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Friday, January 26, 2007

Kansas signee Reed battles ankle injury

6-foot-3 guard has yet to play in 2007

By Gary Bedore

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Burlington High senior point guard Tyrel Reed, who has yet to play in a game in January because of a severely sprained right ankle, has resumed running full speed and cutting at practice.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Kansas University signee could return to game action in a week or so.

"I won't bring him back too early," said Stacy Reed, Burlington High's coach and Tyrel's dad. "We are not in dire straights here by any means (Wildcats are 6-0 with Tyrel and 4-1 without him). I want him to have a long and successful career.

"We want him back when he is fully ready. We want to win and play well in all our games, but the end of the season is more important."

Reed, who has had an MRI on his ankle, did not suffer any structural damage when he blocked a teammate's shot and landed on the player's ankle at practice on Jan. 1.

"You talk about an ankle sprain, he got the whole ankle," Stacy Reed said of Tyrel, who averages 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 steals a game.

"They (doctors) are surprised he has so much bruising on the bone. But all the ligaments are perfect. They said, 'It's up to you and him and how he feels (as to when he can return).'

"He wants to come back now, but it's still pretty tender on the cut. We'll slowly play it by ear. It's kind of a day-to-day thing."

Reed - who has made 52 percent of his shots and 46 percent of his threes - has stayed in shape by swimming at 6 a.m. every morning and again after school. He also has various treatments three times a day.

"It's amazing how many people will come up and say, 'Will he play tonight?'" Stacy Reed said. "There's great interest. I said, 'He's played in over 100 games in Burlington. He never missed a game in seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th grade.' I just want him back when he's completely healthy and ready to play."

Reed had a season-high scoring output of 44 points against Humboldt. His dad admits Tyrel could have topped the 50-point mark in some other games.

"I don't believe in beating teams (badly) and having the best player score so many points. I'm not that kind of coach and don't want my son to be that type of person," Stacy Reed said.

"There are games he could have scored 50, 60 points. He doesn't care about that. He's more willing to make sure his teammates are having a good time and winning. He doesn't care about anything but winning. It's what I'm so proud about."

Stacy Reed hadn't heard whether Tyrel was being considered for any of the country's top postseason all-star games.

Tyrel made a name for himself on the national level last summer by making the 24-player all-star team at the Adidas camp in Georgia.

"If that is what you have to do ... to score so many points to get in those games, he could care less," Stacy Reed said. "Ty can play against anybody. He will surprise a bunch of people during his college career with his intelligence and some other things. He understands the game."

¢GameDay coming to town: Students and fans are invited to Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 3 to watch a live broadcast of ESPN College GameDay. ESPN will broadcast live from Allen Fieldhouse that morning, and ESPN that night will televise the game between KU and Texas A&M.

The GameDay set will be located on the floor of the Fieldhouse. Fans will have open seating in the east stands for the morning activities. The event is free to the public, and doors will open at 8 a.m. There will be an ESPN SportsCenter spot at 9 a.m., followed by a live, one-hour show from 10-11 a.m.

The KU pep band and spirit squads will perform, and free merchandise will be handed out throughout the morning. KU coach Bill Self will conduct a live interview with the GameDay crew during the 10-11 a.m. hour.

Additionally, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics will open at 8 a.m.

GameDay also will air live from the Fieldhouse from 7-8 p.m. Only ticketed fans for the A&M-KU game will be admitted to that portion of Gameday live.

This marks the second time ESPN College GameDay has originated from Allen Fieldhouse. In its inaugural year, the GameDay crew witnessed then-No. 7 Kansas defeat Texas, 90-65, on Jan. 29, 2005.

¢Mean fan: The Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon heard a Baylor fan behind press row bait KU's Brandon Rush into some trash talk during the first half of the Jayhawks' 82-56 rout of the Bears on Wednesday night in Waco, Texas.

"Y'all lose in the first round again," the fans said.

"At least we'll make it," Rush said of the NCAA Tournament.

The fan had no further reply.

"I heard a few things," Rush told the media after the game. "They told us we'd lose in the first round. It's what I heard."

¢RPI talk: KU is ranked No. 13 in the country in this week's RPI ratings as compiled on kenpom.com. KU is 40th in strength of schedule. Oklahoma State is No. 12 in RPI, Texas Tech 18, Texas A&M 25 and Texas 53. The Big 12 ranks seventh of 32 conferences in RPI. The league trails the ACC, Pac-10, SEC, Big Ten, Missouri Valley and Big East. The Big 12 ranks 12th in strength of schedule.

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Comments

crooner (anonymous) says...

Get well soon, Tyrel. You and your family are doing the right thing by taking your time.

January 26, 2007 at 7:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

TrueBlue92 (anonymous) says...

Tyrel and Sherron for the next three years ---- WOW!!!

With Cole Aldrich inside --- awesome!!

January 26, 2007 at 8:19 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

GIHAWK (anonymous) says...

Yeah I'm glad Roy didn't get him. He may just be that kind of player that gives us more fundamentals and moxie on the court...Not to mention his shooting

January 26, 2007 at 8:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

frompekka2sasha (anonymous) says...

This kid is going to be special and will be easy to teach. It's nice to mix in a couple of players with all of the big-time athletes we have. Man... I sure wish Alex Galindo would have stuck around.

January 26, 2007 at 9:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

I liked Alex a lot too. I wonder what kind of 3-pt exhibition we could have been putting on with him, Micah, Mario, Brandon and Sherron could put on.

But the fact that they left tells us that maybe they're too soft for KU.

I'm excited too, TrueBlue!! Although right now, my money would say Sherron is not going to be around that long. His being under 6' is not a factor, he's too tough to NOT be successful in the NBA, imo.

January 26, 2007 at 9:53 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayhawkPhil (anonymous) says...

I saw this kid play in the Hy-Vee tournament last year and he looked like the real deal. He hit a last second 3 that put his team into overtime against a good Texas team and they won in OT.

January 26, 2007 at 10:05 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bangaranggerg (anonymous) says...

Sherron for the next three years are you kidding?, the scouts love his shooting he'll have a contract before his senior year.

January 26, 2007 at 10:19 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU_Kiwi (anonymous) says...

Hey Bangar, many more guard types stay in colleage for the full ride. The typical early exits are centers and power forwards. Sherron is good, but he still needs a couple more years to develop his complete game. His defence needs a lot of work. If he goes, he would be most likely to leave before his senior season. That means we get Reed and Collins for at least two years.

Go hawks!

January 26, 2007 at 10:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kranny (anonymous) says...

Lebowski, I've seen Downs play a few times on ESPN and he still plays the same way he did at KU-slow on defense which makes him a match up problem(his man buried back to back threes) and he still chunks the outside shot with even a little defense on him. He will most likely improve but we don't miss him at all.

January 26, 2007 at 12:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

How many players under 6 foot are starting in the NBA? Sherron has a nice shot and can dish but hes nowhere near ready for the NBA.I hate to say it but with his defense hed get eaten alive.Dont get me wrong Hes a great player and has a great future at KU but he needs all 4 years or atleast 3 and odds are against him due to his size after that.

January 26, 2007 at 3:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

Sherron is compared most to Dee Brown right now, even by his coach. Brown didn't leave early, even though he was thought by many to be the best player on his team. Size had everything to do with that. There's no reason Sherron wouldn't be here for four years.

January 26, 2007 at 3:34 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CasperCorps (anonymous) says...

Talk about NBA for any of our players is crazy... Sherron "get out the way" Collins is the only one who has showed any sort of consistent scoring but his defense is still a little suspect, mainly off the ball... but wait... they don't play defense in the League.....
Sherron please don't leave....
If any of our guards leave early, we're gonna be OK, with Morningstar (who people seem to be sleeping on) Tyrel Reed, and maybe even, yes, dare I say it Case can fill the void..
If you look at how the team is set up now, Self has his bases covered in all areas... If we lose any big men we have that center Cole Aldrige coming in and if we lose any guards we have Morningstar, Reed, and Case.. This team is now set up so that there will always be seniors around to help with the freshmen. I don't see anytime in the future where we will ever have this young a team again. The Kansas basketball progam looks set to dominate for the next few years... Rockem Hawks!!!

January 26, 2007 at 5:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

BABBOY (anonymous) says...

CasperCourts is right on point. I am sick of hearing about our players going to the NBA. Several of them might go at some point, but I do not think any of them are ready right now. I was reading something in the Topeka newspaper about Darrel Arthur and his mom was asked after the Baylor game if Arthur was going pro after this year. His mom handled pretty well, but, really, the kid is not even starting yet.

I just do think any of them are ready to go after this year unless they dramtically improve. They all need at least another year. If they go now, they run the risk of not sticking with a pro team.

January 26, 2007 at 7:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

caseygolf (anonymous) says...

Great article about Tyrel Reed, but he is playing tonight (Friday) against Yates Center.

January 26, 2007 at 8:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Can anyone name the last starting guard at KU who graduated from a small town high school in Kansas?

There hasn't been one under Self.

There wasn't one under Williams.

There wasn't one under Brown.

The last one I can recall who might have fit the criterion was Delvy Lewis around 1966, though I vaguely recall he came from a large high school.

Could someone who has seen Reed play comment on whether he can be a starter at D1, or if he's another John Cryder?

January 26, 2007 at 11:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

Woodberry started his senior year didnt he?Although Wichita isnt really a small town.

January 27, 2007 at 2:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Exactly. Wichita is not a small town. Valentine started, but he was from the 'ta also. So, who was the last starting guard at KU from a Kansas small town?

January 27, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

one_and_one_is_two (anonymous) says...

Maybe it was Arthur C. "Dutch" Lonborg, who played at KU from 1916 to 1920 and was all Mo. Valley conference. He came from Horton, my hometown, same as Crider did. Later became AD. Is in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

January 27, 2007 at 10:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )