Waco, Texas ? Kansas freshman Mario Kinsey and sophomore Drew Gooden figure to have cheering sections at tonight’s KU-Baylor men’s basketball game at Ferrell Center.
Kinsey, KU’s 6-foot-2 freshman football quarterback/basketball point guard, was born and raised in Waco and attended LaVega High.
Gooden is a native of Richmond, Calif., but several aunts, uncles and cousins on his dad’s side live in Texas. Gooden’s grandfather said last week that up to 30 family members would attend. It’s possible some may be no-shows because Gooden is out at least two more games with his right wrist in a cast.
“Drew will not play against Baylor on Monday and he again will not play against Iowa State next Saturday,” coach Roy Williams said Sunday.
“A week from Monday they’ll take the cast off, see if there’s still some tenderness there. They don’t think there will be. They think after putting it in a cast a week things will be a heck of a lot better. We do need Drew, to say the least, as we go down the stretch here.”
Dunk you very much
Baylor senior Terry Black has been dubbed basketball’s best dunker by the Sporting News.
“It was a great feeling to be named the best dunker, because you’ve got to look at guys like Kenny Gregory and other great dunkers around college basketball,” said Black, a 6-5 senior from Milwaukee.
“That’s one of my favorite finishing moves. I’d rather dunk on somebody. It gets me pumped up, and I think it gets the crowd pumped up, as well as our team.”
Rugged Bears’ defense
Baylor has used a variation of a 2-3 zone defense that puts two guards on the wings, two forwards down low and Black out front chasing the ball.
“It’s a hard defense to play against,” Black told the Waco Tribune. “It’s the kind of defense where coach (Dave Bliss) has me chasing the ball because of my long arms and my quickness. “
Before heading to Baylor, Black won two national titles at Indian Hills CC in Ottumwa, Iowa. He signed with Baylor when Harry Miller was coach.
“When I came to Baylor on my visit, it felt like a warm place to be,” Black said. “The people were really nice, and I saw a basketball program that needed a player like me to step in and be able to help the team out through thick and thin. I think it all worked out well when coach Bliss came here, because New Mexico (Bliss’s prior coaching job) was my second option. It worked out really well that he ended up coming here and I was already here.”