OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Moulaye Niang conceivably could have returned home to his native Senegal for Christmas.
However, a ride on the Concorde or Space Shuttle wasn’t readily available, so Kansas University’s 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman forward/center elected to stay in Lawrence for a relaxing four-day holiday break from basketball.
“If he went home, he’d get off the plane to say, ‘Hi Mom,’ and have to get right back on the plane,” said KU coach Roy Williams, who helped make sure Niang had a happy holiday.
“Coach invited me to spend Christmas with him, which is great because I am used to that family. We go there once in a while to eat. Being with coach and his family is cool,” Niang said.
“I also have a lot of friends from Senegal who go to KU (and couldn’t go home for Christmas). Normally, I can’t hang out with them because I’m busy with basketball so spending time with them is cool, too.”
Niang spent his junior and senior years of high school at El Cajon, (Calif.) Christian. El Cajon is a San Diego suburb located about 500 miles from Oakland, site of today’s clash with California in the Pete Newell Challenge.
Tipoff will be at 2:30 p.m. Central time at the Arena in Oakland. The game will be televised on ABC (channels 9 and 49).
“It’s about a 10- or 11-hour drive from San Diego to Oakland, pretty far,” Niang said. “It is fun getting to play in California, but it’d be better if we were playing in L.A. That’s only an hour-and-a-half drive from San Diego.”
Niang, who has an uncle in the San Diego area, doesn’t figure to log much playing time — he has averaged just 6.9 minutes this season.
Yet Williams stresses Niang is in the Jayhawks’ long-range plans.
“It’s a huge process. It’s not like just turning on a light switch, the light bulb coming on and you know everything,” Williams said, noting Niang has played basketball just five years.
“Some days the light bulb will come on and you will say, ‘This fits a lot easier and is logical in the way it fits in.’ It’s a continual process, particularly when you are a freshman playing against a much different level of competition you’ve ever played against — size, speed, quickness, strength.”
Williams has seen progress.
“He is coming along, doing some nice things at practice,” the coach said. “Defensively, he can really slide his feet. He is not blocking as many shots as he will eventually block. It’s just a faster, quicker more explosive game now than what he’s used to. He can cover people, but I think he gets a little too excited in games. In practice he’s been really good.”
Niang says he’s making steady progress behind the scenes.
“Everything is going great so far,” he said. “I think my game is improving every day. The key is when I get in the game or anybody on the bench we do not hurt the team. We can play defense, rebound. We have the other guys (starters) who can score. Not hurting the team is what we need to do.”
Niang says he knows what he needs to do to improve before next season — mainly to gain weight.
“I just want to be able to get strong and be able to bang inside,” he said. “It’s keeping from doing what I want to do. The guys are way bigger than me. I never lifted at all until last spring. I never lifted this hard, so my body is kind of beat up now.”
His weightlifting regimen will be interrupted by a trip home next summer. He has yet to visit Senegal since heading to the United States for his junior year of high school.
“Yes, sometimes I do get homesick. My parents don’t like to travel,” Niang said. His father is retired after working many years as a truck driver.
Williams has tried to ease his homesickness.
“We have had a lot of conversations,” the coach said. “He is a unique young man, fun to be around. He is doing a lot of things right now. He’s doing a lot better than he did the first day of practice and the first day of practice he did some things better than when I saw him last year. That was better than things he did his junior year. He’s made significant strides and hopefully it’ll continue his entire career.”
Williams’ conversations with Niang have remained positive.
“I do not get yelled at much,” Niang said. “Coach can take mistakes as long as you show him you are doing your best. I’m getting great teaching, great coaching. I am having a lot of fun playing for coach.”
OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Moulaye Niang conceivably could have returned home to his native Senegal for Christmas.
However, a ride on the Concorde or Space Shuttle wasn’t readily available, so Kansas University’s 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman forward/center elected to stay in Lawrence for a relaxing four-day holiday break from basketball.
“If he went home, he’d get off the plane to say, ‘Hi Mom,’ and have to get right back on the plane,” said KU coach Roy Williams, who helped make sure Niang had a happy holiday.
“Coach invited me to spend Christmas with him, which is great because I am used to that family. We go there once in a while to eat. Being with coach and his family is cool,” Niang said.
“I also have a lot of friends from Senegal who go to KU (and couldn’t go home for Christmas). Normally, I can’t hang out with them because I’m busy with basketball so spending time with them is cool, too.”
Niang spent his junior and senior years of high school at El Cajon, (Calif.) Christian. El Cajon is a San Diego suburb located about 500 miles from Oakland, site of today’s clash with California in the Pete Newell Challenge.
Tipoff will be at 2:30 p.m. Central time at the Arena in Oakland. The game will be televised on ABC (channels 9 and 49).
“It’s about a 10- or 11-hour drive from San Diego to Oakland, pretty far,” Niang said. “It is fun getting to play in California, but it’d be better if we were playing in L.A. That’s only an hour-and-a-half drive from San Diego.”
Niang, who has an uncle in the San Diego area, doesn’t figure to log much playing time — he has averaged just 6.9 minutes this season.
Yet Williams stresses Niang is in the Jayhawks’ long-range plans.
“It’s a huge process. It’s not like just turning on a light switch, the light bulb coming on and you know everything,” Williams said, noting Niang has played basketball just five years.
“Some days the light bulb will come on and you will say, ‘This fits a lot easier and is logical in the way it fits in.’ It’s a continual process, particularly when you are a freshman playing against a much different level of competition you’ve ever played against — size, speed, quickness, strength.”
Williams has seen progress.
“He is coming along, doing some nice things at practice,” the coach said. “Defensively, he can really slide his feet. He is not blocking as many shots as he will eventually block. It’s just a faster, quicker more explosive game now than what he’s used to. He can cover people, but I think he gets a little too excited in games. In practice he’s been really good.”
Niang says he’s making steady progress behind the scenes.
“Everything is going great so far,” he said. “I think my game is improving every day. The key is when I get in the game or anybody on the bench we do not hurt the team. We can play defense, rebound. We have the other guys (starters) who can score. Not hurting the team is what we need to do.”
Niang says he knows what he needs to do to improve before next season — mainly to gain weight.
“I just want to be able to get strong and be able to bang inside,” he said. “It’s keeping from doing what I want to do. The guys are way bigger than me. I never lifted at all until last spring. I never lifted this hard, so my body is kind of beat up now.”
His weightlifting regimen will be interrupted by a trip home next summer. He has yet to visit Senegal since heading to the United States for his junior year of high school.
“Yes, sometimes I do get homesick. My parents don’t like to travel,” Niang said. His father is retired after working many years as a truck driver.
Williams has tried to ease his homesickness.
“We have had a lot of conversations,” the coach said. “He is a unique young man, fun to be around. He is doing a lot of things right now. He’s doing a lot better than he did the first day of practice and the first day of practice he did some things better than when I saw him last year. That was better than things he did his junior year. He’s made significant strides and hopefully it’ll continue his entire career.”
Williams’ conversations with Niang have remained positive.
“I do not get yelled at much,” Niang said. “Coach can take mistakes as long as you show him you are doing your best. I’m getting great teaching, great coaching. I am having a lot of fun playing for coach.”
OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Moulaye Niang conceivably could have returned home to his native Senegal for Christmas.
However, a ride on the Concorde or Space Shuttle wasn’t readily available, so Kansas University’s 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman forward/center elected to stay in Lawrence for a relaxing four-day holiday break from basketball.
“If he went home, he’d get off the plane to say, ‘Hi Mom,’ and have to get right back on the plane,” said KU coach Roy Williams, who helped make sure Niang had a happy holiday.
“Coach invited me to spend Christmas with him, which is great because I am used to that family. We go there once in a while to eat. Being with coach and his family is cool,” Niang said.
“I also have a lot of friends from Senegal who go to KU (and couldn’t go home for Christmas). Normally, I can’t hang out with them because I’m busy with basketball so spending time with them is cool, too.”
Niang spent his junior and senior years of high school at El Cajon, (Calif.) Christian. El Cajon is a San Diego suburb located about 500 miles from Oakland, site of today’s clash with California in the Pete Newell Challenge.
Tipoff will be at 2:30 p.m. Central time at the Arena in Oakland. The game will be televised on ABC (channels 9 and 49).
“It’s about a 10- or 11-hour drive from San Diego to Oakland, pretty far,” Niang said. “It is fun getting to play in California, but it’d be better if we were playing in L.A. That’s only an hour-and-a-half drive from San Diego.”
Niang, who has an uncle in the San Diego area, doesn’t figure to log much playing time — he has averaged just 6.9 minutes this season.
Yet Williams stresses Niang is in the Jayhawks’ long-range plans.
“It’s a huge process. It’s not like just turning on a light switch, the light bulb coming on and you know everything,” Williams said, noting Niang has played basketball just five years.
“Some days the light bulb will come on and you will say, ‘This fits a lot easier and is logical in the way it fits in.’ It’s a continual process, particularly when you are a freshman playing against a much different level of competition you’ve ever played against — size, speed, quickness, strength.”
Williams has seen progress.
“He is coming along, doing some nice things at practice,” the coach said. “Defensively, he can really slide his feet. He is not blocking as many shots as he will eventually block. It’s just a faster, quicker more explosive game now than what he’s used to. He can cover people, but I think he gets a little too excited in games. In practice he’s been really good.”
Niang says he’s making steady progress behind the scenes.
“Everything is going great so far,” he said. “I think my game is improving every day. The key is when I get in the game or anybody on the bench we do not hurt the team. We can play defense, rebound. We have the other guys (starters) who can score. Not hurting the team is what we need to do.”
Niang says he knows what he needs to do to improve before next season — mainly to gain weight.
“I just want to be able to get strong and be able to bang inside,” he said. “It’s keeping from doing what I want to do. The guys are way bigger than me. I never lifted at all until last spring. I never lifted this hard, so my body is kind of beat up now.”
His weightlifting regimen will be interrupted by a trip home next summer. He has yet to visit Senegal since heading to the United States for his junior year of high school.
“Yes, sometimes I do get homesick. My parents don’t like to travel,” Niang said. His father is retired after working many years as a truck driver.
Williams has tried to ease his homesickness.
“We have had a lot of conversations,” the coach said. “He is a unique young man, fun to be around. He is doing a lot of things right now. He’s doing a lot better than he did the first day of practice and the first day of practice he did some things better than when I saw him last year. That was better than things he did his junior year. He’s made significant strides and hopefully it’ll continue his entire career.”
Williams’ conversations with Niang have remained positive.
“I do not get yelled at much,” Niang said. “Coach can take mistakes as long as you show him you are doing your best. I’m getting great teaching, great coaching. I am having a lot of fun playing for coach.”
OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Moulaye Niang conceivably could have returned home to his native Senegal for Christmas.
However, a ride on the Concorde or Space Shuttle wasn’t readily available, so Kansas University’s 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman forward/center elected to stay in Lawrence for a relaxing four-day holiday break from basketball.
“If he went home, he’d get off the plane to say, ‘Hi Mom,’ and have to get right back on the plane,” said KU coach Roy Williams, who helped make sure Niang had a happy holiday.
“Coach invited me to spend Christmas with him, which is great because I am used to that family. We go there once in a while to eat. Being with coach and his family is cool,” Niang said.
“I also have a lot of friends from Senegal who go to KU (and couldn’t go home for Christmas). Normally, I can’t hang out with them because I’m busy with basketball so spending time with them is cool, too.”
Niang spent his junior and senior years of high school at El Cajon, (Calif.) Christian. El Cajon is a San Diego suburb located about 500 miles from Oakland, site of today’s clash with California in the Pete Newell Challenge.
Tipoff will be at 2:30 p.m. Central time at the Arena in Oakland. The game will be televised on ABC (channels 9 and 49).
“It’s about a 10- or 11-hour drive from San Diego to Oakland, pretty far,” Niang said. “It is fun getting to play in California, but it’d be better if we were playing in L.A. That’s only an hour-and-a-half drive from San Diego.”
Niang, who has an uncle in the San Diego area, doesn’t figure to log much playing time — he has averaged just 6.9 minutes this season.
Yet Williams stresses Niang is in the Jayhawks’ long-range plans.
“It’s a huge process. It’s not like just turning on a light switch, the light bulb coming on and you know everything,” Williams said, noting Niang has played basketball just five years.
“Some days the light bulb will come on and you will say, ‘This fits a lot easier and is logical in the way it fits in.’ It’s a continual process, particularly when you are a freshman playing against a much different level of competition you’ve ever played against — size, speed, quickness, strength.”
Williams has seen progress.
“He is coming along, doing some nice things at practice,” the coach said. “Defensively, he can really slide his feet. He is not blocking as many shots as he will eventually block. It’s just a faster, quicker more explosive game now than what he’s used to. He can cover people, but I think he gets a little too excited in games. In practice he’s been really good.”
Niang says he’s making steady progress behind the scenes.
“Everything is going great so far,” he said. “I think my game is improving every day. The key is when I get in the game or anybody on the bench we do not hurt the team. We can play defense, rebound. We have the other guys (starters) who can score. Not hurting the team is what we need to do.”
Niang says he knows what he needs to do to improve before next season — mainly to gain weight.
“I just want to be able to get strong and be able to bang inside,” he said. “It’s keeping from doing what I want to do. The guys are way bigger than me. I never lifted at all until last spring. I never lifted this hard, so my body is kind of beat up now.”
His weightlifting regimen will be interrupted by a trip home next summer. He has yet to visit Senegal since heading to the United States for his junior year of high school.
“Yes, sometimes I do get homesick. My parents don’t like to travel,” Niang said. His father is retired after working many years as a truck driver.
Williams has tried to ease his homesickness.
“We have had a lot of conversations,” the coach said. “He is a unique young man, fun to be around. He is doing a lot of things right now. He’s doing a lot better than he did the first day of practice and the first day of practice he did some things better than when I saw him last year. That was better than things he did his junior year. He’s made significant strides and hopefully it’ll continue his entire career.”
Williams’ conversations with Niang have remained positive.
“I do not get yelled at much,” Niang said. “Coach can take mistakes as long as you show him you are doing your best. I’m getting great teaching, great coaching. I am having a lot of fun playing for coach.”