Greg Gurley sat in coach Roy Williams’ office Monday night, discussing Kansas University’s trip to the 1993 Final Four in New Orleans and looking ahead to the Jayhawks’ return trip to the Superdome this weekend.

“We were talking about 1993 and hoping the results weren’t the same,” said Gurley, who played guard for Williams from 1991 to 1995. “My memories of ’93 are great, even though we lost. It was one of the most fun weeks of my life.”

It wasn’t a bad season either. Kansas finished 29-7 and made its second Final Four trip in three years.

The Jayhawks went to Chicago as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional and destroyed Ball State, 94-72, in the first round before eliminating Brigham Young, 90-76, in the second round.

Senior guard Rex Walters led the way, scoring 23 points against the Cardinals before scoring a career-high 28 against BYU.

“We didn’t have big-name players, but we had eight to 10 guys who were on the same page who could really pass the ball well and move the ball well,” said Walters, who played at KU for two years after transferring from Northwestern. “We played at a very high level once the tournament started.”

Rough start

Like this season, when Kansas lost starting forward Wayne Simien because of a dislocated shoulder, the ’93 Jayhawks had to overcome their share of adversity. Sophomore forward Ben Davis decided to transfer in November.

Also, freshman center Greg Ostertag (stress fracture), junior swingman Patrick Richey (knee), junior forward Darrin Hancock (torn retinas) and senior center Eric Pauley (knee) missed games because of injuries.

Despite the setbacks, Kansas finished 11-3 in the Big Eight Conference and won its third straight league title.

“It was a deep, deep team,” said Gurley, who is a sales representative for Prairie Graphics in Lawrence and also works part-time as a broadcaster for Sunflower Broadband Channel 6, Metro Sports and 810 AM. “That was a team that had guys on the bench that would have started a ton of other places.”

Moving on

KU’s road to the Final Four got more difficult in St. Louis, where the Jayhawks faced California in the Sweet 16. That Cal team featured future NBA players Lamond Murray, Jason Kidd and a freshman named Jerod Haase.

Walters continued his torrid shooting with 24 points in a 93-76 victory.

Next up was Bob Knight’s Indiana team, which Kansas already had defeated, 74-69, Dec. 5 at Indianapolis.

In the rematch, junior forward Richard Scott led five Jayhawks in double figures with 16 points in an 83-77 regional final victory. Walters, Scott and senior point guard Adonis Jordan were named to the all-region team.

“It was a good run for us with Rex and Adonis leading the team,” Williams said. “Steve Woodberry was so important to us, not caring if he started or not. It was a great group of kids.”

End of the road

The Jayhawks, who were national runners-up in 1991, had been determined to return to the Final Four after being ousted by UTEP in the second round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament.

“My freshman year we got a taste of the national championship game, and we were hungry to get back and experience it again and not only get there and experience it a second time around,” said Richey, who lives in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and is a field sales representative for FCI Burndy. “We wanted to win it. The first time we were just happy to get there. The second time we were there with a purpose. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pull it off.”

North Carolina defeated Kansas, 78-68, April 3 in New Orleans in a national semifinal. Walters and Jordan each scored 19 points, but no other Jayhawks were in double figures.

UNC center Eric Montross dominated the Jayhawks inside with 23 points, and Donald Williams sank five three-pointers and led all players with 25 points.

“They outplayed us,” said Williams, a former Carolina assistant whose team had defeated the Tar Heels in a 1991 national semifinal. “Rex and Adonis did a good job of shooting the basketball, but we didn’t get much inside.”

Carolina defeated Michigan, 77-71, in the title game two days later. In that infamous game, Michigan’s Chris Webber called a timeout in the final minute when the Wolverines had none remaining. The resulting technical foul and free throws allowed UNC to pad a two-point lead and forced Michigan to settle for national runner-up status for a second straight year.

“The Fab Five never won a national championship,” Gurley said. “They were supposed to be the greatest team of the 1990s. You can’t just go out and get five McDonald’s All-Americans and put them out on the court and say, ‘OK, we just won a national championship.'”

The drought

“If you look back on teams I played on, although we were pretty talented, we didn’t have near the talent that they had from 1995 to 1998,” Richey said. “Really, it shows how difficult it is to get to a Final Four, let alone win it all.”

Between the 1993 Final Four and last season, Kansas won 223 of 275 games, won four conference titles and cranked out NBA players Scot Pollard, Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce.

None of those Jayhawks ever reached college basketball’s biggest stage.

“Nine years it took for Kansas to get back to the Final Four, and there were much more talented teams than ours that didn’t make it,” Gurley said. “When we go out in the summer time with Scot, Jacque, Raef and all the boys, we let it be known. We used to go to the Yacht Club and point to our picture on the wall that we made it to the Final Four, and they didn’t. It’s like a badge of honor, and it really pissed them off. But it’s all in good fun. That’s something they can never take away from me.”

This weekend will mark just the second time in school history the Jayhawks have played in Final Fours in consecutive years.

Back to New Orleans

Gurley attended last year’s Final Four in Atlanta, but he’ll be watching this one from his home in Prairie Village. Wife Amy is expecting the couple’s second child next week.

Richey also has a pregnant wife and plans to stay home, though his reasons sound more like superstition than precaution. He and wife Mary Ann went to San Antonio two years ago when Illinois beat KU in the Sweet 16, and they were in Atlanta last season when the Jayhawks lost to Maryland.

“We decided to stay put this year and see what happens,” he said.

Walters and wife Deanna have three children and are expecting their fourth, but the former guard plans to attend the Final Four.

He’s not going just as a fan. The National Association of Basketball Coaches’ convention coincides with the Final Four, and Walters plans to network. He puts on camps and clinics in the Kansas City area and spent his first season out of pro basketball working as an assistant coach at Blue Valley Northwest.

“I’ve always envisioned myself coaching,” Walters said. “I didn’t envision myself in the NBA. I’ve always wanted to coach. I was fortunate enough to play in the NBA, so it detoured me a little bit.”

Walters will continue on his new path this weekend.

“Hopefully,” he said, “I’ll be watching them Monday night as well.”