June 23, 2005
Drew Gooden is a stranger in a familiar town. Three years ago, Gooden was the unofficial mayor of Lawrence. But now, his coach is gone. Only one player (Jeff Hawkins) was on the roster during Gooden's final season. Even his old Thursday night haunting grounds, [Abe and Jake's,][1] has gone downhill faster than Lindsay Lohan's weight.But Gooden doesn't care about the nightlife. He was in town this week for one reason: to help right the course of the KU basketball program.![][2]After the [annual alumni game][3] at Bill Self's basketball camp, Gooden, alongside several other former Jayhawks, had a no holds barred, heart-to-heart talk with the current team.Gooden stood up and spoke about responsibility. Billy Thomas talked about the KU tradition. One by one, every former player including several NBA stars told the current Jayhawks that their ways of doing business needed to stop."If you are going to put on a Kansas jersey, you are going to wear it with pride and respect this school," Gooden said. "We kind of heard there's a lot of stuff going on in the media ... the team not being together, acting up, not following the rules. We're not going to let this slide."Self is lucky to have a group of alumni as dedicated as KU's. After all, we never hear of inspiring alumni stories out of the football or women's basketball programs.Only time will tell if the lecture will make a difference. But after a year that included a first-round NCAA face plant and an embarrassing bar brawl, anything should help.Perhaps most importantly, the lecture showed where the former players' loyalties truly lie. It took three years, but Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, and Nick Collison all showed this week that their hearts belong to KU, not Roy Williams. After all -- we always kind of wondered, didn't we?Would these guys return without their beloved coach? Would they still have passion for the university, even without their main contact?This week, we received our answer. Personally, I couldn't be happier.One More ThoughtSince we're discussing KU basketball in June (is there ever an off-season?), it's becoming clear that the key to the upcoming season will not be the development of the freshmen.After watching the superstar class of Julian Wright, Micah Downs, and Mario Chalmers for the last few weeks, I'm convinced that the freshmen will be fine.The key to the upcoming season is the sophomores.If Sasha Kaun continues to progress (he absolutely posterized Greg Ostertag in the alumni game), if Darnell Jackson plays inspired basketball in the [wake of tragedy][4], and if Russell Robinson cures his turnover woes, KU will be a force next season in the Big 12.If the sophomores don't improve or worse, regress it's going to be a long season, punctuated with a spot in the NIT.Let's stop worrying about the freshmen and start our concerns with the guys already in the program. [1]: http://www.lawrence.com/places/abe_jakes_landing/ [2]: http://www.kusports.com/art/apps/pennynews/1119523987_self-camp-hinrich-chalmers.jpg [3]: http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/story/114702 [4]: http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/story/114695
Comments
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Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
Yes, but Kaun didn't "Shaq-slap" Ostertag. That's the ultimate.
June 23, 2005 at 4:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ichikuo (Hanluen Kuo) says...
I agree that the sophmore class will be key, but I'm more interested to see who takes the leadership roles next season. It's obvious that this team will have leadership problems. Moody has the heart but not the talent to lead "The Bill Thrill" through a 64(65) team tournament. And to be quite honest, I don't want any of the upper classmen to be the leaders of this team. The team is on such a downer right now that I think some fresh, energetic freshman is exactly what this team needs to rebound. (Get it? :p) Basically the team is in position to take a route like the National Champion Syracuse Orangemen did a few years ago, and that is a team led by freshman. The leadership spots on the team are open to the freshman, and we know they will deliver, but will it be enough to fill these roles?
June 24, 2005 at 1:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cwrist (Chris Wristen) says...
I wonder if any of them drove to KC after the scrimmage to talk to Lester about good behavior.
June 24, 2005 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rigg (Mike Rigg) says...
Historically speaking, teams that are led by freshmen rarely succeed at a high level. The Syracuse team was an exception led by an exceptional player who, in hindsight, probably should have never attended college.
It should be a fun season. Do any of these former Jayhawks coming to town heighten anyone's interest in the NBA? Personally, I watched about 10 minutes total of the finals.
June 24, 2005 at 2:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cwrist (Chris Wristen) says...
I watched the last five minutes of Game 7 and a few minutes of a couple of the other games. I didn't realize they even played games five or six until I saw them in the paper, and at that point I just glanced at a score.
I must admit, though, I was glad to see Ben "the real brawl starter" Wallace and Rasheed Wallace not get another ring.
June 24, 2005 at 4:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ryanjasondesch (anonymous) says...
Ben Wallace ain't that bad, but Rasheed on the other hand (if you'd ask him he'd probably say he's never committed a foul in his life). I watched the finals because its the last basketball for a while and of course to root for ol' Larry Brown. Some of my relatives and friends like to bad-mouth Drew Gooden, but I always liked him and I think he showed a lot of class comin back and talking to the players.
June 24, 2005 at 5:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
crazy (anonymous) says...
I think Jayhawk fans need to quit analyzing and judging and start supporting. Your words of doubt and wondering are not very inspiring to the players which have to listen to this. Do we as fans want to make this a fun place to play ball or a place where our players are constantly on the defense. Put out the energy that you want to receive back from the players and I think we'll all be much better off. Not many people are motivated by nay-sayers.
June 25, 2005 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cwrist (Chris Wristen) says...
It's more fun to play in a program where players dont get stabbed or arrested. At least I'd think so. Then again, I'm a terrible basketball player who never had a chance to play D-1 ball, so what do I know? Maybe it is more fun to be locked up and stabbed. I suppose I could be wrong about this one...
June 25, 2005 at 8:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cvillehawk (anonymous) says...
"Some of my relatives and friends like to bad-mouth Drew Gooden, but I always liked him and I think he showed a lot of class comin back and talking to the players."
I think he gets a bad rap because he's kind of goofy and not very articulate, but his heart seems to be in the right place, and I really appreciate him coming back to KU to show solidarity and leadership. I sure as hell don't remember him ever showing up in a headline about abuse or brawling.
June 27, 2005 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cwrist (Chris Wristen) says...
I don't know if Eric hates KU. It's probably more likely that a lot of people don't make him feel welcome when he returns to Lawrence. He had kinda a love-hate (well... mostly hate) relationship with KU and its fans during his final two years.
cville. Agreed on Drew. Not the best at formulating sentences, but a good guy who loved Larryville. No doubt.
June 27, 2005 at 12:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Shelby (anonymous) says...
Speaking of class, JR Giddens got kicked off.
Answer me this: would Missouri kick off one of their players for getting in a fight? I think we all know the answer.
June 30, 2005 at 12:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )