LAWRENCE, Kan. -- It's easy to pick Ryan Robertson out of Kansas' constellation of stars. He's all-American by birth only. He's more likely to stay longer in school for his MBA than leave early for the NBA. The only jam he'll tell you about is the one he had for breakfast.
Yet at this moment, a case can be made for the 6-foot 5-inch junior point guard being as important a Jayhawk as there is heading into the NCAA Tournament. Robertson runs the team about as well as he runs his mouth, which is smooth and effortlessly. Here's a guy who thinks before he passes AND speaks. At times the conscious of the No. 3 Jayhawks seems like a basketball player second and an orator first.
|
|
|
Ryan Robertson must step up with leadership and scoring if the Jayhawks are going to make it to the Final Four. (AP)
|
"It's good to be reminded what that felt like," Robertson said of the stinging loss to Arizona that sent Kansas home from the Southeast Regional last season. "Last year's team was the best in the country without any doubt. This year's team seems like it's the forgotten No. 1 seed. We're kind of battling a little bit for respect."
ROBERTSON SAYS IT WITH SUCH conviction that you want to pass the hat for these poor, forgotten, Jayhawks -- third-ranked, top-seeded and aided by two All-Americans in Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz. But there is some truth to Robertson's observations. LaFrentz goes into the NCAA Tournament bothered by a painful left shoulder. Guard Billy Thomas is questionable for Friday's first game against Prairie View A&M with a strained thigh.
Robertson's observations are a given. He must now step up with his scoring and leadership if the Jayhawks are going to make their anticipated run to the Final Four.
"I probably yelled at Ryan more than any two players early in the season," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "Yet I think he's had a phenomenal year. ... He got better and better. I wouldn't say it surprised me. I felt like he'd be able to do it."
Not without a struggle. Robertson's biggest sin, it seemed, was that he wasn't Jacque Vaughn. Vaughn is arguably the greatest point guard in KU history and the best in the country last season. He was eloquent, wrote poetry and broke down defenses with equal aplomb. After four spectacular seasons, he headed for the NBA.
ROBERTSON? AS FAR AS WE KNOW, he doesn't rhyme. But there has been little drop-off between him and the all-time great he replaced. Robertson is 16th in the country with 6.2 assists per game. He had a 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and was No. 2 in assists in Big 12 play. But when Robertson took over, somehow he became the weak point because he wasn't Vaughn.
"I don't think it's just following Jacque," Williams said. "It's the way we like to play. We like to pressure people and go as fast as we can possibly go. If you score we like to turn it right up your back while you're celebrating. He hasn't been able to do that."
Williams was as unsure as Kansas' recruiting-crazy fans. During the off-season, Williams recruited Khalid El-Amin (now at Connecticut), Baron Davis (UCLA) and Bernard Smith (Texas). They weren't being brought in to back up Robertson.
Fortunately for Robertson, Williams struck out. His fall-back guy, though, wasn't too bad. Robertson makes 45 percent of his threes and averages 8.5 points. During the just-completed Big 12 Tournament, Robertson had a hand in holding all-Big 12 guards Tyronn Lue and Corey Brewer to a combined 11 of 32 shooting.
"A lot of people questioned my ability to guard the quick point guard," Robertson said. "This weekend was a perfect example. I guarded Tyronn Lue and Corey Brewer back-to-back and felt like I did a pretty good job."
NOW ROBERTSON IS BEING ASKED to do more. Thomas has missed three consecutive games with the thigh. Kansas' all-time leading three-point shooter is the X factor in the tournament. If Thomas is on, he can loosen up defenses leaving LaFrentz and Pierce more room to operate inside. Without him, Robertson must take on some of the load, which is fine. Some think Robertson is a natural shooting guard anyway.
While at St. Charles (Mo.) West High School, Robertson scored more than 2,000 points and became a McDonald's All-American. He could have become a star in a lesser program. He became a piece of the puzzle at Kansas.
"The best thing about Billy is when we need a basket, he can get us points easier and quicker than anyone else on the team," Robertson said. "Paul and Raef have those incredible moves and are incredible scorers but a simple chest pass out on the wing to Billy can mean a quick three points."
Robertson isn't being asked to do anything he hasn't done before. Survive and advance. He grew up in Oklahoma City being tormented by bigger, stronger Evan Wiley, now a center at Oklahoma.
"That was my first experience with trash talking," Robertson said. "In the fourth grade I was playing for a church. I went down the middle and Evan slapped the ball away and said, 'Get that stuff out of here.' "
IT SPEAKS VOLUMES THAT the then-skinny sophomore took Kansas' final shot against Arizona, a three that clanked in an 85-82 loss.
Vaughn, the All-American, ended his career by declining the shot and finding Robertson for what would have been another glorious assist. The moment could have been more significant only if the ball were a torch. Robertson was being handed it ... and bounced it off the edge of the rim.
"By no means do I obsess about it," Robertson said. "It's gone through my mind a little bit more these past couple of weeks."
In Kansas' system, the player with the best-looking shot gets the ball. That was Robertson's job this year. That was Vaughn's job then in becoming the Big Eight's all-time assist leader. But in a time of crisis Vaughn played hot potato with the pressure and passed it to the underclassmen. Don't blame Robertson for missing. Not now.
Kansas was 11-0 last season with Robertson running the point while Vaughn was out with a broken wrist. This year the Jayhawks are 34-3 with Robertson as the starter. That's 45-3 over two seasons. There shouldn't be any questions ... but there are.
Robertson is the Achilles' heel of the Jayhawks, the popular theory goes. On a team full of stars, he is the one weak link. His response: turn the page.
"The reason it was so tough those first couple of months is that coach just wanted to make sure I was fully prepared for the job at hand," Robertson said. "At times he was extremely tough on me."
We might never know how tough. The kid who speaks his mind won't reveal the details. Like his team, he's kind of battling for a little respect.
Dennis Dodd is a senior writer in CBS SportsLine's Kansas City bureau.
Return to the Wiseguys Corner