Jeff Boschee is heading back to Allen Fieldhouse, and this time he’ll be on the other sideline.
The former Kansas guard will return Friday for the 42nd annual Late Night in the Phog, where his Pittsburg State team faces the Jayhawks in a 7 p.m. exhibition. Boschee knows the routine as well as almost anyone: the introductions, the halftime half-court shot contest, the skits and video pieces that have long made Late Night a spectacle.
But for Boschee, the trip lands with a little extra meaning. He remembers attending Late Night in 1997 as a senior blue-chip prospect from Valley City, North Dakota, alongside JaRon Rush, Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson.
He watched Lester Earl dress up in a 1950s musical spoof in a black leather jacket. He saw Paul Pierce win the dunk contest before a brief scrimmage.
“I was there with all those guys,” Boschee recalled Wednesday in a phone interview. Of that group, he was the only one who ended up at Kansas.
A few years later, he was part of the entertainment himself. As a Jayhawk, Boschee served as the lead singer of a short-lived heavy metal band called Blink 7-Foot-3, with teammates Eric Chenowith and Jeff Carey on electric guitars.
Now 46, Boschee still has a place in Kansas lore. Fans still recognize him, and he still sees No. 13 jerseys with his name on the back. He also still owns a major piece of program history: 338 career 3-pointers, which remains well ahead of Devonte’ Graham’s 296.
“It’s pretty cool to tell my kids about,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be broken unless there’s a drastic change in the game.”
Boschee was a starter on Kansas’ 2002 Final Four team, a group that included Kirk Hinrich, Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Wayne Simien. He said that team’s style fits the modern game more than people might remember.
“Back in the day the way we played was very modern to now,” he said. “We had guys who could shoot like Kirk and Aaron.
We threw it inside to Drew and Nick and forced teams to double them. That opened so much for us on the perimeter.
We had a great inside-out tandem.”
The one result that still stings is the 2002 semifinal loss to Maryland, a defeat that kept Kansas from facing Indiana for the title.
“I wish we could take it back,” Boschee said. “We got off to a great start, then had a bad stretch.
Baxter (Lonny, nine points and eight rebounds), Dixon (Juan, 33 points) and Wilcox (Chris, 18 points, nine boards) hurt us. We made a good comeback.
… To me, that was the national championship game. Taking nothing away from Indiana, we’d like to have had that chance (to play in the final).”
Boschee said the next season was painful in a different way, as he was starting his professional career while Kansas fell to Syracuse in the NCAA title game. Collison and Hinrich were seniors on that runner-up team.
“That was hard watching them play the national title game against Syracuse,” Boschee said. “I really wanted to be out there.”
As for what makes a good 3-point shooter, Boschee kept it simple.
“Take good shots, understand shot selection. You give kids different flexibility. Some guys can make tough shots, but I think the biggest thing is take good shots.”
He said he does not know much about this year’s Kansas roster, though he did mention a few names. Boschee said he hopes the eligibility status of Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. stays the same while their lawsuits against the NCAA continue.
He also pointed to the size on the roster, noting 7-footer Paul Mbiya, 6-9 transfer Keanu Dawes from Utah and 7-footer Christian Reeves from Charleston. He added that Tyran Stokes is “probably as good as everybody says” and said he hopes the pieces come together with good chemistry.
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Kansas Is Changing Late Night In The Phog In A Big Way
Late Night in the Phog is getting a notable makeover this fall, and for longtime Kansas fans, the biggest change is on the floor. Instead of the usual intrasquad scrimmage, the Jayhawks will play an actual exhibition game against Division II Pittsburg State, giving the season-opening showcase a more traditional game-night feel while still keeping plenty of the familiar flourishes that have made the event a staple in Lawrence.
The format shift also comes with one conspicuous subtraction, as the musical component will no longer be part of the evening. Even so, Kansas is keeping the skits and halftime activities that have long helped make Late Night more than just a basketball preview, and the womens program will again have its own spotlight with a separate Late Night event on Oct. 29 against Washburn. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Faces Two Urgent Problems Entering The Sunflower Showdown
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Avery Johnson makes the assignment even trickier for Kansas, because the Wildcats quarterback can stress a defense in more than one way and force constant adjustment. The Jayhawks have enough recent evidence to know what kind of trouble that can create, and their response on both sides of the ball will go a long way toward deciding whether they can keep the rivalry game on their terms. [Read more 🡒]
Jalon Daniels Is Giving Kansas Fans A New NFL Reason To Watch
Jalon Daniels is giving Kansas fans another reason to keep an eye on Sundays. The former Jayhawks quarterback recently led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their first win of the season, and now he is preparing for a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after showing clear improvement in his second NFL start. For Kansas supporters who followed his rise in college, the NFL version of Daniels is beginning to feel like a continuation of the same story, only on a bigger stage.
His path has carried extra meaning because of where it started, and the motivation has been evident in the way he has handled the jump from college to the pros. Coaches from his time at Kansas have already expressed pride in how he has developed and performed, a reminder that his progress is being watched closely back home. With another test coming Sunday, Daniels is giving the Jayhawks crowd more than nostalgia - he is giving them a legitimate pro storyline to follow. [Read more 🡒]