After carefully considering his options, Russell Robinson decided to stay local for Christmas rather than travel back to his native New York.
“I figured it would cost 230 dollars, probably more, to go home for two days, so I’d rather stay here and use the 230 dollars to buy a gift. That’s what I did. It wasn’t worth two days to get back and get a little tease (of the Big Apple), you know?” Robinson said Wednesday at KU’s holiday basketball clinic at Allen Fieldhouse.
Completely understandable.
So, who’d you buy the gift for, Russell?
“Myself,” he said with a grin. “I actually got lucky and got a PlayStation 3. I found one and got one. I had a good Christmas.”
Robinson, who had a busy Wednesday, working 31â2 hours at the clinic then practicing two hours in preparation for today’s 7 p.m. nonconference clash against Detroit Mercy, didn’t gorge himself with food on Christmas Day.
“I had Pizza Shuttle – leftover Pizza Shuttle at that,” Robinson said. “Then I had leftovers at coach’s house and leftovers at some other homes. It was good.”
Robinson and his teammates were in festive frames of mind for Wednesday’s clinic, in which they worked from 8:45-11 a.m. as instructors and spent an hour signing autographs for the nearly 500 youths on hand.
“I was counting for a while. I think it got to around 500 or something,” Robinson said of the many autographs he signed on various items, including the back of the shirts worn by the youths.
“I remember one kid whose autograph I signed two years ago. I guess practice makes perfect because my autograph has gotten better over two years.”
Freshman Sherron Collins, who visited his hometown of Chicago for the holiday, appeared natural in his role as instructor. He had 20 or so third- to eighth-graders flip the ball high in the air and clap five times before the ball nestled in his hands. He wowed the youths by catching the ball behind his back.
Junior Sasha Kaun, meanwhile, towered as he made passes in a lay-up drill.
“It’s always fun working with the kids. We appreciate them coming out here to spend some time with us,” said Kaun, who made the long trip to Rochester, N.Y., for Christmas.
“I have family and friends there, kind of like my grandmother from Florida,” he said of a host family in Melbourne, Fla., where he attended high school three years.
“Her family is from there. I go there every year. It was good to spend some time away form here and relax.”
KU coach Bill Self also worked with the youths and signed autographs for an hour on his birthday.
“Unfortunately, there was such a big turnout not all the kids were able to get all the players’ autographs,” Self said. “This is the best way we know that the kids and community can touch the players except for camps in the summer.
“It’s a good deal. We only had 3 1/2 hours. We could have probably used five.
“Hopefully what this does is get them (campers) excited about ball. If they get excited about ball they’ll work a lot harder at it. It is probably good for all the kids at that young age.”
As far as Self’s 10-2 KU team, he sees a challenge tonight in Detroit Mercy (3-8), which is led by guard Brandon Cotton and forward Ryvon Covile, who average 17.5 and 15.5 points per game, respectively. Covile is also the country’s fourth-leading rebounder at 11.4 per contest.
“They have kind of struggled early on, but they are better than their record. I know that by watching tape,” Self said of the Horizon League school. “One thing that concerns me is we practiced two hours yesterday and an hour and a half today. That is not a lot of time after giving guys some days off. That’s the way the schedule is set up. I’m sure Detroit is dealing with the same thing.”
¢
Rush saddled with flu: KU sophomore Brandon Rush was the only Jayhawk to not attend Wednesday’s clinic. He was hit hard by the flu Wednesday morning.
“He has this little bug. This morning he went and got checked out. They think it’s a little 24-hour deal,” Self said. “It was bad enough they (doctors) said to keep him away from everybody. They didn’t want everybody to get sick. Hopefully he’ll be feeling better (and be able to play tonight).”
¢
Big leaguer on hand: Joe Randa of the Pittsburgh Pirates attended the camp with his son, Jacob, who is in third grade.
“I followed Joe Randa for quite some time. I’m a fan. I got to know him when I first came to town here,” Self said of the former Kansas City Royals third baseman. “He had his son here and a whole group of kids here. I think it’s great the athletes in the Kansas City area find their way to Lawrence. A lot of guys do, especially the Chiefs.”
Several Chiefs, including tight end Tony Gonzalez, have been to games this season.
¢
Arthur hits the gym: When Self phoned Darrell Arthur on Christmas Day, he was informed by Arthur’s mom the freshman forward was working out in a Dallas gym.
“Working out on his own might have been shooting free throws or playing H-O-R-S-E,” Self cracked. “He went to the gym to work out. It was good to know he was thinking about it.”
