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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Kansas’ Little staying upbeat

By Gary Bedore

Kansas forward Mario Little, left, and guard Chase Buford applaud a bucket by center Matt Kleinmann during the second half Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas forward Mario Little, left, and guard Chase Buford applaud a bucket by center Matt Kleinmann during the second half Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 at Allen Fieldhouse.

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Mario Little stood near midcourt in a dress shirt and slacks, chatting with his Kansas University basketball teammates as they stretched before Friday’s home game against Coppin State.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound transfer out of Chipola (Fla.) Community College has remained involved despite not being able to play in the Jayhawks’ first five games because of a stress fracture in his lower left leg.

“I’ve been watching, observing, learning,” said Little. He played in KU’s three exhibition games in Canada and an intrasquad scrimmage at the Oct. 15 Late Night in the Phog but has been shut down since late October. “I try to say a word of encouragement, give some knowledge to the (Morris) twins, anybody, when I can,” Little added.

Last year’s top-rated junior college player said it’s been tough missing so much time.

“It’s new to me. I’ve never been out this long,” said Little. “The toughest thing is watching warmups because I want to play. Physically it (toughest thing) is getting to class. There are a lot of hills around here. Crutchin’ up the hills is difficult,” added Little, ordered to keep all weight off his left leg for a couple weeks, necessitating some uncomfortable trips to class.

Little — he’s been able to ride the stationary bike and work out in the pool — will be X-rayed on Thursday. He hopes to be cleared to practice then.

“Hopefully UMass (Dec. 13), but I don’t know if I’ll be in shape,” Little said, asked the date of his return. “Or maybe Temple (Dec. 20).

“Whenever I do suit up, I’ll try to help Cole (Aldrich) and the twins out and get some rebounds. Maybe help us out offensively, get another perimeter guy in there, hopefully bring a little more toughness to the team.

“We’ve been doing well,” he added. KU is off to a 4-1 start entering Monday’s 8 p.m. home game against Kent State.

“We had them down, we just couldn’t put our foot on their throat,” he said of KU’s only loss — an 89-81 overtime decision to Syracuse last Tuesday. “We had them down but couldn’t keep ‘em down.”

Little’s spirits are not down.

“The coaches and players keep me positive. It’s tough watching and not be able to help but I’ll be back. It’s good,” Little said.

Comments

  1. Relic (anonymous) says…

    Just what we need. I get first post too. Doesn't get much better.

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  2. jaybate (anonymous) says…

    Bedore turns a familiar story into a memorable story with a single quote."Physically it (toughest thing) is getting to class. There are a lot of hills around here. Crutchin’ up the hills is difficult.” --Mario Little We're all thinking about his rehab, about what he'll add when he gets back. We're arguing over whether he will displace Brady, or someone else, or if he's a guy who will sit?But what he really is a young man with a fracture with heck of a lot of troubles, because of it. I like how upbeat he is. I like how real he is. I like his shirt. I like his smile. I like the cut of his jib. Happy Thanksgiving, Mario. You will prevail. You will succeed. We are pulling for you.This reminds me of humping Mt. Oread in the winter. This reminds me of how bad you have to want it to get your degree. This reminds me of what it was like when I broke my ankle.

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  3. didjabuti (anonymous) says…

    I like his shirt too.

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  4. KEITHMILES05 (anonymous) says…

    The staff really messed up big time this summer by not taking the precautionary move to keep him off his leg instead of allowing him to play. As it is now this is the worst possible scenario for him.

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  5. RICHARD143 (anonymous) says…

    What are the chances of him red shirting? I really believe that if he is not 100 % soon, it should be considered. I know there is a lot of season left, but he is going to be way behind when he is ready.

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  6. ohioburg (anonymous) says…

    I was on crutches for a few weeks on that campus. I showed up at class sweating like a pig everyday but my deltoids were awesome when it was over. :)

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  7. actorman (anonymous) says…

    "As it is now this is the worst possible scenario for him."I don't agree. While this is not ideal, the worst possible scenario would be for this to happen in February and March.

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  9. lance1jhawk (anonymous) says…

    jaybate- Nice post, I enjoyed it.

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  10. OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says…

    Just an eligibility question for you guys..if you miss a whole semester then start the second semester, are you allowed to carry that missed semester over to another season. I know because when I started at KU in 1966, JoJo White had started at mid semester a couple of years before and was allowed to play the first semester of his extra year. It actually sucked because the team suddenly was without it's best player that second semester and KU suffered. I never understood why he didn't sit out that last first semester and play during the more important second semester.What I'm getting at is could Mario play the second semester this year, the second semester next year and use up his eligibilty the full third season? I'm guessing that there is some rule that would prevent someone from playing eight straight second semesters, but was just curious.PS. Personally, I think it is important that Mario play this season in order to prepare for next years KU powerhouse squad!!!

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  11. ralster (anonymous) says…

    Well, he said it himself: "add a little toughness to the team". Look, all these guys will be solid sooner or later. What Mario's little setback (pun- haha) did is remove a 21yr old physically filled-out frame who apparently played solid enough to earn a #1 juco player rating. I have heard from many sources that juco-ball is a pretty tough bruiser-ball type of game--heck, the new Mario arrived to us dinged-up. And ask anyone who has had stress fractures ("shin splints")--they are painful and limit performance. I know someone who got scrubbed out of the USMC basic training for pilots, because of stress fractures--he was very unhappy about that. And this Mario played some exhib. games for us before maybe it became clear to him he could not do all of the lofty things he is expected for KU Basketball. I for one, will never question his toughness--seems to be proven already. Im just hoping he can transition and contribute THIS year (because of all the frosh, we need his balance in conference play THIS year...). Just my thoughts. Get well, Mario!

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  12. Yahweh (anonymous) says…

    Guys, he's a Juco transfer, and thus not a Freshman. Pretty darned sure you can't redshirt when you're not a Freshman. Ever heard of a redshirt Junior? Because that's what he'd be. No dice on this one, folks.

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  13. Strikewso (anonymous) says…

    We're loaded next year, so a redshirt is not the answer for Mario. This is his chance.

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  14. Strikewso (anonymous) says…

    BTW, redshirts are for injuries as much as for freshmen who aren't ready and you can take them whenever you need one. There may be some restrictions for juco transfers, though. Remember Kwamie Lassiter? He played football for KU after tranfering from a juco, got a redshirt year and ended up getting a sixth year from the NCAA. Then the guy starred in the NFL for many years.

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  15. dagger108 (anonymous) says…

    You can redshirt which ever year is needed. By the time a person is a junior, people stop referring to whether they were a redshirt or not, but that is exactly what Kerry Meier is - a redshirt junior. It means that he is finishing his 3rd year of playing, tho it is his 4th yr on campus.You do only have 5 years from the time you start college to complete your eligibility, without a special dispensation from the NCAA. There is lots of BB left to be played, so no reason not to have him playing when he heals. It might even be helpful to have fresher legs in February when the freshmen start to realize how long the college BB season is.

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  16. ESUjayhawk (anonymous) says…

    Yahweh,Brady Morningstar...He played his freshman season and then took a redshirt last year which would have been his sophomore year... I know for a fact that redshirts can be taken any year... Sometimes even after the player has played in a couple games and gets injured they can challenge the NCAA for a medical redshirt season

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