Thursday, April 10, 2008
They played on after first-round losses, an Elite Eight disaster and a 3-4 start to the 2005 season.
They can’t play on after graduation.
The Jayhawks lose five seniors – Jeremy Case, Russell Robinson, Darnell Jackson, Rodrick Stewart and Sasha Kaun from their national championship team. Others will likely not be back either. Juniors Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers and sophomore Darrell Arthur might enter the NBA Draft. To put it bluntly, Kansas will be an entirely different team next season.
That new look means the Jayhawks could be facing the dreaded but sometimes unavoidable drop off that comes after a team wins a national championship.
Last season, Florida defeated Ohio State for its second straight title. Stars Joakim Noah, Taurean Green, Al Horford and Corey Brewer all skipped the rest of their college careers to enter the NBA Draft. Sharp-shooter Lee Humphrey exhausted his eligibility. Florida didn’t recover. This year, the Gators struggled and weren’t selected for the NCAA Tournament despite playing with three highly-touted freshmen.
The Kansas basketball team watches "One Shining Moment," a video montage shown after the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Kansas won the title game, defeating Memphis 75-68.
Kansas will lose at least as many players as Florida and possibly more. Still, Kansas coach Bill Self is optimistic.
“I really think we’re going to be good,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we were really good.”
They’d certainly be inexperienced. Should Chalmers, Arthur and Rush enter the draft, sophomore guard Sherron Collins would be the only returning player who averaged more than nine minutes a game this season. Freshman center Cole Aldrich would likely join Collins in the starting lineup.
After that, well, it’s hazy. Freshman Tyrel Reed, sophomore Brady Morningstar and possibly freshman Conner Teahan would battle six newcomers for the bulk of the playing time. Kansas signed high school guard Travis Releford and forwards Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris and Quintrell Thomas. Junior college guards Tyrone Appleton (who has committed and not officially signed) and Mario Little will also be joining the team in the fall.
It’s not the typical Jayhawk recruiting class. None of the players are McDonald’s All-Americans, and Marcus Morris is the highest ranked at No. 36 in the country according to Rivals.com.
“We signed five really good players,” Self said, “and they’re better than what anybody thinks they are.”
Young and inexperienced doesn’t always mean disappointment like it did for Florida. Just two years ago, Kansas was in a similar situation. Back in 2005-2006, the team had three sophomores and three freshmen play major minutes. The Jayhawks started out 3-4 and 10-6 before winning 15 of their last 17 games.
“We just tried not to let anything distract us,” Robinson said.
Self wouldn’t want the same 3-4 start next season, but he would like the same ending: a Big 12 Tournament Championship.
“Next thing you know,” he said about that year, “we’re cutting down the nets in Dallas.”
—Edited by Jared Duncan
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Departing players leave uncertain future for Jayhawks
I wish Kleinmann could get some major playing time next year. It's a pipe dream, but not a bad one.
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