KU among Elite again

Jayhawks advance to record third straight round of eight

St. Louis ? Paul Gregory is getting used to this.

His Jayhawks lifted the Kansas University junior to within 40 minutes of a third consecutive Final Four by shredding the University of Alabama-Birmingham, 100-74, Friday night in the NCAA regionals at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

It marks the first time in Kansas’ storied basketball history that the Jayhawks have made it to the Elite Eight three years in a row.

“This is awesome,” said Gregory, in town for the game with his father, Lewis Gregory, a member of the steering committee for the $600 million KU First fund-raising campaign. “I’ve been to the Final Four the last two years, and it’s been awesome, but I want to go all four years, man — all four of my years at KU.

“This is the coolest thing, ever.”

The Jayhawks earned a spot in Sunday’s regional final against Georgia Tech by dismantling a UAB defense billed as “the fastest 40 minutes in basketball,” an attack modeled after the meddlesome “40 minutes of hell” Arkansas squads of the 1990s that were led by then-Razorbacks coach Nolan Richardson, now a UAB mentor.

But Friday it was the Blazers who found themselves in Hades, elevating KU fans to within reach of Nirvana.

Kansas Bench players, from left, Jeff Hawkins, Michael Lee and Christian Moody celebrate KU's victory over University of Alabama-Birmingham at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. KU pasted the Blazers, 100-74, Friday. Above, Kansas fan Ruth Anne Schoonover, Topeka, launches a stuffed Jayhawk into the air in support of her team.

“We weren’t expecting to be here, but now we’ve got a legitimate shot at a Final Four and a national championship,” said Dwight Jepson, a 1976 KU graduate who owns Sunflower Motors in Topeka.

Similarities to 1988

Jepson and his wife, Kathy — also a ’76 grad — figure that the Jayhawks’ run remains eerily similar to the 1988 tournament. That’s the one that ended with the Jayhawks’ cutting down the nets at Kemper Arena, winners of the school’s second NCAA basketball title.

Like this year’s team, Kathy Jepson said, the ’88 Jayhawks slipped into the tournament without much fanfare, then raced through a bracket loosened up by the loss of a top seed. Back then it was Purdue; this time it was Kentucky.

“In the end, they had the talent to do it,” she said of Danny and the Miracles. “People didn’t expect them to win. …

“Now, this team has totally evolved. They’ve been through so much, and (Coach Bill) Self is doing a fabulous job. He’s got them playing together. They seem to be so focused on the tournament. It’s great to see.”

Sporting Jayhawk beaks, from left, Rob Marby, John Roth, Martin Schanze and Phil Scalzi cheer along with the Kansas University fight song at a pep rally in St. Louis. The four joined other KU fans before Friday's NCAA regional semifinal, which KU won 100-74.

Self evaluation

Cindy Self also likes the view.

The coach’s wife cheered Friday along with many of the 30,801 spectators in the dome — many of them clad in crimson and blue and looking ahead to Sunday’s shot at the Final Four.

Bill Self, of course, was the first coach ever to take Tulsa to a regional final, a loss in 2000 to North Carolina. And a year later he took Illinois to the brink of the Final Four, losing to Arizona in a regional final.

Cindy Self likes the looks of her husband’s latest squad.

Kansas University senior Cherry Lippold, Independence, Mo., encourages the Jayhawks while holding a self-made sign in St. Louis. KU advanced to Elite Eight on Friday, beating University of Alabama-Birmingham.

“These players act like they’ve been there, because they have,” she said after Friday’s game. “Some players are a little intimidated when they get this far, but these guys aren’t. …

“I like our chances. They’re starting to gel at the right time.”

She also knows that plenty of KU’s most faithful followers will be pulling for at least one more victory, perhaps another three.

“Kansas fans expect it every year,” she said. “I’m just happy to be here.”

Paul Gregory is, too. The accounting major from Leawood intends to wrap up his spring break in style by watching the Jayhawks cut down the nets at the dome Sunday, then jet to San Antonio for the next chapter in KU’s basketball history.

It would be yet another entry in his own personal record book.

“I think we have the experience to win it all. I really do,” said Gregory, who likens the Final Four to the Super Bowl when it comes to festivities. “Experience is what this tournament is all about.”