SportsBeat KC: How ‘Stank ‘em’ the monkey relates to Kansas Jayhawks’ tournament run
Kansas hasn’t played in the Sweet 16 since its Final Four run in 2018. The last time the Jayhawks endured a streak that long was 1998-2000, and the next season, then-coach Roy Williams brought a good-luck charm to the news conference: a stuffed monkey named “Stank ‘em.” Williams put the monkey on his back and the players swatted it off. Get the monkey off his back, get it?
No stuffed animal helped Kansas end its most recent Sweet 16 “drought,” which lasted all of two Tournaments (the 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic). Beat writers Jesse Newell and Gary Bedore break it down on today’s episode of the SportsBeat KC podcast.
They look ahead to Friday’s matchup with Providence and explain why one analyst describes the Friars as college basketball’s luckiest team.
Story links:
Kansas Jayhawks’ Ochai Agbaji ‘not stressing or pressing’ over missed shots in NCAAs
Remy Martin’s huge first half proved pivotal in Kansas Jayhawks surviving Creighton