Drew Gooden is a stranger in a familiar town. Three years ago, Gooden was the unofficial mayor of Lawrence. But now, his coach is gone. Only one player (Jeff Hawkins) was on the roster during Gooden’s final season. Even his old Thursday night haunting grounds, [Abe and Jake’s,][1] has gone downhill faster than Lindsay Lohan’s weight.But Gooden doesn’t care about the nightlife. He was in town this week for one reason: to help right the course of the KU basketball program.![][2]After the [annual alumni game][3] at Bill Self’s basketball camp, Gooden, alongside several other former Jayhawks, had a no holds barred, heart-to-heart talk with the current team.Gooden stood up and spoke about responsibility. Billy Thomas talked about the KU tradition. One by one, every former player including several NBA stars told the current Jayhawks that their ways of doing business needed to stop.”If you are going to put on a Kansas jersey, you are going to wear it with pride and respect this school,” Gooden said. “We kind of heard there’s a lot of stuff going on in the media … the team not being together, acting up, not following the rules. We’re not going to let this slide.”Self is lucky to have a group of alumni as dedicated as KU’s. After all, we never hear of inspiring alumni stories out of the football or women’s basketball programs.Only time will tell if the lecture will make a difference. But after a year that included a first-round NCAA face plant and an embarrassing bar brawl, anything should help.Perhaps most importantly, the lecture showed where the former players’ loyalties truly lie. It took three years, but Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, and Nick Collison all showed this week that their hearts belong to KU, not Roy Williams. After all — we always kind of wondered, didn’t we?Would these guys return without their beloved coach? Would they still have passion for the university, even without their main contact?This week, we received our answer. Personally, I couldn’t be happier.**One More Thought**Since we’re discussing KU basketball in June (is there ever an off-season?), it’s becoming clear that the key to the upcoming season will not be the development of the freshmen.After watching the superstar class of Julian Wright, Micah Downs, and Mario Chalmers for the last few weeks, I’m convinced that the freshmen will be fine.The key to the upcoming season is the sophomores.If Sasha Kaun continues to progress (he absolutely posterized Greg Ostertag in the alumni game), if Darnell Jackson plays inspired basketball in the [wake of tragedy][4], and if Russell Robinson cures his turnover woes, KU will be a force next season in the Big 12.If the sophomores don’t improve or worse, regress it’s going to be a long season, punctuated with a spot in the NIT.Let’s stop worrying about the freshmen and start our concerns with the guys already in the program. [1]: http://www.lawrence.com/places/abe_jakes_landing/ [2]: http://www.kusports.com/art/apps/pennynews/1119523987_self-camp-hinrich-chalmers.jpg [3]: http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/story/114702 [4]: http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/story/114695