Jeff Carey grew his hair out for the 2000 Late Night With Roy Williams at Allen Fieldhouse.
Next October, he might show up with a beard a graybeard.
Carey, who will be a fifth-year senior, is going to be the elder statesman of the 2001-2002 Jayhawk basketball team.
“I kind of do feel like a senior right now, just because I’ve been with Eric and Kenny for four years,” Carey said. “It’s going to be weird not having them around.”
Carey arrived in the same recruiting class as Eric Chenowith and Kenny Gregory, but will stay a year longer because of his red-shirt freshman season.
Carey will be the most battle-tested of KU’s senior class. He’ll be joined by fourth-year senior Jeff Boschee, plus walk-ons Brett Ballard, Chris Zerbe and Todd Kappelmann.
“I’ve been here more than anyone has ever been here, basically,” Carey said. “It’s something where I’ll have to pick up the young guys, help the young guys. We’re going to have some freshmen. If anybody knows what should be going on around here, it’s me.”
Carey, who scored 53 points with 68 rebounds while playing in 33 games during his junior year, says he will not be concerned about playing time next season.
KU has big men in Drew Gooden and Nick Collison, plus incoming frosh Wayne Simien and perhaps a yet-to-be signed big man.
Coach Roy Williams has said he may or may not add a big man to a class that includes incoming guards Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Michael Lee and Jeff Hawkins.
“The way I have to look at it is what’s best for the team,” said Carey, a 6-foot-11, 250-pounder from Camdenton, Mo. “You can’t bring a good freshman in and not play him just because you have an older guy who needs minutes. I understand. If I get minutes, I get minutes. If I don’t, it’s fine. I’m not going to be a first-round pick.”
Sophomore-to-be Bryant Nash is hoping to take a step forward his sophomore season.
The 6-6, 200-pounder from Carrollton, Texas, scored 16 points and grabbed 29 boards while playing limited minutes in 24 games. He missed the NCAA Tournament with a knee injury.
“I will have to really work on my game over the summer because I’ll be one of the only three-men on the team,” Nash said of the small forward slot. “Drew will probably come out there. It’ll be him and me. I’ll work on ball-handling, shooting, whatever it takes to be a three-man.”
Meanwhile, an interesting situation looms regarding Ballard. Arriving as a walk-on out of Hutchinson CC, Ballard played a lot late in the season after Luke Axtell’s back ailment flared.
Ballard, who, like Zerbe, was awarded a one-year scholarship agreement, may or may not be given a scholarship next year.
KU will have at maximum 11 recruited scholarship players next year against the limit of 13, meaning Williams could again reward Ballard and Zerbe. Those two players would not count against the new NCAA rule that limits coaches to five signees in one year and eight over a two-year period because they arrived at KU before that rule went into effect.
“Whatever is best for the program is fine with me,” Ballard said. “I’m just thankful for this past year. I didn’t expect this kind of playing time coming in, just to be part of this team.”
Of preferred walk-ons, Williams said: “If I give them (a scholarship), it’s like an extra Christmas present you don’t know about that appears under the tree. Everybody I’ve done that with I’ll put it in writing it’s just for this year, so your mama and daddy should think what a great present we got this year. It may not be under the tree next year, depending on what’s best for the program.”
Lee MVP
KU signee Michael Lee, a 6-foot-3 guard from Portland, Ore., was named MVP of the Oregonian Northwest High School All-Star Shootout.
He scored 25 points with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists in Oregon’s victory over a team of Washington all-stars.
Lee scored nine points in the last eight minutes.
“This is for Oregon,” Lee told the Oregonian newspaper. “It’s a chance to show appreciation for Oregon basketball.”
His teammate, KU signee Aaron Miles, will compete in this week’s McDonald’s All America game along with Leavenworth High’s Wayne Simien.
