Wearing a hockey mask, like Jason of Friday the 13th Part Umpteen fame, I am back.
I am always lurking – and when you least expect it – pop up on your Internet screen to answer your questions – some inane, some insane, some mundane, yet all challenging.
Rest assured, you cannot murder me – unless you are willing to break the law and do so.
You cannot spray insecticide on me or swat me with a swatter to get rid of me.
You are stuck with me for this spooky Halloween edition of Ask Gary.
Feel free to mail me some of your unused candy.
Just don’t send me those bizarre soft orange things that make the stomach implode.
Dunk you very much.
Q-Since Jeff Graves checks in at almost 300 pounds, why not loan him to the football team? Ray Evans, Hal Patterson, Otto Schnellbacher, Gil Reich, Charly Hoag were a few multisport athletes. Ernie Vanek was loaned to the football team. I notice several basketball players that could help the football team.
A-Hi, Creative question. Can’t tell if you are serious or not.
Actually Graves did play football at Lee’s Summit High School in Missouri. He even had some major college football offers out of high school.
Anyhow … no guy at Kansas on hoops scholarship will ever play football. Roy’s never going to allow that. The seasons overlap a bit and basketball players work year-round on basketball now.
I do remember at least one KU basketball player once talked about playing football. Jelani Janisse considered giving football a try a few years ago after his hoops eligibility ran out, but he changed his mind, ultimately playing professional “Slamball.”
Graves isn’t 300 pounds any more, by the way, he looks more like 280.
I think he will play this year and play pretty well.
He was cleared by doctors to practice on Thursday as he’s nicely recovered from his September concussion. I’m no coach, but he looked good to me at Friday’s practice. The guy doesn’t look fat, appears to have quick feet and has a nice little bank shot. He isn’t afraid to use his body. If he keeps progressing, he might earn comeback of the year honors considering how he started off on the wrong foot with coach Roy.
Q-I’m a little concerned about the depth in the front court. What does Roy plan on doing to combat any ill effects this situation may poise? Darren.
A-Well, Mr. Stevens, there’s not much Roy can do at this stage. He can’t make any trades for players to be named later, or acquire any players off the waiver wire.
So I think you’ll see Roy play three guards a lot of the time and go with two frontcourt players.
Roy has a great starting five in forwards Wayne Simien and Nick Collison, plus guards Kirk Hinrich, Aaron Miles and Keith Langford. If Graves and Jeff Hawkins can play 12 to 15 minutes per game, and Bryant Nash and Mike Lee and Moulaye Niang can play five minutes a game or so, that’s eight to 10 guys contributing. If Nash comes into his own, or Lee, you suddenly have a lot of depth. I understand your concern, but it could work out OK in the long run.
Graves is a key, though. If he can play effectively, or if Niang can blossom quickly, KU should have enough frontcourt players.
Q-Do you think that Jeff Hawkins will make a big impact on KU’s success this year? Parker
A-In a word, yes. I like his game.
Hawkins can handle the ball. Roy says he has quick feet, which means he could be a good defender in Roy’s system.
I think he has the potential to be a good defender and decent to good offensive player. We shall see, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Hawkins and I like what he brings to the table. I still compare him to a young, raw, Jamaal Tinsley; let’s see if that pans out. He’s only a red-shirt freshman, however, and fans shouldn’t expect the NBA version of Tinsley just yet.
He is going to make some mistakes until he adjusts to major college basketball.
Q-I think recruiting Graves was a mistake. He doesn’t fit the profile-too slow, too obese. Can you imagine him on a fast break? Your opinion? David
A-Time will tell.
Personally I won’t say it’s a mistake yet. Roy lost out on a lot of frontcourt players in recruiting last year and pretty much had to go the juco route. Other big-time schools were ready to sign Graves so I think it’s logical Roy would want to sign him, too.
Had Brad Buckman or Bernard Cote committed to KU, Graves wouldn’t be here now.
He is here now. As the saying goes, we’ll have to wait and see how it pans out.
He got off to a rocky start reporting out of shape, but he’s not cooked yet.
Q– I was just reading through the suggestions for Late Night. We now live in western Kansas and we still travel to Lawrence just to watch Late night. I miss the old skits that trashed KSU and MU and played on the players personalities, like the one where Jerod Haase dove after everything on the floor. It has turned into a broadway dance production instead of a good pep rally. Cindy
A-Actually, at Late Night 2002, KU did bring back some jokes regarding Kansas State and Mizzou.
Mention was made of Quin Snyder’s hair and there was a spoof on K-State country dancing by Moulaye and the two freshmen walk-ons. Those spoofs were pretty funny. Watching Moulaye, Christian Moody and Stephen Vinson dance to “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” was indeed humorous.
It’s tough to make Late Night better because the team can’t scrimmage until midnight and that means there’s a lot of time to kill. If they opened the doors at 10 or 11 p.m., there might be a mad rush to get in the building and somebody might get trampled. So this way is probably the best way. Open the doors early, do some skits, etc., and scrimmage at midnight.
I did think this year’s Late Night was better than last year’s. You agree?
Q-How good or bad will KU be on the inside without Andrew Gooden? Seems Roy’s a little thin in the post… Bruce.
A-Well, I like Simien a lot. And of course I like Collison a lot. Collison is an All-American and Simien has unlimited potential as his minutes increase.
I still think Graves will contribute. So that’s three inside bodies right there. Moulaye might not yet be ready to play significant minutes. He’s just a raw freshman.
Obviously the loss of Gooden is major. With Gooden, KU probably would have been the first team since Indiana to go undefeated.
Without Gooden, it’s gonna take some extra effort of all involved. But I still think KU has enough to be mighty effective in both league play and the NCAAs.
With Gooden, the expectations probably would have driven Roy and the players insane. Without Gooden, KU still has enough talent to make a big splash, yet there won’t be unreasonable expectations that players and coaches hate so much.
Q-Just to follow up on my question about getting tickets to the Hawks game in Portland; I was able to get up to 8 at once by calling Ticket Master in Portland at 503-224-4400. Prices are $20.00-28.00. Pass this on to your readers, and I’ll see you all in Portland! Kevin
A-Hey, thanks. I’m sure fans will appreciate having that info.
Q-Gary, I’m wondering how the recruiting trail is going for Roy for next season? Losing Collison and Hinrich next year is going to leave a big hole in the team. Any good news out there? Charles
A-Yes. KU has commitments from 6-9 David Padgett, 6-4 Omar Wilkes, 6-0 Jeremy Case and 6-5 J.R. Giddens. They all can play and are forming a core recruiting class for the Jayhawks. KU is also pursuing frontcourt players Brian Butch of Wisconsin and Josh Boone of Maryland.
Q-I was wondering who you thought the last scholarship would go to this year (if awarded)? If Coach Williams is searching for a nucleus class, then all we need is a power forward. If Brian Butch decides to come to KU, could Padgett move to PF? Otherwise, who would be Coach WIlliams prospective PF’s? Richard
A-The last scholarship will go to either Brian Butch or Josh Boone.
If Roy doesn’t get one of the two, I think he’ll save the scholarship, though he could always give it to somebody in the spring or to a transfer.
I don’t know how Roy plans on using Padgett, Butch, etc. Until he can comment on recruits, it’s unfair of me to speculate cause I don’t know his plans for the incoming players yet. I’m sure there’s playing time available for both Butch and Padgett or else Roy wouldn’t want both of ’em. Ditto Boone and Padgett.
Q-Does anyone realize the rebuilding job Coach Mangino has to do? KU is in contact with a young man in our Big Red area. The parents are very impressed with his “doing things right.” Are KU fans so unaware what Coach Mason and Coach Allen did to the recruiting cupboard?
A-I think KU fans realize it is going to take Mark Mangino a while to rebuild the football program. How long? Who knows. In one of the past Ask Garys I listed my theory about KU’s downfall in football. Check the archives. I tend to get Carpal Tunnel syndrome when I repeat past (diss)ertations.
In a nutshell … what I said is Glen Mason started the downfall. He had a horrendous recruiting year the year he flip-flopped on his decision to take the Georgia job. The following year he left and KU had another bad recruiting year.
Terry Allen came in and couldn’t stem the tide of bad recruiting and bad football in Lawrence.
It’s not all Allen’s fault, folks, though I agree he had five very forgettable years.
And for those who keep blaming Bob Frederick, get a clue. Frederick wanted to let Mason go after Mason accepted the Georgia job, but the chancellor told Mase he could come back. Frederick was a great AD at Kansas. He is a man of highest integrity and everywhere he went represented KU in a positive light. That should not be taken lightly in this day and age of scumminess in college athletics.
Bob Frederick is a great man and was a great AD and I’m not saying that because he’s a “nice guy.” He simply is a great man.
I think KU fans are prepared to back Mangino and give him time to build a program.
As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid again like yelling at a ref after a high school game, he’ll be fine. He’s survived that ridiculous blunder and hopefully learned from it.
Q– In your opinion, why did both Coaches Mangino & Allen select Zach Dyer to be the starting quarterback only to change their minds later. Is it because Zach is a good practice player? john.
A-I think it’s because Zach is a great leader. I think the leadership factor convinced both Allen and Mangino he was the man. Plus remember Bill Whittemore was coming off an injury and probably wasn’t ready early to do as much as Dyer did.
Dyer is a gamer, very tough and is a pretty good runner. I think both coaches truly thought he could be a winning quarterback.
It is a great observation, though, that two separate coaches started with Dyer only to switch.
Q-My question focuses on the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium during football season. What do you think the athletic department can do to make Memorial a hostile place to play? Of course we need to put a winning product on the field. KU fans can be vocal and I think a push from the athletic department, coaches and players would help. Why not hand out blue t-shirts at one of the early games to create a sea of blue? Encourage everyone to wear blue to each game? Blue pom poms ala the Nebraska game 3 years ago. Is it illegal to bring bells into the stadium? I understand it’s not that easy but what are your thoughts. I would love to not only have Coach Mangino turn the program around but for Memorial to become one of the toughest places on road teams. Your thoughts? JB
A-I think a good promotion would be to bring those sticks that people slammed together in Allen Fieldhouse during the Missouri basketball game last year.
That is a great idea about providing blue t-shirts for the games in August and September. If the athletic department could get a sponsor to donate the shirts that’s be an interesting idea. KU athletics can’t afford to print T shirts on their own right now. KU is strapped for money.
I think KU in the past has put out the word to wear blue, yet there hasn’t been a good response.
You are right, though, Memorial Stadium resembles a morgue on game day. It has to get louder. Truthfully, though, I don’t think the athletic department can do much. It’s up to the fans to cheer. And usually the product is pretty miserable, hence nobody cheers and the place resembles a library.
If the team starts winning, the fans will cheer.
At what point do we simply say that aside from 10,000 to 15,000 die-hards who show up through thick and thin, KU has terrible football fans?
Q– Hi Gary: Any clue of what Roy will do with last scholarship? Have read it has been offered to Brian Butch. Thanks, Tim
A-I think it goes to Butch or Boone, perhaps whomever commits first. Of course I have not been told that, that’s my speculation. Both guys can play ball.
Q-When you look at the Jayhawk recruiting classes, it appears to be an every other year thing lately. For instance, the senior class this year is strong, the junior class is not (although admittedly Deshawn Stevenson changed that class), the sophomores are strong and the incoming class is not. Is that calculated? Iis because of the size of the strong classes? I don’t remember such a trend early in Roy’s career. Michelle
A-No, it’s not calculated.
Roy always tries to have great recruiting years. Some years he succeeds, some years he doesn’t.
KU fans don’t like to hear this, but it’s difficult to recruit at Kansas because of the location of the school. Roy goes after the country’s finest players and a lot of times those players – generally from other states – pick other schools.
Roy tries to go after “good kids” and location plays a major factor with “good kids” who lots of times want their parents to be able to go to all their games. He is able to get his fair share of kids who trust him and are willing to leave their home states.
After all, all of KU’s games are on TV. So parents get to enjoy watching their kids via the tube.
Recruiting is a tough business. Sometimes Roy signs top players; sometimes he swings and misses. If Roy decided to sign top 500 players instead of top 100, then he’d have an easy time in recruiting, but it would show on the scoreboard and KU would lose many games. Players win games, not coaches. Roy goes after the best players in the U.S. and faces stiff competition for them.
So I think in answer to your question, the years KU has obvious playing-time available are the years Roy signs a batch of players. When playing time is not seemingly available, players tend to blame location or some other factors and pick other schools. It’s not because Roy takes the year off recruiting or anything.
Q-Could you chronicle the careers of the high school athletes who attended Roy’s Late Night but chose to go elsewhere? This might be a marketing piece. JCAlonzo
A-Boy, that’s a heck of a project to tackle. I might be able to take that on someday, but right now I don’t have the time.
I know, get out the violins or the crying towel for me. Time is not on my side.
If anybody wants to tackle this project, do so, send me the results, and I will buy you a beef sandwich or pizza slice at Allen Fieldhouse on game day. It could be a good thesis for you graduate students.
Thanks for the suggestion, though, Alonzo, perhaps somebody will help me out or I can give it a shot on a rainy day.
Q-I heard KU quit recruiting Ekene Ibekwe; is this true? My understanding is, Ibekwe is a top 25 player and a big man, which was stated as a need. What gives? Terry
A-I’m pretty sure KU gave him a call dropping him as a recruit after the Jayhawks received a commitment from Padgett. Roy doesn’t discuss recruiting with the media, so I have no idea what kind of relationship the coaches had with Ibekwe.
I would guess they felt great about Padgett and decided it’s Butch or Boone or nobody else. Saving the fifth scholarship wouldn’t be too disastrous an idea if Butch and Boone decline KU offers.
Butch and Boone both appear to be great kids. Good luck to them in making their final decisions. Ibekwe also made a fine choice and should have a great career at Maryland. Good luck to him, also.
Q-How much longer on the web site are you going to use the “Tommy Mangino” video as a whipping post? It’s over, it’s old news, and what do you want, a public flogging? Is there a point to this, or just some more immature journalism?
A-Hey, calm down, take a valium or something. Web sites like kusports.com often keep stuff on there a long time so fans can click on stuff at their leisure. We didn’t create the story. We just reported on it. You can find lots of “old news” items on our Website. Sometimes fans miss it the first time and want to check it out later, hence we provide the service. And it costs you nothing. Free is a pretty four-letter word ain’t it?
Q-Are Jayhawk football fans so immature as to not realize the battle that the coaching staff has to contend wwith no talent in experienced Big 12 players? Look at the freshmen playing. In another year or two, this “talent” will develop into what we hired coach Mangino for right? We are starting to sound like the wimpy Nebraska fans. Grow up and act as mature for this program as for basketball.
A-Man, more negativity. Gary prefers you ask questions in a more calm manner while praising Gary as much as possible in your questions. Praise me, baby. Pat me on the back. Give me some love.
Sorry I digress.
Back to your question.
I don’t think the fans are all that bent out of shape about football. I think there’s general apathy more than anything.
I think the fans sort of enjoyed the Colorado game. It was pretty exciting. Hopefully Mangino will get it going. I think the only negativity from fans has been in attendance. The ones that show for the games have been pretty supportive.
Q-Gary-I just read your Q & A column on the internet. I moved from the KC area just over a year ago to the Seattle area and am interested in a TV package that would broadcast all of this seasons games. You said something about DirecTV. Do they have a package for KU games? If not them any other suggestions? Enjoy your column! Thanks in advance for your help! Eldon
A-Yeah, you got it right. You’ll get all the games if you order the hoops package from DirecTV. Just do it.
Q-What do we know about the football players being red-shirted this year? Is there any help in the pipeline? Friz
A-David Mitchell (dmitchell@ljworld.com) covers the football team on a day to day basis, so I asked him your question.
He said that Kyle Knighton, 6-4, 236 linebacker from Weston, Mo., and Jon Cornish, 6-0, 200 running back from Canada are considered future standouts. Also look for good things from Bob Whitaker, 6-5, 310, offensive lineman from Pennsylvania. Some other guys, too.
Mangino is known as a good recruiter, so the future looks bright.
Q-Hi Gary-A CNNSI story today by Seth Davis (1010/02) suggests that there are some bad feelings between Coach Williams and KU’s AD, Allen Bohl. Is this true? This story went as far as to say that if UNC came calling again Roy just might jump to Chapel Hill.
A-I think Bohl and Roy have more a boss-employee relationship than a buddy relationship. Roy was much closer to former AD Bob Frederick than he is with Bohl.
As far as UNC possibly calling … I am not going to play that game again. I happen to love Matt Doherty and he is going to be a great head coach and recruiter at UNC. He can and will get the job done in Chapel Hill.
Aside from that statement, speculation on Roy’s future is stupid and a total waste of time.
Why do I say that?
Remember every year for 10 years before “the decision?”
Yearly there was off and on speculation about Roy leaving for Carolina. Remember the reports that he owned a house in Chapel Hill? He never owned a house in Chapel Hill.
When the UNC job opened it took one week for Roy to say no.
All the speculation for all those years meant nothing. It all came down to one week.
It definitely is not an issue to be thinking or worrying about unless that is your nature.
If Roy ever wants to leave KU, he can land a job in the NBA at any time. Case closed.
He’s received more than 15 NBA offers and turned ’em all down, including the Lakers when Jerry West worked there.
If he wants to leave KU for another college, he will immediately be gobbled up by another college.
The reasons he stayed at KU are his players and that hasn’t changed. He still loves them and just added four more he truly loves in Padgett, Wilkes, Case and Giddens. He ain’t gonna abandon those guys.
He has said many times this is his nirvana.
In answer to your question I would say Roy is going nowhere. I think he will retire at KU, but no I cannot guarantee that as there are no absolute guarantees in life.
I can’t believe I’ve wasted so many words on this question.
Somebody just tell me to shut up.
Q-I missed this year’s men’s basketball senior speeches, is there anywhere I can find them? I have looked on many KU websites but all I can find is pictures of the seniors giving their speeches, but I would like to know what they said. I know they provided text of what was said in the speeches a couple of years ago, but am not sure about now. Could you tell me where I can get the speeches or send them to me?
A-I don’t know of anyplace you can get the senior speeches in their entirety. If anybody knows how to help this person, please email me. I do know our Cable Channel Six TV station televised the senior speeches so you might be able to buy a tape from them at Sunflower Broadband in Lawrence.
Q– Gary – Was at a KU football game a few weeks ago and took a moment to go see the basketball team while they were tailgating. Noticed a very tall player that I did not recognize, very tall and thin. Any idea who it was? Second question, who is the other new recruit, not the over weight one? Eric
A-Moulaye Niang, 6-10 frosh from Senegal, is the answer to both of your questions. Moulaye is a slender athlete who can run up and down the court all day. It will take him a while to get used to college basketball.
Q– where is the handicap seating in the fieldhouse located at..and how much are the tickets for those seats..it would be one handicap seat and one companion seat. thank you. Michelle.
A-The handicap seating areas are in both end zones. I’ve been told tickets sometimes do become available on a single game basis. Call 1-800-34-Hawks and ask for handicapped ticketing and the persons there will help you. I called to them to check and they said they will be happy to provide all info for ya. I have been told you can get tickets for selected games. So good luck. By all means check out a game or two. You’ll like the atmosphere and the handicapped seats are pretty darn good right on the floor.
Q-Gary what is your favorite holiday? Kara.
A-My favorite holiday is Easter. Aside from that, I prefer in order a.) Christmas. b.) Fourth of July. c.) Thanksgiving. d.) New Years. What’s your favorite holiday and why do you wanna know mine? Is a gift coming in the mail? Pls. don’t lace it with anthrax.
Q-Gary, looking at the KU Roster, what’s the story on the Vinson kid from Lawrence and Christian Moody. I never heard of these guys. Are they scholarship players, redshirts? chuck.
A-They are freshman walk-ons, not red-shirts. Christian Moody is a forward from Asheville, N.C. He looks like a good walk-on. He’s a great student and scored a few baskets at the Late Night scrimmage. Stephen Vinson is a guard out of Lawrence High. He also appears to be a pretty good player. He can move the ball and has a nice jumper. I wouldn’t expect either to contribute meaningful minutes, but youneverknow. They definitely will help out at practice and might someday even help in crunch time. Probably not this year, however.
Q– Is there ever going to be another “Ask Gary” column? The last one was on September 25. I am going through withdrawals.
A-Wow, a fan. I’ve got one fan apparently.
Hey it’s only been a couple weeks. Don’t expect these TOO often, lest I get burned out.
Q-How come bud stallworth wasn’t on the list of candidates for retired jersey’s? did he not meet the criteria? Jon.
A-Nope, he didn’t meet the criteria of being a consensus first team All American; two time first team All American and Academic All American. Bud was a great player however and I wouldn’t mind seeing him in there. I’m glad they relaxed the rules a bit. A school as great as KU should celebrate the careers of many players. They hang the jerseys, they don’t retire the actual numbers so the more the merrier.
Q-Gary what do you think of Keith Langford? Al.
A-I think he’s great. He’s got the ability to slash and score or pull up and score or hit the three and score. He’s also got a great personality. What’s not to like about him? All those sophomores are great to deal with. Simien, Miles, Lee, Langford and the red-shirt Hawkins are all top-notch guys as well as players.
Q-Gary will KU beat Arizona this year? Frank.
A-Good question. I would say yes cause the game is in Allen. But the teams don’t play for quite a while, so injuries could play a factor. The game isn’t til Jan. 25. Zona should be terrific this year, however.
p.s. from now on please put your names right after the questions you submit. The names come in weird locations on my screen and are hard to keep straight. I liked it better when I could put names with the questions.
p.s.s. here’s messages to Erica in Tulsa formerly of Dallas; Ken in Denver and Matt in Chicago. Please forward me your email addresses. They got killed out of my system inadvertently. I didn’t mean to ignore your questions.
p.s.s.s. I got a lot of the same questions that were in the last Ask Gary so I didn’t answer them twice in a row. Check the archives and you might see your question answered. adidas.
