Steven M. Sipple: KU can't afford any big missteps

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OMAHA — I watched basketball here Saturday, and I watched art. I watched a dazzling ballet. I watched a splendid waltz. It was a display of beauty.

To be sure, Kansas performs artistry as much as it plays basketball.

But sometimes even ballerinas take a few missteps.

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I’m glad I’m a basketball fan and not a Kansas basketball fan. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m probably as close as one can get to being a genuine Kansas hoops fan without actually being one. It’s interesting (at least to me) because I haven’t truly had a favorite sports team since Kenny Stabler was slinging touchdown passes for the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s.

So, unlike true-blue Kansas fans, I can appreciate the Jayhawks’ attractiveness without agonizing over their missteps. There were a few of them in KU’s 75-56 victory against UNLV in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Qwest Center Omaha. Indeed, there were enough slip-ups that some Rock Chalkers are probably gnashing their teeth this morning over a lack of production by the Jayhawks’ big men against the smallish Rebels, or because KU didn’t pull away until late in the second half.

It’s always something, right?

Sound familiar?

When Nebraska was steamrolling football opponents back in the day (wink, wink), Husker fans could nitpick with the best of them. It’s all part of being a powerhouse program.

So, there was Kansas coach Bill Self, after a 19-point triumph, talking about how his team didn’t execute its game plan especially well. KU didn’t get the ball to its big men, 6-foot-9 Darrell Arthur (nine points) and 6-8 Darnell Jackson (eight), enough of the time against a team that started nobody taller than 6-7.

But never fear. The Jayhawks’ fleet of gifted guards (Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, Russell Robinson and Brandon Rush) came through mightily, repeatedly driving to the basket as UNLV extended its pressure on defense, thereby creating lanes to the basket. KU guards blasted toward the hoop, and it was splendid to observe, because few college teams have athletes as explosive as these Midwest Region top-seeded Jayhawks (32-3), who advanced to face either 13th-seeded Siena or 12th-seeded Villanova.

“I thought it was a good, solid, grind-it-out win,” Self said after Kansas won its ninth straight game.

So, Kansas has now waltzed into the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the last eight years. And you have to figure the Jayhawks will stroll into the Elite Eight.

But here’s the thing: Because Kansas has such tremendous athleticism, opponents are determined to muck up the Jayhawks’ ballet. That’s the ongoing challenge for KU, to create enough opportunities in games to let its athletic prowess flourish. Opponents are forever trying to slow the tempo, forever trying to ugly it up. Plus, the tempo in NCAA games tends to be slower anyway.

“UNLV came after us,” Self said. “Their pressure bothered us.”

OK, so the Rebels hung around a little longer than some Jayhawk fans might have liked. KU put the game away with a 14-3 surge that pushed the lead to 60-44 with 7:45 remaining. If winning by 19 in the NCAA Tournament is winning ugly, Self will take it. After all, KU held UNLV to 26.7 percent field-goal shooting. Meanwhile, Self’s crew shot 58 percent and committed only 10 turnovers. Chalmers, a 6-1 junior, led the way with 17 points.

But UNLV’s ultra-quick guard  Wink Adams too often penetrated deep into the paint and drew fouls. The 6-foot Adams scored 25 points, making 15 of 17 free throws.

It’s always something, right?

“I thought we did a good job of turning things around when things weren’t going well for us,” said Kansas senior guard Russell Robinson (13 points).

Kansas played with focus. It obviously didn’t overlook eighth-seeded UNLV (27-8). Those are good signs for Jayhawk fans, because only a few teams in this NCAA Tournament (Memphis, North Carolina and maybe UCLA) feature as much sheer talent as KU. The Jayhawks possess inside power, perimeter quickness, and plenty of guys who can catch-and-shoot.

Kansas has four McDonald’s High School All-Americans. It has four starters — Rush, Arthur, Chalmers and Jackson — projected to be taken in this year’s NBA Draft, should they make themselves available.

But the NCAA Tournament is a strange animal. The best teams don’t always win, hence the madness. Self knows it as well as anyone. He’s twice taken Kansas to the Elite Eight (2005, 2007), but never beyond that point. He’s twice endured first-round upsets that rankled Jayhawk fans in the worst way. Now, the pressure on Self is more intense than ever. It’s his third time this decade as the coach of a No. 1 seed. It’s high time for a Final Four, at least in the minds of those demanding Kansas fans.

That’s big-time pressure, ladies and gentlemen. But Self seems to embrace it.

“I’m a big boy, I can handle it,” he said.

Yet you almost get the feeling some fans are bracing for Kansas to take that big misstep, the one that keeps the Jayhawks from completing their annual spring ballet with a big finish April 5-7 in San Antonio, site of the Final Four.

Remember, even ballerinas take an occasional misstep.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.