Mario Kinsey had surgery on his lower right leg on Oct. 17 to repair a case of anterior compartment syndrome.
Now it appears Kinsey, Kansas University’s freshman football quarterback/basketball point guard, might need surgery for the same condition in his lower left leg.
KU coach Roy Williams said Monday there was a chance Kinsey, a 6-foot-1 freshman from Waco, Texas, will miss up to three games if he has the surgery.
“It’s like a bad cramp,” Kinsey said. “I’m disappointed but happy to get it taken care of. My right leg feels fine now (since the procedure Oct. 17).
“I want to get it taken care of now so I’ll be back pain free ready to help the team.”
Kinsey was back on the court about a week after the Oct. 17 procedure.
He played 15 minutes in KU’s 101-61 victory over Boise State on Monday, picking up three fouls to go with three turnovers.
Kinsey says the difference between football and basketball practice has likely caused the problems in his lower legs. He was with the football team from August until the start of basketball on Oct. 13.
“In football, practices were not that hard. As a (red-shirt) freshman, I was not always doing something,” Kinsey said.
“In basketball, you’re out there the whole time. It’s a different kind of practice with some pounding. It’s just the difference in the way you practice the two sports.”
He’d been off to a good start this season, scoring eight points with nine assists in KU’s first three games.
“I thought it was a good win for us,” Kinsey said of Monday’s rout. “We were good defensively the first half. I think coach was pleased with our defense early.”
If Kinsey misses three games, he’d be back for KU’s game on Dec. 7 at Wake Forest.
KU senior guard Luke Axtell (severe left ankle sprain) figures to resume practicing Wednesday and, if all goes well this week, could play Saturday against Washburn (7:05 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse), Williams said.
Williams caused a lot of commotion a year ago when he criticized Kansas’ fans for sitting on their “big butts” during the Jayhawks’ home game against Colorado.
KU’s coach praised a less-than-capacity KU crowd after Monday’s rout of Boise State.
“They had their well conditioned butts in the right place tonight,” Williams said, impressed with a near sellout for lightly-regarded Boise State early in the work/school week.
The game drew 15,600 fans with about 700 no-shows. KU drew a full house of 16,300 for Friday’s victory over North Dakota.
“North Dakota on Friday night and Boise State tonight there are a lot of places in the country that can’t have (draw) 16,000,” Williams said. “A lot of games like Friday and Monday will not come close to packing the place. There were a few empty seats to the left tonight, but not many.
“I’d like you to say good things I say about the crowd, too,” Williams added.
KU senior Kenny Gregory stretched on the sidelines early in the game. “It’s the first time all year I really forgot to stretch it out before the game,” Gregory said. “It was OK once I got out there and it loosened up.”
Drew Gooden hit nine of 10 shots, tying for the seventh-best percentage effort in the Roy Williams era (minimum 10 attempts) and the best since Kenny Gregory hit 11 of 12 versus DePaul on March 17, 2000. Gregory is shooting 63.8 percent from the field this season. KU’s 66.7 percent shooting mark is the sixth-best in the Williams era and highest since KU hit 66.7 percent against Florida State in 1997. Chris Zerbe scored a career-high six points. KU’s 33-point halftime lead tied for 10th highest by a KU squad in the Williams era. Collison has passed the 400-point mark in scoring.