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.

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.

Source:  KJ's Basketball Newsletter, October 27, 2000

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- For the second straight year, the Big 12 men's basketball coaches chose Kansas to win the conference title, according to the 2000-01 Big 12 Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll, released Wednesday by the league office.

The Jayhawks were a unanimous choice, receiving 11 possible first-place votes and a total of 121 points from the Big 12 coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team. Oklahoma was chosen second with 102 points, while Missouri checked-in third with 100 points. Kansas returns six players with starting experience to a team that went 24-10 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 1 Duke last season.

"We're pleased and honored to be chosen as the preseason selection to win the league," KU coach Roy Williams said. "But we also realize that last year Iowa State was picked number six, and they ended up winning. What you do out on the court is actually the only thing that matters. We do feel good about the experience that we have on the team -- a lot of youngsters that were very important to us last year are back. I'm hoping that we can keep everybody healthy, and use that experience to have a great year."

In addition to picking Kansas to win the conference, the league coaches placed Jayhawk sophomores Nick Collison and Drew Gooden on the 2000-01 Preseason Coaches All-Big 12 Team. They were joined by Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley, Missouri's Kareem Rush and Nebraska's Kimani Ffriend.

Collison was Kansas' third-leading scorer (10.5 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.9 rpg) last season, while Gooden ranked second on the team with 10.6 points per game and led the team with 248 rebounds -- the second most by any KU freshman, behind Danny Manning.

"I'm very pleased that the coaches feel that Nick and Drew deserve this kind of recognition," Williams said. "It will be a challenge to them to work as hard as they can in the preseason and see if this comes to fruition at the end of the season, because again that's when it's most important. It's a good honor for them and it means that the coaches do respect their game and respect what they did over the summer with USA Basketball."

(10/18/00)

Kansas Ends 2001 Season With 26 Wins, First Sweet 16 Appearance Since 1997

The 2000-01 edition of the Kansas men's basketball team wrapped up yet another successful season with a tough 80-64 loss to No. 1 seed Illinois in the Sweet 16 of the Midwest Regional on March 23 in San Antonio, Texas.

Despite cutting Illinois' lead to five points with just five minutes remaining, Kansas couldn't overcome foul trouble and the hot shooting of Frank Williams, as Illinois defeated KU, 80-64, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Midwest Regional on March 23 in San Antonio's Alamodome.

The Fighting Illini jumped out to a 41-29 halftime lead, marking the Jayhawks' largest deficit at the break in an NCAA Tournament game since trailing Arkansas, 47-35, on March 23, 1991. Although the 'Hawks shot 57.9 percent for the half, they were limited to just 19 field goal attempts by Illinois' stifling defense.  KU stepped up in the second half, but missed free throws and an abundance of fouls helped the Illini out-score the Jayhawks 39-35 in the second stanza to hold on for the 16 point win.

Four Jayhawks scored in double-figures for KU, led by sophomore Nick Collison's 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Collison also ripped down seven rebounds in the game, but went just 6-for-14 from the line. Kirk Hinrich chipped in with 14 points, while Drew Gooden scored 13 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds and Kenny Gregory scored in double-digits for the 30th-straight game, pouring in 11 points on the night.

Williams led all scorers in the contest, putting up 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting -- the highest point total by a Jayhawk opponent in 2000-01. Lucas Johnson chipped in with 15 points, while Sergio McClain tallied a double-double -- 10 points and 10 boards -- for the Illini.

Kansas went to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997, won 20 games for the 12th-straight year and won its 500th game all-time in Allen Fieldhouse in 2000-01.  Following is a look at some statistical facts and trends regarding the 2000-01 Jayhawk team:

Kansas put points on the board in a hurry this season. The Jayhawks' scoring average of  82.0 points per game led the Big 12, ranked 13th nationally and was KU's highest average since the 1997-98 team scored 84.6 points per contest.

Although the Jayhawks were not nearly as deep as in years past, the team boasted impressive balance, as five Kansas players averaged double-figures in scoring, and Eric Chenowith put up 9.5 points per game. The team finished just shy of becoming the school's first in its 102-year history of basketball to have a team with six players in double-digits at the end of the season.

The Jayhawks presented an imposing front line, with 6-9 Nick Collison, 6-10 Drew Gooden and 7-1 Eric Chenowith all patrolling the paint. KU successfully used its height advantage in 2000-01 to translate into easy buckets, and the team's field goal percentage of 50.2 percent ranked first in the Big 12, fifth nationally and was the team's highest since shooting 51.5 percent from the floor in 1992-93. In addition, the Jayhawks were 26-4 on the year when out-shooting their opponent.

Rebounding was a major factor in the Jayhawks' success this season. In fact, the 2000-01 team was the first in school history to have four players grab 200 or more boards in the same season. Eric Chenowith, Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kenny Gregory achieved that feat this year.

Although they failed to place any players on the Big 12's all-defense team, as a unit the Jayhawks were stingy on defense in 2000-01. KU led the Big 12 Conference with a 37.8 field goal percentage defense, which ranked fourth nationally, and was the team's best since the 1994-95 season.

HIGHLIGHTS:  

• The Jayhawks advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 20th time in school history, the seventh time under coach Roy Williams and for the first time since 1997.
• The 'Hawks appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th-straight season.
• KU recorded at least 20 wins for the 12th-straight season, for the 17th time in the last 18 seasons and for the 30th time overall.
• Williams passed former KU coach Ted Owens for second place on the Jayhawks' all-time coaching wins list.
• The team recorded its 500th win all-time in Allen Fieldhouse.
• Kansas opened the year by winning the prestigious Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic in New York's Madison Square Garden, beating perennial powers UCLA and St. John's en route to the title.

Day/Date/Time

Opponent/Site

Results

Wed., Nov. 1
7:00 pm

EA SPORTS California All-Stars , Lawrence

W 98-80

Sat., Nov. 4
8:05 pm

EMPORIA STATE (Exh.) , Lawrence

W 120-51

Thurs., Nov. 9
5:30 pm

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (vs. UCLA) , New York, N.Y.

W 99-98

Fri., Nov. 10

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic 
vs. St. John's, New York, N.Y.

W 82-74

Fri., Nov. 17
7:05 pm

NORTH DAKOTA , Lawrence

W 92-51

Mon., Nov. 20
7:05 pm

BOISE STATE , Lawrence

W 101-61

Sat., Nov. 25
7:05 pm

WASHBURN , Lawrence

W 99-56

Mon., Nov. 27
7:05 pm

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE , Lawrence

W 99-66

Thurs., Nov. 30

ILLINOIS STATE , Lawrence

W 80-61

Thurs., Dec. 7
6:00 pm

at Wake Forest, Winston Salem, N.C.

L 84-53

Tues., Dec. 12
8:00 pm

at DePaul , Chicago, Ill.

W 75-69

Sat., Dec. 16
8:05 pm

TULSA, Lawrence

W 92-69

Sat., Dec. 23
3:15 pm

at Ohio State , Columbus, Ohio

W 69-68

Sat., Dec. 30
8:00 pm

Sprint Shootout (vs. Southwest Missouri St.) , Kansas City, Mo.

W 77-43

Sat., Jan. 6
8:00 pm

at Texas Tech , Lubbock, Texas

W 94-82

Sat., Jan. 13
12:00 pm

at Oklahoma , Norman, Okla.

W 69-61

Wed., Jan. 17
8:00 pm

NEBRASKA , Lawrence

W 84-62

Sat., Jan. 20
3:00 pm

TEXAS A&M , Lawrence

W 100-70

Mon., Jan. 22
8:00 pm

at Colorado , Boulder, Colo.

W 85-75

Sat., Jan. 27
3:00 pm

KANSAS STATE , Lawrence

W 92-66

Mon., Jan. 29
8:00 pm

at Missouri , Columbia, Mo.

L 75-66

Sat., Feb. 3
12:00 pm

TEXAS , Lawrence

W 82-66

Mon., Feb. 5
8:00 pm

IOWA STATE , Lawrence

L 79-77

Sat., Feb. 10
3:00 pm

OKLAHOMA STATE, Lawrence

W 77-61

Mon., Feb. 12
8:00 pm

at Baylor , Waco, Texas

L 85-77

Sat., Feb. 17
12:00 pm

at Iowa State , Ames, Iowa

L 79-71

Wed., Feb. 21
7:00 pm

COLORADO , Lawrence

W 91-79

Sun., Feb. 25
2:30 pm

at Nebraska , Lincoln, Nebr.

W 78-74

Wed., Feb. 28
8:00 pm

at Kansas State , Manhattan, Kan.

W 77-65

Sun., March 4
1:00 pm

MISSOURI , Lawrence

W 75-59

March 8-11

Big 12 Conference Tournament  • 

March 9

Kansas State. Kansas City, Mo.

W 94-63

March 10

Oklahoma, Kansas City, Mo.

L 62-57

NCAA Tournament

March 16

Cal State Northridge , Dayton, Ohio

W 99-75

March 18

Syracuse, Dayton, Ohio

W 87-58

March 23

Illinois ,     San Antonio, Texas

L 80-64