Day Sixty-Six: Pay Heed

Today's photo once again features Fraser Hall, which sits high atop Mount Oread on the University of Kansas campus. The building is such a prominent location that it is often difficult to snap a picture in Lawrence that does not include Fraser Hall, which is home to many psychology and sociology (among other) classes at KU.

But on this particular Saturday in March, Fraser Hall was specifically chosen as the subject of the photo, along with the car traveling over the Kansas River bridge and the row of banners welcoming people into Lawrence while warning them to Pay Heed...

There were plenty of cars rolling into town today from all directions to see the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team play their final home game of the 2008-09 season - and hopefully win their fifth straight Big 12 Conference regular season title with a victory over the always dangerous Texas Longhorns.

This row of banners seems to lead traffic directly towards Fraser Hall and nearby Allen Fieldhouse, home of the basketball team, where a much larger banner reads:

Pay heed all who enter. Beware of the Phog.

"The Phog" is Phog Allen, the building's namesake, who coached KU basketball from 1919 until 1956. Allen's KU teams included future hall of fame coaches (such as Dean Smith) and players (such as Clyde Lovellette). He is also responsible for recruiting Wilt Chamberlain to KU, and although he coached Wilt on the freshmen basketball team, Allen retired before he could be a part of Chamberlain's two-year varsity career at KU.

Allen also led the KU football team to 5 wins, two losses and a tie in 1920 - his only year of coaching on the Kansas gridiron.

On this sunny Saturday in March, the 2009 version of the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team did indeed clinch the Big 12 title, defeating the Longhorns 83-73.

Poor Longhorns, we tried to warn'em: Beware of the Phog.