Hinrich recalls his meeting with Anthony in the '03 NCAA championship
November 9, 2009, 9:49 PM
By: Nick Friedell
DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Carmelo Anthony might be wearing blue Tuesday night when the Denver Nuggets come to town, but Kirk Hinrich might see a little orange. That's because the former Kansas point guard will be facing off against Anthony, a former Syracuse forward and current Nuggets star.
Kirk Hinrich scored 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting as a Jayhawk in the 2003 NCAA championship game.
The pair played against one another in the 2003 NCAA championship in New Orleans -- a game in which Anthony and the Orangemen outlasted Hinrich and the Jayhawks 81-78. It was also a game in which Anthony scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished the ball out for seven assists.
If you thought Hinrich got queasy at the mere mention of Anthony's name, however, think again. Although the former college sensations might have shared a word or two about the game through the years, Hinrich seems to be at peace with what happened on that fateful April night. He says Anthony's presence doesn't make him flash back to the championship game much these days.
"No, not anymore," Hinrich said after Monday's practice. "It used to the first few years, but not anymore."
Hinrich says he doesn't remember much of what Anthony did in that game.
"I remember he played well," Hinrich said. "But I remember the other guys that beat us, like [Gerry] McNamara was 6-for-6 from 3[-point range] in the first half."
Although Hinrich tried to play down the significance of his renewed rivalry with Anthony, he still had to endure some ribbing from his teammates.
"That was Kirk's guy," center Brad Miller cracked while Hinrich talked about McNamara's performance. "No, it wasn't," Hinrich replied.
The sad part for Hinrich is that he doesn't seem to take much joy out of Kansas' impressive ride to the title game.
"The tournament's always fun," Hinrich said. "You always enjoy it, but it never ended right for me, so it's not really a favorite memory."
Perhaps Hinrich can exact some revenge on Anthony on Tuesday at the United Center … if only for one night.
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Nick Friedell
Nick Friedell covers the Chicago Bulls for ESPNChicago.com. Send comments, questions and feedback by clicking here.
