Caretaker Was Looking Out for No. 1

Everything in Lawrence, Kan., is so touchy-feely-huggy this year that even the guys who get benched go whistling back to the pine.

Remember Ryan Robertson?

He’ll be a trivia question in 20 years on “CyberJeopardy,” starring Alex.com Trebek Jr.: Who started--and won--the first 11 games at point guard for Kansas’ 1996-97 national championship team?

So what if Robertson was having the time of his life directing the nation’s No. 1 team, running the point against the likes of UCLA, Cincinnati, Louisiana State and George Washington before so rudely being interrupted in the starting lineup by a foregone conclusion.

Robertson knew it was coming. Couldn’t tell you the exact day or hour, but he knew. As soon as All-American guard Jacque Vaughn’s injured wrist was healed, Robertson would be picking up more splinters than assists.

Not a bad joy ride, though.

His work as a Kansas Kelly Temp stretched to 11 incredible games, moments Robertson won’t soon forget. He led the team in minutes played, and in assists in six of the 11 games. He had 11 assists and only two turnovers in Kansas’ 13-point victory against UCLA.

And then, Dec. 30 against Washburn, Vaughn approached the scorer’s table, to a standing ovation; he would regain his starting job three days later against Brown.

“It’s been really simple how it’s changed,” Robertson says of his role. “I’ve gone from playing 35, 38 minutes a game, starting, to playing 15 or 20, backing up Jacque and playing a little bit of two guard.”

Robertson actually was averaging only 12 minutes in four Big 12 Conference games before this week.

Players have demanded transfers for less shabby treatment.

“I was keeping it warm until he was ready to step in,” Robertson says.

The transition was never in doubt, seeing as how Vaughn is probably the best point guard in the country. Still, a lesser player might have raised a fuss.

Not that there wasn’t any fallout regarding this changing of the guards. After the UCLA game, Bruin Coach Steve Lavin suggested Robertson might be a better fit in the Jayhawks’ half-court offense.

The reasoning: Robertson, at 6 feet 5, was a more structured player who had the size and passing skills to deliver inside to scorers Scot Pollard, Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce.

Vaughn, at 6-1, is more of an improviser who breaks teams down with the dribble.

There were actually others who questioned the wisdom of benching a point guard who was 11-0.

“There were a few articles, a few whispers here and there, what were they going to do with Jacque? Have him come off the bench?” Robertson says. “I tried to make it clear to everybody: It was his starting position.”

Robertson knew how the political winds blew in Lawrence.

“If you’ve ever been around here, you would know that he is almost worshiped,” Robertson says of Vaughn.

Robertson counts himself as one of the disciples.

“He is the player I would one day like to be,” Robertson says. “He’s the All-American, he’s the first-round draft pick. Those are dreams of mine.”

Selfishly, Robertson might have wished that Vaughn had taken his ball and scurried along to the NBA. In a mild surprise Vaughn, citing Robert Frost and “the road less traveled,” returned for his senior season.

Robertson says he’s glad Vaughn came back because it greatly improved Kansas’ chances of winning the national title.

“I always thought we would be a better basketball team with Jacque back and me backing him up,” Robertson says.

No one was arguing.

Robertson, from St. Charles, Mo., could afford to be accommodating. He’s a sophomore. And weren’t those 11 games a nice down payment for next year’s starting job?

Vaughn’s return barely raised a ripple. The Jayhawks are 8-0 with Vaughn back in the starting lineup, including Wednesday night’s 89-60 victory against Texas A&M.;

“I think both of those guys handled it well,” LaFrentz says. “Ryan stepped down very graciously.”

It is this sort of chemistry, mixed with the nation’s best talent, that gives Kansas that national championship look.

Funny, but the cries in all the preseason publications were how the Jayhawks would have to survive until Vaughn’s return.

Well, Kansas survived.

Robertson, who can read, took special delight in bucking popular opinion.

“It felt really good,” he says. “I think I always knew inside that we would be OK. I didn’t have any thoughts that we would lose all 11 games. I told myself, ‘Don’t screw it up, and we’d be OK.’ ”

NO JACQUE IN THIS BOX

Don’t expect to pull up to a fast-food joint in Lawrence and find Jayhawks asking whether you want French fries with that hamburger.

Vaughn says the recent NCAA rule change that allows players to work part time during the school year to supplement their scholarships probably will not have much impact on players in big-time programs.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult for a student-athlete, especially in a program like ours, to go to school, concentrate on the basketball court, concentrate on the normalcies of college life and also think about going and having a job,” Vaughn says. “I think it might be a little bit overwhelming. So, while the NCAA is providing a different avenue, at the same time, I’m not sure it’s the complete answer.”

Still, the possibilities are endless. Kansas forward LaFrentz was a lifeguard back home in Monona, Iowa, although he says he’d be looking for something a little less strenuous.

His idea of the perfect job?

“Something as easy as possible that pays the most money,” LaFrentz says.

Kansas Coach Roy Williams is in favor of anything that helps the athletes.

“Every player on my team is putting money in my pocket, and that’s not fair,” Williams says.

The NCAA rules limit earning potential to costs not covered by scholarship, estimated at $1,500 to $2,500, depending on the school

“You know what? If a guy makes five dollars more than last year, he’s five dollars better off,” Williams says.

MAKING A LIST

UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis didn’t court me for advice before he fired Jim Harrick, and he probably doesn’t need help finding a successor.

Nonsense. Of course he does.

Here is the short list Dalis should be slipping under his pillow.

1--Steve Lavin: Had no chance a few weeks ago--didn’t Harrick say so on “Up Close”?--yet Lavin looks like a more comfortable fit each time out. Three consecutive victories after that 48-point Stanford loss spoke volumes of Lavin’s potential. Check back after Sunday’s tester at Louisville, though.

2--Lorenzo Romar, Pepperdine: The No. 1 choice among Bruin administrators if the timing were right. You know what? The timing isn’t right. Romar, the former UCLA assistant, left the Bruins a year too soon. It would be tough for UCLA to extend an olive branch and tougher for Romar to bail on transfers-in-waiting Jelani Gardner and omm’A Givens.

3--Tubby Smith, Georgia: A Rick Pitino disciple well-suited to the fast-paced style of UCLA stars who like to check their NBA stock every other minute. Smith could keep top L.A. players at home and make them run through walls.

4--Larry Brown, Indiana Pacers: Fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, shame on us? Could the Bruins really go to the well a third time, given Brown’s mercurial past? Don’t be shocked. Brown is the one guy who could put the program back together--right now--and word is he is not entirely opposed to the idea.

5--Mike Montgomery, Stanford: No secret that Dalis likes Montgomery, and that Montgomery is intrigued with Southland basketball. Truth is, it would be difficult to hire within the conference. Besides, Montgomery is in a sweet situation in Palo Alto and just recruited the players--the Collins twins--UCLA wanted. Why change addresses?

LOOSE ENDS

LSU Athletic Director Joe Dean has assembled 14 names as possible successors to Dale Brown, including Mississippi Coach Rob Evans. . . . Poll voters obviously haven’t forgiven UCLA for that 48-point loss to Stanford. The Bruins deserve to be back in the top 25 with their 10-4 record after successive wins over California, Arizona State and No. 7 Arizona.

Check out this scoring line: In last Saturday’s victory against Dayton, George Washington guard Shawnta Rogers had 11 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Rogers is 5-4. Rogers wears No. 54 to honor his height. He planned to wear No. 53 this year but changed after discovering he had grown an inch over the summer. . . . Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson’s reaction to his team’s 92-57 loss to Cincinnati, Richardson’s worst in 12 years at Arkansas: “I’m damned disturbed.”

Carlos Daniel, the Washington State forward suspended Saturday after a shoplifting arrest, was not even the team leader in steals. He had 13 before his arrest, which tied him with two others for fourth place. . . . Forget what Vince Lombardi said. Connecticut Jim Calhoun’s coaching effort in last weekend’s eight-point home loss to No. 1 Kansas ranks among the best in recent memory. Working without stars Kirk King and Ricky Moore, who are being held out until the NCAA probes a possible violation involving free airline tickets, Calhoun devised a new offense in three days and nearly pulled off a monumental upset.