Journal-World assistant sports editor and KU men’s basketball writer Gary Bedore took about 30 minutes during the afternoon before the KU-Marquette game to answer visitors questions about the Jayhawks, the Golden Eagles and the chances of Roy Williams leaving for UNC.

Moderator: Ok, we’ll be getting started in just a minute. Thanks for all the questions and we’ll try to get to them all, but we’ve also promised Gary that this will be about 30 minutes long.

William Hoffman: Do you and the LJW stand behind reports printed earlier in the week regarding Omar Wilkes, as well as, other recruits comments’ regarding Coach Williams staying at KU? Wilkes indicated, “I’m not worried about Coach leaving” (paraphrase). Enjoy the game. Thank you.

Gary Bedore: I don’t know what you mean by “stand behind,” but Omar told me that he wasn’t worried about this, he’s still coming to KU and laughed when he said it. That means he’s not worried about it and he’s still coming to KU.

Piotr: What will Kansas have to do to win this game? Will they try to concentrate on stopping Wade?

Gary Bedore: Yeah, I think Hinrich will guard Wade to start with, and Lee and Langford probably will guard him some. A key is Hinrich not getting into foul trouble while guarding Wade. They won’t focus their whole defense on him, I don’t think; KU doesn’t usually do that. He’s got to be the focus, but they’re worried about Diener and those big inside players, too.

Brock Funke: Is Marquette good enough to run with KU’s transition game? Can they handle the pace?

Gary Bedore: They had 30 turnovers against UAB, but after that game they haven’t had many problems turning it over. I would say considering they beat Kentucky by 15 points, they probably feel that they can run with KU or at least will try it for a while.

Shay: GB, How do the Hawks look? Are they ready for tonight?

Gary Bedore: They’re probably just as ready as they have been for any game. They held a short practice that was really more of a stretching exercise so you can’t really tell, but mentally I think they’re a lot like Maryland was last year. They know they have two great seniors who want to win it all, so mentally they’re probably in top form.

Jake: Gary, I notice you have a lot of recruiting information. Where does it all come from?

Gary Bedore: It comes from making calls on my own, talking to guys like Shay and Kirby who follow it everyday. Shay is a great man and does a great job since he covers it 24/7 I might as well talk to somebody who does that. Mike Sullivan is a great man, too, as well as some other recruiting gurus.

Roman: gary, do you think coach williams refusal to come right out and say he is not interested in the UNC job is affecting the players focus today?

Gary Bedore: No, last week it was the same deal with UCLA. Tell me one difference. It’s the same situation. He didn’t say a word about UCLA. It’s going to be a game played on the court. If anybody thinks any of that stuff matters, they are wrong. This is the Final Four. Again, last week it was the same deal with UCLA. It didn’t affect anybody.

Steve: Gary, what is your gut feeling about coach Williams. Three years ago he said he would retire as a Jayhawk. Do you think he will honor his word?

Gary Bedore: I haven’t looked up the transcript from three years ago, so I don’t know if that was his exact quote, but I don’t think he will leave. He said he stayed for the players last time. He’s still coaching players. He’s one of the few coaches in America who can’t disappoint his players, past and present, like that, or his future players. People can’t accept the fact that he does not comment about jobs until there’s something to comment on. If he leaves, he leaves, but I do not expect him to leave, for one reason only — his players!

Rodney White: Gary, Do you Think now that KU is the Favorite to WIN. Will that have any effect on they way they look at marquette?

Gary Bedore: That is a great question. It is unusual for them, this season, to be the favorite, except in the preseason NIT and we all know what happened there. I don’t think it will matter, but that is a possibility, moreso than the Roy stuff. This favorite-underdog stuff sometimes does have an effect on basketball games. I do think the fact that KU has two seniors in Collison and Kirk should nullify most of the mental negativisim. I’m pretty sure they will be ready to play and the game will be decided by performance issues only.

Jason Stimits: How much is a Kansas win contingent on the play of Jeff Graves?

Gary Bedore: Probably a lot, but sometimes he gets in foul trouble and KU still wins. But those are the games Lee and Nash combine for about 14 points. If Collison goes for 33 again, seriously it probably doesn’t matter what Graves does. But I know what you mean. If he grabs 15 rebounds again, it’s probably over in KU’s favor. I just don’t think he’s going to determine the outcome, but I could be wrong.

Alex: I know this question will be asked a lot, but how do you feel about the jayhawks, and what they have acomplished this year. They have came so far, i know a lot of people weren’t counting on them to come this far in the tourney.

Gary Bedore: It’s probably been their best effort in a long time, to win without Wayne and to battle back from the 3-3 craziness. It really wouldn’t ruin the season if they lost today, but I think these guys really want to win it all. They’ve beaten Arizona and Duke to get here, to go with the league title without Wayne, which is pretty impressive when you think about it. Win or lose it’s been a good year.

Jason – Los Angeles: We have heard throughtout the week available candidates for the North Carolina job. In the event the “unthinkable” happens and Coach Williams becomes the next Tar Heel coach, what candidates would be at the top of KU’s list?

Gary Bedore: I seriously do not think anybody at KU who would make such a decision has thought about that at all. So, you’re asking my opinion — if he ever left I would assume they would check the logical list of candidates, in Bill Self, Mark Turgeon, Tom Crean, Montgomery — all the great coaches in college today. And probably also some of the guys Roy has mentored throughout the years. There really is no logical successor to Williams. If he sticks around another 10 years or so, maybe they will develop a logical successor from one of the guys he’s groomed. Kevin Stallings and Steve Robinson are probably the closest to being considered on the Roy coaching tree. They’ve had a lot of experience. But again, I can tell you that no one in KU leadership has thought of that, because nobody thinks Williams is going to leave.

Casey Osburn: Gary, I am angry that Coach Williams and his players are subjected to North Carolina rumors when they are trying to focus on winning a championship…a chance that doesn’t come along too often. Besides, how many times does Roy need to say “no” before North Carolina (and the media, for that matter) realize he isn’t leaving? Also, why does the national media seem to WANT him to go to UNC? Thanks, Casey Osburn, Hutchinson, KS.

Gary Bedore: You have to remember that North Carolina got rid of a coach this week. It’s on them. When a school like that has an opening, it becomes a major story. And since last time Williams was their only candidate, it comes back to him again and everyone has to ask him about it. The problem that most media in the country realize is that Williams does not comment about rumors. He never has and never will. He hasn’t been contacted by anybody officially. He’s got nothing to say right now, but everyone has to ask him repeatedly in case he’s changed his mind and wants to say something. It’s bad timing, but it’s completely Carolina’s fault for firing Matt this week. It has nothing to do with KU. It’s all about them firing a coach while KU’s still playing.

Gary Bedore: I don’t think the media necessarily wants him to go. They don’t work that way. Nobody really cares about creating a story. They just go from candidate to candidate and thus far Williams hasn’t eliminated himself. They don’t care one way or another.

Kristy: how do the players feels about playing in the final four two strait years? especially the seniors how do they feel about it?

Gary Bedore: The seniors are happy to be here, and pumped up. Nick says his career won’t be complete if he doesn’t win a title, but he said it still would be a good career. They walked Burbon Street a little bit, but mainly hung around the hotel, I guess.

Victor Mitchell & Booty Neal: Who would guard Steve Novak? Is that a potential mismatch for KU? Does Novak remind you of Boddicker from Texas?

Gary Bedore: Yes, he does remind me of Boddicker. Yes, it probably will be a mismatch, because the KU camp insists Keith will guard him.

Tyke Peacock: Is there any opponent that KU has had this year that Marquette reminds you of?

Gary Bedore: Not really, because this team is one of the few teams that has guys who can shoot, several big guys and even mid-range size guys. They seemingly have players at every position and height. I can’t actually think of any team they remind me of. Not Arizona because Marquette’s big guys are beefier. This is a good question, but I just can’t think of anybody right now.

Larry: I saw yesterday that they install new rims and they are usually tight, which may cause some problems. What about the shooting background in a large facility like the Superdome?

Gary Bedore: It’s bad. The shooting background is bad. That could concievably affect guys. Once again, we have to blame this on the networks and the billion dollar contract because they’re going to hold these events in the domes and it really looks different from Allen Fieldhouse or regular college buildings. The only thing is, it’s the same for both teams. As for the rims, it could be bad if they are new and hard. Roy claims that guys shoot for the center anyway, so that shouldn’t matter.

Ryan: I agree with Coach Williams in that we can all worry about his decision (if he should be offered the position) about UNC later. There’s still a game to be played tonight. Marquette has shown several different weapons throughout the season/tournament. For all the predictions that are running around, it seems like all of Marquette’s goods outweigh Kansas’. What’s your take on the game tonight?

Gary Bedore: My take is that once again Kirk or Collison will explode and score enough for two people combined. Just because Marquette has all the goods doesn’t mean that each guy is going to score 15. I think KU’s experience from last year is going to help immensely. It usually does in these settings. If Wade has another triple-double, I guess Marquette could beat anybody. If he goes off like that again, they’ll probably win it all.

Moderator: This will be our final question. We’d like to thank Gary for his time and our visitors for their questions.

Kerry Boagni: How does this KU team compare with the other Final 4 teams you have covered. (86,88, 91, 93, 02)

Gary Bedore: Well, the 88 team had the best player in the country and rode that player all the way to the title. This team may have the best player in Collison, but Marquette may have the best player. This team isn’t very deep, let’s face it, so I would say it’s probably as tough or any tougher than any Final Four team KU has had, but maybe has the least depth. I’d have to study all the rosters to give a good answer, because now that I think about it the 88 team wasn’t that deep, either. Let’s just say this team is pretty darn good and could play with anybody, especially if it had Wayne.

Moderator: Again, we’d like to thank Gary for his time on this busy day. Thanks again also to our visitors for their questions. Everybody enjoy the game tonight.