No, not about the still-undisclosed medical condition that kept him out of all but the first 20 games of Kansas University’s last basketball season.

On Tuesday in a conference call his first meeting with the press since he left and then returned to the Jayhawk basketball program Axtell spoke at length about his budding musical career.

“Over the years, I’ve just written songs as an outlet,” said Axtell, a 6-foot-10 guard/forward/singer/songwriter. “I ended up with 10 songs and decided to do something with them.”

The KU senior-to-be decided to record his own compact disc. He hooked up with the same producer who worked with the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Kris Kristofferson and spent the last week and a half in the recording studio putting down tracks for songs like, “River Runs Dry” and “Summer Love.”

“It’s pretty well rounded,” said Axtell, who described the style as folk/country. “There’s a blues song, a ballad, honky-tonk. I tried to make it diverse.”

Axtell said he put in one 12-hour day and several two-hour days on the project, which will be released late next month on an independent label. He said he had no idea how many CD’s would be pressed.

Axtell who has displayed his musical talents at the annual Late Night With Roy Williams extravaganza said he didn’t aspire to be a professional musician.

“Seriously, it just came to me this summer as something to do,” he said. “If it catches on no telling.”

There’s no telling how much Axtell will contribute to the Jayhawks next season, but he’s worked at least as hard on his basketball as his music this summer.

He has been working out with former Houston Rockets player Dave Jamerson in Axtell’s native Austin, Texas, playing occasional pick-up ball with a few University of Texas players and sweating through a physical workout program that includes 5:30 a.m. runs and afternoon weight-lifting four times a day.

The regimen has allowed Axtell to put about eight pounds to 218 on his long frame.

The next step in his return to form will come early next month, when he and the rest of the Big 12 All-Star Team convenes for practice for its overseas trip.

The team will practice Aug. 5-7 in Dallas, then leave for a six-game, 10-day exhibition schedule in Austria and Slovakia.

“It gives me a chance to get back into the swing of real basketball,” Axtell said. “I really haven’t had that this summer. It’s a good thing to get going again before I get to school, and I’ll be able to play with great players.”

Other team members are: Terry Black, Baylor; D.J. Harrison, Colorado; Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa State; Quentin Buchanan, Kansas State; Brian Grawer, Missouri; Cary Cochran, Nebraska; Nolan Johnson, Oklahoma; Andre Williams, Oklahoma State; Chris Owens, Texas; Bernard King, Texas A&M; and Cliff Owens, Texas Tech. The head coach is Colorado’s Ricardo Patton.

Axtell insists he’s not rusty, even though he hasn’t played organized basketball since he left the KU team after 20 games last season.

“I’m sure I’m not,” he said, “but I want to make sure. I’m doing everything I should do. If I am (rusty), it won’t be because of a lack of effort.”

Now, about that other thing

Axtell’s sabbatical last season was off-limits Tuesday, but he indicated he might spill all some day.

“I might address that in the future,” Axtell said. “But I want to have my season first. I want to play basketball and worry about everything else later. I think some fans deserve to hear it, but I can’t worry about that now.”