Gooden to play; Axtell won’t

By Gary Bedore     Feb 28, 2001

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo
Kansas' Drew Gooden, top, eyes the ball as Kansas State's Ivan Sulic approaches during a Jan. 27 game in Allen Fieldhouse. Gooden, who has missed five games because of a broken bone in his right wrist, is scheduled to return to action for the Jayhawks tonight in Manhattan.

? Kansas forward Drew Gooden practiced Tuesday for the second time this week and will play in tonight’s Sunflower State showdown at Bramlage Coliseum.

“He looks fine. He did several days of running with us (the past three weeks) so his conditioning is OK,” Kansas coach Roy Williams said of Gooden, who has missed the last five games because of a slight bone fracture in his right wrist.

“I still question his stamina, about how long he can go. I still question what it’s going to be like when he gets in there the banging, shoving, pushing that happens in a game.

“He will play. How much he plays depends on his stamina and how well he plays when he gets in there. I’m not expecting great things, but I think he’ll play well.”

Gooden practiced with his wrist taped.

Meanwhile, senior swingman Luke Axtell did not practice Tuesday for the second straight day and won’t play tonight. He played nine minutes in Sunday’s victory at Nebraska after missing the previous two games because of a bad back.

“After he made that jump shot on the baseline (with six minutes left) and we had a time out after that, he started to sit down in the chair. He grabbed his back. After that we made a substitution. He threw the towel down. I said, ‘We know you want to play,”’ Williams said sympathetically.

“Yesterday it was worse. Today it was bad again. They told him to go home, try to relax and rest.”

Williams, who also has a bad back, remembers a bad spell two seasons ago.

“The first three weeks of practice I was lying on ice packs for two hours after every practice, going to see the chiropractor, getting massages,” Williams said. “But I don’t have to play.”

When: 8:05 tonight.Where: Bramlage Coliseum.Television: Channels 13 and 38.Records: Kansas 21-5 overall, 10-4 Big 12; Kansas State 9-16, 3-11.

Streak talk

There’s no way Williams can explain KU’s 17-game win streak over Kansas State in Manhattan. So he won’t even try.

“It’s almost unbelievable,” said Williams, who personally has accounted for 12 victories against no losses at KSU’s Bramlage Coliseum.

Williams, who has a 29-4 all-time record versus K-State, knows the Wildcats some day will defeat KU, which has won 20 straight games in the series.

He just hopes it is not tonight.

“I know that it’s going to end,” he said. “We keep saying it every year: ‘Let’s put it off one more year,’ and that is the same way we will attack it this time. We’ve had a great run and we would like to continue it one more time and see what happens.”

Talk of the streak, he says, puts some pressure on his squad members.

“People are mentioning it to them on campus and around town,” Williams said. “I still think they’ll feel the pressure a little bit because you don’t want to be on the team where it didn’t work out. It’s like when we had our 62 game home court win streak broken. Those guys on that team really hated it.”

Like Williams, first-year KSU coach Jim Wooldridge doesn’t spend every waking moment analyzing the streak.

“I can’t evaluate it,” he said. “I don’t know the kind of teams in the last four, five years that Kansas or Kansas State has brought to that game.

“I am a college basketball fan so I’ve watched Kansas and K-State over the years. I don’t know how those games have been won or lost. I guess you’d have to say based on that (length of streak) it’d be somewhat of a surprise,” he added.

Wooldridge said he would not use the streak as motivation.

“I don’t think in these type games you need additional motivation. If you do you have trouble,” Wooldridge said. “We’ll go in the game with a good, fresh attitude. We’ll work to be as competitive as we can to give ourselves the best chance.”

Wooldridge’s first KSU team has dropped nine of 10 games and is 1-7 since a 92-66 loss on Jan. 27 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I think they have played really well and it hasn’t shown up on their record because they’ve had some heartbreakers,” Williams said.

The Wildcats suffered a four-point loss at Missouri after beating the Tigers at Bramlage. Also, KSU has suffered a two-point home loss to Nebraska and overtime home loss to Oklahoma.

Last Saturday, KSU fell at Oklahoma State, 52-47.

Williams sees the Wildcats still adjusting to their complicated triangle offense.

“I think they have gotten better as the year progressed,” KU’s coach said. “I’ll go back and say it again: Each individual player has improved.”

“It’s nice of coach Williams to say that,” Wooldridge said. “The record does not indicate that (improvement). With as many close games as we have had and to come up on short end of it and continue to compete says a lot about these kids.”

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