Kansas behavior polarizes fans
The case that’s been making the most headlines, though, involves an altercation outside a Lawrence bar in early December. Women’s basketball player McKenzie Calvert is accused of throwing a drink at sophomore guard Lagerald Vick, and their dispute continued into the parking lot, where Jackson allegedly kicked in her taillight and caused other damage.
An affidavit released last week states Jackson threatened to “beat” the woman, prompting many — particularly on social media — to cast judgment on both sides of the dispute.
“We live in a society where everything is done in 140 characters, and headlines, and there’s been a lot of misleading headlines,” said Bob Fescoe, who hosts a sports-talk radio program in Kansas City and spent part of his show discussing the case earlier this week.
“Especially here, there are a lot of divided fans — you have Kansas, Missouri, Kansas State fans, and they’re not budging,” Fescoe said. “If you believe something happened, you’re staying on that side of it, and if you don’t, then you’re staying on that side of it.”
Jackson was suspended for the Jayhawks’ Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal for what Self called “an accumulation” of incidents, and they promptly lost to TCU in a major upset.
Jackson returned to put up flashy numbers in lopsided NCAA Tournament wins over UC Davis and Michigan State, helping his draft status. If he’s bothered by the legal issues, he’s not showing it on the court.
It’s not easy to have your name across the ticker each and every day,” Self said, pointing out that most of Jackson’s trouble happened months ago and that discipline has long been handed out.
“I don’t think it should be motivation,” the coach added, “but I also don’t think it should be an excuse or a distraction. It’s just sometimes families go through stuff and you got to put blinders on and go at the job at hand, and I think they’ve found their basketball court as their safe haven.”
The issues that have dogged the Jayhawks have created an us-againstthe-world mentality.
“Josh is a great kid. We all love him,” said Mason, the team’s senior leader. “We just tell him to focus on the things that he can take care of, and that’s exactly what he does.”
Legacies matters at Kansas, a program founded by James Naismith, the game’s inventor, and where Phog Allen, Dean Smith and Larry Brown made their names. Five national championship banners hang in the rafters at one end of Allen Fieldhouse.
What will the legacy of this year’s team be?
Fans who proudly proclaim “In Bill we trust!” will no doubt remember it for Jackson, Mason and an NCAA Tournament run that could conclude at the Final Four.
Other fans and many outside the program will recall a season sullied by behavior that cast the program in disparaging light.