Monday, October 22, 2007

Hoops hopefuls feel heat at tryout

Walk-on candidates put through paces

By Jason Elmquist

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The pressure was on Sunday night as 16 Kansas University men's basketball walk-on candidates tried to impress three former Jayhawks running the tryouts.

The KU student-body hopefuls spent nearly two hours in Allen Fieldhouse running drills under the direction of Danny Manning, Brett Ballard and Michael Lee.

"I could definitely tell that nobody really stood out," KU sophomore Jon Bailon, of Denver, said, "because a lot of people were intimidated. When we stepped out on the floor, I guarantee everybody had a little bit of nerves going through their body.

"I know I did. I was a little nervous. I didn't know what to expect. But it was a good experience. I enjoyed it, and I'm sure everybody else did too."

KU director of basketball operations Ronnie Chalmers said the purpose of having the former Kansas players on hand wasn't to intimidate, but to help.

"When they see these guys that have played in the system - Brett, Mike Lee and Danny - out here giving up their time to coach them through these drills, they know that they can give them pointers with, 'Hey, this is what we're looking for in Kansas basketball. This is what you've got to do to make this roster,'" Chalmers said.

After going through dribble drills, three-man weave and fast-break drills to start the evening, the hopefuls never really had time - or the energy - to dwell on those directing the action.

Manning is a full-time assistant, Ballard is administrative assistant/video coordinator and Lee graduate student manager for the Jayhawk program.

After receiving a two-minute water break, tryouts shifted to 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 half-court drills before going full court, 5-on-5.

"I just tried to show that I talk a lot trying to help on defense," said KU sophomore Nathan Hickey, a 2006 graduate of Lawrence High. "A lot of the guys were tired on both sides of the ball, so I was trying to be more vocal to get my guys more motivated and just outwork the other team."

The 16 candidates were put through running drills after the scrimmaging was complete: down-and-backs and suicides - running to half court, the free-throw line and the opposite base line, then returning to the base line after touching each line.

"What you did today was an off day for our guys," Manning told the players, just before they completed the sprints.

"I wasn't expecting the 'off day' remark, but I definitely know what to expect now," Bailon said. "They go through hell, basically."

With KU's roster already sporting 12 scholarship athletes and five walk-ons, it is unlikely any players will be added to the 2007-08 team.

Chalmers said the hopefuls would have to prove they could "bring those intangibles to the court that we don't already have on the team."

"Coach (Bill) Self will make that final decision about it, but you never know," Chalmers said. "There could always be a sleeper in the crowd, and we're always looking for someone who can make our team better. That's basically what this is for. We never say never, but we already have 17 guys so the chances look very slim."

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Morgan visits Cincy: J'Mison Morgan, a 6-10 senior center from Dallas South Oak Cliff High, told Rivals.com he had fun on his official visit to Cincinnati over the weekend. He now has completed his NCAA-allotted five visits: to KU, Cincy, UCLA, LSU and Alabama.

"It's a nice campus," Morgan told BearcatLair.com of Cincy. "Everything is real close together, and I was able to watch the team practice and hang out with the players. Coach (Mick) Cronin was telling me I should be an automatic force if I work hard, and there should be immediate playing time. I want to get minutes my freshman year but I don't have to start."

Morgan will announce his college choice on his birthday, Nov. 2.

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Thomas undecided: Quintrell Thomas, a 6-8 senior from St. Patrick High in Elizabeth, N.J., did not choose a college over the weekend. It still could be some time before he selects either KU, Rutgers or UNLV. His high school coach, Kevin Boyle and AAU coach, Derrick Bobbitt, indicated Sunday no decision had been reached with nothing scheduled for today. Thomas told Rivals.com he had not selected a school and he might need a couple more days.

Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore contributed to this report.

Comments

johnballa (anonymous) says...

We really need to get Morgan. Reaaaallllllyyy bad

October 22, 2007 at 8:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

afilmer (anonymous) says...

it would be great to get morgan, but i've heard that LSU is where he is leaning. i'm still betting that we land Q and the twins.

October 22, 2007 at 8:32 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dbegert (anonymous) says...

Morgan is a 270 pound center, and we already have one of those in Aldrich.

I'm not saying I don't want him, but if you were in his shoes, would you want to come into a program where you could theoretically be playing behind/splitting time with someone for 3 of your 4 years?

We really need the twins badly, and then either Q Thomas or a Juco PF or C that emerges over the course of the year.

October 22, 2007 at 8:43 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

We REALLY need a Big Ugly Enforcer in the next recruiting class. All we will have in the fold after this year is.......Aldrich. And I don't think we can put all our eggs in THAT basket.

I think Self prefers his Bigs to be physical bad-boys, so think he would prefer Morgan over some thin, finesse post player. Plus you just really need that physical presence inside to set the tone on defense.

October 22, 2007 at 10:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

We could really use Morgan. But don't blow this out of proportion here. There is no single recruit who's going to wreck our program if we don't land him. We're still going to get good players. No one was too excited about a recruiting class that we had to settle for some guys named Collison and Hinrich. Where was that class "ranked"? Saying who had the best recruiting class before a game is even played is kind of like pre-season awards.... the only relevance they have is what is expected of someone. You still have to play the game, and work to get better.

Freakish size and athleticism is a little bit overrated in my opinion. No one knows what KU "needs" better than Self, so personally, I choose not to speculate too much.

October 22, 2007 at 11:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

soapboxstew (anonymous) says...

Self knows what we need and he gave a scholarship to Bobo. He knows that we need him. He (Morgan) doesn't HAVE to play center, he could line up with Aldrich next year to make the biggest, tallest, most rebound getting, shot blocking front court in the nation. Do not be mistaken, we want this kid bad.
Jaybate- I read your post from Saturday, and while you are right about one-and-done kids and their effect on the word "college" in college basketball; you should know that Morgan is not one of those kids. He carries a 3.8 GPA and he wants to go into bio-chemical engineering (or something to that affect). He wants his degree, and could be successful in a career outside of basketball. That is another good reason to have Bobo, he will do this team and U proud.
It is between us and LSU and UCLA though. Forget 'Bama, Cincy, and everybody else. He would be the face of the LSU program (ala Big baby last year); but they will never be as competitive as KU. They don't have the love for the round ball down there like we do up here. UCLA is a bit frightening though. What bad can you say about them with Bobo. He could start there his freshman year. I just hope that he hates LA as much as I do. 70 and sunny all the time is as fake as one of their movie sets. Come to KU Bobo!

October 22, 2007 at 11:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmkjayhawk (anonymous) says...

If he was starting as a freshman at UCLA, that either means that Kevin Love is gone, or he's starting next to Kevin Love. That latter of those scenarios, in my opinion, might be the scariest part of them potentially getting him. I just hope Arthur has sold him on KU, or anybody has sold him on KU for that matter.

October 22, 2007 at 1:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayCeph (anonymous) says...

I think it was nice of the staff to put on this little 'tip-o-the-hat' to the fans that want to try and walk-on but since the roster is so full, I'm not surprised to hear that nobody really thinks they are going to get very far this season.

Oh, to be young again...

October 22, 2007 at 4:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

rockchalkjayhawk4ku11 (anonymous) says...

I said this before, but when I watched Morgan at KC he looked really lazy. He got four fouls in the first half and only like 2 or 4 points. He was always just hanging around the post. I know he is a big guy and should be around the post, but I never saw him move around.

October 22, 2007 at 8:26 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

afilmer (anonymous) says...

hey lebowski -
nobody settled on collison - he was recruited heavily by almost every school in the country and had his list narrowed to KU and duke. but - the hinrich point is valid.

i think everyone gets excited about bigs because they can change the complexion of games. but guard play and athletic forwards are what wins championships. sorry - a little too espn for even my tastes. but there is some truth there.

October 22, 2007 at 8:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

flipborder02 (anonymous) says...

Hey rockchalk when did you see morgan play how long ago.

October 22, 2007 at 9:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

soapbox stew--great to hear Bobo is sharp and wants to go into science. Science never has enough big men either. Would this guy dominate a lab or what? Talk about establishing a presense down on the work bench. Definitely a preseason all carbon nanotube expert. :-)

Seriously, he sounds like fit a either at KU, or ucla. ucla might have the edge in academic reputation, but tell Bobo that the hard sciences all happen at the graduate level unless he skips balling and goes to Cal Tech ugrad.

Come to KU, Bobo. Equal sciences undergrad (though UC grad school tradition in sciences is unparalleled in state universities historically, so wait and go there when you're done balling). Vastly better arena and crowd experience. Vastly better lifelong basketball family to belong to. Play 2-3 times a year down in Texas for your parents. No jet lag for them flying back and forth to see you play home games in Lawrence. Sensible viewing time for your folks for ESPN games, because of same time zone as theirs. Better looking coeds (except for my wife, who went to UCLA). No LA traffic. No LA crime. No LA smog to scar your young lungs. A straight shooting midwestern coach who will toughen you up, surround you with great guards and wings, teach you Eddie ball (one of the three great strains of college basketball), and NOT teach you hack ball a la Ben Howland. Burgers and beer cost half as much in Lawrence and taste twice as good. You can still get really good steaks in the midwest. California seafood is weak, because the good local seafood is fished out. Lawrence is a lot more forgiving town to make college mistakes in than Westwood. And its just more fun to go to party in a college town than a suede shoe suburb like Westwood which has lost all its college bars, etc., because the rent is too high. In the pros, you'll get to do all the big cities the right way. You'll never get another chance at the college town thing. A Jayhawk is just flat better for a mascot than a baby bear. The only things UCLA has in its favor are: John Wooden, no winter, and Tommy Burgers. If you still got to play for Coach Wooden, even I would say go to Westwood, but you don't. In today's game, no one is better than Self. Winter sucks, but you have your whole life to spend winters in the white stone house you buy in Bermuda (trust me: don't waste your time and money looking beyond Bermuda--the sun once never set on the British Empire and Bermuda was the choice of their aristocracy who had the world for their oyster). Tommie's is the best chilliburger in the world for the price, but nothing comes close to KC barbque. Finally, the Wheel is the greatest college bar in the world. The campuses are both very beautiful in different ways. The Rock Chalk chant in the end decides it. See you in Crimson and Blue Bobo. The ghosts of James Naismith, Forrest Allen, and Wilt Chamberlain will cover your back all the days of your life. What other school has won 80 percent of its games the last 20 years?

October 23, 2007 at 2:56 a.m. ( | suggest removal )