1999-00
OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL CONFERENCE PLACE CONF. TOURNEY POST-SEASON
 24-10 13-1 5-5 6-4 11-5 5th 1-1 1-1 NCAA

ROSTER:

NO. POS. NAME CLASS HGT. WGT. Hometown (Previous School)
       RETURNEES:        
13 G Jeff Boshee* So. 6'1 185 Valley City, ND (Valley City HS)
21 F/C Nick Bradford*** Cpt. Sr. 6'7 205 Fayetteville, AR (Fayette HS)
22 F/C Jeff Carey* So. 6'10 247 Camdenton, MO (Camdenton HS)
44 C Eric Chenowith** Jr. 7'1 260 Villa Park, CA (Villa Park HS)
12 G John Crider* So. 6'4 180 Horton, KS (Horton HS)
3 F Lester Earl ** Cpt. Sr. 6'8 240 Baton Rouge, LA (LSU)
20 F/G Kenny Gregory** Jr. 6'5 205 Columbus, OH (Independence HS)
32 F Ashante Johnson* Cpt. Sr. 6'9 215 San Diego, CA (Canada CC)
24 G Marlon London* So. 6'4 200 Broadview, IL (St. Josephs HS)
5 G Terry Nooner*** #Cpt. Sr. 6'1 191 Raytown, MO (Raytown HS)
       NEW FACES:        
33 F/G Luke Axtell Jr. 6'10 220 Austin, TX (Texas Univ.)
4 F Nick Collison Fr. 6'9 240 Iowa Falls, IA (Iowa Falls HS)
0 F Drew Gooden Fr. 6'9 221 Richmond, CA (El Cerrito HS)
10 G Kirk Hinrich Fr. 6'3 180 Sioux City, IA (Sioux City West HS)

* - Varsity Letters         # - Walk-on             Cpt. - Team Captain

HEAD COACH

Roy Williams, 12th Year

Asst. Coaches:

Joe Holladay, Asst. coach, 7th Year

Neil Dougherty, Asst. Coach, 5th Year

Ben Miller, Asst. Coach, 1st Year

 

LOSSES FROM LAST YEAR ('99 stats):

PLAYER LOSSES Class Hgt. POS. G/GS PTS PPG RBS RPG PPts STATUS
Jelani Janisse Sr. 6'3 G 16/1 10 0.6 6 0.4 0.50 Graduated
Chris Martin Sr. 6'2 G 9/1 3 0.3 2 0.2 0.33 Graduated
T. J. Pugh Sr. 6'8 F 30/15 147 4.9 142 4.7 7.93 Graduated
Ryan Robertson Sr. 6'5 G 33/33 424 12.8 132 4.0 14.97  
TOTALS         584 17.7 282 8.5 23.73  

 

PRESEASON OUTLOOK:

While losing Ryan Robertson and steady T. J. Pugh to graduation, the 2000 campaign looks bright due to a strong cadre of returnees and one of Williams' most promising recruiting classes.  The post looks strong with Jr. Eric Chenowith and Sr. Lester Earl.

Luke Axtell, a Pete Maravich look-alike, finally gets a chance to play after transferring from the University of Texas, where he had an outstanding freshman season.  Joining him will be three outstanding freshmen.

Post – 6’10 Junior Eric Chenowith has this position locked up as the starter.  Backups will be 6’9 Sophomore Jeff Carey, and 6’10 Freshman Nick Collison (although both are really forwards).

Power Forward – KU is loaded, with 6’8 senior Lester Earl, 6’8 sophomore Ashante Johnson, Collison, and Carey.

Swing Forward – Good depth here too, with 6’6 senior Nick Bradford, 6’5 junior Kenny Gregory, 6’8 and freshman Andrew Gooden.

Shooting Guard – I predict 6’9 sophomore Luke Axtell (a transfer from Texas, and a “Pete Maravich look-alike) will start, backed up by 6’3 sophomore Marlon London.

Point Guard – 6’0 Sophomore Jeff Boshee has a lock on this position, but 6’4 freshman Kirk Hinrich will push him.  6’2 sophomore John Crider and 6’0 senior Terry Nooner will get plenty of bench time.

 

SEASON SUMMARY:

One of the youngest teams in Kansas history, plagued by injuries throughout the season, compiled a record of 24-10 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th consecutive season in 1999-00.

In addition, the Jayhawks achieved a team goal by playing their best basketball at the end of the season.  In the NCAA Tournament, Kansas defeated DePaul (81-77 in overtime) before falling to No. 1-ranked Duke (69-64) in one of the most thrilling games of the tournament.

By late February, Roy Williams had three freshmen - Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Kirk Hinrich - in the starting lineup.  It marked the first time since the 1982-83 season that three Jayhawk freshmen were in the starting five.

Injuries haunted Kansas throughout the season.  Senior forward Lester Earl never fully recovered from a knee injury.  Junior Luke Axtell broke a finger in his left hand in October and he missed the final 14 games of the season with a medical condition. Senior Nick Bradford, sophomores Marlon London and Jeff Carey and freshman Drew Gooden also played with injuries.

In addition, Kansas faced one of the nation's most difficult schedules.  Eleven different Jayhawk opponents participated in the NCAA Tournament, including NCAA champion Michigan State.  In the NCAA Tournament,, Kansas' second-round opponent was No. 1-ranked duke.  Three teams ranked in the top 10 of the final Associated Press poll were on the KU schedule in 1999-00.

Despite the adversity, Kansas rolled to its 11th straight 20-win season, compiling 24 victories including an 11-5 record in the rugged Big 12 Conference.

Source:  Kansas 2000-01 Basketball Media Guide

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Won Great Alaska Shootout
  • Beat Kansas State 3 times, including 17th year in in a row in Manhattan.
  • Beat Missouri in final regular season game.
  • Beat DePaul in NCAA first round.
  • Barely lost to #1 Duke in second round of NCAA.

2000  FINAL TEAM STATISTICS (Team highs in bold)

CATEGORY

KU

OPP

DIFF

 Gregory, Kenny Gooden, Drew Collison, Nick Boshee, Jeff Axtell, Luke Chenowith, Eric

Games Played/Started

34 34   34/33 33/8 34/33 34/31 20/0 34/21

Minutes

6825 6825   788 686 774 881 323 748

    Per Game

200.7 200.7   23.2 20.8 22.8 25.9 16.2 22.0

Points

2676 2382 294 436 351 357 339 173 292

    Per Game

78.7 70.1 8.6 12.8 10.6 10.5 10.0 8.7 8.6

Rebounds

1505 1225 280 150 248 234 57 55 191

    Per Game

44.3 36.0 8.2 4.4 7.5 6.9 1.7 2.8 5.6

    Offensive

565 444 121 70 101 69 14 17 74

    Defensive

940 781 159 80 147 165 43 38 117

Blocks

187 130 57 13 25 32 2 7 53

Assists

630 482 148 60 36 38 100 24 36

Steals

312 294 18 27 24 36 37 17 19

Turnovers

589 623 -34 52 71 70 55 28 57

(Assists+Steals)/TO

1.60 1.25 0.35 1.67 0.85 1.06 2.49 1.46 0.96

FG -Attempts

2269 2050 219 345 317 292 278 155 247

       Made

1044 823 221 199 143 145 110 54 113

       Percent

46.0 40.1 5.9 57.7 45.1 49.7 39.6 34.8 45.7

3FG-Attempts

463 636 -173 13 16 13 195 79 2

       Made

159 221 -62 2 5 5 81 31 0

       Percent

34.3 34.7 -0.4 15.4 31.3 38.5 41.5 39.2 0.0

FT-Attempts

660 790 -130 86 91 92 47 46 83

     Made

429 515 -86 36 60 62 38 34 66

     Percent

65.0 65.2 -0.2 41.9 65.9 67.4 80.9 73.9 79.5

Production Points/Game

 96.03 70.24 25.79 12.88 12.36 13.24 8.91 6.75 11.26
Production Points/Minute .478 .350 .128 .556 .595 .581 .344 .418 .512

Statistics, Cont'd

CATEGORY  Bradford, Nick Hinrich, Kirk Johnson, Ashante London, Marlon Earl, Lester Carey, Jeff Nooner, Terry Crider, John Team
Games Played/ Started 34/24 34/13 33/5 34/0 15/1 24/0 23/1 15/0  
Minutes 762 726 270 564 97 133 50 23  
   Per Game 22.4 21.4 8.2 16.6 6.5 5.5 2.2 1.5  
Points 258 188 124 108 20 23 5 2  
   Per Game 7.6 5.5 3.8 3.2 1.3 1.0 0.2 0.1  
Rebounds 164 82 71 83 24 34 6 3 10
   Per Game 4.8 2.4 2.2 2.4 1.6 1.4 0.3 0.2 0.3
   Offensive 68 16 23 47 7 0 1 2 4
   Defensive 96 66 48 36 17 24 5 1 5
Blocks 21 17 5 4 4 4 0 0  
Assists 117 123 8 63 8 10 3 4  
Steals 73 35 7 21 4 3 7 2  
Turnovers 79 87 22 40 8 8 4 2  
(Assists+Steals)/TO 2.41 1.82 0.68 2.10 1.50 1.63 2.50 3.00  
FG - Attempts 203 161 106 108 16 15 11 15  
         Made 102 69 53 39 7 9 1 0  
         Percent 50.2 42.9 50.0 36.1 43.8 60.0 9.1 0.0  
3FG - Attempts 23 80 1 20 0 0 9 12  
         Made 4 25 0 6 0 0 0 0  
         Percent 17.4 31.3 0.0 30.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
FT - Attempts 79 34 32 37 16 10 5 2  
        Made 50 25 18 24 6 5 3 2  
        Percent 63.3 73.5 56.3 64.9 37.5 50.0 60.0 100.0  
Production Points/Game 12.47 7.56 3.82 4.62 2.20 2.29 0.22 -0.40  
Production Points/Minute .556 .354 .467 .278 .340 .414 .100 -.261  

Source:   KU Basketball Media Guide

GAME-BY-GAME

Date

Day

Opponent

Site

Results

Nov. 6

Saturday

CALIFORNIA ALL-STARS AAU

Lawrence, KS

W 124-101

Nov. 13

Saturday

AUSTRALIA

Lawrence, KS

W 119-44

Nov. 19

Friday

FAIRFIELD

Lawrence, KS

W 97-71

Nov. 25

Thursday

Georgia at Great Alaska Shootout

Anchorage, AK

W 88-78

Nov. 26

Friday

Xavier at Great Alaska Shootout

Anchorage, AK

W 111-70

Nov. 27

Saturday

Georgia Tech at Great Alaska Shootout

Anchorage, AK

W 80-74

Dec. 2

Thursday

PEPPERDINE

Lawrence

W 76-61

Dec. 5

Sunday

at Middle Tennessee State

Murfreesboro, TN

W 97-77

Dec. 7

Tuesday

vs. Michigan State (Great Eight)

Chicago, IL

L 66-54

Dec. 11

Saturday

PITTSBURG STATE

Lawrence

W 96-71

Dec. 16

Thursday

OHIO STATE

Lawrence

W 80-67

Dec. 18

Saturday

vs. Illinois

Chicago, IL

L 84-70

Dec. 22

Wednesday

PRINCETON

Lawrence

W 82-67

Dec. 30

Thursday

vs. Saint Louis (Sprint Shootout)

Kansas City, MO

W 71 60

Jan. 4

Tuesday

PENNSYLVANIA

Lawrence

W 105 - 59

Jan. 8

Saturday

*at Colorado

Boulder, CO

W 84-69

Jan. 12

Wednesday

*KANSAS STATE

Lawrence

W 87-79

Jan. 15

Saturday

*NEBRASKA

Lawrence

W 97-82

Jan. 17

Monday

*at Texas A&M

College Station, TX

W 78-57

Jan. 22

Saturday

*at Missouri

Columbia, MO

L 59-81

Jan. 24

Monday

*COLORADO

Lawrence

W 89-74

Jan. 29

Saturday

*at Iowa State

Ames, IA

L 74-66

Feb. 3

Thursday

at Iowa

Iowa City, IA

L 77-69

Feb. 5

Saturday

*TEXAS TECH

Lawrence

W 87-62

Feb. 7

Monday

*at Oklahoma State

Stillwater, OK.

L 86 -53

Feb. 12

Saturday

*at Kansas State

Manhattan, KS.

W 94-65

Feb. 16

Wednesday

*IOWA STATE 

Lawrence

L 64-62

Feb. 20

Sunday

*OKLAHOMA 

Lawrence

W 53-50

Feb. 23

Wednesday

*at Nebraska 

Lincoln, NE

W 82-53

Feb. 26

Saturday

*BAYLOR 

Lawrence

W 80-70

Feb. 28

Monday

*at Texas 

Austin, TX

L 68-54

March 5

Sunday

*MISSOURI 

Lawrence

W 83 -82

March 9

Thursday

K-State

Kansas City, MO

W 84-60

March 10

Friday

Oklahoma State

Kansas City, MO

L 77-58

March 17

Friday

DePaul/NCAA tournament 

Winston-Salem, NC

W 81-77

March 19

Sunday

Duke/NCAA tournament

Winston-Salem, NC

L 69 -64

Link to National Statistics for 2000.

Link to Big 12 Conference for 2000.

 

In spite of an apparently weak recruiting effort, Kansas should rebound from its 24-10 record of last year and return to dominance of the Big 12.  But that is based on several “ifs” from its senior class.  If 7’1 center Eric Chenowith rebounds from his disappointing junior season, if 6’10 shooting guard Luke Axtell shows up healthy, and if 6’5 F/G Kenny Gregory can become more consistent, Kansas has the talent to top the Big 12 and get to the Final Four.  Lindy's preseason mag says "Everything is in place for this to be KU's finest season in a decade".

At center: Although losing his starting position in February last season, Chenowith should dominate the conference in 2001 and become a lottery pick…. if he comes back mentally and physically tougher.  He’s KU’s only true center, so the Jayhawks will rely on him for a lot of minutes.  If Jeff Carey, a 6’10 junior, blossoms, it will be a big plus for Kansas.  In their small lineup, 6’9 sophomore Drew Gooden will get some time at center.

On the corners:  Kansas is loaded at forward, as starters  Gooden, 6’9 Sophomore Nick Collison, and Gregory return.  Axtell will get some play at forward, and newcomer Bryant Nash, a relatively unknown 6’6 recruit from Carrollton, TX may surprise. Coach Williams says he may be KU's fastest player.

In the backcourt: I expect KU to platoon Axtell and Gregory at shooting guard.  6’3 Kirk Hinrich looked awfully good toward the end of last season and should improve during his sophomore year as the Jayhawks point guard.  They’ll be backed up by 6’1 junior Jeff Boshee, who’ll  get playing time at both positions.  It’ll be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup if he’s able to improve his shooting.

                                PROBABLE LINUP

Starters

Year

Player

PPG

RPG

C

Sr.

Chenowith

8.6

5.6

PF

So.

Gooden

10.6

7.5

SF

So.

Collison

10.5

6.9

SG

Sr.

Gregory

12.8

4.4

PG

So.

Hinrich

5.5

2.4

Top Subs

 

 

 

 

SG

Sr.

Axtell

8.7

2.8

G

Jr.

Boshee

10.0

1.7

F/C

Jr.

Carey

1.0

1.4

At the end of the bench: Except at mop-up times, don’t expect to see 6’4 junior guard John Crider, or newcomers Mario Kinsey, a 6’2 guard who was recruited as a quarterback for the football team, and 6’5 forward Chris Zerbe, a transfer from Hutchison JC.

Things to look for: While Roy Williams has been prone to give significant minutes to 9 or 10 players in recent years, this year he’ll likely have an 8 man rotation by the time the conference season starts.  That alone should make the Jayhawks tougher and more consistent than last year.

My Prediction:  The Hawks should win the Big Twelve, slightly ahead of Missouri and Oklahoma. Last year's top three,  Iowa State, Texas and Oklahoma State all lost key players and will drop.  If all goes well, look for the Jayhawks to show up in the Final Four.

KJ’s  Basketball Journal                                                   October 27,  2000

1700: Kansas routs Buffs, 89-64, for milestone, January 9, 2000