Gamer 08
The University Daily Kansan - Mon. March 12, 2007 - Page 1A
Historic rally seals conference title
By Michael Phillips
OKLAHOMA CITY — For 40 minutes on Sunday, the best collegiate basketball players in the Midwest dazzled a sold-out Ford Center with impossibly long shots, towering blocks and a fantastic finish.
Kansas defeated Texas 88-84 for the Big 12 Championship and was informed shortly after that they had been chosen as a No. 1 seed to the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks will face either Florida A&M or Niagara in Chicago on Friday.
The raining confetti signaled the end of an exciting weekend of basketball as the Jayhawks won three games in three days, including the biggest come-from-behind victory in school history, to prove they are the conference’s best.
• • •
Shawn Jackson missed the block.
She had great seats behind the Kansas bench to watch her son, Darnell, play in his hometown. With seconds remaining in overtime, Jackson leaped in the other corner and blocked a D.J. Augustin shot.
“My family had to tell me he was the one who blocked it,” she said. “I didn’t know.”
Darnell didn’t expect it either.
“He told me that he put both his hands up, he got it, and he was surprised,” freshman forward Darrell Arthur said. “We needed that stop. It was probably one of the best plays of the game.”
Jackson tapped it softly so the ball would come down in front of him. He then picked it up and was fouled before he could pass it away. After making the free throws, he pounded his chest three times: once for his mother, once for family friend Don Davis and once for his grandmother, who passed away last year.
After winning the game and cutting down the net, Darnell ran to the stands and hugged his mother.
“It was unbelievable,” she said. “It’s just amazing to be a part of something like that.”
• • •
Having the top seed has its perks, and the Jayhawks spent the weekend in the New Orleans Hornets’ locker room, usually inhabited by the NBA team that moved after Hurricane Katrina.
“I like it a lot,” sophomore guard Brandon Rush said. “This is an NBA room, so there’s big chairs and couches and lots of space.”
It was also an improvement from the room they got last year in Dallas. When fitting 12 schools into an arena where usually two teams play, sacrifices were made. The Jayhawks ended up in an auxiliary locker room that was lacking in amenities like personal space.
Still, sophomore guard Mario Chalmers was surprised that the Hornets didn’t get the luxuries that have become common among NBA teams — things like plasma TVs and card tables.
“This is another level,” he said. “I’m surprised they don’t have more than this.”
All the players were impressed, though, by one feature that must have been a welcome sight after a year of hotel rooms: The showers were of NBA-caliber, including nozzles that were high enough for even the tallest players.
• • •
When he woke up Monday morning, the Big 12 Tournament was the farthest thing from Darrell Arthur’s mind.
He woke up with a sharp pain in his chest and struggled to breathe. He feared he may have been suffering a heart attack. After calling his mom, he walked from his Jayhawk Towers apartment to the Allen Fieldhouse trainer’s room. From there, he was driven to the hospital, where doctors told him he was suffering from a lung virus.
“It was a little gas that got caught inside and made it hard for me to breathe,” Arthur said. “They said it was just a mild virus that was going to be gone by the end of the week.”
As the virus cleared up, doctors cleared him to gradually increase his playing time, going from 10 minutes on Friday to near-full participation on Sunday.
“I think the virus is out now,” he said. “I’ve got to go to the doctor in the morning for more tests.”
It was a rough weekend medically for Arthur, as his playing time was interrupted when he took a knee to the groin during Sunday’s game.
“He tried to come back and give it a go, but they felt that he had a pretty good bruise,” coach Bill Self said. “He’s just going to have to grind it out and play through it, because we need him.”
• • •
I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, so I did a double-take. Sure enough, I had heard the man correctly. The scalper had two fingers thrust into the air.
“I need two for the women’s game,” he yelled at nobody in particular.
Perhaps the best sign that Oklahoma City welcomed the Big 12 Tournament with open arms is this: the women played to sellout crowds all week, with tickets for the final game selling for twice what they were initially worth.
It was the first time the city had hosted the tournament, and the throngs of Oklahomans combined with the visiting swarm from Kansas created a high-demand ticket.
The hottest seats were for Saturday’s men’s games, featuring both Kansas and Oklahoma State.
Keith Preston, Valley Center graduate student, made the five-hour drive to the arena with his wife, Valerie, but the two watched the game on a television set up outside.
“We’ll try to buy tickets after a team loses,” he said. “Right now, it’s too expensive. They’re asking for $100.”
The ticket market boomed when hometown favorites Oklahoma State upset Texas A&M on Friday night. Anticipating some fans would leave, tournament organizers sold 13,000 tickets to the championship game, which took place in the 11,000-seat Cox Convention Center. Organizers guessed correctly, and the stadium was packed as Oklahoma defeated Iowa State.
After the game, the party moved down the street to Bricktown, where Jayhawk fans dominated the area bars.
“There’s a lot of stuff to do, if you’re 21,” David Piatt, Neodesha senior, said.
• • •
Back at their hotel on Friday and Saturday, the Jayhawks passed the time between games.
“We just get off our feet for a while and enjoy the win,” freshman guard Sherron Collins said. “We’ll just go to the hotel and be around each other.”
Unlike other teams, the Jayhawks aren’t surprised when they win.
Coach Bill Self said they treated the first two victories with a business-like attitude instead of partying.
“They’re just ready to get back to their rooms and play PlayStation,” he joked.
With Kansas playing early in the day, the players had the afternoons to themselves while the assistant coaches remained at the Ford Center to scout out the opponent.
During dinner, the coaches showed video of the next opponent, stopping occasionally to offer insights into possible match-ups and weaknesses.
Self said that this year’s team was particularly good about keeping its focus in hectic situations like the tournament.
“If our guys aren’t focused, then we won’t have a chance to go very far,” he said. “So many things could throw your focus off. It could be agents, runners, media requests, friends, girlfriends, family members, tickets, cell phones. All of the sudden you start trying to be something to a lot of people, and you’ve lost it.”
That hasn’t happened to this year’s team. Left to themselves after the scouting session, the players didn’t tear up the town.
“You’ve got to get away from basketball for a while,” Robinson said. “We’ll watch a movie and play some cards.”
• • •
Throughout the season, the Jayhawks finished their huddles by yelling “Big 12 champs” in unison. Last weekend, they shifted their battle cry to “tournament champs.”
Now that two of their big goals have been achieved, they head to Chicago to chase a third.
“I love the way this team is playing,” sophomore guard Brandon Rush said. “Everything is going perfect right now. We’re playing well on defense and on offense, and we’re running up the court like we’re supposed to.”
Perfection is the goal in March, as the Jayhawks begin to put their regular-season success behind them. Their new chant was unveiled after Self brought down the last pieces of the net. It’s simple, but catchy.
“National champs.”