No more luscious training table steaks. No more late-night hamburgers and pizzas.
Mark Randall will have to do without solid food for a month or two.
“My jaw will be wired for six weeks. I’ll have to purify everything and eat through a straw,” said Kansas’ sophomore redshirt forward who will ahve a jaw problem corrected by surgery over semester break.
“A friend of mine in Colorado had his jaw broken and lost 40 pounds. I’ve talked to doctors who said there’s a supplement I’ll take taht should keep some weight on.”
Randall isn’t looking forward to the upcoming operation. Yet it’s necessary.
“I can only bite on my back four teeth,” said Randall, who cannot put his teeth together in the front. “My jaw could lock or spasm at any time. I’m kind of nervous, but I’m glad I’m getting it done.
“A piece will be taken out and my jaw will be moved up. I was supposed to have it done last summer, but the trip to Beijing came up and I didn’t want to miss that.”
Randall played on the Big Eight Select team that traveled to China.
The Englewood, Colo., native won’t be able to practice during the six weeks his jaw is wired. Since he’ll be on the sidelines anyway, there’s a chance he’ll also have some work done on his nose. Randall’s had some problems in that area, also.
“I have allergies and slight aesthma,” he explained. “I’m allergic to grass, have hay fever. I’m going to go see an ear, nose and throat doctor to see what can be done. I have some cartilage blocking my nasal area. It bother me when I’m running. It’s bothered me playing basketball.”
Randall’s physical problems are more nagging than serious.
“I’ve been to see so many doctors it’s incredible. Orthodontists, allergists,” he said. “It’ll be a relief to get it all taken care of.”
Randall, who averaged 4.5 points per game last year, doesn’t mind sitting out this season.
“It’s definitely to my benefit,” Randall said. “It’ll help me mature, in a lot of ways. It will be tough sitting on the sidelines and watching the guys play. I’ll always think I could be out there.”
Randall’s teammates did just fine in Saturday’s 110-72 rout of Rider College.
The Jayhawks seemed to respond to a grueling four-day stretch of workouts following last Monday’s unimpressive win over Appalachian State.
Tuesday’s practice lasted four hours with Wednesday’s, Thursday’s and Friday’s all topping the three-hour mark.
“We have to practice hard like that,” senior forward Archie Marshall said. “I have no problems with good, hard practices. We’ve gotta keep the intensity up. We’ve gotta get ready for North Carolina State. We can’t relax.”
The Jayhawks will face N.C. State at 3:10 p.m., Lawrence time, Saturday in Raleigh.
“We don’t want to disgrace ourselves,” guard Otis Livingston said. “It will be tough playing there. It’s on national TV. We want to make a good showing.”
“It’ll be a great test for us,” with North Carolina State coming up,” said Lincoln Minor, who scored 12 points off the bench at off-guard. He had been starting at point guard through seven games.
Minor, the 6-3 juco transfer, says it matters not whether he plays point or shooting guard.
“There’s a little less pressure at two guard,” he said. “Coach is trying a lot of combinations. I’ll play one or two.”
