It proofs something...

Ah, I see. That explains a lot. I suppose you were one of those MU fans that went right out and bought a Bucknell shirt after they beat KU. :rolleyes: :shake:

Caywood: Robinson quietly becomes a leader
 

Posted by
Kurt Caywood in Sports, CJ sports columnists, KU

Author
Kurt Caywood
SAN JOSE, Calif — About a month into the season, Kansas was waddling along ranked 12th in the country, dragging a couple of bad-looking losses, and Bill Self sensed the Jayhawks needed something.

He sensed they needed young Billy Self.
So he called out Russell Robinson.

"I think a lot of it's leadership — or a void of leadership," Self said at the time. "Our guys are yearning for it. They want it. It's gotta be Russell. It's gotta be. Nobody else has a chance to do it."

Self had been that guy, the Eddie Attaboy, pat-ya-on-the-butt coach on the floor back in the day at Oklahoma State. He thought he needed that guy to make the talented but unfocused Jayhawks gel. In Robinson, he saw a player with authority, seniority, credibility and know-how.

He saw a guy in position to be that guy.

Now, fast-forward three months to the NCAA Tournament. With 13 consecutive wins, Kansas has banked the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, climbed to second in the country, and tonight, as the top seed in the West Regional, faces Southern Illinois at San Jose's HP Pavilion for a spot in the Elite Eight.

Self must have really lit a fire under Robinson and, subsequently his team, huh?

"I screwed that whole deal up, to be honest with you," Self said.

Now I'll be honest: This whole deal was a set-up. I sensed quickly after Self put that onus on Robinson that he wanted to remove it, realizing the New York City junior never was going to become an extroverted hoops quarterback and that asking him to do so was like asking Jacque Vaughn to give up poetry and become a street tough.

It wasn't going to happen. It wasn't him. It wasn't what he grew up to be.

Robinson was asked Wednesday if he got in fights when he was growing up. He said yeah, it was part of growing up. He was asked who he would avoid fighting, if he could.

"I was always scared of the quiet ones," he said. "Those are the most dangerous ones — the ones who are sneaky, who really don't care."

But who were you, Russell?

"I was one of the quiet guys," he said.

That's not an accident, and that's not to be abandoned.

Not that he couldn't change. He could. He did. He met with Self. They talked. Robinson pushed himself to be more vocal, to take more interest in guys' emotions and be more active in maintaining good morale.

"I think I did kind of step out of my comfort zone," he said, "but I think my teammates stepped in and started handlin' their business a lot more. It took a lot of pressure off me, and I think it all started to work together."

That's when it started to happen. The key wasn't just for Robinson to be someone he wasn't. It was for each of the Jayhawks to be a little more of who they really were.

They met in the middle, and that's where they gelled.

"We don't have a vocal leader, still," Self said. "I was trying to express that we needed one, and the bottom line is what we needed was for everyone to just pull the rope a little bit harder. I do think this: We do have a team of leaders."

Make no mistake: Robinson is first among equals.

Last week in Chicago, when KU still had first-round jitters from the Bucknell and Bradley hangover, it was Robinson who uncharacteristically fired away and knocked down a couple of big 3s.

"He brings a mentality that he's not scared of anybody," junior forward Darnell Jackson said. "We just follow Russ' attitude."

He may not bark, but he has expectations for his teammates and a way to make sure they're met.

"When he gets mad in practice," Jackson said, "he picks up the tempo and we have to keep up with his pace."

One of this season's subplots has been the emergence of freshman point guard Sherron Collins and the dynamic it's created.

During the conference season, the lift Collins gave KU off the bench and the fact that he scored 40 percent more points than Robinson raised questions about who really should be starting. And in the harsh light of NBA potential, the freshman probably projects better onto an NBA roster than the junior ahead of him.

"The reason we're doin it the way we're doin it," Self said, "is that Sherron wasn't ready and he's played so good off the bench that we know he can do that. I don't think it'll be a situation where Sherron comes off the bench forever."

But for now, it's still Robinson's team, and he quietly and effectively has led it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

"Here's a guy who averages seven points a game and I can't afford to not have him on the floor," Self said. "Percentage-wise, he's not a great shooter, but gosh, he seems to make big shots. I love him. I love how tough he is. I love the intangibles he brings to the table.

"You should judge a point guard by only one statistic and that's wins and losses, and I think he's handled that very, very well."

Kurt Caywood can be reached at (785) 295-1288 or kurt.caywood@cjonline.com.

http://blogs.cjonline.com/index.php?entry=2527

Thanks.... It's been a long day....

Corrected original..

In case you didn’t know, Salukis are the oldest pure-bred dogs in the world. Until 1951, Southern Illinois’ mascot was the Maroons. SIU staff members suggested a mascot name, and the student body picked Salukis.

No, Lived most of life in STL and have many friends who attended SIU.... I am a big 12 fan....

Just have this thing against KU and OKlahoma... Dates back to the big 8.

From 1980 to 1996 noone won more big 8 conference titles or championships....

The main competitors (Oklahoma and Kansas) mostly oklahoma... There was fire between the coaches and players..

1980: Kansas State
1981: Kansas
1982: Missouri
1983: Oklahoma State
1984: Kansas
1985: Oklahoma
1986: Kansas
1987: Missouri
1988: Oklahoma
1989: Missouri
1990: Oklahoma
1991: Missouri
1992: Kansas
1993: Missouri
1994: Nebraska
1995: Oklahoma State
1996: Iowa State

Conference
1980: Missouri
1981: Missouri
1982: Missouri
1983: Missouri
1984: Oklahoma
1985: Oklahoma
1986: Kansas
1987: Missouri
1988: Oklahoma
1989: Oklahoma
1990: Missouri
1991: Oklahoma State & Kansas
1992: Kansas
1993: Kansas
1994: Missouri
1995: Kansas
1996: Kansas

I take it that the "surround yourself with brilliant people" strategy isn't going so well... ;)

It's just not fun when you tee it up like that...


Yeah, most Missouri fans have a hatred for success.. I never knew it was something you had to experience to appreciate. :ZZZ:

KU = Yankmees of Big12.

don't you have to have more titles to be the yankees

Yea. Denver Broncos.

well then that would make Kstate = Raiders

Four different teams have won the 11 previous titles at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men痴 Basketball Championship. Kansas has won the most with five crowns, followed by Oklahoma (3), Oklahoma State (2) and Iowa State (1). The Jayhawks captured the postseason title last year, their first since winning the initial three league postseason championships from 1997-99.


Kansas Basketball: 50 Conference Championships, 12 Final Fours, 4 National Championships, 1905 All-Time Div. I Victories


Yes easily compared to the Yankees

Don't do that to KSU.. Even if the coach may bring them closer to Raider territory..

well since the last time we won a national title i was 7 years old it doesn't really fell to me like they are the yankees