Finishing school

Sporting News, The, Nov 24, 1997 by Mike DeCourcy

He is college basketball's Mr. October. Roy Williams begins practice with the Kansas Jayhawks every year at that time and within a few weeks his troops are laps ahead of everyone else in the game.

This is wonderful if your goal is to win in December. But if your goal is to win in December you ought to be coaching a pro football team. The idea in college hoops is to win in March and lately that has not been the case for Williams and KU.

"I totally agree " Kansas point guard Ryan Robertson says. "I think looking back in the two years I've been here that's something that's been very evident. My first year we started 11-0 and last year we were 22-0. Coach Williams does an excellent job of getting us ready. It's that last two or three weeks that we haven't come through.

"The one thing I learned and a lot of guys learned that it's not as important the regular season as we've made it. You're judged by how you do in the tournament."

The Jayhawks were seeded No. 1 in their region in 1995 and lost what amounted to a home game in Kansas City in the Sweet 16 to a Virginia team that couldn't shoot. In 1996, Syracuse knocked off the Jayhawks and last season Kansas was No. 1 in the world but lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16. Add it up, and the Jayhawks have lost to a lower-seeded team each of past three tourneys.

It is time for that to change. This season Kansas wins it all. Even the best coaches keep learning deep into their careers and that is likely the case with Coach Roy. He promised after the Arizona loss to spend the offseason searching for answers. The focus has begun to shift from being the best in the beginning to being the best at the end.

Kansas couldn't reach its peak on opening night even if it wanted. Until the semester break the Jayhawks will play without 6-9 center Lester Earl a transfer from LSU whose rebounding and shot-blocking will be key ingredients in the Jayhawks' success. Freshman center Eric Chenowith, who would have gained valuable experience while Earl was waiting will be weakened in the early part of the season by mononucleosis. Kansas having employed more ground-bound centers the past few years, will need time to adapt to having Karl's striking quickness in the middle. Also freshman shooting guard Kenny Gregory still is learning a complex offense.

Robertson is taking over the point from Jacque Vaughn, but that may be more of an enhancement than an adjustment. Robertson's jumper forces opponents to play him honest rather than backing into the lane and gumming up the Jayhawks' flow as they did when Vaughn was in charge. With Robertson at the point while Vaughn was injured, KU opened 10-0 last season.

"It's just so hard to think about March constantly and revolve your thoughts primarily around it." Robertson says. "If you were to ask me what is in the back of my mind sure (it's) the Final Four and the national championship.

"We looked a little sluggish in the game we lost (to Arizona) and part of that is because we put so much time and effort into the conference schedule, the conference tournament. I have all the confidence in the the world in Coach Williams. He's definitely been in this situation before. The more we can do to be ready for the tournament, the better off we'll be."

On guard, guard, guard

The craze in college basketball last season was the three-guard offense, which fueled such teams as South Carolina, Duke and Massachusetts to the NCAA Tournament and Arizona to the national title. These are the best of this year's three-guard sets:

1. Arizona. Point man Mike Bibby and shooting guard Miles Simon have been projected as All-Americans--although naming Simon seems an overreaction to his choice as Final Four MVP--and all Michael Dickerson did was lead Arizona in scoring last season. The Wildcats showed the nation how to use this scheme at the Final Four, stressing penetration that breaks down a defense and 3-point baskets that break an opponent's spirit.

2. TCU. Since his days as a Las Vegas high school star who kept rolling high numbers, 5-10 Prince Fowler has been difficult to classify. Point guard or shooting guard? For coach Billy Tubbs, he is a weapon, a package of pure speed who can run the offense and just plain run. With versatile scorer Mike Jones on one side and rangy Malcolm Johnson on the other, the Horned Frogs operate one of the most fearsome offensive machines in Division I.

3. Connecticut. The only way UConn is going to keep Ricky Moore and freshman Khalid El-Amin happy--and put its five best players on the floor--is to use them along with sophomore Richard Hamilton in a three-guard attack. Moore is a pure floor leader, which should free El-Amin to use his quickness and power to attack defenses. There's not much Hamilton can't do.

Bull market

If you listened to us last year and bought into the programs we were touting as rising forces, you'd have ridden four of our five picks (Xavier, Illinois State, Illinois and Rhode Island) into the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma State is the only one that let us down.