Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Lift your heads up, Jayhawk fans. It’s time to move on and do so knowing that our program is in good hands.
Unlike some programs who had a successful season, á la Wisconsin, Kansas will be back. Bill Self is in the midst of a run that does not appear to be ending anytime soon. Success in college basketball is all about recruiting, and Self is one of the best in the business when it comes to luring top talent to campus.
Despite his 0-4 Elite Eight record, which Las Vegas has set the over/under at 63.5 for the number of times this will be mentioned by the national media in the following year (bet the over), Self has shown that he knows how to sell the Kansas basketball product to high schoolers.
Despite having no seniors and little playing time available on paper, Self is bringing in another McDonald’s All-American in big man Cole Aldrich next season. Self also landed local product Tyrel Reed, who received scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Stanford, in addition to heavy interest from North Carolina. Tune into ESPN at 7 tonight to see Aldrich in action with the rest of college basketball’s future stars in the McDonald’s All-American game.
Next year’s squad has a chance to be one of the most exciting to ever lace them up at Allen Fieldhouse. Despite the likely departure of Brandon Rush (he declared for the draft out of high school and publicly admitted he wanted to leave after his freshman season), the 2007-2008 Jayhawks have a chance to resemble the 2003-2004 Illinois team that Self put together with a backcourt of Sherron Collins, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers. That backcourt would be lightning quick and have a chance to run and gun as much as the 2001-2002 Jayhawks that went 16-0 in a strong Big 12 Conference and started Aaron Miles, Jeff Boschee and Kirk Hinrich.
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Despite the losses of Rush and possibly Darrell Arthur (he’s not ready, but the NBA draft's based on potential, and Arthur oozes it), Kansas appears to be a top-five team entering next season.
The only concern with such a squad would be the loss of Rush’s rebounding at the small forward position. What the squad would lack in size it could overcome with speed and quickness. The 2002 squad had no trouble rebounding despite starting the 6-foot-3-inch Hinrich at small forward. Another concern could be defending a true wing like Arron Afflalo or Corey Brewer, but so few of these players exist in college basketball today.
Despite the losses of Rush and possibly Darrell Arthur (he’s not ready, but the NBA drafts based on potential, and Arthur oozes it), Kansas appears to be a top-five team entering next season. Self will finally have his plan in place to coach a team like the one he put together at Illinois before bolting to Kansas, which featured Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head. The post rotation will go a solid four deep and expect someone like Rodrick Stewart, Brady Morningstar, Jeremy Case or Reed to emerge as a solid role player off the bench on the perimeter.
While this may not have been Self’s season, his time in March will eventually come. While Florida fans will soak up their repeat trip to the Final Four, they will be sweating out the possible loss of Billy Donovan to Kentucky. Ohio State better enjoy its one dance in the spotlight because the Buckeyes will likely lose Greg Oden and Mike Conley next season. Kansas fans may not be in Atlanta this year, but they can be assured that as long as Self is at the helm, the Jayhawks will cut down nets and put up banners.
Sarraf is a Lawrence senior in journalism.
— Edited by Carissa Pedigo
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