Posted on Sun, Apr. 06, 2008

Now the animosity for Roy Williams from the Kansas fans who once adored him can be buried. Much as the Jayhawks shoveled an endless pile of dirt on North Carolina with an incredible first-half explosion that left the Tar Heels frantically, and with much futility, digging out.

They never did, though they tried mightily, and Kansas won 84-66 Saturday night at the Alamodome.

This is the sweetest taste for Kansas since Danny and the Miracles led the Jayhawks to a national championship 20 years ago. Never mind that KU still has to play Memphis in Monday night's title game. That's the icing, this is the cake.

It's hard to say what KU coach Bill Self, who started this postseason needing once and for all to prove he had the goods, said to his team before the first-half massacre turned into a second-half nail biter. It's doubtful the name of Williams was mentioned; he insists it hadn't been in the days leading up to the game. But make no mistake, no matter what Self said publicly in the past week, with the matchup against Carolina and Williams looming, he shifted his emotions into another gear.

Williams and Self aren't buddies; they hadn't even talked in the five years since Self took over for Williams at KU. That doesn't mean they're enemies, but you can rest assured Self's biggest challenge has been to create his own identity at Kansas, something Williams was able to do so well.

Self was right when he said all the hard feelings about Roy from many KU fans were nothing more than the feelings of a jilted lover. I'm sure it's the fans who once felt the most respect for Williams who have had the toughest time getting past his departure.

Williams has proven he's a great coach. Now Self has proven he is, too, regardless of what happens Monday night. And after watching Memphis take apart UCLA in Saturday night's other national semifinal, don't think that one will be as easy as handling North Carolina.

Let's talk about North Carolina for a moment.

Did the Tar Heels even know what hit them? From 15-10 with 13:36 remaining in the first half, KU went on an 18-0 run to build a 33-10 lead with 9:31 remaining. It would only get worse; the Jayhawks' biggest lead was 40-12 with 6:46 to play.

KU did it with their two most experienced big men, Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun, on the bench with two fouls. They were the guys whose big bodies were going to counter North Carolina's Psycho T, Tyler Hansbrough. Instead, Kansas freshman Cole Aldrich was the guy doing mortal combat against Hansbrough for 13 minutes.

If it had been a boxing match -- and in some ways it was -- Aldrich would have won a decision. He had six points, six rebounds and three blocks during that fateful first half. Hansbrough had 10 points, but got up only six shots against the massively-physical Aldrich, a star in the making. Hansbrough also had five rebounds but didn't block a shot.

Kansas did everything North Carolina loves to do and did it so much better.

It was the Jayhawks who were beating the Tar Heels down the floor on nearly every possession. It was the Jayhawks who were crashing the boards with ferocity. It was the Jayhawks who were forcing turnovers and coming up with steals.

Most of the time.

From the 4:58 mark of the first half until the 11:13 mark in the second, North Carolina outscored KU 38-14. Things got scary, really scary as the Tar Heels pulled to within 54-50 with an eternity left to play.

Blowing such a lead would have been too cruel and the basketball gods set Kansas back on the right course. They easily won Stage 3 of the bizarre game, pulling away.

The celebration by the Jayhawks said it all. Not only have they reached a national championship game for the first time since 2003, which ironically was Williams' last season. Not only have they validated Self as one of the country's best coaches. But now, once and for all, there's no more need to discuss good ol' Roy. He can go on about his business at North Carolina, where business is normally very good, and the Jayhawks can stick out their chests.

The issue now is getting ready for a Memphis team that has two great players, freshman point guard Derrick Rose and junior Chris Douglas-Roberts. The supporting cast ain't bad, either.

But Memphis can wait for just a bit while the Jayhawks celebrate one of the biggest victories in the program's history. For a program with 1,942 wins, that's saying something.

Self handled this week with amazing class and dignity. And so did Williams, for that matter. The coaches never made it about themselves. That was well covered by the media and some KU fans.

Self admitted this has been his biggest week as a coach, but said it had nothing to do with beating Williams.

"No better week, but it's not because of Roy," Self said. "That doesn't have anything to do with it. I've said that. I've said that many times, and people don't buy into it."

We don't buy into it because Self is no saint. No coach is. Beating Williams may not have been the biggest prize of his night, but it had to matter.

Again, Self wasn't biting.

"There is no jealousy, no animosity between Coach Williams and myself, at least on this end," Self said. "And I have never this entire week said, 'Look, we need to do this because this would be better for me with our fan base' or anything like that."

A week after getting past the Elite Eight for the first time in five tries, Self's in the national championship game and has purged any comparisons to Williams. Self has created his own identity and stacks up against the most successful coaches in KU history.

He won't say that because he's too humble and too classy. But I'll say it and so will most sensible Jayhawk fans. This was one KU needed. And one Self needed.

That the Jayhawks did it so handily is a testament to how well Self had his team prepared. It wasn't KU playing Carolina's style of basketball. It was Kansas playing Kansas' style of basketball, much better than the Tar Heels ever could.

"I hope it has been set aside," Williams said of the negativity he has felt from some KU fans. "I hope it goes away forever. I'm too thin-skinned, probably, and those things have hurt."

The Jayhawks are moving on and Roy is going home to Chapel Hill. May they meet again under calmer circumstances.

Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz co-hosts "Sports Daily" from 9-11 a.m. weekdays on KFH, 1240-AM and 98.7-FM. Reach him at 316-268-6597 or blutz@wichitaeagle.com.