1997-98
100th Season of KU Basketball!!!
| OVERALL |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
CONFERENCE |
PLACE |
CONF. TOURNEY |
POST-SEASON |
| 35-4 |
16-0 |
8-2 |
11-2 |
15-1 |
1st |
3-0 Champs |
1-1 NCAA |
ROSTER:
| NO. |
POS. |
NAME |
CLASS |
HGT. |
WGT. |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| |
|
RETURNEES: |
|
|
|
|
| 21 |
F |
Nick Bradford
* |
So. |
6'6 |
175 |
Fayetteville, AR (Fayetteville HS) |
| 45 |
F |
Raef LaFrentz
*** Cpt. |
Sr. |
6'11 |
235 |
Monona, IA (MFL-Mar Mac HS) |
| 24 |
G |
C. B. McGrath *** Cpt. |
Sr. |
5'11 |
173 |
Topeka, KS (Topeka West HS) |
| So |
G |
Terry Nooner
* |
So. |
6'0 |
170 |
Raytown, MO (Raytown HS) |
| 34 |
F |
Paul Pierce ** |
Jr. |
6'7 |
220 |
Inglewood, CA (Inglewood HS) |
| 32 |
F/C |
T. J. Pugh ** |
Jr. |
6'8 |
246 |
Omaha, NE (Creighton Prep) |
| 4 |
G |
Ryan Robertson ** |
Jr. |
6'5 |
182 |
St. Charles, MO (St. Charles West HS) |
| 12 |
G |
Billy Thomas *** Cpt. |
Sr. |
6'4 |
208 |
Shreveport, LA (Loyola Prep HS) |
| |
|
NEW FACES: |
|
|
|
|
| 44 |
C |
Eric Chenowith |
Fr. |
7'0 |
235 |
Villa Park, CA (Villa Park HS) |
| 3 |
F/C |
Lester
Earl+ |
So. |
6'8 |
235 |
Baton Rouge, LA (LSU/Glen Oaks HS) |
| 20 |
G |
Kenny Gregory |
Fr. |
6'5 |
215 |
Columbus, OH (Independence HS) |
| 23 |
G |
Jelani Janisse |
Jr. |
6'3 |
200 |
Granada Hills, CA (Los Angeles CC) |
| 30 |
G |
Chris Martin # |
Jr. |
6'2 |
190 |
Overland Park, KS (Shawnee-Mission So. HS) |
| |
|
REDSHIRT: |
|
|
|
|
| 22 |
F/C |
Jeff Carey |
Fr. |
6'11 |
230 |
Camdenton, MO (Camdenton HS) |
* Varsity Letters Cpt.
- Captain # - Walk-on
+
Eligible 12/19/97
LOSSES FROM LAST YEAR (97 STATS):
| PLAYER LOSSES |
Class |
Hgt. |
POS. |
G/GS |
PTS |
PPG |
RBS |
RPG |
PPts |
STATUS |
|
Joel Branstrom |
Sr. |
6'6 |
F |
22/0 |
20 |
0.9 |
7 |
0.3 |
0.72 |
Graduated |
|
Jerod Haase |
Sr. |
6'3 |
G |
36/36 |
433 |
12.0 |
132 |
3.7 |
12.89 |
Graduated |
|
Scot Pollard |
Sr. |
6'11 |
C |
28/26 |
288 |
10.3 |
232 |
8.3 |
17.14 |
Graduated |
|
Steve Ransom |
Sr. |
6'6 |
F |
21/0 |
16 |
0.8 |
8 |
0.4 |
0.66 |
Graduated |
|
Jacque Vaughn |
Sr. |
6'1 |
G |
26/25 |
264 |
10.2 |
62 |
2.4 |
13.19 |
Graduated |
|
B. J. Williams |
Sr. |
6'8 |
F |
36/11 |
101 |
2.8 |
140 |
3.9 |
6.22 |
Graduated |
| TOTALS |
|
|
|
|
1122 |
31.2 |
581 |
16.1 |
50.82 |
|
| PRESEASON OUTLOOK:
Despite heavy losses from the '97 squad, including NBA bound
Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard, as well as stalwarts Jerod Haase
and BJ Williams, the '98 season looks promising with the return
of pre-season All-American forwards, 6'11 Raef LaFrentz
and 6'7 Paul Pierce, along with seasoned veterans Billy Thomas,
a deadly shooter from three-point range, point guard Ryan
Robertson and solid TJ Pugh. They will be joined by
heralded transfer Lester Earl, a 6'8 leaper and highly regarded
freshmen, F/G Kenny Gregory and 7'1 center Eric Chenowith.
The schedule is extremely difficult, including a re-match
with Arizona, Massachusetts at home, Maryland and Southern Cal
on the road, before getting into the tough conference schedule,
which includes two very tough Oklahoma teams.
|
| SEASON
SUMMARY:
Everyone knew that KU was a lock this year for
the national championship. They had everything, two All-Americans in LaFrentz and Pierce, a deadly gunner in Billy
Thomas, a solid and smart point guard in Ryan Robertson, and a
strong bench. They came into the NCAAs as a No. 1 seed,
and easily polished off Prairie View and then were stunned by
upstart Rhode Island, in what to me was one of the most
disappointing, unbelievable losses ever incurred by a Jayhawk
squad. KU came out cold and just never warmed up, while Rhode
Island, led by two hot-shooting guards, couldn't miss. Bad
end to a great season, otherwise.
The only blemishes to an almost perfect
season, included two December tourney losses to Maryland and
Hawaii, and a squeaker to Missouri at Columbia in January.
Afterwards, the Jayhawks won 14 straight games, to finish the
conference with a three-game lead, take the conference tourney,
and storm into the NCAA ranked No.1.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- KU won its 4th consecutive conference
championship.
- Jayhawks won second straight Big 12 tourney
title.
- Two Jayhawks (LaFrentz and Pierce) were
consensus first-team All-Americans.
- Tied for most Kansas games won in one
season (34).
- Will carryover a 60 game home streak to
next season.
- Kansas senior class won more games (123) in
their 4 year careers than any in KU history, and they never
lost a home game.
1998 You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7qV5pPIYLc&feature=related
|
1998 FINAL TEAM STATISTICS (Team
highs in bold)
|
CATEGORY
|
KU
|
OPP
|
DIFF
|
Pierce,
Paul |
LaFrentz,
Raef |
Thomas,
Billy |
Robertson,
Ryan |
Earl,
Lester |
Gregory,
Kenny |
|
Games Played/Started
|
39 |
39 |
|
38/38 |
30/30 |
36/34 |
39/38 |
26/9 |
39/5 |
|
Minutes
|
7825 |
7825 |
|
1155 |
906 |
962 |
1223 |
539 |
617 |
|
Per Game
|
200.6 |
200.6 |
|
30.4 |
30.2 |
26.7 |
31.4 |
20.7 |
15.8 |
|
Points
|
3300 |
2628 |
672 |
777 |
593 |
489 |
324 |
197 |
277 |
|
Per Game
|
84.6 |
67.4 |
17.2 |
20.4 |
19.8 |
13.6 |
8.3 |
7.6 |
7.1 |
|
Rebounds
|
1682 |
1333 |
349 |
253 |
342 |
108 |
109 |
168 |
78 |
|
Per Game
|
43.1 |
34.2 |
8.9 |
6.7 |
11.4 |
3.0 |
2.8 |
6.5 |
2.0 |
|
Offensive
|
603 |
522 |
81 |
101 |
127 |
32 |
11 |
63 |
34 |
|
Defensive
|
1079 |
811 |
268 |
152 |
215 |
76 |
98 |
105 |
44 |
|
Blocks
|
220 |
122 |
98 |
43 |
45 |
4 |
12 |
27 |
8 |
|
Assists
|
746 |
512 |
234 |
98 |
30 |
101 |
248 |
24 |
51 |
|
Steals
|
315 |
316 |
-1 |
42 |
27 |
60 |
55 |
19 |
19 |
|
Turnovers
|
623 |
667 |
-44 |
110 |
76 |
48 |
93 |
38 |
41 |
|
(Assists+Steals)/TO
|
1.70 |
1.24 |
0.46 |
1.27 |
0.75 |
3.35 |
3.26 |
1.13 |
1.71 |
|
FG -Attempts
|
2536 |
2462 |
74 |
559 |
423 |
387 |
229 |
153 |
238 |
|
Made
|
1249 |
989 |
260 |
287 |
232 |
181 |
104 |
76 |
120 |
|
Percent
|
49.3 |
40.2 |
9.1 |
51.3 |
54.8 |
46.8 |
45.4 |
49.7 |
50.4 |
|
3FG-Attempts
|
610 |
673 |
-63 |
118 |
17 |
262 |
116 |
0 |
48 |
|
Made
|
229 |
211 |
18 |
40 |
8 |
105 |
50 |
0 |
15 |
|
Percent
|
37.5 |
31.4 |
6.1 |
33.9 |
47.1 |
40.1 |
43.1 |
0.0 |
31.3 |
|
FT-Attempts
|
842 |
671 |
171 |
221 |
164 |
32 |
90 |
69 |
54 |
|
Made
|
573 |
439 |
134 |
163 |
121 |
22 |
66 |
45 |
22 |
|
Percent
|
68.1 |
65.4 |
2.7 |
73.8 |
73.8 |
68.8 |
73.3 |
65.2 |
40.7 |
|
Production Points/Game
|
104.71 |
65.10 |
39.62 |
20.34 |
24.23 |
13.83 |
12.97 |
11.38 |
6.21 |
| Production
Points/Minute |
.522 |
.324 |
.198 |
.669 |
.802 |
.518 |
.414 |
.549 |
.392 |
Statistics, Cont'd
| CATEGORY |
Chenowith, Eric |
Pugh, T. J. |
Bradford, Nick |
Nooner, Terry |
McGrath, C. B. |
Janisse, Jelani |
Martin, Chris |
Team |
| Games Played/ Started |
39/10 |
30/27 |
39/3 |
22/0 |
38/1 |
23/0 |
20/0 |
|
| Minutes |
664 |
727 |
548 |
48 |
329 |
72 |
36 |
|
| Per Game |
17.0 |
24.2 |
14.1 |
2.2 |
8.7 |
3.1 |
1.8 |
|
| Points |
230 |
172 |
165 |
22 |
26 |
15 |
13 |
|
| Per Game |
5.9 |
5.7 |
4.2 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
|
| Rebounds |
191 |
150 |
96 |
4 |
33 |
19 |
9 |
122 |
| Per Game |
4.9 |
5.0 |
2.5 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
3.1 |
| Offensive |
61 |
61 |
39 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
59 |
| Defensive |
130 |
89 |
57 |
2 |
28 |
15 |
5 |
63 |
| Blocks |
62 |
9 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
| Assists |
29 |
19 |
65 |
4 |
61 |
8 |
8 |
|
| Steals |
13 |
13 |
35 |
5 |
20 |
5 |
2 |
|
| Turnovers |
61 |
40 |
57 |
5 |
24 |
20 |
5 |
5 |
| (Assists+Steals)/TO |
0.69 |
0.80 |
1.75 |
1.80 |
3.35 |
0.65 |
2.00 |
|
| FG - Attempts |
196 |
141 |
148 |
19 |
18 |
8 |
17 |
|
|
Made |
89 |
69 |
67 |
7 |
8 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
Percent |
45.4 |
48.9 |
45.3 |
36.8 |
44.4 |
62.5 |
23.5 |
|
| 3FG - Attempts |
1 |
7 |
15 |
16 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Made |
0 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
Percent |
0.0 |
14.3 |
13.3 |
37.5 |
0.0 |
100.0 |
0.0 |
|
| FT - Attempts |
76 |
56 |
48 |
2 |
17 |
5 |
8 |
|
| Made |
52 |
33 |
29 |
2 |
10 |
3 |
5 |
|
| Percent |
68.4 |
58.9 |
60.4 |
100.0 |
58.8 |
60.0 |
62.5 |
|
| Production Points/Game |
8.54 |
7.60 |
5.44 |
0.82 |
2.61 |
1.04 |
0.55 |
|
| Production Points/Minute |
.502 |
.314 |
.387 |
.375 |
.301 |
.333 |
.306 |
|
Source: KU Basketball Media Guide, 1999
GAME-BY-GAME
CAPS denote home game
* denotes Big 12 Conference game
|
Date
|
|
Opponent
|
Site
|
|
Result
|
|
Exhibition Games
|
|
Nov. 3
|
|
AUSTRALIA
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W, 117-87 |
|
Nov. 10
|
|
PELLA WINDOWS AAU
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W, 98-79 |
|
|
|
Nov. 14
|
|
SANTA
CLARA
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
99-73 |
|
Nov. 17
|
|
RICE
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
88-61 |
|
Preseason NIT
|
|
Nov. 19
|
|
WESTERN
KENTUCKY
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
75-62 |
|
Nov. 21
|
|
UNLV
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
92-68 |
|
Nov. 26
|
|
Arizona State
|
New York, N.Y.
|
|
W,
90-88 |
|
Nov. 28
|
|
Florida State
|
New York, N.Y.
|
|
W,
73-58 |
|
DirecTV Great Eight
|
|
Dec. 2
|
|
Arizona
|
Chicago, Ill.
|
|
W,
90-87 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec. 4
|
|
EMPORIA
STATE
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
102-50 |
|
Franklin National Bank Classic
|
|
Dec. 7
|
|
Maryland
|
Washington, D.C.
|
|
L,
83-86 |
|
Dec. 8
|
|
Penn
|
Washington, D.C.
|
|
W,
89-71 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec. 10
|
|
MASSACHUSETTS
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
73-71 |
|
Dec. 13
|
|
MIDDLE
TENNESSEE STATE
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
103-68 |
|
Dec. 18
|
|
PEPPERDINE
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
96-83 |
|
Sprint Shootout
|
|
Dec. 20
|
|
TCU
|
Kansas City, Mo.
|
|
W,
94-78 |
|
|
|
Dec. 23
|
|
Southern California
|
Los Angeles, Calif.
|
|
W,
74-69 |
|
Rainbow Classic
|
|
Dec. 28
|
|
Ohio State
|
Honolulu, Hawaii
|
|
W,
69-56 |
|
Dec. 29
|
|
Vanderbilt
|
Honolulu, Hawaii
|
|
W,
89-82 |
|
Dec. 30
|
|
Hawaii
|
Honolulu, Hawaii
|
|
L,
65-76 |
|
|
|
Jan. 3
|
|
*NEBRASKA
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
96-76 |
|
Jan. 7
|
|
*COLORADO
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
111-62 |
|
Jan. 10
|
|
*at Texas
|
Austin, Texas
|
|
W,
102-72 |
|
Jan. 14
|
|
*at Texas A&M
|
College Station, Texas
|
|
W,
83-65 |
|
Jan. 17
|
|
*KANSAS
STATE
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
69-62 |
|
Jan. 19
|
|
*at Missouri
|
Columbia, Mo.
|
|
L,
73-74 |
|
Jan. 24
|
|
*TEXAS
TECH
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
88-49 |
|
Jan. 28
|
|
*BAYLOR
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
94-47 |
|
Feb. 1
|
|
*at Nebraska
|
Lincoln, Neb.
|
|
W,
82-71 |
|
Feb. 4
|
|
*at Iowa
State
|
Ames, Iowa
|
|
W,
83-62 |
|
Feb. 8
|
|
*MISSOURI
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
80-70 |
|
Feb. 14
|
|
*at Kansas
State
|
Manhattan, Kan.
|
|
W,
73-58 |
|
Feb. 16
|
|
*at Colorado
|
Boulder, Colo.
|
|
W,
81-72 |
|
Feb. 21
|
|
*IOWA
STATE
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
71-54 |
|
Feb. 23
|
|
*OKLAHOMA
|
LAWRENCE
|
|
W,
83-70 |
|
March 1
|
|
*at Oklahoma State
|
Stillwater, Okla.
|
|
W,
71-67 |
|
March 5-8 Big
12 Conference Tournament
|
|
March 6
|
|
Kansas State
|
Kansas City, Mo.
|
|
W,
68-61 |
|
March 7
|
|
Nebraska
|
|
W,
94-59 |
|
March 8
|
|
Oklahoma
|
|
W,
72-58 |
|
March 13-15 NCAA Midwest Regional
|
|
March 13
|
|
Prarie View
|
Oklahoma City
|
|
W,
110-52 |
|
March 15
|
|
Rhode Island
|
L,
80-75 |
| |
KU vs. UMass, Dec 10, 1997:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4wNCSmf8Rg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2%2Ekusports%2Ecom%2Fweblogs%2Fnewell%5Fpost%2F2009%2Fjun%2F12%2Fbilly%2Dthomas%2Djayhawk%2Dflashback%2Dumass%2D121097%2F&feature=player_embedded
LINK TO 1998 NATIONAL STATISTICS
Link to
Big 12 Conference
for 1998
|