Kansas City, Mo ? Jeff Carey considered playing college basketball at Southwest Missouri State.
The Bears’ campus in Springfield, Mo., is just a 90-minute drive from Carey’s hometown of Camdenton, Mo.
“They were one of the schools that recruited me extremely hard the summer before my senior year,” Carey said. “I actually took a visit there. It was close to home, I liked coach (Steve) Alford. One of my friends, Matt Rueter, was recruited by them, too. He decided to go there. I thought about it quite a bit.”
A late bloomer, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Carey drew interest from Missouri, Indiana, KU and others as his senior season at Camdenton High progressed.
“Bigger schools were in on me and I really felt coach Alford would be leaving so I didn’t really consider them at the end,” Carey said.
He was right about Alford, who coached four years at SMS, before leaving following the 1997-98 season, Carey’s first year in college.
Carey’s pal, the 6-8, 240-pound Rueter, averages 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Carey also is friends with Scott Brakebill, a 6-8, 230-pound forward from Bolivar, Mo. Brakebill leads the Bears with 16.1 ppg.
“Playing against them (Rueter and Brakebill) in high school, it is kind of a bragging rights game for me,” Carey said of tonight’s Sprint Shootout game between KU and SMS (8:05 p.m., Kemper Arena).
“I think it will be fun for them. It’s a big atmosphere. I don’t know what kind of crowds they pull and how many of their fans will come. For us, we have a home-field advantage there. The crowd pulls for us.”
KU is 67-21 all-time in Kemper Arena. The Jayhawks have won 13 of 14 games in the building, their last loss coming to Oklahoma State in last year’s Big 12 Tournament. KU last lost a regular-season game in Kemper Arena in 1983 a 64-61 decision against Ohio State.
KU is 5-0 in the Shootout with wins over Indiana, North Carolina State, Texas Christian, Illinois and Saint Louis.
Road weary: Jeff Boschee finally made it back to Lawrence for Friday afternoon’s practice. The 6-1 junior from Valley City, N.D., spent all day Thursday snowed in at the Minneapolis airport. He was able to catch a flight Friday, but wasn’t able to make it to Allen Fieldhouse in time for a short morning practice and free-throw session.
Mario Kinsey, who also had travel problems, made it back from Waco, Texas, on Thursday night and practiced Friday.
Injury update: Kenny Gregory said it about the stress fracture in his left foot.
“It still bothers me at times, but it’s not to the point where I can’t be on the floor to help my teammates. It bothered me a little in Columbus (Ohio, during last Saturday’s 69-68 win at Ohio State), but I had so much adrenaline getting to play at home that I didn’t even notice it until after the game.
“As long as I can rest it well between each game, I’ll be just fine.”
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