Notebook: Williams lashes out at CBS

? Kansas University’s basketball players didn’t do anything to irritate Roy Williams in their nearly perfect game against Arizona State Saturday night at Ford Center.

One can’t say the same for CBS-TV officials, who made KU’s coach look foolish after he called what he wanted to be a quick timeout with 3:20 left in the Jayhawks’ 108-76 rout of the Sun Devils.

It was a timeout meant to get Nick Collison out and a sub into the game in a matter of five to 10 seconds, but turned into a three-minute timeout that angered an unnamed Arizona State player, who cursed KU’s coach at the stoppage of play with the score 103-67.

CBS decided on the long timeout, not Williams.

“CBS Invitational is what they are eventually going to call it,” Williams said of the NCAA Tournament, which is dominated by the network’s long and many timeouts.

“It’s ridiculous,” Williams said. “One of their players cursed me when they went back out on the court because that timeout made it look like I’m rubbing it in on the other team. And I told the officials I wanted a timeout, but I wanted to continue play. You make the same signal the referees make when they call traveling.”

Williams made that signal several times. He stormed over to the scorer’s table to make his point known, and during the timeout he chatted with Arizona State coach Rob Evans, explaining his position on the stoppage.

“We as coaches do have some rights because there are rules in the game that should be followed. I sit in those meetings with the tournament committee. Sometimes I feel like I’m fighting with Custer at the Last Stand,” Williams said.

CBS paid big bucks for tourney rights the last time they were awarded. Obviously, the network has clout.

“Money drives everything, and I understand that,” Williams said. “I still think the game itself is important — the players, teams, the game itself that we shouldn’t be trying to sell as many products as we can. If they tell me that we’re cutting to show updates on the war, I won’t say a word.

“But I’ve watched those games. The timeouts take longer. They’ve added five minutes to halftime.

“I haven’t seen any war updates. I’ve just seen more commercials. They’re trying to do what they do for the best of college basketball, but we’ve got to protect the game,” Williams added.

The Sun Devil later apologized to Williams for cursing him.

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More on CBS: The microphone at the table in the interview room cut out on KU’s Nick Collison twice during the postgame session. It also didn’t work when a reporter asked a question. “If CBS paid their bills, with all the commercials we’d have mikes up here that worked,” Williams said.

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Mental preparation: KU sophomore Keith Langford, who scored 19 points off 9-of-13 shooting, said the ASU game was won at Friday’s practice.

“Friday was a big day … mental preparation,” Langford said. “Everything was from the neck up.”

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Accurate shooting: Collison on KU’s 67.8 percent shooting effort: “The key was everybody moving the ball instead of standing too much.”

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Stats, facts: KU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year and ninth time under Williams, who is 31-13 in the NCAAs. … It marked the fifth time this season KU scored 100 points.