Hawkins joins KU hoops boot camp

By Gary Bedore     Sep 28, 2004

All 17 of Kansas University’s men’s basketball players reported on time for the 6:25 a.m. beginning of Bill Self’s boot camp on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Included was suspended junior guard Jeff Hawkins, who took part in a team-sponsored activity for the first time this season.

“He participated in boot camp, and we’ll make a final decision on his permanent status here in the next couple of days,” second-year KU coach Self said. “Based on today and based on what he’s done to this point, barring anything unseen, I can anticipate him coming back, though we’ll have no final decision until toward the end of the week.”

The 5-foot-11 guard from Kansas City Sumner on Aug. 23 was suspended for what Self termed “behavior issues I’d certainly not consider extremely serious in nature, but certainly issues in our opinion worth addressing and having corrected.”

Self said Hawkins, who has been working out on his own daily since the suspension, appeared to be in good physical condition.

Two Jayhawks — senior Keith Langford and freshman Matt Kleinmann — were held out of morning conditioning drills.

Kleinmann, a 6-10 center from Overland Park, has been hobbled by a sprained ankle. Langford, meanwhile, has been rehabilitating his surgically repaired right knee since experiencing soreness during KU’s Labor Day weekend trip to Canada.

The 6-4 Langford did participate in afternoon individual workouts.

Self said Langford was close to 100-percent healthy and should be full speed for the Oct. 15 Late Night in the Phog.

Self was satisfied with the first day of boot camp.

“I thought it was pretty good. I don’t think exceptional,” said Self, who put the players through conditioning work. “A lot is because guys were nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I anticipate it going great the rest of the way. Today was a lot of explaining and talking. Come tomorrow, everybody will have a better feel.”

Boot camp is ticketed to run through next week.

“We are backing off in some areas because in some areas we’ve done a lot of the stuff in preparation for the Canada trip,” Self said. “I’d say we’re planning on this going two weeks. It could be eight days or something like that if the guys do great and are able to meet goals.”

  • Recruiting update: C.J. Miles, a 6-5 guard from Dallas Skyline High who has a final list of KU, Georgia Tech and Texas, will visit Georgia Tech (Oct. 8-9) and Texas (Oct. 15-16), then make a decision on his college destination.

He visited KU the last weekend in August.

“We do plan to take visits to Georgia Tech and Texas, but C.J. might be ready to pop after his visit to Georgia Tech is finished,” Miles’ dad, Calvin, told Shay Wildeboor of rivals.com. “I really don’t believe that he could make a decision today if he was forced to. C.J. really wants to spend time on another campus.”

Miles’ dad said KU and Texas were the “top two teams right now. Coach Self has done a great job recruiting my son. He was just out last week to watch C.J. practice in the gym, so I appreciate the way he and his staff have handled their recruitment of my son.”

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