Thursday, April 24, 2008

Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

By Gary Bedore

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Mario Chalmers going to NBA Draft

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KU junior guard Mario Chalmers has announced that he's going to enter the 2008 NBA Draft, but that he will not hire an agent.

Father knows best

Mario Chalmers said he made his decision to enter the NBA Draft after talking to KU coach Bill Self, as well as his mom, Almarie, and dad, Ronnie.

Ronnie Chalmers is KU's director of basketball operations.

"My dad basically said, 'If you feel it's the right time, go for it. I know it's been your dream, but just be smart about it,''' Mario said.

Being smart apparently was not hiring an agent and leaving open the possibility of a return to KU. Chalmers said he'll stay in the draft only if he's guaranteed to be a first-round pick.

Point guard at next level

Chalmers said an NBA concern is that he has not played point guard exclusively at KU.

"I hear that's the biggest issue with me, not playing point since I've been here. I'm not too worried. I've played it since I was growing up. The best fit for me at Kansas was playing 2 (guard) because we had great guards in Russell (Robinson) and Sherron (Collins). It's something coach Self tried, and it worked for the best. I will try to go in as a point guard, something I did growing up," Chalmers said.

Rush update

KU junior Brandon Rush, who has chosen Priority Sports of Chicago as his representation, will soon begin two-a-day workouts at the company's facility in the Windy City. Self said Rush leaves KU with his blessing, only because Rush has taken care of his academic responsibilities.

"We have made it very clear to our guys if they care a lick about their school they are not going to hurt the guys after them," Self said. "Brandon is well ahead of the curve academically. We anticipated this occurring (Rush declaring for draft with agent). He will be fine in fulfilling NCAA requirements (for eligibility)."

Comments

JJHAWK (anonymous) says...

Thank you Brandon - for everything and for leaving with class. Looking forward to seeing you at the reunions. Best wishes for success in your tryouts and new career.

April 24, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

I'd like to know what they mean by "academic responsibilities" and "NCAA Requirements". Does this mean that he's finishing up all of his classes early?

April 24, 2008 at 7:17 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

billhawk (anonymous) says...

I believe it means that he in "on schedule to graduate" according to NCAA definitions; thus not giving us a penalty in the NCAA point system/scholarship rating thingy.

April 24, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dannyxo (anonymous) says...

I love Mario, he has been my favorite player on the team since about Christmas of his freshman year. That is about the time Self took point guard duties away from him an gave them to RusRob. If you remember, Mario had some terrible games his freshman year at the point. A couple of 6 turonover, no assist, no points type of games that he only played 5-10 minutes and sat the rest.

I was a Celtics fan in the Bird Era and watched tons of thier games (because every game they played seemed to be on TV) Mario reminds me so much of Dennis Johnson. Even the way his shot hits the back of the iron and goes straight through without moving the net. DJ was a great point guard, but he was at his best when he played more of the second 2 guard and Bird was "point forward".

Mario is best like that too. He can bring the ball up the court fine, but he is not a true point guard. He is that guy who spots up and hits the three when the denfense collapses. He is the guy cutting to the basket when three point hitting forward gets double teamed.

I dont think he will go high in the draft or make it in the NBA as a pure point guard. But he could be one of the all time greats with a great distributor like Bird, or maybe even a better fit today, LeBron. LeBron made a lot of money for Daniel Gibson in the playoffs a couple of years ago doing what I described above. Mario could eat Daniel Gibson's lunch.

If I were Mario, I would come back and be the scorer that Rush refused to be much of his career. He could go from borderline tweener to the lottery with a full season of being two time Final Four MOP, Defensive Player of the Year, All-time NCAA steals leader, 08-09 NCAA scoring leader and THE scorer and leader of next year's repeat National Champions.

April 24, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

areyouserious (anonymous) says...

dannyxo: Don't you think you are asking a little much out of one guy???

April 24, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Danny - I'd agree with your psuedo-PG analysis of Mario. The Bulls did the same thing with Paxson, Armstrong, and others when Jordan & point forward Pippen were leading da' Bulls to 6.

I think his abilities at PG far exceed his performance as a freshman, but am a bit afraid the same overwhelmed by the next level sort of experience will be in store for him if he gets those responsibilities again.

Next year could be a great op for him to show more of his pure PG abilities if Coach Self chose to have him play there when Sherron was out.

The stars would have to align for him to be two time Final Four MOP (with a few more smart plays vs one heroic play the '08 MOP goes to DA & his 20-10), Defensive Player of the Year (is this an award?), All-time NCAA steals leader (is this realistic?), 08-09 NCAA scoring leader (won't ever happen at KU while Self is recruit a stable full of studs that can all score) and THE scorer and leader of next year's repeat National Champions (very doable!).

I think if he returns it would be a great opportunity to lead a bunch of young guys who don't know any better, help mold the 2008-09 Jayhawks into a team and champion.

April 24, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

Wow. Mario, Brandon, Darrell, Darnell, Sasha... all of them could be in the League... and maybe (he'd have to work his butt off and get lucky, I think) Russell. That's just mind-boggling. You'll be able to field a whole NBA team next year with KU players.

April 24, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ESUjayhawk (anonymous) says...

Dont forget Julian

April 24, 2008 at 3:20 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

MILFdestroyer (anonymous) says...

Rush is the man

April 24, 2008 at 5:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

mr_lawrence (anonymous) says...

Thanks, Brandon. You were fantastic!!!

April 24, 2008 at 5:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )