way up
there," says coach Roy Williams. "Guys who can
move and have that size are at a
premium."
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| STARTING LINEUP |
| POS. | HT. | CLASS | KEY STAT |
| SF Lester Earl | 6'8" | Jr. | 7.6 ppg |
| PF T.J. Pugh* | 6'8" | Sr. | 5.7 ppg |
| C Eric Chenowith | 7'0" | So. | 5.9 ppg |
| SG Kenny Gregory | 6'5" | So. | 50.4 FG% |
| PG Ryan Robertson* | 6'5" | Sr. | 6.4 apg |
'97-98 record: 35-4
Final rank (coaches' poll): No. 8
*Returning starter
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Maybe so, but for the Jayhawks to win their fourth straight
conference title, Williams needs his smaller, quicker
players like Robertson, sophomore forward Kenny Gregory and
freshman point guard Jeff Boschee to run his motion offense
with Swiss
precision. A few more healthy bodies in the frontcourt would also
help; Lester Earl and
T.J. Pugh had off-season surgery, and Ashante Johnson (fractured
right patella) is out until early
December.
Recently, Earl, Gregory and forward Nick Bradford
challenged each other to a video-game version of the NCAA
tournament. Alas, even in the sanctuary of their dorm
rooms, the Jayhawks
couldn't escape their program's recent history. Bradford
(controlling
Arizona) won; Earl (controlling Kansas) sailed through his
first couple of games—only to lose before the Final
Four.
—Grant Wahl
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