The OFFICIAL Kansas Jayhawks @ Kentucky Wildcats

[teedubya]

On football game threads... my domination over animal named teams is well documented. Lets see if it will work in Rump Arena. heh.

Go

Date: Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005.

Tipoff: 3:30 p.m. CST.

Site: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.

Series record: Kentucky leads 19-3.

Last meeting: Kentucky 92, Kansas 88 (OT); March 14, 1999; New Orleans.

Coaches: Bill Self (34-9, second season; 241-114, 13th season overall), Kansas; Tubby Smith (201-53, eighth season; 325-115, 14th season overall), Kentucky.

Radio/Television: CBS Sports, with Verne Lundquist and Billy Packer; Jayhawk Radio Network, with Bob Davis and Max Falkenstien; University of Kentucky Radio Network, with Tom Leach, Mike Pratt and Dave Baker.

Probable Starting Lineups:

Kansas (10-0): F-Christian Moody, 6.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg; C-C.J. Giles, 3.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg; G-Keith Langford, 14.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg; G-Aaron Miles, 9.7 ppg, 7.5 apg; G-J.R. Giddens, 10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg.

Kentucky (10-1): F-Chuck Hayes, 11.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg; F-Kelenna Azubuike, 15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg; C-Randolph Morris, 10.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg; G-Rajon Rondo, 6.8 ppg, 2.6 apg; G-Patrick Sparks, 11.5 ppg, 5.4 apg.

[teedubya]

Self esteem runs high in Kansas

JAYHAWKS COACH CARVES HIS OWN NICHE WHILE CARRYING ON SCHOOL'S WINNING TRADITION

By John Clay

HERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST

LAWRENCE, Kan. - They loved Roy. Oh, how the Kansans loved Roy Williams.

They loved the way he returned their beloved Jayhawks to national prominence. They loved that he stayed 15 years. They loved that he won 418 games, went to four Final Fours, led Kansas to two NCAA title games.

The rest of America may have cringed at the sight, but Kansans even loved it when Roy cried after a tough loss.

And then after the 2003 season, Roy Williams took that love back to Chapel Hill.

"Some people got over it right away," says Max Falkenstein, a staple on Kansas radio broadcasts for 59 years. "And some people will never get over it."

Would they, could they, fall in love again?

Bill Self has this easygoing charm. He has sort of an impish grin. He's tall, and handsome, and athletic.

Why, young Bill's senior year at Edmond High School, Bill Self beat out Wayman Tisdale and Mark Price for Oklahoma player of the year honors.

"That's true," Self says with that grin. "But I was a senior, and those two guys were juniors. They always gave the award to a senior."

You're grinning, too.

A year and a half into his new job, with some big shoes to fill, 42-year-old Bill Self is doing just fine, thank you, by being Bill Self.

"Everybody loves Coach Self," says Billy Gillespie, former Self assistant, now the head coach at Texas A&M. "The players love him. The fans love him. You guys in the media love him. Everybody loves Bill."

After Williams left, the good 'Hawks in Kansas weren't exactly in the mood for love. They'd been hurt, jilted. Three years before, when North Carolina came calling, Roy Williams had said no to his alma mater. When the Heels approached Williams in '03, the Kansans assumed the answer would hold. It didn't.

They loved Bill Self at Illinois, too, where the young coach took the Illini to the Elite Eight in 2001, just as he had done with Tulsa the year before.

But as Williams could not turn down Carolina, Kansas was too hard for Self to refuse. He is an Oklahoman by birth, a Big 12 man at heart. He played at Oklahoma State, was an assistant for eight years there under first Leonard Hamilton, then Eddie Sutton.

His first head-coaching job was at Oral Roberts. He got the call telling him he was the new head coach at Tulsa while playing golf with his friend, and former Tulsa coach, Tubby Smith.

"The thing I admire about Tubby is how tough he is," Self said. "He's down 16 to Louisville and he just wills his team to win. Coaches always feel pressure to win, and it's high here, but I'm sure it's unbelievably high there."

Kansas doesn't treat basketball as a hobby, either.

Q: What do you like most about this job?

A: "That on a miserable night in the middle of the week, 16,500 would show up to watch us play," says Self last Wednesday, the night his team beat Texas A&M 65-60. "I love that."

But do they love him?

"People like him very much," says Falkenstein. "He's very laid-back. He's a people person. He's just as interested in talking to the letter carrier as he is talking to the university president."

In fact, says Falkenstein, the Kansas players have had more difficulty adjusting to their new head coach than have the fans.

Williams was a push-the-ball-up-the-floor coach, teaching the principles of the attack he learned from Dean Smith, another former Kansan. Self likes the fast break, but once his teams settle into the half-court, they lean toward the high-low game.

"I like this offense a lot," says Kansas guard Keith Langford, a senior who played his first two years with Williams. The way Langford says "a lot" makes you think there was some resistance, at least at first.

And there was. A year ago, the Jayhawks lost at home to Richmond, by 14 at Nevada, by 20 at Oklahoma State, by 15 at Texas. By year's end, however, Self had Kansas within an overtime of making the Final Four before losing 79-71 to Georgia Tech in the Midwest finals.

Two months into this season, Kansas is 10-0, but with a pair of asterisks. The Jayhawks are without their best player, Wayne Simien, sidelined for the time being by a broken thumb. They are experienced nail-biters. A year ago, Kansas was 0-8 when it trailed in the final five minutes. This year it is 4-0.

So how is the transition progressing? For his part, Self claims not to notice.

"It's been smooth for me," he says. "I don't know if it has been for the people here, but it has been for me.

"To be honest with you, and I'm sure this is the same for Tubby, you're like the calm in the eye of the storm. You're so concerned with your team you don't have time for that stuff. And you have to remember I've been here before."

That was 1985-86 when Self was a grad assistant on the Larry Brown-coached Kansas team that reached the Final Four before losing to Duke. Since then, Self has grown into not only one of the game's best coaches -- three Elite Eights in the last five years -- but best-liked.

"He doesn't panic," says Tubby Smith. "You know his team is going to give a consistent effort every night and those are the toughest teams to handle and to play."

"I think his strength is the way he gets his teams to play hard," says Gillespie. "He treats them so well, they want to do well for him."

"He's just a real good guy," says Falkenstein.

That has made the transition easier. Kansans loved Roy, but it hasn't taken them long to warm up to Bill.

"He is who he is and he's very comfortable with who he is," says Gillespie. "Everybody loves Bill."

[teedubya]

Roy Williams won't watch team he created

SIMIEN SEARCHING FOR A CAST; 23 SCOUTS FROM 21 NBA TEAMS WILL BE AT RUPP

By Jerry Tipton

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Although his team does not play today, former Kansas coach Roy Williams does not plan to watch the Jayhawks take on Kentucky.

"I'm not trying to be corny, but I really have a hard time watching the Kansas kids play," he said. "It hurts so much when they don't do well."

Williams coached at Kansas for 15 seasons before leaving for North Carolina in 2003. He recruited the senior core of the Jayhawks' team: guards Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee, plus forward Wayne Simien.

"Nucleus class," Williams called it. "I told them I'd build other recruiting around them."

No Simien

During his on-line chat Friday, Kansas star Wayne Simien was asked when he might return from a thumb injury sustained on Dec. 18.

"Right now the doctors and I are shooting for Iowa State (next Wednesday)," he wrote. "We are experimenting with different types of casts. So hopefully we can find one that is sturdy enough for my hand but will not hurt anyone else."

UK forward Chuck Hayes played against Simien on the AAU circuit. "You have to bring your lunch pail when you go against Big Wayne," he said.

SEC 1-12

Kansas Coach Bill Self dismissed any suggestion that the SEC's 1-12 record against ranked teams held significance.

"We don't play the SEC," he said. "We play Kentucky."

Kentucky claimed the SEC's only victory against a ranked team, and that victory required a comeback from a 16-point deficit at Louisville.

Through games of last weekend, the Big 12 Conference was 4-5 against ranked teams. Kansas had that league's only victory against a top-10 team. The Jayhawks rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat No. 9 Georgia Tech 70-68.

"You can see the balance in college basketball today," UK Coach Tubby Smith said. "When scholarships were reduced to 13 (from 15), the basketball world changed a lot. The good teams are still going to get the good players, but you're seeing a lot of mid-majors get outstanding players as well."

Charitable opportunity

The Red Cross and Fifth Third Bank are sponsoring a charity effort in and around Rupp Arena today. Donations, which are tax deductible, will be for victims of the recent tsunami.

Scant seating for media, scouts

Seating will be at a premium for reporters and NBA scouts.

UK issued 75 extra media credentials for the game. Those went to such outlets as the New York Times, New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ESPN.com and The Sporting News.

UK also expected 23 scouts representing 21 NBA teams to attend. Those scouts include former UK player Irving Thomas (Lakers) and former Kansas players Kevin Pritchard (Trail Blazers) and Milt Newton (Wizards).

Foot fetish

Kansas guard Keith Langford is noted for his footwear. If he's not playing well, he's likely to change shoes to change his luck.

He's been known to change shoes and/or socks at halftime. The fetish goes back to high school.

"I hate the fact that it gets to me sometimes," he told the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World two seasons ago. "But it does, and when the urge comes to change the shoes, I guess I'll have to."

Self-interest in series

Kentucky and Kansas will play again next season in Lawrence. That will end the contract.

Coach Self said he wanted to extend the series, which once was one of college basketball's best.

"When I got here, I really wanted to play them," he said. "Hopefully, the series will go as we anticipate, and it'll continue for years."

[teedubya]

Jayhawks eager for first road test

By Gary Bedore, Assistant Sports Editor

Saturday, January 8, 2005

After playing nine games in Allen Fieldhouse and one in Kemper Arena, Kansas University's basketball players are more than ready to hit the road.

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"I'm not ready to get away from our fans, but it's time. It's about time we get road-tested," KU senior Michael Lee said.

Today, he and his teammates will board a charter flight for Lexington, Ky. -- the first time the Jayhawks have flown together since a Labor Day weekend excursion to Canada.

"I'm excited," KU senior Keith Langford said of Sunday's 3:30 p.m. challenge against No. 8-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

"At Kansas, we pride ourselves on having the best fans, the best arena, best place to play. I'm sure Kentucky does the same. I've not been to Rupp Arena. I want to see it."

UK coach Tubby Smith's Wildcats enter with a 10-1 record, the only loss a 91-78 decision Dec. 4 at North Carolina.

"I look forward to going on the road to see how the team will adjust, will react," senior Aaron Miles said.

Especially the freshmen.

"It will be different for them," Lee said. "I think they'll be able to settle down and play."

C.J. Giles, Sasha Kaun, Alex Galindo and Russell Robinson figure to be OK if they follow the seniors' lead.

"It's not the freshmen's responsibility to handle adversity," Langford said. "It's the seniors' job. The main thing on the road is to handle adversity. We've had it before the season with injuries, during the season with two-a-day practices and injuries. The seniors have been in every road-type environment except Rupp Arena.

"We have to use every experience on the road to keep the team poised."

Smith was asked Friday if the Wildcats would benefit from KU playing its first road game at Rupp.

"I hope so, but they are very poised and disciplined," he said. "They've shown poise and ability to come back from deficits and win. Kansas will light it up if we don't guard on the perimeter."

[royr17]

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK GO KU !!!!!!!!!!!

[DT4everaChief]

This will be a tough game for the Hawks. If they come out playing their A game then they should win. If they play like the did against Texas A&M we will lose. Rock Chalk Jayhawk go KU.

[royr17]

I just want us to beat Kentucky so all the Kentucky gonna kill Kansas smack can stop.

[teedubya]

19-3 is some series domination by Kentucky... hopefully we can help right that imbalance today.

[the Talking Can]

I'm excited, but not worried...after Simien went down I just wanted to win 1 of the GT/UK games (and I wanted GT more, for revenge). Winning both would be gravy.

It will be close just like GT. The way we play defense, even if we lose, it won't be by much.

[the Talking Can]

whitlock


Posted on Sun, Jan. 09, 2005


Galindo at the head of the class

JASON WHITLOCK

LEXINGTON, Ky. — We shouldn't be all that surprised that as the Kansas Jayhawks hit the meat of their schedule, versatile forward Alex Galindo is developing into KU's most valuable freshman.

The least heralded of Kansas' five-man recruiting class, Galindo is likely to play a critical role in the success or failure of the unbeaten Jayhawks today when they receive their first real road test at Kentucky, 10-1. With Wayne Simien out with a thumb injury and Galindo's frontcourt classmates — Darnell Jackson, C.J. Giles and Sasha Kaun — struggling, Kansas coach Bill Self will probably be forced to play “small” against the Wildcats.

Galindo, a 6-foot-7 wing player, will get plenty of minutes at the four spot and could conceivably find himself on the court with Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, J.R. Giddens and Michael Lee, all perimeter players.

Playing on the road and against a highly skilled opponent, Self will be tempted to put his best offensive team on the court and run with the Wildcats. Galindo would definitely be a member of Kansas' best offensive team.

By season's end, Galindo just might be one of KU's five best players. Had we done a little homework, had we digested the lesson we learned from this summer's Olympic basketball tournament, we wouldn't be startled by the fact that Galindo showed up in Lawrence more prepared to contribute than his freshman, frontcourt peers.

Galindo, born and reared in Puerto Rico, has been heavily influenced by the international style of play. He didn't come stateside until his junior year of high school. And even then, he played in coach Danny Hurley's sophisticated and fundamentally sound system at St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey.

Kaun, from Russia, started playing basketball in the United States as a high school freshman. Jackson and Giles, of course, spent all of their formative basketball years working on tomahawk dunks, alley-oop dunks, windmill dunks and watching “SportsCenter” highlights of slam-dunk facials. We contaminate our players. Other cultures school their basketball players.

Galindo is a typical international player. In the Kansas media guide, Galindo lists Germany's Dirk Nowitzki as his favorite player. You can see a little of Nowitzki's polish in Galindo's game.

Galindo has a lovely release on his shot. He can put the ball on the floor. He moves effortlessly and willingly without the basketball. He's not all that physical, but he's a creative, finesse rebounder. Galindo is a skilled basketball player. Does he have a lot of ground to make up as a defender? Yes.

Galindo lacks some of the physical gifts shared by his classmates — and sophomore J.R. Giddens — but he makes up for that shortcoming with court savvy and fundamentals, two qualities that breed confidence in an athlete.

In terms of confidence, Galindo reminds me of Keith Langford and Aaron Miles. Neither Langford nor Miles is a pure shooter. Miles, in fact, is a poor shooter. But when the game is on the line, Langford and Miles stroke the ball like they're the illegitimate children of Larry Bird.

Galindo, a teenager on a team with lots of experience, has already taken and drained two monster three-pointers in late-game situations. He's on the record that he can't wait to take another one. His three-point bombs helped Kansas survive Georgia Tech and Texas A&M. Galindo is a confident player. I don't anticipate him melting inside of Rupp Arena today.

In fact, I envision Galindo becoming a bigger and bigger element in Kansas' future. With Simien headed back to the lineup a little ahead of schedule, Self will quickly tire of waiting for the light to go off in the head of Jackson or Giles. Self will resign himself to the fact that he'll have to make do with Christian Moody and Galindo playing the bulk of the minutes opposite Simien.

Self will create minutes for Jackson and Giles by giving Galindo minutes in Giddens' wing spot. Galindo might have more to offer the Jayhawks on the wing than Giddens. Galindo is a far more active rebounder than Giddens. Galindo, because of his ball-handling skill, can drive the lane and get to the free-throw line easier than Giddens.

Hey, it sounds like I'm calling Galindo the second coming of Paul Pierce. I'm not. It's just that Galindo's versatility and skill make him a very valuable member of the Jayhawks, more valuable than we ever imagined when he committed to KU.

[royr17]

Come on guys, lets go out and KICK SOME WILDCAT ASS TODAY !!!

[Skip Towne]

It's going to be tough to win this one without Dub. Here's hoping we can do it.

[royr17]

Yes it is gonna be tough but i think this team can do it. I think this is the team that may finally bring us our NCAA title again.

[ROYC75]

I went to my grandsons Jr Pro Basketbal game Saturday sporting my KU shirt. I quickley found out I was the minority in the gym . What's up with that !

[ROYC75]

UK's Hayes wanted to be a Jayhawk

ROY WILLIAMS: 'I SCREWED UP'

By Jerry Tipton

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER


If then-Kansas coach Roy Williams had simply accepted Chuck Hayes' commitment four years ago, Kentucky would be without its rock-solid senior leader in Sunday's big game.

"I loved it," Hayes said about his recruiting visit to Kansas as a high school senior. "I had my mind set on Kansas."

Kansas star Drew Gooden had been an AAU teammate. Hayes knew and liked two incoming Jayhawk recruits from the same Portland, Ore., high school: Aaron Miles and Michael Lee.

So why didn't Kansas snap up Hayes, a Parade All-American and California State D-1 Player of the Year? Before going into the details, Williams said, "You can put it in bold script: I screwed up."

Williams, now the North Carolina coach, told Hayes he would accept the commitment only after learning what another prospect, Josh Childress, would do.

"When he told me that," Hayes recalled this week, "obviously, he wasn't into me like I was into them."

Williams acknowledged that he did like Childress "a little more" than Hayes.

"Only because -- and I'm being absolutely truthful -- he was a true small forward who could shoot it," Williams said of Childress.

Another factor made Childress more attractive: A prized 7-foot prospect, Jamal Sampson, told Kansas he would commit to Kansas if Childress did.

"I really liked Chuck," Williams said. "But Josh was more truly what I needed as a small forward. Then there is a 7-footer who wants to come with him."

After Childress made his official visit to Kansas, Williams gave him a week to decide. In that week, Hayes surprised the coach by calling and saying he wanted to commit.

"I had to tell him, I've told Josh I'd give him one week," Williams said.

Childress' mother and two brothers lobbied hard for Kansas, Williams said. The prospect's girlfriend wanted him to go to Stanford.

The girlfriend won.

Upon receiving the news, Williams said, "I hung up immediately and called Chuck. Chuck had committed to Tubby (Smith, Kentucky's coach) the night before.

"I was sick. You know that saying about a bird in hand is worth two in a bush. I had two in a bush and none in my hand."

Williams had sound reasons for his decision to make Childress-Sampson his top priority. Childress became an All-American for Stanford. Sampson played for California and now is a member of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.

Yet when recalling his failure to accept Hayes' commitment, Williams said, "In my 15 years at Kansas, that was one of my two biggest mistakes."

The other big mistake? The trouble-filled recruitment of high-profile prospects Korleone Young and Jaron Rush.

Hayes was not happy either.

"I was kind of disappointed and hurt at the time," he told the Wichita Eagle this week.

Not that Hayes regrets coming to Kentucky or will carry a grudge into Sunday's game.

"No, no," he said. "Everything has worked out for the best. That's how it usually goes."

Of course, Williams thrived, too. His North Carolina team is a prime contender to reach this year's Final Four.

Hayes and Williams recalled their recruiting tango when Kentucky played at North Carolina in December.

"I told him he was my favorite player on another team," said Williams, who noted that he meant any opposing team other than Kansas. "Here is a guy, as a senior, who's still making sure the team is doing better rather than 'I' doing better."