Before Kansas played for its first NCAA championship in 20 years, the Jayhawks players watched more video of the Memphis Tigers and reviewed their game plan one last time.
But one Kansas player, freshman guard Tyrel Reed, engaged in what he saw as an equally critical preparation – reading his Bible and joining the team in prayer.
“I can’t play a game unless I read my Bible first,” Reed told Baptist Press.
The Jayhawks, coached by Bill Self, a professing Christian, punched their ticket to the national title game with a semifinal rout of North Carolina, but despite the joy of victory, a number of Kansas coaches and players kept their focus on the main thing.
“God has given us this platform and he deserves all the glory,” assistant coach Kurtis Townsend said. “We’re going to give the glory to him.”
Townsend added, “It’s another opportunity to witness to others and to know God.”
Assistant coach Ronnie Chalmers, a Wayland Baptist University graduate, said, “I’m a big believer that God has a plan for this team. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my pastor, and our prayer is, ‘What you do, do it well.’?”
Chalmers and others praised Self not for his bold, verbal witness, but for setting a moral and Christian standard for the team.
While Kansas players and coaches pray before and after every game, as many teams do, they also pray before every practice.
“We’ve been doing that ever since Coach Self got here,” Townsend said.
Junior center Matt Kleinmann said said faith keeps them grounded in the highs and lows of college basketball.
“These players have overcome a lot to be here,” Kleinmann said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys grow in their faith on this team and that’s thanks to him.”