| | By Jay Bilas
Special to ESPN.com
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Friday, Oct. 13
After a bizarre summer that saw Roy Williams flirt for a week with the head coaching job at North Carolina only to stay at
Kansas, the Jayhawks are poised to rejoin the nation's elite.
Williams urged his team throughout the past two seasons to display greater mental and
physical toughness, and his vision emerged in the NCAA Tournament against
DePaul, and in a war against Duke that Kansas should perhaps have won.
While Kansas may not have the firepower at every position like Arizona or Duke,
the Jayhawks return 81 percent of their scoring and 75 percent of their rebounding. Kansas also has great versatility and flexibility in its line up. This team really has a chance to do something special this season.
For the last 10 years, Williams arguably has been as good a coach as there has been in the country. He has another team capable of reaching the Final Four.
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Frontcourt
Kansas fans and coaches were bitterly disappointed last year in the level of play of center Eric Chenowith, mainly because Chenowith had shown consistent flashes of brilliance during his sophomore year.
Clearly, Chenowith came into the 2000 season unprepared physically and mentally to handle the
responsibility that comes with being a star, and he found it difficult to recover after his numbers and confidence began to spiral downward. Make no mistake, Chenowith can play, he just didn't in 2000.
After averaging a double-double in Big 12 play as a sophomore, Chenowith averaged a mere 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, while shooting an anemic 46 percent from the floor as a junior. While Chenowith had a tough year, he learned a great deal and should come back significantly motivated to perform at a higher level for Kansas, and for his professional future prospects.
When playing well, Chenowith can be one of the best true centers in the nation. Some of his problems stem from
strength, which he has worked on over the summer, and getting pushed out of
the post and getting bumped while making moves. Even though he is an
excellent free throw shooter, Chenowith too often settled for fall-away
jumpers instead of powering his way up, seeking contact. As a result, Chenowith attempted only 83 free throws -- barely half of his output in 1999.
After a summer of working harder than ever, including stints at Pete Newell's Big
Man Camp and Tim Grgurich's Camp, Chenowith can be expected to play with
more passion, and that can make him a force for the Jayhawks.
For a time last season, sophomore Nick Collison was the best player on the Kansas team.
Collison spent the summer playing for the U.S. Under-20 National Team, and
the U.S. Select Team that played the U.S. Olympic Team.
Collison (10.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 50 percent FGs) is a solid offensive player that has a very good sense about
the game. He is very active on the glass, can play facing up, or with his
back to the basket, and is very capable on the defensive end. He has great hands around the basket, and uses either hand with relative ease. An excellent shooter, Collinson can also defend and is a very good competitor.
Sophomore Drew Gooden is ready for a breakout season after being named second team All-Big 12. He is perhaps the
most talented player on the Jayhawk roster.
Gooden averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a game, while shooting 45 percent from the field. He's athletic and one of the best offensive rebounders in the nation. He is fluid offensively, with long arms and a nice touch around the basket. While he can pass the
ball, Gooden is prone to getting wild, making several solid plays, only to be followed by a couple out of nowhere that turn Roy Williams red with frustration.
|  | | Much of Kansas' success will depend of Eric Chenowith's ability to rebound from a disappointing junior season. |
Gooden has a great attitude, and is relentless in pursuit of the ball, but needs to become a more efficient player to reach his full potential.
Freshman Bryant Nash is an athletic forward that spent his high school career playing in the paint, and will take time to develop into a regular contributor.
Backcourt
Kenny Gregory led the Jayhawks in scoring last year as a junior at nearly 13 points a game. He is an athletic leaper who can play either big guard or small forward. Gregory shot 58 percent from the field, but its his high-wire act that makes him so special in transition. He simply assaults the rim on the break.
Gregory does not look to shoot the ball from the perimeter, but finds points in full-court situations, off the dribble, or off the offensive glass. Gregory is an awful free throw shooter, and got worse from his sophomore year to last
year (48 percent). To be better this season, he must hit his mid-range jumper.
Still, Gregory will be counted upon to lead this team, but needs
to stabilize his wild fluctuations from game to game in his shooting
numbers.
Junior guard Jeff Boschee runs the offense, and looks to push the ball upcourt quickly at every opportunity. Boschee is a
good passer and a very good 3-point shooter that looks to shoot or drive
the ball into the paint to make an assist.
Boschee makes good decisions and plays with abandon without abandoning the ball too much. He's a capable defender, and often makes the call on when to trap in the Kansas half-court trapping defense. Boschee was teamed with Kirk Hinrich late in the season, giving Boschee a chance to work off the ball and look for his offense. The change worked on some levels, but Boschee made only 42 of his 125 shots over the final 15 games of the season.
Hinrich, a thin combo guard that can play either the 1 or 2 spot, made 39 of 89 shots over the same
period. While he averaged only 5.5 points a game, he did have 123 assists -- leading the team in that category as a freshman -- and shot 43 percent from the field. Hinrich can move his feet and defend, with a good concept of help principles.
He showed good toughness as a freshman, and can be counted upon to push the tempo and
distribute the ball. Hinrich struggled shooting the ball, but that is not
unusual for a freshman guard trying to absorb all of his responsibilities in
Williams' system.
Luke Axtell (8.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 39 percent from 3-point range) missed the final 14 games of the season with an undisclosed medical condition, but is expected back at full strength. Axtell is a multi-talented, 6-foot-10 swingman that has been strictly an offensive player over the course of his career. An excellent long-range shooter, Axtell uses screens, or spots up off the dribble, to get his shot off. He's also more than big enough to post smaller guards.
While Axtell is capable of putting the ball down on the floor, he makes questionable decisions, and Willliams has been trying to
rein him in without stifling his creativity and ability. Axtell and Boschee
are the Jayhawks' only real deep threats, so defenses key on them.
Axtell is often targeted by opposing teams on defense, going right at him because he is perceived to be a vulnerable defender. Still, Axtell remains a great talent, and is capable of leading the Jayhawks in scoring.
Bottom Line
Although he doesn't need to, Williams seems anxious to prove himself again after an agonizing summer. He
likes his team, and rightfully so. Don't be surprised to see Kansas in the Final Four.
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