An upcoming book on Kansas basketball promises to be more than just fluff. And that’s not just the book jacket talking.
Two excerpts from “Beyond the Phog: Untold Stories from Kansas Basketball’s Most Dominant Decade,” provide insight to how the teams were built and some motivating factors for a program that won nine conference titles, 300 games and a national title since 2001. Writers Jason King and Jesse Newell spoke to nearly 40 players and both head coaches, Bill Self and Roy Williams.
The result? Stuff like this from former player Keith Langford:
Nobody liked Kris Humphries? Guess his sisters-in-law aren’t the only ones who think so. Given that he eventually committed to Duke, then backed out and spent one season at Minnesota before bolting for the NBA, that was hardly a tough call.
Terrence Williams, on the other hand, probably wasn’t an ideal fit given how stacked the Jayhawks were with talent between 2006 and 2009. But I’m not sure how close T-Will was to coming to Kansas anyway. According to this, KU wasn’t one of the four schools on his final list. (Because they didn’t want him? Anyway.)
Then there’s the Jayhawks’ run to the 2008 national title, which included a “revenge” game against Villanova. Well, at least for Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins.
See, both were cut by ‘Nova coach Jay Wright during tryouts for the 2007 Pan-Am Games. Collins had a bum knee, but Chalmers says he led the camp in steals and hardly had any turnovers.
Yet Wright picked his own guy, Wildcats guard Scottie Reynolds. So when a Sweet 16 game between Kansas and Villanova rolled around, Chalmers wasn’t about to forget. An excerpt:
You can see more about what’s included in the book here. My biggest hope? That Williams goes through a detailed recount of his Bonnie Bernstein interview. A guy can dream, right?
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