NEW ORLEANS — Kansas’ men’s basketball players and coaches filed off a charter bus — one decorated with both a Jayhawk and NCAA logo — in front of the JW Marriott in the heart of the Big Easy to the applause of hotel employees and fans Wednesday afternoon, including one holding a sign, “Welcome to New Orleans, Jayhawks.”
“We are very excited. You’ve got a band waiting for us getting off the plane. You have basically all the anticipation, KU coach Bill Self said, speaking to reporters at 4:40 p.m. outside team headquarters of the Jayhawks, who flew to New Orleans via charter then received an escort from the airport.
The Jayhawks will take on Villanova in the Final Four at 5:09 p.m. Saturday in Caesars Superdome, with the winner meeting either North Carolina or Duke in the national title game Monday.
“Pretty cool,” Self responded, asked his feelings as the bus pulled up to the hotel entrance. “I know I won’t ever go there but how far is Bourbon Street from here? I always thought that our sport was cool until we went through that in 2008 (winning it all in San Antonio). Then you realize there’s another level. There’s another level you can get to and our guys will experience what college basketball’s best to offer is, maybe this year more than other years.”
The Jayhawks practiced at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse then drove to Topeka where they flew charter to New Orleans on a windy day.
“No issues at all,” Self said.
The Jayhawks, Self said, were to “get some Cajun food tonight, enjoy the city just a little bit. We’ll get to business tomorrow.”
KU was to practice at the Superdome on Thursday and hold a session with media members at the dome. The practice is closed to fans.
On Friday, there’s an open practice from noon to 12:50 p.m. that’s free for fans to attend, and another session with the media leading up to Saturday’s national semifinals.
“We’re focused on Villanova obviously,” Self said, “but I really think serious prep for me will start this evening. I’ve got all that other stuff out of the way” he added of what he calls “logistics,” which includes ticket distribution to players and their families and travel plans.
Self, who was in New Orleans for the 2012 Final Four (KU defeated Ohio State in the semis then lost to Kentucky in the title game) said he asked his current players “to trust me. Not that I’ve been here enough. But I’ve been here enough (four Final Fours) to know there are some serious do’s and dont’s.
“If you care as much as you have to get here over a period of time, you’ve got to be smart enough and care enough to do it for five or six more days if you are fortunate enough to win. I think we’ll be good. Enjoy it, have fun, soak it up but there will be some strict guidelines within our team the guys have to adhere to,” Self said.
Kentucky defeated KU in that 2012 final, 67-59.
“Scooter (Ward, KU associate AD) on the bus ride over here said we weren’t very happy leaving out of here last time we were on this road,” Self said. “I said to ‘Scoot,’ ‘You know I was pretty happy. I wasn’t happy we lost (but) that particular team we played was probably as good as any college basketball has seen in a particular period of time. That was a hard game for us. We have two hard games (coming) if we are fortunate enough to win (Saturday), but I think this team can compete with anybody.”
Self said he thinks most of the buzz will be for the second national semifinal played Saturday.
“I don’t know how it’s going to be and I certainly don’t know about television ratings, but Duke and Carolina playing, coach (Mike) Krzyzewski’s last year and two other bluebloods playing ... although I don’t know if too many people are talking about Villanova and Kansas right now and that’s great personally,” Self said.
“I think this could be as anticipated and well-attended and most watched as many any Final Four ever. It could be pretty special.”
The Jayhawks last attended the Final Four in 2018 in San Antonio. Villanova, the team KU is playing Saturday, thumped KU in the semis, 95-79.
“We probably played the best team college basketball has seen in a decade,” Self said, “so we probably weren’t going to win that game if they shot the ball like that regardless (18-of-40 from three). I feel like maybe that game has added a little bit extra oomph to our prep.”
Many figured KU would have made the Final Four in 2020 had their been a tournament. It was canceled because of the pandemic.
“I want them to play for themselves and each other, just enjoy it,” Self said. “What happened in 2020, there’s no guarantee we’d have gone far in the tournament. (But) somebody would have had to have an awfully good day to beat us. Maybe it makes this more anticipated. I don’t think it’s a revenge type deal at all.”
