KANSAS’ SASHA KAUN
DETROIT –- The sweat wasn’t quite dried on Sasha Kaun’s face, and his game worn socks from Kansas’ 59-57 victory against Davidson were still strapped to his feet.
Kansas’ senior center had just led Kansas to the Final Four with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting in front of 57,563 fans at Ford Field, and Kaun was exhausted. Figures, because on the night before the biggest game of Sasha Kaun’s life, Kansas’ 6-foot-11 senior center couldn’t fall asleep.
Junior forward Matt Kleinman slept soundly in the bed next to him, but Kaun kept tossing and turning. His last opportunity to play in a Final Four sat in front of him and Kaun couldn’t stop thinking about it
“I couldn’t calm myself down to go to bed,” Kaun said.
Kaun wanted this game so much, in fact, that Kaun surprised his teammates in the locker room before the game. Kaun worked himself into a frenzy, just trying to get his teammates hyped. Russell Robinson couldn’t understand what Kaun was saying, but he got the message.
“You normally don’t see that side of him,” Robinson said.
Yet, it was Kansas’ fans that might have had trouble recognizing Kaun in the second half. The kid who had grown up in Russia and moved to Florida in the ninth grade, played with fire and intensity, scoring nine points in the second half.
Kaun called it urgency that only a college senior can know.
“I thought it might be over,” Kaun said.
With Kansas trailing 49-45 with 9:33 left in the second half, the butterflies started growing. Junior guard Mario Chalmers drove to the basket, and hoisted up a shot that rimmed out. But Kaun was there for the tip-in, cutting the Davidson lead to two.
A few possessions later, after sophomore guard Sherron Collins made a three-pointer to give Kansas a one-point lead, Kaun extended the lead to three with another layup.
“He was due for it. He works so hard, and he does everything coach asks him to do,” Collins said.
Kaun said last year’s Elite Eight loss to UCLA was his lowest moment on basketball floor, and that game entered his mind on Sunday.
As Kansas players sat on stools during a timeout, Kaun, with sweat flying and muscles flexed, let out a roar: “Come on, let’s go.” Kaun yelled.
Kaun wanted to make sure his career didn’t end in the same round that brought on so much heartache last year. With 2:19 left, Kaun made one-of-two free throws, giving Kansas a 57-53 lead.
“Sasha, in my opinion,” Self said, “may have been as good a performer we had this weekend.”
DAVIDSON’S STEPHEN CURRY
DETROIT –- Kansas can breathe a sigh of relief. North Carolina, stocked with All-Americans, awaits Kansas in the Final Four. The Tar Heels have skills, athleticisms and experience. But at least they don’t have Davidson’s Stephen Curry.
Davidson’s baby-face shooting guard scored 25 points against Kansas on Sunday, adding to his lengthy NCAA tournament legend.
Curry made his usual amount of step-back three-pointers and acrobatic circus drives to the hoop. But it was the shot that Curry didn’t take that will have people talking. With Davidson trailing 59-57 with seconds remaining, Curry drove to his right, ran out of space and had to pass the ball off to point guard Jason Richards. Richards shot was off target and the clock finally struck midnight for the Wildcats.
Kansas coach Bill Self was just glad Curry didn’t take the last shot.
“If he would have shot it from half court, I would have said it was pitiful defense, because I figured he would have made it,” Self said about Curry.
Kansas said it knew that Curry would be a challenge – the team had sat in the locker room before its victory against Villanova and watched Curry knife through Wisconsin on Friday – but the Jayhawks still had trouble stopping Curry in the first half.
Scoreless for more than 10 minutes to start the game, Curry made a three-pointer with 9:43 to go in the first half, and proceeded to score 15 of the Wildcat’s last 21 points in the first half.
“Every time he hit a shot, it was like Michael Jordan was hitting a shot,” Russell Robinson said.
Self finally switched Kansas to a box-and-one defense with four minutes left in the first half, tabbing Robinson to shadow Curry and placing the rest of the Jayhawks in a zone.
The Jayhawks went back to the defense in the opening minutes of the second half, with a combination of Rush, Robinson and Rush chasing Curry step-for-step.
“He got a little frustrated, and he forced a couple shots,” Collins said. “That was what we wanted.”
Curry made just 4-of-13 from the field in the second half and just 2-of-10 from behind the three-line.
“I really just think he was little tired,” Robinson said.
Curry played all 40 minutes against Kansas.
“With a player like him, he does so much, you just got to try and slow him down,” sophomore guard Sherron Collins said. “You’re not going to stop him,”