Self: Sleep in, fellas

By Gary Bedore     Oct 6, 2004

Bill Self’s second Kansas University basketball boot camp went much smoother than his first.

“Absolutely night and day,” Self, KU’s happy hoops coach, said Tuesday after ending Boot Camp 2004 three days earlier than expected. “The veterans knew what to expect and brought the young guys along. The young guys did a nice job and showed toughness.

“The guys all did very well. It’s why we cut it off today.”

At 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, after the Jayhawks completed 30 suicide sprints on the Allen Fieldhouse floor, Self told his 17 players they wouldn’t have to awaken before the crack of dawn the rest of the week for calisthenics.

“They did great on them — stronger as they went. All made their times,” Self said. “The guys showed they’ve maintained their workouts since the Canada trip and all did fantastic. They will all be ready to go by Oct. 15 (Late Night in Phog).”

Self said some of the Jayhawks rehabbing from injuries would “probably need a little more conditioning work to be ready to practice the 15th. But all will be ready for the start of practice.”

Senior Keith Langford, who had offseason knee surgery, and freshman Darnell Jackson, who had recent ankle surgery, didn’t run through all drills at Boot Camp ’04.

“Darnell was sick and didn’t feel well part of it today,” Self said of frosh Darnell Jackson, who has had flu-like symptoms. “C.J. (Giles), Sasha (Kaun) and Russell (Robinson) were three of our leaders as far as work ethic and making times. And Alex (Galindo) made all his times.”

KU’s seniors, who showed leadership skills on the Jayhawks’ Labor Day trip to Canada, continued leading the way during boot camp morning conditioning drills, which started Sept. 27.

“The overall mentality of the team was good mainly because of the seniors,” senior guard Michael Lee said. “With Aaron (Miles), Keith, Wayne (Simien) and myself, we were leading by example. Even when we were tired we were still vocal and that helped with the underclassmen.

“I felt much better about it this year,” Lee said. “Having gone through it once helped out. It wasn’t easy, but I was more mentally prepared this year.”

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Off to Pistons camp: Self hit the road recruiting after early morning boot camp Tuesday. Today, he and his staff members will attend the practice of the Detroit Pistons, a team led by former KU coach Larry Brown.

“I’ve never been to one of coach Brown’s training camps. This worked out with our schedule to run up there,” Self said. “Our entire staff will run up there and take notes. We’ll be studying practice but won’t be involved (in practice).

“I think you can learn from everybody. I learn doodling on the airplane with our staff on how to do certain things. This is an inexact science, and you always try to improve on what you do. You can never stop learning.”

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Former recruit ill: A.J. Price, a 6-1 University of Connecticut freshmen who chose the Huskies over Kansas last year in recruiting, was listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Hartford Hospital late Monday.

The exact nature of his ailment has not been released. All that is known is that the Amityville, N.Y., native, who made a campus visit to KU last year, had flu-like symptoms over the weekend.

“We got close to A.J. and his family. He’s a terrific kid, a great kid and great player,” Self said. “You never expect to hear of anybody being seriously ill, especially a well-conditioned athlete.”

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No oversigning: KU, which has received oral commitments from high school seniors Mario Chalmers, Micah Downs and Julian Wright, has one scholarship to give in recruiting. Self said he had no plans to “oversign” — that is, give more scholarships than allowed by the NCAA. Scholarships can become available because of early entries into the NBA draft or transfers.

“Our plan is to sign one more guy in the fall and continue to prepare for the spring if we need to,” Self said.

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