Big Jeff Graves accepted a pass from Michael Lee and broke free for a breakaway slam dunk during the first half of Tuesday’s Kansas University-Baylor basketball battle at Ferrell Center.
Oops.
Graves banged the basketball off the back of the rim, the ball actually bouncing all the way to the opposite free-throw line as Baylor’s fans mocked the Jayhawks’ 6-foot-9, 260-pound junior power forward.
“It slipped out of my hands. I was trying to break the rim,” Graves said after scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds while fouling out after 19 minutes of duty. “That’s never happened to me before, not on a breakaway. It will not happen again.”
Graves showed good hands in accepting the pinpoint feed from Lee.
“I almost didn’t throw it. I didn’t know if I could get it to Jeff,” Lee said. “I was like, ‘Man, that would have been a hard dunk.”‘
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Simien plans return: Injured KU forward Wayne Simien missed his 11th straight game because of a dislocated right shoulder.
He hopes his stint on the disabled list will soon end.
“I’m feeling good. If I have my way, it’s my last coaching job of the year,” Simien said.
He has been practicing the last week or so and is hoping to play Sunday against Iowa State.
“Yeah, yeah, I am. It’s not my call. It’s the big guy,” he said of coach Roy Williams. “According to me, I’ll play. He’ll go recruiting tomorrow, and we have the day off. I’ll rehab it some more, talk to him Thursday and hopefully get two or three good practices under my belt and play.
“There’s nothing more I can do to it. If it comes out again it comes out again. My heart says I’ll be playing soon.”
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Coach on Padgett: Williams on KU signee David Padgett, a 6-11 power forward from Reno, Nev., whose season has come to an end because of a severe right patellar knee strain.
“He is very down because basically he’s finished his high school career,” Williams said. Padgett’s Reno High team has two regular-season games remaining, plus playoff games.
“The injury is not as severe as the one he had last year (to opposite knee). In four weeks he can play.”
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Reunion weekend: KU will honor all former basketball players, coaches and managers at halftime of Sunday’s KU-Iowa State game.
“At last count we have 165 former lettermen coming in who will be there for reunion weekend — 105 years of Kansas basketball,” Williams said. “A local media guy that’s not a KU guy for sure said, ‘Those guys will look for any reason to have a party.’
“Yeah, it’s not a bad idea. We’ve been playing basketball for 105 years. We have a reunion every five years. Those guys enjoy it. I enjoy it, and we’ll always continue doing it. Our current players will get a chance to talk to a lot of those older guys and see what it still means to them to play Kansas basketball.”
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Stats, facts: Nick Collison passed Darnell Valentine for fourth place on KU’s all-time scoring list. He has 1,824 points. Kirk Hinrich passed Bud Stallworth for 15th place on the scoring list. Hinrich has 1,505 points. … KU improved to 8-1 against Baylor all-time. … Williams is 6-1 versus the Bears, Dave Bliss 5-17 versus the Jayhawks, 1-3 versus KU at Baylor. … KU has won five straight games and 15 of 17. … Baylor is now 9-9 over the last two-plus seasons in games against the Big 12 North.
