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Lawson, Heels Know All About Kansas

By Jake Lloyd

Apr 2, 2008

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Ty Lawson has been a big fan of Kansas this season.

OK, maybe not a fan, but the North Carolina point guard has watched several Jayhawks games.

One reason is that Lawson has some friends on the team, but he's also watched because of how good the Jayhawks are — and he had an inkling that they might still be playing in April.

"I just knew that they were a good team and that we probably would face them sometime down the road," Lawson said. "And also Sherron (Collins) plays on the team, Darrell Arthur — I know them.

"And I just like (that) they're an exciting team to watch. They get a lot of dunks and things like that. They don't have a boring-type game."

Come Saturday night, Lawson and his teammates will face the challenge of preventing those dunks and solving Kansas' pressure defense when the teams face off in San Antonio. The Final Four matchup is set to tip around 8:47 p.m.

Lawson said the Tar Heels won't start diligently watching tape of the Jayhawks (35-3) until Thursday or Friday, but all the Heels are familiar with what Kansas does well — and that's several things.

"I mean, they're a tough team," Wayne Ellington said. "They've got an inside presence and they've got great guards.

"There's not one thing in particular that you can exploit. I think it's gonna be a big-time matchup. I think we have great inside presences and outside presences as well."

Ellington doesn't consider the Tar Heels (36-2) a mirror image of the Jayhawks, but no Carolina player denied that both teams have several strengths, such as running the fast-break, scoring in the half-court offense, defending with pressure and so on.

For the second consecutive day, Roy Williams was pestered with questions about playing his former team of 15 years in the Final Four. He doesn't, however, think he or his team will be bothered by the non-basketball questions in preparing for the game.

"I don't think my team can get distracted, and we're getting very close to putting an end to it right now, because it's not the story," Williams said.

"It's taken up a lot of time right now."

Williams — and the rest of the Heels — is more concerned about Kansas' ability to defend.

"They put so much pressure on you on the perimeter," he said. "I've got to think they're one of the top teams in the country just on steals.

"I think the pressure they put on you out there makes you take rushed shots — makes you turn it over first (then take poor shots)."

The Jayhawks average 8.8 steals and are holding opponents to 61.2 points per game.

North Carolina, meanwhile, has scored 89.2 points per game, so something will have to give on that end of the floor.

Lawson said he feels fine despite an ankle tweak at the end of Carolina's regional final win over Louisville, and that's comforting news for the Heels considering the pressure that will be put on their guards.

"Their guard play really stands out to me, because I watch their guards, I'm a guard myself," Danny Green said. "They play really good defense and they like to shoot and drive from outside.

"They do a lot of things that we do. They're very talented."

One advantage the Heels have on the perimeter is size. Outside of 6-foot-6 Brandon Rush, the Jayhawks' primary guards are small — Collins is 5-11, and Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson each stand 6-1. For Carolina, Green is 6-5, Ellington 6-4 and Quentin Thomas 6-3.

"I'll probably make plays for them (Ellington and Green), because we have a couple backdoor plays and post-up plays for them," Lawson said. "Probably (to) Danny, especially Danny.

"And their guards are smaller, so that's an advantage we can take (by) driving to the basket (and) using their aggressiveness against them when they reach, just go by them — get some open shots.

"So, I mean, their defense, we'll adjust to it."

And both teams will try to push the ball in transition, which could result in a high-scoring affair, just like Williams likes them.

"Yeah, I think so, unless they, like, change their whole offensive thing, but I doubt coach (Bill Self) would do that," Lawson said.

"I expect a track meet."

Whatever happens, Williams has past experiences to back up his claim that off-the-court issues won't affect what transpires on the court. In 1991 and 1993, he led Kansas teams against his former mentor Dean Smith, whom he coached under at Carolina from 1978 through 1988.

Both meetings occurred in the national semifinals, with Kansas winning the first and then losing to Duke in the final and the Heels taking the second on their way to the national title.

"It's hard, but once the game starts, we're playing another team and it will be no different," Williams said. "Just like I said in 1991 and 1993, once the game started, it made no difference."

All-America Tyler Hansbrough acknowledged the attention that has been paid to Williams' past the last couple days, but that doesn't make him see the game in a different light.

"For me as a player, it's not more than a big-time game because I have no connections to Kansas," Hansbrough said.