Q: Hi,Just need to know when Late Night is in October! As a loooong time fan (’60 grad), as you can see from my email address, I am thinking about flying in from NJ to see it this year. This should be a really great time to do it due to everything that has happened lately! Thanx.
jerseyjay2@yahoo.com
A: Late Night will be on the night of Oct. 13. I’m told there will be no KU volleyball match this year before Late Night so be prepared to sit in the Fieldhouse from about 6 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. when the show usually begins.
Generally, Late Night attracts a full house of 16,300 fans. Only once do I recall fans having to be turned away. Anybody who wants to get in the building usually gets in.
The Fieldhouse is usually 2/3s full about 9 p.m. I’d say it is technically a sellout about 10 p.m.
After that it’s a matter of squeezing everybody else in, or turning folks away if it’s a fire hazard. Admission, of course, is free, though usually KU asks fans to bring canned goods for charitable organizations.
Q: Gary, I am a huge KU fan here in Sioux Falls, SD. I am surrounded by Cornshucker fans, since there the closes Division I school to SF. But why I’m sending this. There is a kid from West Central High which is in a small town just a few miles west of us that has serious potential. His name is Josh Mueller He has everything that Boschee has. And I just got an email from my friend in Lee’s Summit, and Josh is on the UNC recruiting list. Does Roy know at all about this kid?
nooner@yahoo.com
A: Hi Nooner. I can’t say with 100 percent certainty Roy knows about Josh Mueller.
That’s because Roy doesn’t discuss recruiting with the media.
Generally, however, Roy knows about most all recruits. Recruiting is his job and he does it well.
Insider’s Report indicates Josh is 5-10 and 165 pounds from Hartford, S.D.
If you want to personally tell Roy more about Josh Mueller, write him at KU Basketball Office, 250 Wagnon Student Athletics Complex, Lawrence, Ks., 66044.
If you talk to Josh, have him email me at gbedore@ljworld.com. Thanks a lot.
Q: How happy is Kansas that Roy stayed there?
maria
MKoenigs@mediaone.net
A: Very happy, Maria. Many fans were really worried Roy was going to take the North Carolina job. After all, it is his alma mater. So they stuck messages and letters on the doors of Allen Fieldhouse requesting he stay at Kansas.
It’s hard to believe the rumors about Roy going to North Carolina are going to finally be dead. It seems like that was a major part of every season, asking Roy and others about the Roy-to-North Carolina rumors.
Are you related to Ken Koenigs? He was a great player at Kansas for coach Ted Owens.
Q: Dear Gary:
My nephew and I are disagreeing on whether it was Kirk Heinrich or Nick Collison who had that barrage of three-pointers in KU’s honorable defeat by Duke in the NCAAs. Who was it?
Cyndi Hughes, a Jayhawk in Texas
cest_cyndle@yahoo.com
A: Good question. How soon we (I) forget. Upon re-checking the box score, I learned again it was Kirk Hinrich who hit three three-pointers versus Duke.
He scored 12 points in 28 minutes. He had some foul trouble early which kind of stunted what might have been a career night.
Nick Collison had eight points. He hit four two-pointers
That was a great game. I thought for a long time Kansas was gonna win that contest.
Q: Gary,
I was wondering what is up with Dennis Latimore? It seems all the info we get on him is from the westcoast. There all these rumors going around (atleast out of Arizona and California) that Dennis is moving back to Arizona for his senior year. Also all the westcoast people say that he is a lock for Arizona. Why haven’t we heard anything about him and especally since he does live in Kansas? Were did coach Williams go wrong with Dennis? We don’t have players like Dennnis Latimore and Wayne Simien very often and we need to do all we can to keep them in-state. I know you and Dennis are busy people, but could you check up on him from a “Kansas” perspective instead of all these westcoast stuff? Thanks,
Ben M.
A: No problem, Ben.
Latimore says Kansas, Arizona and Florida are his three leaders, with Stanford, UCLA and Kentucky also on his list. Dennis told me recently he was planning on staying in Halstead for his senior year. He is a nice young man who still has KU on his list with those other schools.
As far as West coast reports speculating he’s a lock for Arizona … what can I say?
There’s a lot of gossip involved in recruiting and I won’t get into that. Recruiting coverage is an inexact science. Some people like to follow all the gossip and inuendo. Other fans boycott coverage of recruiting.
I say let’s just let these kids make their visits and eventually pick a school. It’s one of the most important decisions of their lives and it is not easy. It looks like Dennis can’t go wrong with the schools on his list. They are all fine schools and programs.
Good luck to Dennis and all the other preps in making their choices.
Q: What are your thoughts on Kansas offering (per him) Errol Knight out of Seattle? With Daniel Ewing and Josh Childress so much in the mix and with offers, does coach Williams see Errol as a suitable signee right now or is he a back up plan? Thanks ahead of time!
Jason
A: Jason, you must remember Roy won’t discuss recruiting with the media, so it’s difficult to answer this question.
I’ve heard Knight is a very good player out of Seattle.
I do know KU scouted him extensively during the summer evaluation period.
Knight recently told me KU, Washington and Syracuse are his favorites at this time. He said he would like to visit KU to check it out.
He indicated location might play a factor in his final decision, but if KU offers, I’m sure he’ll think long and hard about coming here.
Josh Childress visited KU unofficially last year and is set to visit again for Late Night With Roy so one would have to think he is a prime KU recruit also.
Ewing committed to Duke as I’m sure you’re aware by now. You sent me this question before he committed.
At this time, we know the Jayhawks are recruiting both shooting guards. As to which player Roy wants more and backup plans … only Roy can tell us and he won’t talk about that kind of stuff to reporters and fans.
So I guess just assume KU wants both until you hear otherwise.
Q: Gary, As always, thanks for the insightful commentary! First, what is the story on Axtell? Is he okay and will he shine this year? Second, is Roy going to sign any big names out of high school this summer? Finally, why isn’t there any West Coast Games again this year? Wouldn’t they play there for Chenowith? Thanks,
Mike – Class of 88
A: Luke has been working hard all summer in Austin, Texas and currently is playing for the Big 12 all-star team in Austria. I think he’ll make a strong comeback from his undisclosed medical condition. I think he’ll be a major contributor this season and still has a good shot at playing in the NBA.
I think KU will do well in recruiting.
Playing time will be available for some of the top recruits and that is always a major factor. KU will always do well in recruiting when playing time is available.
As far as the West coast games, KU will be playing Arizona and UCLA in coming years. It worked out neither series will begin this season.
Californian Eric Chenowith has had some trips back home for games and will get to play UCLA this year in New York, so I’m sure he’ll be excited about that.
Look for KU to probably play UCLA in Lawrence in 2001-2002 season with a game at Arizona next season. Then it should flip flop the following year. KU also will be headed to the Pete Newell Classic so Drew Gooden can play near home.
Q: Do you think Chenowith will have a good senior year and what has he been doing differently this off season? Also, in terms of the schedule, how do you think the Jayhawks will finish next year?
Nathan H., harber007@hotmail.com
A: I think Cheno will have a good season. He’s worked hard on his basketball skills all summer, playing at a camp in Las Vegas. He also is attending the Pete Newell Big Man camp in Hawaii.
He’s always worked during the summer.
I still don’t understand all the criticism Eric received for attending a batch of Dave Matthews band concerts last summer. It wasn’t like he was a groupie. He went to seven or eight concerts over a span of several months, not all in a row.
It seems some people think KU players should lock themselves in a gym all summer, grunt and groan, lift weights and shoot free throws and never have any fun.
That is a stupid attitude to have. I think it’s great he attended Dave Matthews Band concerts two summers ago. He worked out in the gym that summer with his high school coach. Perhaps he didn’t work out enough, but the fact he went to concerts had nothing to do with his unproductive junior campaign at KU.
I look for him to average about 12 to 15 points a game this year and grab several rebounds per game. I also see him as a certain first round NBA draft pick.
As far as the schedule and how KU will do … I’d say KU will lose six or seven games and win the rest.
Q: First off Gary, I like what you write about. Your articles about the Jayhawks Basketball team are great. I would like to know what the Jayhawks are planning to do this year about recruiting (who there after, who’s considering the Jayhawks, ETC.).
Thanks,
Darren Triebel
Fort Riley Kansas
A: Thanks for the compliments.
I hope I don’t forget anybody in discussing recruiting.
KU has a commitment from Wayne Simien of Leavenworth. KU has also been recruiting and evaluating Dennis Latimore of Halstead; Josh Childress and Jamal Sampson of LA; David Lee of St. Louis; Aaron Miles of Portland; Erroll Knight of Seattle; Kansas Citians Jeff Hawkins and Jamar Howard.
Sorry if I forgot anybody.
I’ve seen various other Californians mentioned in connection with KU. There are usually some players from Texas, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota involved whom we don’t always know about til crunch time. Also, Jay Reid of Brewster made an unofficial visit to KU last year, so the Jayhawks must have some interest in the shooting guard from Kansas.
One thing about recruiting: It changes daily, hourly. Recruiting is recruiting. You either love it or hate it. If you don’t like the recruiting news one day, be patient, it’s likely to change within 24 hours.
Q: Will the ticket office have tickets available for the Coaches Vs Cancer games?
MrJayhawk@msn.com
A: KU doesn’t have tickets on sale for that event. Ticketmaster is an outlet. I think you can even buy off that website. Also you can call Madison Square Garden directly.
Q: When is Kansas going to Play Arizona?
get rid of news on Stevenson, the traitor!!!!!!!!
Bill 1971.
A: The Arizona series will probably start in 2001-2002 season. That’s what we’ve been told in the past. No official announcement has been made yet. The first game in the two-year series will be at Arizona cause Lute Olson won the coin flip.
Stevenson isn’t really a traitor.
What he is is … wealthy.
DeShawn won his gamble.
He got picked in the first round of the NBA Draft and is now set for life financially. He’s actually fortunate his test score was red-flagged. Cause that made him enter the NBA Draft where he hit the jackpot.
I scoff at those who think kids should go to college no matter what. Why?
If one is GUARANTEED first-round money, why not turn pro and be set for life financially? Sure, some kids make BAD decisions in leaving early. Those are the kids picked in the second round or not drafted at all.
DeShawn was a first-round pick.
Hence he made the right decision.
Case closed.
Q: So, Gary, I notice the first exhibition game is Nov 1. As we outoftowners cannot get tickets to normal games, I was thinking of taking my family back to see the old alma on the weekend of Late Night with Roy. I was hoping it would coincide with a football game at Mem Stadium as well…
Any idea when that evening is slated to happen?
Doug merrill, dmmd@sprynet.com
A: Late Night is Oct. 13. KU football plays at Missouri on Oct. 14. You could drive to Mizzou for the game if ya want.
Actually you can still get tickets for some KU men’s games at Allen Fieldhouse.
For instance, I’d be shocked if you couldn’t get tickets to the exhibitions Nov. 1 and 4. And I’d be willing to bet tickets will be available for games Dec. 17, 20, 25 and 27. That’s North Dakota State, Boise State, Washburn and Middle Tennessee State. Call the ticket office at 1-800-34-HAWKS and ask them how to purchase tickets for individual games.
All games are technically sold out, but usually tickets become available when the students don’t pick up their tickets.
Q: Today, ESPN.com had a big writeup about the “top coaching trees”, claiming that there are three dominant coaching families: North Carolina (Deam Smith), Duke and Indiana. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a writeup of Kansas coaching trees. They included both players and coaches who are candidates for major college positions. I was wondering if you could relate Roy’s current “coaching tree”, and also about other Kansas coaches. (Phog Allen being the obvious one to mention.) As a final note, I really don’t know much of anything about coaching influences of the coaches between Phog Allen and Larry Brown.
-Dave Hewitt
dhewitt3@home.com
A: Roy Williams’ coaching tree consists of Matt Doherty (North Carolina by way of Notre Dame), Jerry Green (Tennessee); Steve Robinson (Florida State); Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt); Mark Turgeon (Wichita State, he also worked for Larry Brown at KU and in NBA); Eric Pauley (Tennessee assistant); Jay Price (Purdue assistant) and Matt Wingate (Florida State assistant). Former KU assistant Alvin Gentry is Clippers coach and ex-KU aide Bob Hill is Fordham coach. Both those guys have ties to Larry Brown.
Q: Gary:
After reviewing the 2000-’01 schedule, one item jumped out at me. Is the Big XII Tournament really going to be Wednesday through Saturday instead of Thursday through Sunday? That makes no sense to me. If the conference is worried about tournament attendance, putting more games in the middle of the week will only make matters worse. I can only assume that this change is somehow related to TV. Thanks.
-Rick Boyd
Eagan, MN
A: Actually the Big 12 Tourney remains on a Thursday-Sunday format. So it’ll be March 8-11. The title game will be at 2 p.m. the 11th at Kemper. Very perceptive question and good catch on the mistake on the schedule.
Q: A friend of mine told me that they heard on the news that Ryan Robertson and Jaque Vaughn were coming to play for Kansas City Knights. Is this true?
A: Nope. Jacque has re-signed with Utah for 2 more years. Ryan wants to play for the Kings again this year. He’ll have to go to training camp and make the team.
Now if Ryan doesn’t make an NBA roster, he could wind up in Kansas City. That’s possible. I’m sure he’ll go where he can make the most cashola.
I hope Sacramento re-signs Ryan. Guys like Ryan can help teams in the NBA. Ryan, by the way, gets married Saturday. His wife’s name is Andrea, I believe.
Q: Hey Gary,
I think the All Star teams the Jayhawk players have or will
play on this summer will be a great experience. But I am no expert. Is
it better to play on these All Star Teams and benefit from the extra
practices and competition ? Would they be better served staying on the
courts in Lawrence ? Other than Drew, Nick and Luke, are any other
Hawks playing on All Star teams ?
I have heard of ‘Big Man School’ and shooting clinics etc. Can
college basketball players attend b-ball camps or clinics for
whatever specialized training that is offered? If so, do you know
which J-Hawk players are participating ?
Phil Sybert
Richardson,TX
psybert@gi.com
A: Good questions. I think anytime you can play on an all-star team, it is beneficial. Luke is playing for the Big 12 stars in Austria; Drew Gooden and Nick Collison for USA Basketball’s Young Men’s qualifying team. And Nick also gets to play against the Dream Team on Sept. 2 in Hawaii.
Also, Eric Chenowith attended a week-long camp in Vegas sponsored by a former UNLV player and went to Pete Newell’s Big Man camp in Hawaii.
Most of the Jayhawks went to the first session of summer school and played a lot of pick-up games in Lawrence.
Q: Gary…I live in Kentucky and my husband is a Kansas fan. Recently, an artist was commissioned to do a print of a wildcat and it was sold in a limited edition size. I am wondering if there has been anything like that that you might be familiar with in the Lawrence area…Any information would be helpful. My e-mail address is the following:
bhc@ipro.net. Thanks a bunch!!!
A: I haven’t heard about anything like that being done in Lawrence, but I’m sure stores around here have Jayhawks for sale in all shapes and sizes. If you check the bookstore online I’m sure they have Jayhawk stuff for sale. Whether there are any prints, I don’t know. How bout some help from fans on this one, please.
Q: Do you think Roy Williams’ decision to stay at KU will help him in recruiting.
Thanks,
Tim Keller.
A: Sure. In Septemer Roy can go in the home of recruits and now they are sure he’ll be at Kansas. Before there was the question of, “Will you go to North Carolina?” Even Roy wasn’t sure he’d stay at KU. It had to be a tough question for him to deal with in recruiting.
That was a tough decision for Roy and now that it’s made, sure it’ll help him in recruiting.
Q: Do you think KU’s basketball schedule is weak? I am really upset at this schedule. I pay good money for my tickets and we don’t play any good teams at home. What a joke!
gimmemymoneyback.com
A: Hey gimme … I wouldn’t call it a weak schedule. Not when you play Ohio State, DePaul, Wake Forest, Tulsa, UCLA and either Kentucky or St. John’s.
What the schedule is … is top heavy with most of the good games on the road.
KU is completing home and homes at DePaul and Ohio State. Yes, it’s too bad one of those two games won’t be played in Allen, but KU must contractually complete those series on the road.
The Jayhawks play two really tough games at the Coaches V. Cancer Tourney (UCLA and either Kentucky or St. John’s). Those games are in New York, not Allen.
KU also begins its home and home with Wake Forest at Wake this season.
Wake Forest will return to Allen Fieldhouse the following year which will be a good game on the home schedule.
KU annually plays at least one rugged nonconference team at home. That team is Tulsa this year.
Tulsa is an Elite Eight team, coming oh, so close to making the 2000 Final Four. Yet some people in this area think of Tulsa as a patsy and feel this game is not good enough.
I disagree.
Tulsa is a strong opponent.
If Tulsa were say, UCLA, nobody would complain about KU’s home schedule, and in effect, Tulsa went farther in the tournament than UCLA last year.
So go figure.
Also I’ve heard complaints about KU’s second exhibition game being against Emporia State.
Folks, ESU will provide better competition than that terrible Australian youth team that’s been coming to town the past couple years.
An exhibition is an exhibition no matter how you slice it. It’d be nice if E-State could borrow a former Jayhawk for the game. That always adds some excitement like the year Rex Walters showed up playing for the other team.
The consecutive games stretch at home of North Dakota, Boise State, Washburn, Middle Tennessee State and Illinois State isn’t too spiffy, yet MTSU and Illinois State annually provide decent competition.
They are not total rollovers.
It should be interesting to see if there are some no-shows for those games or if the crowds are unusually quiet and Roy goes ballistic in postgame comments as he did after the CU game a year ago.
Or will the fans show and cheer wildly? We shall see.
In summation, what I’m saying is the schedule is a good schedule. Compare it to schedule’s of other teams. It stacks up well.
Most of the marquee games are on the road, however.
That’s the way it worked out this year. Blame it on TV or the difficulties of scheduling in the days of TV domination.
I hate to be blunt, but you can always sell your tickets if you don’t want to go to the games. Somebody will buy ’em.
Q: What will the starting lineup be next season?
A: Dunno, but a guess might be Kirk, Kenny, Chenowith, Collison and Gooden. Or replace two of them with Boschee and Axtell.
Q: Were you surprised Roy turned down the North Carolina job? Do you think the North Carolina media jumped the gun on the story saying he’d replace Guthridge?
A: I thought Roy would go to Carolina, only because I always figured it’d be impossible for Roy to turn down his mentor — Dean Smith. Smith runs the Carolina family and it’s not often one of his pupils turns him down.
Obviously I was wrong.
I don’t blame the media too much for jumping the gun. I mean I know one of the writers who had four normally infallible sources saying Roy had agreed to a deal with UNC. Obviously there was some sort of miscommunication.
The Durham story actually had qualifiers in it saying Roy Williams could change his mind and may not 100 percent be coming. The headline in that paper was much more forceful than the story. The writer never said Roy was coming for sure.
As far as the Associated Press report that immediately said Roy would be named Guthridge’s successor … That one still kind of bothers me. Basically because of that story, myself and photog Earl Richardson were shipped to North Carolina for seven days.
I mean we were stuck in Carolina country writing bizarre stories about Roy’s old house while all the action was happening here.
We had Andrew Hartsock and others doing a tremendous job here covering the action, but mainly because of the East coast wire story, Earl and I were stuck in Carolinaland trapped like rats interviewing maintenance workers at the Dean Dome. I mean the people at the Dome were friendly for the most part, but cmon. It was a taxing week.
I thought the most telling story out of the whole ordeal was Scott Williams — Roy’s son — telling us his dad was totally torn and getting no sleep during the period he made his decision. He said his dad grew emotional when Greg Gurley told him he already had grandkids — the children of his former players. That kind of stuff was eating up Roy and a lot of media who don’t know Roy that well weren’t convinced stuff like that mattered.
They figured Dean Smith was calling and what Dean Smith wants Dean gets.
Didn’t happen. Anyhow, I will never criticize the Durham paper, which has one of the best college bball writers in the universe. It was just one of those things.
Q: Where can I get an audio file of rock chalk jayhawk and the crimson and blue?
A: I dunno. E-mail that question to our internet guru Dave Topliker at dtoplikar@ljworld.com and I’m sure he’ll send you a personal answer. If any of you folks who read this have the answer to this question, e-mail me and I’ll post the answer later. Thanks.
Q: Had Roy left, who would be the new KU coach? Larry Brown?
A: Darn good question. I think Kevin Stallings of Vandy might have been the man. Or maybe Steve Robinson or Matt Doherty.
I don’t know if Matt would have left Notre Dame for KU, considering Troy Murphy decided to return for his senior year mainly because of Matt. I think Matt may have found it difficult leaving Troy for Kansas.
I don’t know if KU would have seriously considered non Roy assistants.
So it’s tough to say. I think it probably woulda been Kevin Stallings, but maybe it’d have been Tommy Amaker or somebody outside the Carolina tree. Dunno.
Q: I heard KU has a new basketball sports information director. Sounds like a good job. How do I get one like that? What is it and who is it and where’s the former guy? rockchalk. Go KU.
violin@rivls.com
A: A sports information director publicizes KU basketball. He or she sets up interviews for the media and puts out the media guide and does all sorts of publicity for KU hoops. The former basketball sports information director, Dean Buchan, is now at Wake Forest. In fact, he and the three Musketeers (three former KU workers now are at Wake) helped Earl and I greatly when we were out in Carolina covering Roy not going to UNC.
The new KU sports contact is Mitch Germann, who was welcomed to the job with the Roy ordeal. He did a good job filtering information to those covering the story in Lawrence, and will do fine as Buchan’s successor. Does that answer your question?
Oh yes, you should major in Journalism to get a job like that or at least English. See your college adviser for details.
Q: Now that Roy has decided to stay at KU, how long will he remain a head coach? quiverarobins.com.
A: I predict Roy will either … a.) coach until he’s 59 then retire and golf year-round. Or b.) he’ll go ahead and coach til he’s 67 then retire. I would think he’s here for the duration. He said this would be his final press conference in regards to other coaching jobs. He says he’s not interested in the NBA. There are no other college jobs that appeal to him now that he’s chosen KU over North Carolina. So this should be his final coaching job unless for some reason the climate completely changes in college athletics and he elects to try something else.
He could probably be a head golf pro somewhere or even an NBA general manager if he got sick of college. Odds are great he’ll retire at KU.
Editor’s note: Please include your email address with your questions. Often times, I’ll send you an immediate reply rather than wait for the time we officially update this section. To the guy who ripped me for not answering his question … sorry sir, you didn’t send your email address. Please include it. Good bye, good luck and dunk you berry much.
