Money isn’t everything.
So says investment counselor Ulla Lear, better known as the mother of Kansas University sophomore basketball player Drew Gooden.
“You make good money in the NBA, but the next level the NBA is not fun,” said Lear, pleased to hear her son will remain in college at least one more year.
“Andrew is only 19. He’s having a lot of fun right now. He enjoys his life, wakes up every day and says, ‘This is a good day to be alive.”‘
Suffice it to say Gooden’s mother she works in financial planning in Arkansas approved of her son’s “I’m Staying” declaration at Tuesday’s Kansas Basketball Awards Ceremony.
She and Drew’s stepfather, Jim Lear, were in town for the postseason banquet.
“He’s an adult and makes decisions for himself. (But) he knew everybody in the family was in favor of him staying in school,” Ulla said Wednesday.
“Andrew’s father back in California told him he has the chance to be the first in the family to graduate from college. That is very important.
“He’s a good student. This lets him continue toward his degree and at the same time mature physically and mentally,” she added.
Gooden’s mom was not worried her son would leave KU after just two years.
“I knew it all along. He promised me he was staying in school,” Lear said. “But I’m not there every day. I know people can talk and turn people’s minds. I felt strongly that if something developed he’d have called and said, ‘Mom I’m thinking about this.’ He never did that so I knew he was staying.”
On Tuesday, she thanked KU coach Roy Williams for exploring his son’s draft status. Williams learned Gooden would likely be a first-round pick, but probably not a lottery selection in the 2001 Draft.
“Coach Williams is a great person. He has the players’ best interests at heart. He called me after we returned from San Antonio (loss to Illinois in Sweet 16) and said he would do everything he could to check with people in the NBA,” Ulla Lear said.
Drew’s mother says she’d like for her son to stay at KU four years, but realizes that might be too much to ask if the NBA is knocking hard on Gooden’s door after next season.
“We’d love for him to stay four years and his dad in California, too,” Lear said. “I do understand if certain things happen you have to consider that (leaving). Right now we’re just thinking about coming back for Late Night and going to as many games as we can.
“I’m glad this is over. A lot of people I work with would ask me about what’s he going to do. I said, ‘He’ll be back at Kansas.’ I guess there was a possibility, but there was never the strong possibility he’d leave after two years.”
