This and that regarding college basketball. …
Did you ever notice Kansas senior forward Nick Collison often wears a black band under his right knee at practices and in games?
The band, which looks like a headband, is not for decoration. It’s called a “patella tendon strap” and is used to alleviate pain caused by “jumper’s knee,” or tendinitis.
The strap, which has a tube of rubber in the front and velcro in the back, is designed to change the angle of the tendon and attachment part of the tendon.
Tendinitis — Michael Jordan and others will tell you — is a common condition in basketball players who compete year-round.
Drew Gooden, for instance, had a severe case last year and in all likelihood still battles the condition in the NBA. Collison hasn’t complained at all about his knees, tendinitis a condition most players are used to. Sometimes Wayne Simien and even Aaron Miles can be seen icing knees after games.
¢
Stallings’ back hurts: Kirk Hinrich isn’t the only man alive suffering from occasional back pain.
Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, who was a member of coach Roy Williams’ original KU staff, has his team off to a 6-3 start. The Commodores, whose best win was a 20-pointer over Tulane, have lost to Indiana (73-56), Connecticut (76-70) and Michigan (70-66).
The worst thing about the season is the condition of Stallings’ back. Stallings, who has a disc problem, has worn a back brace during a few games. He was in so much pain he couldn’t stand during the second half of the VU- Indiana game on Dec. 11. He laid down on a 5-hour bus ride from Bloomington, Ind., back to Nashville, Tenn.
Stallings has yet to miss a game because of the back problem, but “is hurting,” Vandy trainer Rod Newman told the Tennessean recently.
¢
Frogs skidding: Former KU aide Neil Dougherty is off to a 4-5 start in his first year at TCU following Monday’s 78-65 loss at Tulsa. The Horned Frogs were flying high with four wins in six games, including a 72-64 victory over Baylor and 86-83 decision over Washington State before dropping their last three games — the Tulsa game, plus a 90-79 home setback to Louisiana-Monroe and 91-78 defeat at Virginia Commonwealth.
“We have a team that’s pretty young at heart and we have to learn how to fight through things and continue to defend even though we haven’t made a shot,” Dougherty told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Now we have to learn how to finish plays, possessions and games. We have to do all the little things in close games.”
Two other former Williams aides are working as head coaches. Matt Doherty has North Carolina off to a 7-2 start, while Mark Turgeon’s Wichita State team is 4-4.
¢
Mail call: Williams recently made headlines when he discussed some of the unsigned hate mail he received after KU’s 0-2 trip to New York. A “Hawk Talk” caller asked him about his new policy of not reading negative letters that arrive unsigned.
“Joanie (Stephens, secretary) and I have talked. If it’s negative and unsigned I don’t want to read it at all, and I’ve even gone another step. If it’s negative I don’t want to read it if it is signed,” he said. “If it takes my attention away from what I’m supposed to be doing, then I’m not doing the right thing (in reading letters).”
He joked about the most negative letter he’s received to date.
“It was funny. One guy wrote something, did not sign it, it was addressed to ‘the KU golf coach,”‘ Williams said. “It said if I’d get my blankety blank off the golf course, my coaching ability would be better. It’s a known fact, everybody who’s ever been around me, I never play golf during the season. I never play golf during the summer months when it’s recruiting time (in July). But at the same time everybody’s got an opinion. It’s like noses and rear ends, everybody’s got one. I’ll leave it at that,” he said with a laugh.
Williams sometimes seems more upset about topics than is actually the case.
“What I do is I try to say something, get it off my chest and move on,” he said.
