There's Naismith, who's buried in Lawrence. There's Allen, who in 1927 successfully led opposition to a pending rule change that might have altered the course of the game, limiting dribbling to a single bounce. I've never been able to sell a recruit on tradition,'' Williams says. The preseason No. 1 ranking speaks to that. So do four appearances in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 the past four years and three regional final berths in the past six seasons.
Critics point to the lack of a more recent national championship.
As players, we do it, too,'' center Scot Pollard says. I'm in that stage right now where I'm going, 'Geez, Sweet 16. It's not that great. And that '88 title is hardly ancient history. Ask schools which coach they'd most like as their own, and the only uncertainty is where in the top five Williams would be.