KU senior Gregory adds to game

By Jim Baker     Nov 9, 2000

Kenny Gregory wants to be known for more than his jumping and dunking ability this season.

Gregory, Kansas Univer-sity’s 6-foot-5 senior guard-forward from Columbus, Ohio, would like to be regarded as a quality jump shooter, too.

“I am known for more a slashing role, driving to the basket,” says Gregory, who hit a sizzling 57.7 percent of his shots a year ago, but just 2 of 13 threes and 41.9 percent of his free throws.

“This year the plan is I’d like to add a little more to my repertoire. Outside shot, three-pointers. I feel I’ve proven to my teammates I can do it, now it’s a matter of doing it in games.”

Gregory believes practice, practice, practice has helped him perfect his outside game.

“It’s what I worked on all summer, all off-season,” Gre-gory said.

Let him explain.

“Last summer, I went home and played some pick-up ball with some of the college players who live in Columbus,” Gregory said. “But I also did a lot of work in the gym alone. Any free time I had, I’d go to the gym and get up as many shots as possible.

“We have a 24-hour gym back home. I’d go there at 2 a.m. My mom thought I was crazy. Most of the time I went by myself. My friends at home didn’t want to shoot at 2 a.m.

“I’d go shoot every day except Sunday (for a six-week span). Most of the time I’d take Sunday off.”

He was the star of preseason pick-up games and early practices.

“Sometimes I wait for him to start missing, but it keeps going in,” KU sophomore Nick Collison said. “He has a nice shot.”

Gregory is so confident in his sweet shot, he wants to play shooting guard this season not small forward.

“Me personally, I’d prefer not to play any 3 at all,” Gregory said. “I feel I put in enough work this summer to prove I am a shooting guard from the perimeter and also take it to the basket. I want to be known as a shooting guard. It’s what I want to prove this year, but I’ll do whatever is needed. If we need to go to a smaller lineup and put me at the 3, that’s fine. I’d prefer to play the 2.”

KU coach Roy Williams wants Gregory to take advantage of his athleticism and hit the boards for rebounds and stick-back buckets.

“I just think the effort on the backboards … Kenny and I have talked. What does Kenny do best? Everybody would say, ‘Jump,”‘ Williams said. “I say, ‘Why not use that?’ That will be the push to-ward Kenny. Get him even more involved on the backboards where he is such a threat. If he can have a relentless attitude on the backboards, it’s a whole different animal what he can do for us.”

Gregory is willing to re-bound.

“I’ve done it a lot since I’ve been here,” he said. “If it helps me get more baskets or the team, I’ll do it. I have to take advantage of my God-given ability. Being athletic, it’s why coach wants me to do that a lot more.”

As far as shooting … it’s probably up to Gregory to show he can stick the jumper before Williams will let him fire away.

“No question it would help our team. Now people play off him. They double up other people when he’s outside. When he’s inside they have to honor him,” Williams said.

“It (shooting) is really not his game. If a guy gets to the college level and is not a really good shooter, it’s hard to make that guy a shooter. It’s like you guys (media) on the golf course. If you have bad habits now, it’s hard to change your bad habits. If you have bad habits at 10, 11 years old, you have a better possibility of changing them.”

But Gregory thinks he has fixed some bad habits.

“Basically, I want to play an all-around game,” he said. “I want to do what it takes to win. I am a senior and trying to take a little more of a leadership role. I want to win every time out. I want this team to be the best it can be.”

PREV POST

Four preps to sign KU letters today

NEXT POST

569KU senior Gregory adds to game