Rebels face major test against mighty Kansas

Steve Carp

Friday, Nov. 27, 1998 | 10:39 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- At virtually every school in America, a basketball team that went 35-4 would have a ticker-tape parade down Main Street thrown in its honor.

Then there's Kansas, where 35-4 is looked upon in some segments of the Jayhawk Nation as a failure.

When Kansas was bounced from the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament by Rhode Island, there was plenty of disappointment. And given the Jayhawks were losing two All-Americans in Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce, many KU fans wondered if this was the signal of tough times looming on the horizon.

But Roy Williams merely shakes his head and chuckles to himself. He knows nothing short of a national championship will please the fans, even when only one other team in school history won as many games as last year's squad (the 1985-86 team also went 35-4).

"It is a transition year, no question," said Williams, who has begun his 11th year at Kansas. "But there's going to be high expectations no matter what I say. So we just go with it."

The eighth-ranked Jayhawks, who face off with 3-1 UNLV at 4:35 p.m. today in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic, are looking to reload. Even though Kansas is 3-0, the Jayhawks struggled to beat Gonzaga at home, went all-out to defeat Pennsylvania playing in the fabled Palestra and had some trouble with Fort Hays State before cruising to a 91-67 win last Saturday.

But UNLV coach Bill Bayno knows enough not to put too much stock into any of that as his team prepares for its first road game of 1998-99, at the Springfield Civic Center.

"Kansas is Kansas," he said. "They've got five McDonald's All-Americans. They're big, fast and athletic. They may be a little younger with LaFrentz and Pierce gone, but they've got a lot of talent."

Kansas is indeed talented. It also is banged up.

Forward Ashante Johnson has been out with a fractured right kneecap and forward T.J. Pugh has missed the first three games with a stress fracture of his left foot. Pugh is on the trip, however, and he may see limited action in tonight's nationally televised game on ESPN.

The injuries have forced Williams to shuffle the deck.

Ryan Robertson, who usually plays point guard, has moved to the shooting guard spot. Swingman Kenny Gregory has moved to the frontcourt as a small forward and Nick Bradford is now the power forward. Only center Eric Chenowith has stayed put in his normal position.

Williams has given the reins to freshman point guard Jeff Boschee. The 6-foot-1 Boschee has played beyond expectations and Williams is encouraged by that.

"He's better than I hoped he would be," Williams said of the Valley City, N.D., product. "It's an awfully tough job. As a point guard, you're not just a basketball player, you're calling the plays and trying to get people in the right spots.

"Jeff's done a pretty good job of that, though he's been a little more tentative than I had wished. But that's understandable and he has done a very good job for us overall. Defensively, he's better than I hoped he'd be."

Boschee will face a tough test as he goes head-to-head with UNLV sophomore Greedy Daniels. Daniels is coming off a strong game in the Rebels' 82-64 win over Weber State Tuesday, when he had 14 points, seven assists, three steals and just three turnovers.

Actually, Williams is concerned about all of the Rebels, not just Daniels.

"They're a different team than we've played to date for sure," he said. "This is a more talented, more gifted team than we've played. We've got to keep their inside guys (Kevin Simmons, Shawn Marion and Kaspars Kambala) from pounding us to death."

And while Kansas certainly is a different team than the one that beat UNLV 92-68 en route to winning the Preseason NIT a year ago, the Rebels also are different.

Simmons and Marion didn't play against the Jayhawks last year. Neither did Brian Keefe, the senior shooting guard. Daniels and Kambala were playing their first collegiate road game that night at Allen Fieldhouse and had all of two games' experience under their belts.

None of that has been lost on Williams.

"I'm genuinely concerned," he said. "Are we going to be tough enough to match them?"