Notebook: Kansas caught off guard

Jayhawks surprised fans rushed court after victory

Kansas University’s basketball players can’t quite understand why about 150 fans stormed the court Monday night after the Jayhawks’ 90-87 victory over Texas at Allen Fieldhouse.

After all, No. 12-ranked Kansas is a tradition-rich basketball program. No. 3-ranked Texas isn’t. Not yet, anyway.

“I mean, it’s good to have great fans like we have, but I don’t think it’s necessary to rush the court,” KU sophomore guard Aaron Miles said. “I believe we have a great team. We shouldn’t be doing those things.”

Sophomore Keith Langford hardly could believe his eyes when the fans headed out of the stands.

“That was unexpected,” Langford said. “I guess it was time for a win (after two straight losses). That’s not a game to celebrate, to rush the floor or anything.”

Senior Kirk Hinrich also disapproved.

“I love that they are excited about the way we played and about basketball here, but we expected this,” Hinrich said of the victory.

Nobody was knocking the fieldhouse experience, however.

“I love playing at Allen Fieldhouse,” Hinrich said. “No matter what is going on with our team the crowd gets going. It’s just so much fun.”

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Athletes in trouble: University of Missouri guard Ricky Clemons recently became the latest athlete to run afoul of the law, facing charges of domestic assault.

KU coach Roy Williams was asked how he tries to prevent such situations.

Kansas basketball fans storm the floor after the 12th-ranked Jayhawks knocked off No. 3 Texas, 90-87. Following Monday night's game at Allen Fieldhouse, the KU players said they were surprised and disappointed by the fans' actions.

It isn’t easy.

“We try to counsel them and say, ‘It’s easy to be on the front page of the paper, just do something stupid.'” Williams said. “Then we try to say, ‘If something looks like it’s stupid, get the heck out of there.’ And then, kids are still going to be kids. Kids are going to make mistakes.

“Every situation that I’ve ever had, I’ve tried to look into that situation individually. I’ve tried to see how much trouble a person had in the past or how many mistakes he had made in the past. That tells me whether it’s habits or just something that happened. I don’t have a hard-and-fast rule. If a youngster had some problems in the past, that really bothers me if it comes up again.”

KU signee J.R. Giddens of Oklahoma City recently was arrested on felony theft charges following an incident at Wal-Mart. The case was resolved without Giddens having to face any charges.

“I don’t know if you’re talking about J.R.’s situation or not, but J.R.’s a great, great kid,” Williams said. “I don’t think J.R. will ever make a mistake like that in his life. That’s the way that I’m approaching it with him.”

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Scoring update: After leading the nation in scoring last week, KU has dropped to third. Duke averages 87.2 points a game followed by Appalachian State (86.3), Kansas (86.2), Arizona (84.9) and Oregon (84.6).

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Williams out of town: Williams left Tuesday for Reno, Nev., to watch KU signee David Padgett’s Reno High team play Tuesday night. The Jayhawks took the day off.