By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
Published Thursday, January 18, 2007
The winning streak is at 10 games and counting, their record in the Big 12 Conference still unblemished. But I had to look this up to be certain after listening to some of the grumbling voiced after Kansas' three-point home victory over border rival Missouri on Monday.
Here I was, foolish man, thinking it was significant that in a six-day period, the fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks engineered a commanding 30-point rout at home over then ninth-ranked Oklahoma State, went on the road to always tough Hilton Coliseum and defeated young but gutty Iowa State, then returned home to hold off an embattled Missouri team that played one of its best games in its first season under a new coach.
By Tuesday, though, I was corrected by callers to talk radio shows who couldn't comprehend how a supposed national title contender could impose its will on a Top 10 opponent one night, then need an overtime and some late-game magic by a freshman to beat two inferior teams in its next two games.
Not that any of that apprehension is hard to comprehend.
The Jayhawks who had their fans gushing after Oklahoma State are the team their fans expect. The Jayhawks who fought and scraped to beat Iowa State and Missouri are the team they've got. And what concerns them most is wondering which of those teams will show up in mid-March.
Well, the fun part of any sports campaign, especially for teams carrying the high expectations the Jayhawks do every time the ball goes up, is that champions aren't crowned at the midpoint of a season. The performances of January have significance in March mainly in how they help shape a team for the NCAA Tournament, which at Kansas are the only games that anybody cares to count.
That's why I like what happened to KU over the past week. They had the chance to see what they can accomplish when they put it all together. They also saw what it takes to win close games, both at home and on the road, when they don't bring their "A" game and an opponent does.
Some people call this playing up or down to the level of the competition. I see it as the process of learning how to win.
Between now and March, the Jayhawks also will be reminded, likely several times, of what it is to lose — a sour taste they last experienced against DePaul back on Dec. 2. That can be helpful experience, too, in preparing for March.
There may be plenty of opportunities for Jayhawk fans to grumble again in the coming months. But the events of the last three games were not such occasions.
Rick Dean can be reached at 295-5628 or
rick.dean@cjonline.com.
http://cjonline.com/stories/011807/haw_139245268.shtml