Friday, March 16, 2007
CHICAGO — In one corner of the Jayhawks’ locker room, Darnell Jackson flexed his muscles while Rodrick Stewart snapped a picture with his digital camera. Other players gathered around a television to watch Texas A&M defeat Penn. Then the media swarm invaded.
For the next 30 minutes on Thursday they faced a full-court press from the press. The topic was predictable: it’s been three years since the Jayhawks advanced to the second round of the tournament.
“It might get tiring, but it’s a reality,” junior center Sasha Kaun said. “Everybody’s going to talk about it.”
Tonight at 6:10 p.m. the game will tip-off, and the Jayhawks will have the opportunity to start a fresh chapter of the school’s basketball history.
Of course, there was the small matter of making it through Thursday first. Writers from around the country are in town to write about the Jayhawks, and they’re all ready with the same questions about the past. After about 20 minutes, sophomore guard Brandon Rush couldn’t come up with any new clichés.
“We just have to focus on Niagara,” he said, then paused. “And so on and so on.”
Coach Bill Self cautioned that the Purple Eagles were a lot better than people were giving them credit. Several members of the team were suspended early in the season, but since they returned, the team has gone 21-4.
“Niagara is not a 16 seed,” Self said. “You play whoever you play, but that is not a 16-seed team.”
pullquote
We just have to focus on Niagara
Sophomore guard Brandon Rush
After visiting with the press, Self led his team through a 30-minute workout on the United Center floor. It was open to the public, but there wasn’t a very large contingent of Jayhawks fans on hand to watch. That’s expected to change tomorrow night, as the United Center’s last tickets were sold shortly after it was announced that the Jayhawks would be playing in Chicago.
Because the arena isn’t close to any major hotels, the players are staying downtown, at a Westin on The Magnificent Mile, a street full of shops and restaurants that is one of the town’s major tourist draws.
“They probably won’t give us much free time, to try to keep us focused on the game,” freshman guard Brennan Bechard said.
It wasn’t much of a day for sightseeing in Chicago anyway. The afternoon temperature was 30 degrees, and a strong breeze was fitting of the “Windy City” nickname.
After going through the motions of answering questions and then taking part in the shoot around, the team resumed showing its character as the players grabbed bottles of Gatorade and headed back to their hotel. It wasn’t going to be a quiet night at the Westin, as the players headed back to hang out and stay loose before today’s big game. Rush said there was no danger of this year’s team tightening up now.
“We haven’t got tight all year,” he said. “Why start now?”
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
— Edited by Trevan McGee
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