Seniors grateful for experiences at Kansas

By Gary Bedore     Mar 5, 2016

Nick Krug
The Kansas seniors from left, Jamari Traylor, Perry Ellis, Hunter Mickelson and Evan Manning are pictured together during a pregame ceremony, Saturday, March 5, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas senior forward Perry Ellis, who spoke for three minutes following the Jayhawks’ 85-78 Senior Day victory over Iowa State, thanked the fans.

“Back in my freshman year we were playing Iowa State in Kansas City. After the game you were cheering my name. I didn’t have much confidence before that. After that I saw you believed in me and it pushed me forward to where I am now,” Ellis said.

Of Ellis’ speech, Self said: “There was a time we recruited Perry and after he got here you couldn’t get him to do a presentation or speech in his class, because there were 15 other people in it. Now to have him in total command of a situation like he did there shows you how much he’s matured. It’s pretty amazing to watch.”

Manning starts, speaks: Senior guard Evan Manning, who started and played the first six minutes, guarded ISU’s Matt Thomas, who hit one shot during that span.

KU led, 11-10, when Manning left the game.

“I thought I’d play a couple spot minutes. It was a real cool opportunity, the most fun I’ve had playing basketball in a long time,” said Manning, whose dad, Wake Forest coach and KU All-American Danny, attended.

“It’s been a long season. To finish it on a win at home on Senior Night with so much emotion … it’s always going to be a hard game to win,” Evan Manning shared. “Coach said, ‘Good job. There’s a lot of things we have to do better.”’

Manning did not attempt a shot.

“Coach told me, ‘Good defense.’ He knew I wanted to shoot one. I didn’t get one (shot) up. I would have if I was open, if it was a good shot,” Manning added.

Mickelson has block: Senior Hunter Mickelson, who missed three shots, had a rebound and a fierce block of a Georges Niang shot. His speech lasted two minutes.

“My teammates … it’s been a wild ride, a wild bunch. It’s been fun every step of the way. Coming in here it’s easy for a freshman. You have certain guys you will be with four years. I came kind of in the middle of everything. You treated me like a brother and teammate. I appreciate that,” said the Arkansas transfer.

— See what people were saying about KU’s Senior Day vs. Iowa State during KUsports.com’s live coverage.


More news and notes from KU’s regular-season finale vs. Iowa State




PREV POST

Jamari Traylor's Senior Day speech brings Bill Self to tears

NEXT POST

48427Seniors grateful for experiences at Kansas