Jeff Gueldner’s parents popped in the car and took a drive last weekend.
The Charleston, Ill., natives couldn’t pass up a chance to watch their sophomore son make his second career college basketball start – first at Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse.
“My dad has been here a few times. But it was only the second time for my mom,” said Gueldner, who scored 10 points in KU’s 82-72 win over Iowa State. “It was great having them here,” he added.
The 6-5 swingman admits it’s a “great” feeling to be introduced as a Jayhawk starter.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Gueldner, who had five points and three assists in a starting role last Wednesday at Oklahoma State. “It’s something to take pride in. It makes you want to work that much harder to keep your spot and not let the guys down.”
It’s likely either Gueldner or Clint Normore will join Kevin Pritchard in the backcourt on Tuesday against Nebraska.
Tipoff is 8:05 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse with a live telecast available on channels 13 and 41.
“Usually not,” said Gueldner, when asked if he knows before game day whether he’ll start. “It depends on what happens in practice. I always thought that was fair. One of the good things about coach Brown is you earn your spot in practice.
“Unless it’s an unusual case, you’ll usually find out before the game when you talk about matchups.”
Normore, the 6-0 junior football defensive back, has made a strong case for added playing time. He had a career-high seven points with two assists in 23 minutes versus the Cyclones.
“That’s up to the coach,” Normore said about starting. “I just work hard every day.”
Seems Normore is a battler during practice sessions.
“He’s great, unselfish – a great defensive player,” said Pritchard. “He’s so strong. I’m on the point and guard him at practice. It’s tough. What I like is if I get the ball, I can bring it up. If he gets it, he can. Clint’s played well at practice and in games.”
“He’ll play more and more,” Brown said. “He deserves the opportunity.”
Normore’s basketball success hasn’t made him forget football.
“I know I’ll play football next year,” he said. “We’ll wait and see about basketball.”
Normore and Gueldner weren’t factors during KU’s first meeting versus the Huskers. They combined for four points in 20 minutes in KU’s disappointing 70-68 loss on Jan. 27.
In that game, KU saw a 16-point lead shrink to zip in the final moments. Husker reserve guard Beau Reid, you may recall, grabbed a loose ball and hit a 16-footer at :01 to account for the difference. The bucket marked NU’s only lead of the second half.
“It was demoralizing,” said Pritchard of that desperation shot, which brought the NU fans onto the court. “The last shot lost us that game, but we should never have been in that position.
“There is a revenge factor,” Pritchard admitted, “but we want to win every game more than thinking about revenge. This will be a tough game. We need to be ready to play.”
Notes
KU’s Danny Manning suffered a sprained left index finger versus ISU. X-rays taken Sunday showed no broken bones and he’s fit to play…A limited number of general admission tickets are on sale for Tuesday’s game…
