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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

With Wright gone, fans wonder who’s next

By Jonathan Kealing

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At a minute to 4 p.m., bowling in the Jaybowl stopped. Conversations ended. The volume on the big-screen TVs was turned up - high.

In another minute, Julian Wright, who made an off-the-court home at the bowling alley in the lower level of the Kansas Union, was to confirm he would forgo his last two seasons of college basketball in favor of declaring for the NBA draft.

As 4 o'clock turned to 4:02 and 4:04 without an announcement, the 50 or so fans cracked wise that Wright was - no surprise - running late.

"Well, we can be sure it's not because he's bowling," one of them said.

While their disappointment was apparent, few fans wanted to do anything but send best wishes to the Kansas University sophomore forward.

"It came to me as kind of a shock," said KU freshman Miles Golson. "I don't know his personal circumstances, but it was a big disappointment to a lot of us."

And Golson worried Wright's move could have wider effects.

"Everyone's always dreaded one of our major players declaring early. I wonder if another of our major players might go now," he said.

Reader poll

What do you think of Julian Wright's decision to go pro?

  • He should've stayed longer and gotten an education 53% 286 votes
  • How could he leave that NBA money on the table? 41% 225 votes
  • Undecided 4% 25 votes

536 total votes.

Speculation that Brandon Rush, Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers could declare has run rampant lately. Wright, who averaged 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds this season, is only the fifth player in KU basketball history to leave school early.

"He's going to miss out on our national championship next season," Golson said.

Even though Wright will be playing for pay, fans say he'll still have a home, and friends, in the Jaybowl.

Wright's Career at KU

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Comments

Mangino_Maniac (anonymous) says...

That's sweet and all, but I doubt Juilan will be visiting the Jaybowl once he's inked an NBA deal.

April 10, 2007 at 10:05 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kylecisnum1 (anonymous) says...

yea, i agree. man, i hope brandon stays though

April 10, 2007 at 11:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bastet (anonymous) says...

Why do these announcements surprise anyone? Many of these players are not "student-athletes" in any traditional, old-fashioned sense of the word. They are pre-professional athletes building their skills and biding their time in college athletic programs that have become--if not in name, then in practice--a minor league for the NBA.

April 10, 2007 at 1:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KURUSH1530 (anonymous) says...

Exactly bastet. And this is why I can continue to yell and throw jumbled words at these kids and coach self all I want about how pitiful of a job they are doing. Because I have been a Jayhawk my WHOLE life, these guys use KU as a stepping stone now-a-days to gain interest from the NBA. So forget about it, you can't grow to love any one certain player anymore because they might just make a mad dash after one or two years. Maybe this is why I'm starting to love the NBA more and more these days..better players, open and upfront with the business aspect (instead of the whole, i'm coaching here/i'm staying word then going back on it), plus it is way more exciting. Any NBA game on TV can be entertaining whereas you watch two of the 300 some available d-1 colleges play and you'll get a sloppy pick-up game.

April 10, 2007 at 1:54 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

achtung (anonymous) says...

rush is gone
he hasn't been to class at all

April 10, 2007 at 2:39 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

StirrrThePot (anonymous) says...

I am afraid KURUSH is right. College basketball has changed so much in the last 20 years, and not really for the better. It will be hard for KU to see a national championship when their best players bolt for the NBA after 1-2 years. Whereas 10 and 20 years ago we had NBA-calibre players stay all four years, begin a pro basketball career, and buy a huge house in Lawrence, KS, we will see this no more. You cannot trust these 18-20 year old kids to stick to their noble words of "I'll stay". You can't even trust coaches when they say this either. Welcome to the new reality folks.

April 10, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayCat_67 (anonymous) says...

That's the nature of college ball now, and no program is immune. They were saying before the press conference yesterday that only four KU players had ever left early, only three to go to the NBA. Wilt was the first. The other two, now three, NBA defections have been within the last 10 years, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if there's not at least one if not two or three more this year. Looks like I'm going to have to start going to more High School games if I want to watch a player who actually plays for school spirit and for the game itself; a player I can actually care about.

April 10, 2007 at 3:57 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

achtung:

According to this article in the KC Star today, Rush missed a few classes after the Big Dance, but he is back to attending them regularly.

http://www.kansascity.com/159/story/6...

There is also an interesting bullet point at the end of the article that could fuel speculation as to why Collins might transfer to a school closer to Chicago.

April 10, 2007 at 4:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayCat_67 (anonymous) says...

Well, lots of ball players in college have had children during their careers. Some actually marry the mother and finish their college time and move on to whatever. Greg Ostertag was a father while he attended KU and his girlfriend, (whom I believe became his wife) lived here in Lawrence too. I don't remember if she was in school or not, but they also got a lot of positive support from his family, so it can happen. Don't know the circumstances facing Collins right now, so it's hard to say how that situation will affect his future. There's a case to be made for the NBA or developing in Europe where he'll at least get paid while he plays.

April 10, 2007 at 4:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kcmostwanted (anonymous) says...

I hope Collins doesn't transfer...i was really looking forward to his leadership and intensity for the next few years...He's going to be a great 3-4 year college ball player.....If Ty Lawson, Conley Jr., and all the other 5'11" gaurds consider themselves NBA gaurds then Collins is definately in the same class...He'll play in the NBA after he's done with College...hopefully the finishes his college ball career @ KU too...

April 10, 2007 at 10:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

Gee.. how does "Speculation" start?

A simple comment in an article about him becoming a father and now here goes everyone throwing wild ideas around and pulling crap out of thin air.

Give me a break people. Why on earth would someone thinking of going pro decide to switch schools, just so he could sit out a year and cause a major speed bump to his career? They wouldn't. They'd be looking at one year of sitting, and another year of playing, because who's going to draft a kid after they sat out a year. They'd just drop out of school and go pro before they would do that. Take your "fueled speculation" and roll it up with the rest of the dope you've been smoking.

April 10, 2007 at 11:22 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

Lebowski:

If you knew or could imagine how close Sherron was to his first child (which based on your insensitive remarks concerning Jason Williams it might not be possible) then you might understand how important it would be for him to be close to his new son.

I typically agree with your posts, and appreciate your passion as a KU fan, however your repeated references to people being on drugs is tired.

Bottom line, it looks like Collins is coming back for his sophomore year, so any rumors or speculation was for naught anyway.

April 11, 2007 at 7:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

Actually, I think you are right. I am largely insensitive of the people on here. And the fact that people are on drugs isn't near as tired as I am of the stupidity of fans I once thought were sensible. Most of my friends who aren't KU fans point to one thing.. other ku fans. I know all schools have these, but I hoped KU was almost an exception to the rule. Over the last year or so that I've been trying to interact and share opinions with people on the net, I've been sourly dissappointed. One of the big reasons that I no longer care what you or anyone else thinks about me is, you know nothing about me. People can criticize my posts all they want, are they rude? sometimes. Mean? yes. Insensitive, sure. Juvenile? I don't think so, but whatever makes one feel better. Wrong? Very rarely.

My point, no matter how harshly I stated it, is that there no possible way there was ANY merit to the rumors about Sherron transferring. And how quickly I was proven right. Sherron was equally shocked and had no idea where they came from. I knew right where they came from. Ignorant fans on message boards who are entitled to their jacked-up opinions.

I have a lot more understanding and empathy with Sherron's situation than most do. I am the father of 3, one child of which was not fathered by me, but I assumed responsibility in place of another dead-beat dad who failed. And I am the younger brother of a child who died as an infant, so being able to understand what Sherron went through is easy, because he went through the same thing that my own dad went through. I've had experience thinking about that my entire life. So despite my insensitivity, I think I can empathize with the situation a lot more than most. Yet you criticize my qualified opinion, and offer no criticism whatsoever about an ignorant-ass array of comments that have absolutely NO merit whatsoever.

That leads to my attitude. I could care less about being sensitive, because people can say the stupidest things and everyone values that opinion. But the truth is never wanted because it is not a shocking, inciteful revelation, or it is insensitive or juvenile, or whatever other words you can use to disregard what someone says that is NOT a carebear peice of useless babble.

Go KU!! Can't wait til the season starts!!!

April 11, 2007 at 10:56 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

BABBOY (anonymous) says...

Easy Lebowski.

You are certainly right about lots of stupid stuff get posted here. People want to be the first to post news as if it somehow makes them important.

But, I would not take it personal. I have had people correct my grammar and spelling. I have had people attack my IQ. But, I am pretty comfortable in both areas. I will never ever proof read a post in that it is just meaningless banter. I will never waste time spell checking a document in that I have a real job in which that is an issue but not these stupid posts.

The point is that weak people confront you on key boards or other safe situations but will not fight or confront when it is not safe. Further, when people argue by attacking collacteral issues such as your personality, then it probably means their position is very weak and they want to avoid the substantive issues.

But, if really bothered me, then I would stop posting.

April 11, 2007 at 12:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

Touche, Lebowski.

Like I said, most of the time I agree with your posts. Either way, I always enjoy reading them.

Rock Chalk!!

April 11, 2007 at 12:16 p.m. ( | suggest removal )