Do you remember ... KU Jayhawks’ three games versus Nevada early in Bill Self era?
During his 15 seasons at Kansas, Roy Williams rewarded numerous recruits who signed with the Jayhawks by scheduling a game in those players’ hometowns.
Such was the case with 6-foot-10 Reno, Nevada native David Padgett, the No. 7 prospect in the recruiting Class of 2003 by Rivals.com, who began his college career knowing he’d be playing three games over three seasons against his hometown school — the University of Nevada.
A 2-for-1 contract with the Wolf Pack, set up by Williams, had KU playing UC Santa Barbara and Nevada on back-to-back nights in Reno during Padgett’s freshman season at KU, followed by games against the Wolf Pack at Allen Fieldhouse in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
As things transpired, KU’s three games against Nevada were coached by Bill Self, who took over for the North Carolina-bound Williams in spring 2003. And as it turned out, just one of those KU-Nevada games featured Padgett, who transferred from KU to Louisville after his freshman campaign.
Nevada went 2-1 against KU in those three games.
Coming in with a 4-2 all-time record against the Pack, the Jayhawks (9-1) will be looking to even Self’s personal ledger with Nevada (6-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. Here’s a closer look at the three games Self has coached against the Wolf Pack.
Nevada 75, No. 6 Kansas 61
Dec. 21, 2003 in Reno
Padgett at the time acknowledged he was “a little more nervous than usual” playing for KU in his hometown of Reno as a first-year college player.
After the Santa Barbara game, a 72-52 KU victory on Dec. 20, Self said KU’s schedule-makers should probably have waited until Padgett’s junior or senior year to send him home for games.
“I don’t think it’s fair to David at all,” Self said on the day the McDonald’s All-American scored three points on 1-of-8 shooting (with four rebounds) in KU’s win over the Gauchos.
“It’s great we’re playing in Reno,” Self added, “but we played TCU for Keith (Langford, a Fort Worth native) in his junior year. To put a young man under pressure, coming home seven games into his career, I don’t think it’s good for David. It’s a little unfortunate for him. He was probably a little tight tonight. He’ll probably be looser tomorrow (for the game against Nevada).”
The 12,000 fans who politely applauded former Reno High star Padgett against Santa Barbara weren’t as kind the next night. Reno natives desperately wanted to see Nevada defeat a Top 10 team, and that’s what happened.
Nevada, which was coached at the time by Trent Johnson, led KU 40-20 at halftime and eventually won by 14 points.
Forward Kirk Snyder, the preseason player of the year in the WAC, scored 29 points and grabbed nine boards. Todd Okeson, a guard from Weskan, Kansas chipped in 12 points.
Padgett was a bright spot late, hitting consecutive shots to cut the gap to 68-61 with 1:47 to play. He finished with six points on 3-of-3 shooting with four rebounds in 22 minutes.
The fans stormed the court after 5-3 Nevada’s win, just the program’s second ever against a ranked team. The first came against UNLV in the early 1990s.
“They were bigger, stronger, more athletic and more skilled,” Self said. ”They played like a hungry team. We played like a team content and not competitive. They kicked our butts in every phase of the game.”
This week, Self reflected on that game, saying: “The first game it was only 13 (point loss), but it felt like 20, 25. That was the last game before Christmas. I remember calling all the families (of players) after we got back. I dreaded so much to talk to them because we were so bad in the last game. Then everybody said, ‘C’mon, Coach ... It’s Christmas.’ We kind of got past that. I do remember sitting in the car and making those calls.”
Self also remembered that Nevada’s Snyder “was terrific. They’ve had a good program and a good run.”
Padgett, by the way, now works as a financial advisor. He’s also assistant boys basketball coach at North Oldham School in Kentucky.
“David was great. He made a big basket against Missouri,” Self said Tuesday, reflecting on Padgett’s bucket to beat the Tigers in Columbia during Padgett’s freshman campaign.
“I’m sure that (three-game series against Nevada) was a deal Roy worked out with the Padgett family: ‘If you pick us, we’ll go out and play a game (in Reno),’ anticipating he was not going to be a four-year guy.”
No. 2 KU 85, Nevada 52
Nov. 29, 2004, Allen Fieldhouse
The Jayhawks had no problem avenging the previous season’s 14-point loss in Reno, storming to a 30-11 lead midway through the first half and 43-21 advantage by halftime.
Wayne Simien scored 14 points and secured 10 rebounds for KU. Langford scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Aaron Miles scored eight points and dished 10 assists, and J.R. Giddens and Russell Robinson had 13 points apiece. C.J. Giles scored five points with eight rebounds and Alex Galindo had six points and two rebounds.
Forward Nick Fazekas, who would make headlines against KU the following season, scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots for Nevada, then led by first-year coach Mark Fox.
Nevada 72, Kansas 70
Dec. 1, 2005, Allen Fieldhouse
This was the game in which 6-foot-11 Nevada junior Fazekas scored 35 points and also blocked a possible game-tying shot by C.J. Giles just before the final buzzer sounded. Instead, he was whistled for a foul.
“I blocked it,” Fazekas said at the time, referring to Giles’ shot. “I thought it was (clean). I don’t think you can make a call like that at the end of the game.”
Fazekas scored 21 points in the second half. His 35 points were the most points scored against the Jayhawks since Missouri’s Arthur Johnson scored 37 on March 27, 2004.
“To win here is a big deal,” Fazekas said. “Coming here and having those people go home unhappy because they lost ... it’s a great feeling.
“He played like an All-American,” Nevada coach Fox said. “Out of high school, people didn’t think he could play at this level. But he’s gotten better each year, and tonight he showed he can.”
After the game, KU assistant coach Joe Dooley had words with Fazekas in the handshake line. The exchange led to Dooley issuing an apology for uttering an expletive in Fazekas’ direction. Some onlookers maintain Fazekas also had some choice words for the Jayhawks’ players.
Nevada’s Fox said that was not true, that Fazekas was merely “celebrating” with teammates after the victory.
After saying he had “great respect for the Nevada team,” Dooley stated: “I responded in a negative manner to something that was said to me following the game. I certainly apologize to the Nevada program and this is not the manner in which Kansas basketball should be represented.”
It was an emotional game, to be sure. Chad Bell shoved Kansas’ Mario Chalmers as Chalmers drove for a layup, and Chalmers was injured and had to leave the game.
Nevada improved to 4-0 while KU fell to 2-3 for the first time since the 1972-73 season.
“We helped him be great, but he was great,” Self said of Fazekas. “The whole thing with Nick, in my opinion, is you need to be physical with him. We didn’t have bodies on him.”
Sasha Kaun led Kansas with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Brandon Rush added 15 points, all but two coming in the second half.
Of that game, Self said Tuesday: “We beat them pretty good here the second time. Then they came back and Fazekas had 35. I think it was 35 on the nose. They beat us on the last possession. That’s one of our 15 losses in the building (against 281 wins). They played great.”
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Do you remember ... KU Jayhawks’ three games versus Nevada early in Bill Self era?."
