Jayhawks move on without coach
Players still stunned by Washington's leave of absence, dedicate rest of season to her
Time supposedly heals all wounds, yet it’s apparent Kansas University’s women basketball players still are in a bit of a daze.
“Yeah, it’s really hard for the whole team to understand what’s going on,” junior Blair Waltz said after Friday’s practice.
Added sophomore Crystal Kemp: “It really hasn’t hit me yet. It’s still hard to believe.”
Twenty-four hours after long-time KU coach Marian Washington announced she would take a leave of absence for unspecified medical reasons, her players were pressing on and preparing for tonight’s game against Oklahoma State.
Tears flowed when Washington revealed her plans to the team Thursday afternoon.
“I’d never seen her cry … she’s so strong,” freshman Lauren Ervin said. “It never dawned on anybody. I never knew she was going through anything at all. It was like she’s Superwoman.”
Washington reportedly had been taken to the hospital two or three times this season because of the undisclosed problem, but her players obviously were kept in the dark about those incidents.
“My mouth dropped,” Waltz said, reflecting on Washington’s announcement. “So many emotions were going through my head. Coach is such a strong woman. She shows no weaknesses.”
The Jayhawks have had two practices under interim coach Lynette Woodard and, while nothing really has changed in the drills, the players couldn’t help but notice Washington’s absence.
“It’s been difficult to adjust,” Kemp said. “It’s different not to hear her voice.”
Although the Jayhawks have dedicated the remainder of the season to their ailing head coach, only time will tell how they’ll react tonight against the Cowgirls.
“Maybe there’ll be a spark that wasn’t there before,” Waltz said. “Getting on the floor will help a lot of things. We can let our emotions and frustrations out on the floor.”
Kemp said she wasn’t sure what frame of mind the Jayhawks would be in tonight.
“I don’t know how it will make us feel,” she said. “It should help us to play a game. It’ll keep time going for us. It’s a game, and we want to let her know not to worry about things here.”
The Jayhawks are on record that they will dedicate the remainder of the season to Washington.
“We’ve got to win it for coach,” Ervin said, “wherever she is, in a hospital or watching the game. It’s been a distraction, but we have to fight through it.”
Even if the Jayhawks still had Washington on the sidelines, they should have been motivated by wanting to put the brakes to their current four-game losing streak.
“We’ve got to go out and win the ball game,” Waltz said. “That’s the bottom line.”
6Sports video: Woodard’s first practice as head coach went well
Jayhawks preparing to play sans coach