Mike Masucci’s not a full-fledged Deadhead.
Not yet anyway.
“I like their music. I saw ’em at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City,” said the Kansas basketball center, referring to the long-lived band with the cult following – The Grateful Dead.
“I love classical music. Some of the players get on me for the music I listen to. I get on them for listening to the other kind – disco-type stuff.”
The 6-10 freshman from Grandview, Mo., lists music and golf as two of his favorite hobbies.
“I play golf here a lot,” Masucci said. “I have custom clubs. I get a lot of whip with my driver. I can hit it far, but sometimes it doesn’t go straight.”
Masucci’s long arms come in handy ont eh basketball court as well as the fairways, although his wings aren’t as expansive as a year ago.
Once upon a time, Masucci was a hot-shot, 7-foot porspect. At KU, he’s now listed 6-10 – with hsi shoes on.
“It’s no big deal,” said Masucci. “But it was a weird feeling when they measured me (at KU) and said I was 6-10. Who knows, I might pick up an inch or two while I’m here.”
At Grandview High, he wasn’t the classic 7-foot high school center. He didn’t merely back into the paint, accept passes and drop in two-footers.
“In high school, I brought the ball up court a lot,” said Masucci, who averaged 19.2 points and 11.2 rebounds. “I’d bring it up court, give it to a guard then set up. I like to think I’m versatile, that I can play inside and out, too.”
A good shooter, Masucci knocked in a three-point shot during the McDonald’s Derby Festival High School All-Star game in Louisville last summer.
“I had a good game. I hit six of nine shots and my first three-pointer,” he said. “We played before 19,000 fans. It was crazy. They didn’t like me because Kansas beat Louisville last year. It was a good experience.”
Masucci also played for a Kansas City area AAU team that advanced to the national tournament in Florida. The Kansas City area stars didn’t win a game, but Masucci played well.
“We had a great team,” said Masucci. Hot shot Kansas recruit Anthony Peeler of Paseo was also on the squad. “But we went there and played some of our worst basketball. A lot of guys weren’t used to competition like that.
“There were talented teams there, but we could have won games. We could have done a lot better.”
Masucci proved himself to Kansas well before his senior season. He, in fact, chose KU over St. John’s and Missouri during last season’s early signing period. Jayhawks coach Larry Brown and All American Danny Manning had something to do with his choice.
“I picked KU because of coach Brown,” said Masucci. “He’s tough. He named our (preseason) mile after me. But the tougher he is, the better player I’ll turn out to be.
“I also figured it’d be a great experience playing under Danny for a year. You definitely learn a lot from him. He teaches you things. He’ll stop you on the court and point things out.”
Masucci has been accepting advice from friends and advisers about both basketball and school. He’s adjusting well to college.
“I like KU a lot,” he said. “I’ve been working on my studies. I took a class here this summer. It is hard to adjust to college because all your time is taken up by basketball. WE’ve been lifting a lot and playing a lot.”
KU fans are pleased Masucci is playing at all. Toward the end of last year’s high school season, it was rumored that he wouldn’t qualify academically at Kansas.
Not so. He’s eligible and ready to play.
“There was a question about my grade situation,” Masucci said. “I didn’t do well my junior year. But I worked hard and got the grades up and made it. It wasn’t that big of a problem.”
