Case won’t play in Canada

By Gary Bedore     Sep 3, 2004

Scott McClurg/Journal-World Photo
Kansas University basketball players Wayne Simien, left, and Keith Langford work out during practice. The Jayhawks prepared for their upcoming weekend junket to Canada on Thursday in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas University sophomore guard Jeremy Case, who has been slowed by a pulled groin muscle, won’t play in the Jayhawks’ four exhibition games Saturday through Monday in Canada.

“We’ll hold him out because it (groin) has been pretty tender,” KU coach Bill Self said Thursday of Case, who slipped while working out in Allen Fieldhouse prior to Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage at Horejsi Center. “He’d probably not have played anyway because he is a red-shirt candidate.”

Self said walk-on freshman center Matt Kleinmann would take a red shirt this season — that is practice, but not play, in games. Self said Case seriously was pondering a red shirt, not because of his injury, which is not serious, but because of playing time now versus the future.

“We’re not 100-percent positive on Jeremy. We are leaning that way if he does not emerge as one of the top five in the rotation (of players coming off bench),” Self said.

The 6-foot Case said “the odds of red-shirting are pretty good, but I don’t want to make the decision yet. I want to wait until November. That will give me time to weigh my options right before the season.

“I definitely want to play, but we have so many guards. With four starters back and Mike Lee, it’d be tough for us all to get the amount of minutes we want. Instead of having the kind of year I had last year, I could red-shirt and have three years left to get better.”

Of the 6-10 Kleinmann, Self said: “Matt’s been great but would probably not be able to play much. We talked, ‘Would you rather substitute age 23 for age 18?’ The obvious answer is yes if you will not play much at age 18. It’s what Jeremy and I talked about as well, substitute age 23 for 19.”

Kleinmann understands.

“It’s definitely in my best interests right now,” he said. “I know it. I’ve brought it up as much as coach has. My major (architecture) is a five-year program, which works out well.”

Self said junior center Moulaye Niang would not take a redshirt, so sophomore walk-on Nick Bahe is the only other player who remains a red-shirt possibility.

Self met with Bahe on Thursday night after practice. The two decided Bahe likely would not play in Canada while making a final-red-shirt decision on Nov. 1.

“Like I’ve always said, I’m a total team-first guy,” Bahe said. “So whatever’s good for the team is good for me. It’s all on coach’s shoulders and what he wants me to do.”

Players who wish to take redshirts cannot play in any of the four games in Canada.

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Moody in lineup: Self said junior Christian Moody likely would start next to Wayne Simien in Saturday’s 2 p.m. exhibition game against University of British Columbia.

He said each of KU’s big men would start at least one game and Simien would sit out one game of Sunday’s doubleheader.

“They are all about even, to be honest,” Self said of freshmen big men C.J. Giles, Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun. “I’d say all five of our freshmen are a little better than I thought they were.”

As far as the rotation for Sunday’s doubleheader — a 1 p.m. game against Langara and 9 p.m. game against Simon Fraser — Self said: “We’ll play the majority of the reserve both games and the starters one game. We’ll have eight or nine to use in each game.”

Junior guard Jeff Hawkins, who remains suspended indefinitely from the team, will not make the trip. Self said he had not recently spoken to Hawkins.

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Strength coach added: Andrea Hudy, new associate director of strength and conditioning at Kansas University, will assume strength and conditioning responsibilities for the KU men’s basketball team.

Hudy, who came to Kansas last month after working 10 years at the University of Connecticut, will continue to work with KU’s women’s basketball and volleyball teams, as well as with selected Olympic sports.

A native of Huntingdon, Pa., Hudy was a four-year letter winner in volleyball at Maryland where she graduated in 1994.

“We had heard great things about her,” KU coach Bill Self said. “Everyone has been very impressed with her since she’s arrived.”

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