Williams returns to ovation at Allen Fieldhouse

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Until Monday, Roy Williams hadn’t been in Allen Fieldhouse since the last practice he held with the Kansas Jayhawks before the 2003 Final Four.

That’s why he showed up early for Monday night’s “Celebrating 60 Years” program, just to look around the basketball palace he called home for 15 seasons until he returned to North Carolina, his alma mater, after losing the 2003 national championship game to Syracuse. He walked through the historic doors, down the tunnel from the KU locker room and took a deep breath.

The place drips with memories and for a few minutes Williams immersed himself in his own personal moments.

“It was a nice feeling,” Williams said. “It really was a nice feeling. It’s a wonderful place. I’ve always said it’s the, in my opinion, the greatest homecourt advantage. It’s because of two things. Of course, it’s because of the fans. But The Phog, Doc Allen. . . .There’s something hanging in there that’s really unique that no one else has.”

Williams stayed at The Oread hotel, went to the roof top and looked over the campus, and then was up Monday at 4 a.m. He was restless and got out to drive around Lawrence. When he was coaching, he used to jog to the gravestones of James Naismith and

“When I was here I used to sprint, then I jogged,” he said. “Then we jogged and walked. Now I just walk. That’s all it is right now, just a walk.”

This was a talk for a walk down memory lane. A crowd of 7,500 joined Williams later in the evening to celebrate the “Monarch of the Midlands,” as it was called in Phog Allen’s time. Allen Fieldhouse was a shrine when it opened in 1955 and it remains that way today – with several new coats of paint and a lot of updating that gives the Jayhawks some of the top facilities in college basketball, wrapped in 1.6 tons of stone and 2,700 tons of structural steel.

All of that faded into feelings from the heart and a few tears of joy Monday night. Ted Owens, Larry Brown and Bill Self joined Williams as the spotlight focused on KU’s coaches. Those four represent half of all the men who have ever sat in the head coach’s seat. They have coached 50 of the 60 seasons in the building. How many places can put on a show like that? Brown and Williams are in the Hall of Fame. Self will be there one day. And Owens, in 19 seasons, has more wins than any other coach in the building.

Williams said the night wasn’t about him, but by the time the celebration was over, it was clear it was a night to patch up a love affair that suffered through a dramatic breakup in 2003. He wished he could have had the place all to himself when he stepped in before the party. But after two standing ovations – one before his speech of 20-plus minutes and another as he returned to his table on the arena floor – Williams had a few tears.

“Thank you for letting me be here tonight,” Williams said at the end of his speech. “Thank you for being a great part of 15 wonderful years. I love you. I love this place. Go KU!”

Kansas fans loved Williams. They wanted him to stay forever. They felt betrayed when he left for North Carolina, after virtually promising he would stay the first time Tar Heel coach Dean Smith, a former Jayhawk player under Allen, came calling. Now Kansas fans love Self, who has won or shared 10 consecutive Big 12 conference championships entering this season. They wouldn’t have Self if Williams hadn’t left.

And despite a few meetings on the basketball court between Williams and Self, this seemed to be the perfect way to wipe the slate clean.

“People put your picture over the commode, that’s not the best feeling in the world,” Williams said, referring to a downtown barber shop that took that action when he left. “There were some people mad at me. They were hurt and I was hurt.”

“Time heals wounds. It really does. And you can’t change somebody’s opinion. But over time, people understand things better. The last two years I was here, I loved it when I was on the court with my players. This is a special place. I remember the first night I walked in that Fieldhouse for Late Night with Roy.”

Self contacted all three coaches this summer and got them to commit to this event. He saw Brown and Williams during a recruiting event in Las Vegas. Owens has been back many times in the past. But to join in this festivity was clearly meaning for the only man every fired as KU coach. Brown, who hired Self as a graduate assistant coach in 1986, spent a lot of time with the Jayhawks before returning to coach at SMU.

“If you looked up in the dictionary what a fieldhouse is, they’d probably say Allen,” Brown said. “It’s just probably what you would imagine every college arena should be like. After all these years, nothing has really changed. It’s all about the basketball court and the people that were in it.”

All four coaches gave emotional speeches, highlighting their own top games and memories. There were many ovations and everyone left with a good feeling. But when everyone thinks back on this night, the healing of wounds might be the most significant  memory.

“Twelve years is too long without visiting,” Self said in his speech. “Get back here.”