1996-97
OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL CONFERENCE PLACE CONF. TOURNEY POST-SEASON
34-2 15-0 10-1 9-1 15-1 1st 3-0 Champs 2-1 NCAA

ROSTER:

NO. POS. NAME CLASS HGT. WGT. Hometown (Previous School)
     RETURNEES:  
20 F Joel Branstrom * # Sr. 6'6 197 Half Moon Bay, CA (Canada JC)
35 G Jerod Haase ** Cpt. Sr. 6'3 191 South Lake Tahoe, CA (Univ. of Cal.)
45 F Raef LaFrentz ** Jr. 6'11 235 Monona, IA (MFL-Mar Mac HS)
24 G C. B. McGrath ** Jr. 5'11 173 Topeka, KS (Topeka West HS)
34 F Paul Pierce * So. 6'7 220 Los Angeles, CA (Inglewood HS)
31 C Scot Pollard *** Cpt. Sr. 6'11 265 San Diego, CA (Torrey Pines HS)
32 F T. J. Pugh * So. 6'8 246 Omaha, NE (Creighton Prep HS)
42 F Steve Ransom * # Sr. 6'6 205 Mission Viejo, CA (Irvine Valley CC)
4 G Ryan Robertson * So. 6'5 182 St. Charles, MO (St. Charles West HS)
12 G/F Billy Thomas ** Jr. 6'4 208 Shreveport, LA (Loyola Prep HS)
11 G Jacque Vaughn *** Cpt. Sr. 6'1 195 Pasadena, CA (John Muir HS)
22 F B. J. Williams *** Cpt. Sr. 6'8 206 Wichita, KS (Wichita South HS)
  NEW FACES:
21 F Nick Bradford Fr. 6'6 175 Fayetteville, AR (Fayetteville HS)
5 G Terry Nooner # Fr. 5'10 170 Raytown, MO (Raytown HS)

* Varsity Letters       Cpt. = Captain         # Walk-on

HEAD COACH

Roy Williams, 9th Year

Asst. Coaches:

Matt Doherty, Asst., 6th Year

Neil Dougherty, Asst., 3rd Year

Joe Holladay, Asst., 5th Year

 

LOSSES FROM LAST YEAR ('96 stats):

PLAYER LOSSES Class Hgt. POS. G/GS PTS PPG RBS RPG PPts STATUS
Sean Pearson Sr. 6'5 F 34/1 154 4.5 48 1.4 3.68 Graduated
Calvin Rayford Sr. 5'7 G 34/1 25 0.7 24 0.7 2.41 Graduated
T. J. Whatley Sr. 6'4 G 19/1 18 0.9 8 0.4 0.47 Graduated
TOTALS         197 5.8 80 2.4 6.53  

 

PRESEASON OUTLOOK:

With all five starters and six reserves returning from last years 29-5 club, KU is a team to be reckoned with.  However, Jacque Vaughn suffered ligament damage to his right wrist on September 10 in a pickup game, and will be out an estimated 12-16 weeks, requiring soph Ryan Robertson to assume control in the interim.

Several preseason polls have KU at No. 1.  However, the preseason schedule is difficult, with road games slated at UCLA, Connecticut and Santa Clara, as well as tourney games with Cincinnati, George Washington, and N. C. State.

 

SEASON SUMMARY:

Armed with one of the most talented senior classes in Kansas history, the Jayhawks began the season 22-0, finished 34-2 and ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. Along the injury-riddled way, the Jayhawks captured the first ever Big 12 Conference title and earned the label as one of KU's Best Teams Ever.

One could make the argument that the 1996-97 Jayhawk team could have been even better if not for injuries. Senior point guard Jacque Vaughn missed the first 10 games of the season with a wrist injury. In late January, senior center Scot Pollard sat out eight games with a broken bone in his foot. And when KU was bounced from the NCAA Tournament by eventual champion Arizona, senior guard Jerod Haase could barely dribble because of a throbbing wrist.

Despite the injuries and the upset loss to Arizona, the 1996-97 season was one heckuva ride.  Consider what Kansas accomplished in the 1996-97 season:

  • Kansas won the first ever Big 12 Conference championship by four full games, then captured the inaugural Big 12 Conference Tournament championship.
  • The Jayhawks established a school record with 29 regular season victories.
  • KU set a school record by winning 22 consecutive games to begin the season.
  • The ‘Hawks appeared in the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth straight season.
  • Kansas ran its streak of consecutive homecourt victories to 44, the longest current streak in college basketball.
  • The Jayhawks were 9-1 against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 at game time.
  • KU's 34 victories were the second-most single-season wins in school history.
  • Kansas was No. 1 in the AP poll for 15 consecutive weeks, and the Jayhawks finished atop the AP poll for the first time in history.
  • The Jayhawks captured the Maui Invitational in November, then defeated nationally-ranked Cincinnati in the Great Eight.
  • Kansas coach Roy Williams upped his career winning percentage to over .800 (the second-highest among active Division I coaches), and he broke an NCAA record for the most victories in the first nine seasons of a coaching career.
  • Junior forward Raef LaFrentz emerged as one of the nation's top players. He was a consensus first team All-American and the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.
  • Two Jayhawks -- Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase -- were named first team GTE Academic All-American. Vaughn was the Academic All-American of the Year.
  • Vaughn, despite missing 10 games with an injury, smashed the Kansas and Big Eight Conference record for career assists with 804.
  • Paul Pierce elevated his game in March, leading Kansas in scoring in all six postseason games. After leading Kansas to the Big 12 Tournament title, Pierce was named tournament MVP.
  • The Big 12 Tournament title, which concluded with a win over border rival Missouri, was KU's first league tournament title since 1992.

What makes KU's accomplishments last season most remarkable is that the Jayhawks played 18 games without a senior starter. Vaughn (wrist) missed the first 10 games of the season and Pollard (foot) missed eight games in January and February. In addition, Jerod Haase played most of the season with a broken bone in his right hand.

Big deficits did not seem to bother the Jayhawks in 1996-97. Three times Kansas faced deficits of 16 points or more, and all three times the ‘Hawks came away with a victory. l The Jayhawks began the season on a solid note, beating Santa Clara before sweeping LSU, California and Virginia to win the Maui Invitational.

Kansas first ascended to the No. 1 ranking in early December and immediately faced a huge challenge in No. 4-ranked Cincinnati at the Great Eight in Chicago, Ill. The Bearcats, behind Danny Fortson, bolted to a 16-point lead and led 35-23 at intermission. In the second half, however, Pierce caught fire and helped carry the Jayhawks to a 72-65 victory in front of 21,062 fans at the United Center.

When the seniors went down with injuries, the underclassmen stepped up. Sophomore Ryan Robertson filled in at point guard for Vaughn and led Kansas to a 10-0 record including wins over nationally-ranked Cincinnati and UCLA. B.J. Williams made his first career start at Colorado and responded with a career game. Junior Billy Thomas was one of the league's top reserves and sophomore T.J. Pugh was a force off the bench.

Four players -- Haase, LaFrentz, Pollard and Vaughn -- all eclipsed 1,000 points in 1996-97. Never before in Kansas history had four players reached the 1,000-point plateau in the same season. Pierce, who finished his sophomore season with 991 career points, nearly put the entire starting lineup in the 1,000-point club.

Led by LaFrentz's remarkable numbers, Kansas made its mark on the record books.

LaFrentz finished his junior season ranked fifth in career scoring, 10th in blocked shots and 11th in scoring. With 1,473 career points, LaFrentz has positioned himself to become just the second player in KU history to register 2,000 career points (Danny Manning scored 2,951 points).

Pollard, despite playing as a reserve for two seasons and missing eight games with an injury last season, finished his career as KU's second-most prolific shot-blocker and fourth-most prolific rebounder.

For the first time in Kansas history, two players were selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Scot Pollard was selected 19th by the Detroit Pistons and Jacque Vaughn was taken 27th by the Utah Jazz.

HIGHLIGHTS:

KU's 99th Team Makes Argument For Best Ever Season.
Kansas fans loved the 1997 Jayhawk team and what was not to love? Kansas won its first 22 games of the season and was ranked No. 1 for 15 consecutive weeks. The Jayhawks easily won the first ever Big 12 Conference title and their 34-2 record certainly qualifies as one of KU's best teams ever.  Kansas fans coveted this team. When Jacque Vaughn severely injured his wrist, he received hundreds of get well cards from fans. When KU played its final home game of the season, Kansas fans covered the Allen Fieldhouse floor with roses. And when the game was over (KU beat Kansas State) all 16,300 fans remained in their seats for nearly an hour to listen to the seniors bid farewell.

Source:  A Century of Basketball

Link to 1997 March Sadness

1997  FINAL TEAM STATISTICS (Team highs in bold)

CATEGORY

KU

OPP

DIFF

 LaFrentz, Raef Pierce, Paul Haase, Jerod Pollard, Scot Vaughn, Jacque Thomas, Billy

Games Played/Started

36 36 36/36 36/35 36/36 28/26 26/25 36/0

Minutes

7275 7275 1041 1013 934 702 820 573

    Per Game

202.1 202.1 28.9 28.1 25.9 25.1 31.5 15.9

Points

3058 2380 678 666 587 433 288 264 278

    Per Game

84.9 66.1 18.8 18.5 16.3 12.0 10.3 10.2 7.7

Rebounds

1532 1158 374 335 243 132 232 62 64

    Per Game

42.6 32.2 10.4 9.3 6.8 3.7 8.3 2.4 1.8

    Offensive

560 435 125 126 83 39 80 6 22

    Defensive

972 723 249 209 160 93 152 56 42

Blocks

222 113 109 46 28 5 73 4 4

Assists

598 427 171 25 77 111 19 162 27

Steals

351 307 44 33 61 67 35 46 27

Turnovers

571 667 -96 64 108 91 42 64 37

(Assists+Steals)/TO

1.66 1.10 0.56 0.91 1.28 1.96 1.29 3.25 1.46

FG -Attempts

2222 2116 106 447 441 285 178 185 242

       Made

1084 848 236 261 215 141 94 79 97

       Percent

48.8 40.1 8.7 58.4 48.8 49.5 52.8 42.7 40.1

3FG-Attempts

506 615 -109 6 71 93 1 54 178

       Made

192 205 -13 1 33 34 1 18 73

       Percent

37.9 33.3 4.6 16.7 46.5 36.6 100.0 33.3 41.0

FT-Attempts

1007 731 276 188 173 166 140 113 15

     Made

698 479 219 143 124 117 99 88 11

     Percent

69.3 65.5 3.8 76.1 71.7 70.5 70.7 77.9 73.3

Production Points/Game

103.97 61.06 42.91 22.50 17.03 12.89 17.14 13.19 5.94
Production Points/Minute .515 .302 .213 .778 .605 .497 .684 .418 .373

Statistics, Cont'd

CATEGORY  Robertson, Ryan Pugh,
T. J.
Williams, B.J. Bradford, Nick Nooner, Terry Branstrom, Jeff Ransom, Steve McGrath, C. B. Team
Games Played/ Started 36/11 36/0 36/11 34/0 21/0 22/0 21/0 25/0
Minutes 654 412 641 253 38 45 40 108
   Per Game 18.2 11.4 17.8 7.4 1.8 2.0 1.9 4.3
Points 161 128 101 78 21 20 16 17
   Per Game 4.5 3.6 2.8 2.3 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7
Rebounds 54 74 140 43 8 7 8 23 107
   Per Game 1.5 2.1 3.9 1.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.9
   Offensive 17 36 50 21 4 4 1 4 67
   Defensive 37 38 90 22 4 3 7 19 40
Blocks 7 6 36 10 1 2 0 0
Assists 99 8 20 24 3 3 1 19
Steals 16 6 37 11 4 2 1 5
Turnovers 46 28 29 36 6 5 2 7 6
(Assists+Steals)/TO 2.50 0.50 1.97 0.97 1.17 1.00 1.00 3.43
FG - Attempts 120 89 92 82 20 12 16 13
         Made 50 48 39 33 8 7 6 6
         Percent 41.7 53.9 42.4 40.2 40.0 58.3 37.5 46.2
3FG - Attempts 58 7 1 22 12 0 1 2
         Made 24 1 0 3 4 0 0 0
         Percent 41.4 14.3 0.0 13.6 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
FT - Attempts 46 60 51 25 2 14 4 10
        Made 37 31 23 9 1 6 4 5
        Percent 80.4 51.7 45.1 36.0 50.0 42.9 100.0 50.0
Production Points/Game 5.89 3.44 6.22 1.91 0.86 0.72 0.66 1.80
Production Points/Minute .324 .301 .349 .257 .474 .356 .350 .417

Source:   1998 KU Basketball Media Guide

GAME-BY-GAME

Date

Opponent

Result

W-L

Big 12

Attendance

N 22

at Santa Clara

W

76-64

1-0

---

6,418

N 25

^LSU

W

82-53

2-0

---

(c) 2,500

N 26

^California

W

85-67

3-0

---

(c) 2,500

N 27

^Virginia

W

80-63

4-0

---

(c) 2,500

D 1

SAN DIEGO

W

79-72

5-0

---

14,900

D 4

$Cincinnati (4)

W

72-65

6-0

---

21,062

D 7

at UCLA (17)

W

96-83

7-0

---

12,060

D 11

G. WASHINGTON

W

85-56

8-0

---

(c) 16,300

D 15

NC ASHEVILLE

W

105-73

9-0

---

15,600

D 21

N.C. STATE

W

84-56

10-0

---

(c) 16,300

D 30

WASHBURN

W

90-65

11-0

---

(c) 16,300

J 2

BROWN

W

107-49

12-0

---

(c) 16,300

J 4

*at Kansas State

W

62-59

13-0

1-0

(c) 13,500

J 6

*TEXAS (19)

W

86-61

14-0

2-0

(c) 16,300

J 9

NIAGARA

W

134-73

15-0

---

16,000

J 11

*at Baylor

W

87-68

16-0

3-0

(c) 10,475

J 13

*IOWA STATE (8)

W

80-67

17-0

4-0

(c) 16,300

J 19

at Connecticut

W

73-65

18-0

---

(c) 16,294

J 22

*TEXAS A&M

W

89-60

19-0

5-0

(c) 16,300

J 26

*at Colorado (18)

W

77-68

20-0

6-0

(c) 11,198

J 29

*at Texas Tech (20)

W

86-77

21-0

7-0

(c) 8,174

F 1

*NEBRASKA

W

82-77 (ot)

22-0

8-0

(c) 16,300

F 4

*at Missouri

L

94-96 (2ot)

22-1

8-1

(c) 13,300

F 9

*at Iowa State (6)

W

69-62

23-1

9-1

(c) 14,325

F 12

*OKLAHOMA ST.

W

104-72

24-1

10-1

(c) 16,300

F 15

*COLORADO (15)

W

114-74

25-1

11-1

(c) 16,300

F 17

*MISSOURI

W

79-67

26-1

12-1

(c) 16,300

F 22

*KANSAS STATE

W

78-58

27-1

13-1

(c) 16,300

F 24

*at Oklahoma

W

70-68

28-1

14-1

(c) 12,875

M 2

*at Nebraska

W

85-65

29-1

15-1

(c) 14,759

M 7

**Oklahoma State

W

74-59

30-1

---

(c) 19,310

M 8

**Iowa State (16)

W

72-48

31-1

---

(c) 19,310

M 9

**Missouri

W

87-60

32-1

---

(c) 19,310

M 13

#Jackson State

W

78-64

33-1

---

15,000

M 15

#Purdue

W

75-61

34-1

---

14,000

M 21

+Arizona (15)

L

82-85

34-2

---

(c) 17,647

 

( ) opponent's ranking at time of game (c) = capacity crowd
CAPS home game
*Conference game
**Big 12 Conference Tournament at Kansas City
#NCAA Southeast Sub-Regional at Memphis, Tenn.
+NCAA Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Ala.
^Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii
$Great Eight at Chicago, Ill.

LINK TO 1997 NATIONAL STATISTICS

Link to Big 12 Conference for 1997


1600: Hawks find Hawaiian paradise, November 28, 1996