Victory makes memories sweeter

Topeka Capital-Journal, The,  Mar 25, 2002  by Pete Goering Capital-Journal

Other Final Fours: Jayhawk alumni say this kind of season is unforgettable

MADISON, Wis. --- Because he stands 6-foot-10, Dave Robisch had a better view than most Kansas fans watching the Jayhawk players cut down the nets here Sunday afternoon.

Robisch also had a better idea of what the Jayhawks were feeling after they earned a trip to the NCAA Final Four by beating Oregon 104- 86 in the Midwest Regional final.  He has been there up on the ladder cutting down the nets.

"It's the greatest feeling in the world," said Robisch, a two- time Big Eight Player of the Year and KU's leading scorer in 1971, when the Jayhawks beat Drake in the Midwest Regional final in Wichita. "You'll never forget it."

Alonzo Jamison hasn't. "It still feels like it was just yesterday we did it," said Jamison, the most valuable player of the 1991 Southeast Regional, where KU upset Arkansas in the championship game, earning coach Roy Williams his first ticket to the Final Four.

Jamison can still feel it, but the feeling is hard to describe. "Everybody just goes crazy," he said with a laugh. "It's great.

"I don't think they know right now how good this really is," Jamison said, nodding to the court where Jayhawk senior Jeff Boschee was clipping the final strand of net on the east goal. "At times this year, they had some low points, but they always found a way to win. That's something they should savor; this moment is something they should savor, but I don't think they know that."

Roger Brown doesn't think so, either. In fact, 31 years after he helped Robisch and the Jayhawks cut down the nets in Henry Levitt Arena in Wichita, Brown still finds the feeling difficult to describe.

"It's really hard (to describe)," said Brown, who works for the Chicago Board of Education, "but it's something that will stay with anyone for the rest of your life. You always will remember what happened.

"It's not going to hit (the KU players) until the tournament is over because you're so caught up in the moment and in preparing for the next game, but this is a special moment."

The 6-foot-10 Brown and Robisch gave that '71 team an inside combination reminiscent of this year's duo of Drew Gooden and Nick Collison. There is another similarity, too. The Brown-Robisch team was the last KU team that went undefeated in conference play until KU reeled off a 16-0 mark in the Big 12 Conference this season.

Robisch didn't care to extend the comparisons much farther. "It's hard to compare different eras," he said. "We did go undefeated in conference like they did, and that's a special feeling to run the table, but we were different teams. "I'm just so happy for coach Williams," Robisch said. "He's taken a lot of criticism, a lot of unfair criticism, but his teams are great and they play hard. He deserves it."

Sunday's victory sends Williams to his third Final Four. They Jayhawks will play Maryland on Saturday in Atlanta. Jamison's advice to the Jayhawks is to "take it all in, enjoy it." "This doesn't happen on a yearly basis," he said, "so enjoy it, but still you have to remember you've got some more games to play."

"You start at the beginning of the season to be ready for this moment," added Brown, "so be proud that you're one of four teams still play, but be ready."