Kansas basketball signee Wayne Simien’s shoulder surgery has been deemed a success.
“Dr. (Jeff) Randall said everything went fine. There were no surprises. They used three sutures to reattach the (torn) ligaments in the front of the shoulder,” Wayne Simien Sr. said Monday after his son’s two-hour arthroscopic surgery at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
“Even after they got it reattached they tried to get it (shoulder) to come out of place and it wouldn’t. We are very relieved this is over, encouraged, and now Wayne will move on to the next step.”
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Leavenworth High senior’s right arm will be in a sling six weeks. Then he’ll start three months of rehab.
Simien’s freshman season at KU is not in jeopardy.
“They said there would be no contact until August or September,” Simien Sr. said. “They had no reservations about him being able to play. He’ll keep the rest of his body in shape while his shoulder recovers.”
Pritchard to play again?
Kevin Pritchard’s playing career might not be over after all.
Pritchard, the 33-year-old coach of the ABA2000’s Kansas City Knights, has activated himself for the upcoming ABA2000 playoffs.
Will the former Kansas point guard, who helped the Jayhawks to a 1988 national championship, compete in next week’s postseason tournament?
Maybe. Maybe not.
“Right now we’re going into the tournament with 10 guys. If we were to go down with some injuries, we’d have to see,” Pritchard said Monday. “I’m not in bad shape. I’m not in great shape.
“I’m in coaching right now, thinking about how to win this tournament. The other things have yet to be determined.”
The Knights will meet Los Angeles in a Western Division semifinal at 8:30 p.m. next Tuesday at Kansas City’s Kemper Arena, immediately after a 6 p.m. semifinal between Chicago and San Diego.
The winners advance to the Western Division finals at 7:15 p.m., Friday, April 13, at Kemper. The Western Conference champ will meet the Eastern Conference champ at 12:35 p.m. the next day at Kemper.
Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be shown on Fox Sports Net.
Pritchard has directed the Knights to a 22-16 record. He has sent six players to NBA teams this season, a record for a professional franchise. Sioux Falls of the CBA sent four players to the NBA several years ago.
Former Jayhawks Ryan Robertson and Rex Walters have played for the Knights all season. Former KU and Arizona player Ben Davis recently was added to the postseason roster.
Details have been released on KU’s senior barnstorming game in Lawrence.
A team of Kenny Gregory, Eric Chenowith, Terry Nooner, Nick Bradford and Jerod Haase (some additional players may be added) will meet an all-star team of KU students at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 22, at Allen Fieldhouse. An autograph session with the seniors will begin at 1:30 p.m.
The event sponsored by KU’s intrafraternity council will be a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.
Tryouts for the student team will be 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Horejsi Center behind Allen Fieldhouse. Cost of tryouts is $5.
Tickets will run $8. They will be available daily starting next Monday in front of Wescoe Hall. Tickets will be sold from noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday at Hastings.
The last barnstorming event in Lawrence was held in 1997, the senior year of Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase.
“The seniors expressed an interest in holding one in Lawrence out of appreciation to the fans,” KU student manager Matt Kovich said. “I said I’d see what we could organize. Right after that I received a call from the intrafraternity council that they were interested in a barnstorming fundraiser, so it has worked out well.”
The seniors travel the state for barnstorming games.
Chenowith scored seven points in the college all-stars’ 75-63 loss to the Harlem Globetrotters last Friday in Minneapolis, site of the Final Four.
Chenowith, KU’s seven-footer from Orange, Calif., hit a three-pointer in that game. He also had six rebounds in 16 minutes.
“It was a broken out-of-bounds play. I was open so I shot it,” Chenowith said of his trey. “It was a serious game. The Globetrotters put together a good team.”
Did his NBA stock rise?
“I hope so,” he said. “I hit a couple shots including that three and had some rebounds.”
