I had a chance to speak with former Western Kentucky guard Kurtis Townsend on Monday night. Townsend is currently an assistant at Kansas – the Hilltoppers’ opponent Friday in the NCAA Tournament at 8:50 p.m. in Kansas City.

Kurtis Townsend

Reaction to playing WKU: “I kind of laughed. My wife is a graduate of there, too, and she was at the selection show so we kind of got a kick out of it because we both got our degrees from there.

“I’m proud of ’em. I was happy when they made it last year and you always follow your alma mater no matter where you are or when it is. I’m happy they got in and just wish we didn’t didn’t have to play ’em. But I guess that’s part of it.”

 

Reaction from family and friends: “Everybody thinks it’s kind of funny. ‘Who you gonna be rooting for deep down?’ I said, ‘Well, they still pay my checks here, so I probably gotta go with the Jayhawks.’

“But I think it’s kind of neat and kind of what’s good about basketball.”

 

Western Kentucky: “You know what? I think they’re really good. I think coach Harper’s done an unbelievable job. They really get out and guard. I know they’ve had some injuries this year, but they got the kid (T.J.) Price who can really score the ball. They have a veteran point guard (Jamal) Crook and then they got a great inside presence in (George) Fant and they got some guys that can come off the bench and really – big, strong kids – that can matchup.

“You usually don’t see guys that big on a team like that. I’m pretty impressed with them and they got a couple guys that can really shoot the ball.”

 

Fondest memories of WKU: “There were some people – like I said, I found my wife there, because she went to school there, too, she was from Nashville, so that was the key part for me.

“But I met some of the most influential people in my life, from Gene Keady and Clem Haskins. We won the league, beat Murray State, I think, and got to play in the NCAA Tournament and it was at Diddle. We lost in double overtime to Virginia Tech, or we would’ve played Indiana on that Sunday in Bowling Green when Isiah Thomas was a freshman.

“It was a big thrill. I have really great memories. I was on that team that lost to Eastern Kentucky when the game was over about three seconds before a foul got called.

“We won 40 games in my two years there and coach Keady and coach Haskins were two of my mentors and people that I still talk to to this day. Just met a lot of good friends – Billy Bryant who I’ve talked to over the years, and Mike Prince.

“I knew I was getting old when I went and played Texas Tech and Mike Prince was in the stands because his son was playing. We were talking about how old we were. Craig McCormick who is a banker there in that area, I’ve had conversations with him over the years.

“Just made a lot of good friends, met my wife there – I have great memories of there. I’ve been back there and the place has really grown. It’s a lot bigger than when I was there. It’s a pretty neat place, a nice college town and it kind of reminds me of Lawrence, here, Bowling Green being so close to Nashville and us being so close to Kansas City.”

 

Keys to victory: “I think the key for us is what is has been all year – we really gotta guard. We did a pretty good job this weekend of guarding K-State. I think we have a little bit of a size advantage, so getting the ball inside.

“I think when you play in the NCAA Tournament, as much as we have over the years, what has really helped us is when we guard and rebound, that’s pretty much the recipe for success for us. I think if we can guard and hold those guys (Price, Crook and Fant) down and then get the ball inside, because we will have a little bit of a size advantage.”