When the more than 400 women who flocked to Allen Fieldhouse for the [7th annual Ladies Night Out with Kansas basketball event][1] got their turn to fire a few questions toward the Jayhawk players, they inquired about things like superstitions and the upcoming season and which players worked the hardest and had the best GPA.
While those questions and others created the opportunity for some entertaining answers, the most interesting bits of information came moments before the Q&A, when Kansas coach Bill Self asked his players to introduce themselves by name, where they’re from and why they chose to play basketball at Kansas.
The name and hometown bit is pretty standard and an obvious part of any introduction. But that last piece of information was included at the suggestion of junior guard Devonte’ Graham, who offered up the suggestion when Self was searching for a third piece to the intro puzzle.
The answers came out quickly and one by one. And they provided an interesting look at both the individual make-up of each player on this year’s roster as well as a big-picture glimpse into all that makes Kansas basketball such a unique program.
Here, in order, were the answers the players provided:
**• Jr. Dwight Coleby -** “Why not Kansas?”
**• Jr. Clay Young -** “I picked Kansas because it’s the best school in the nation.”
**• Jr. Evan Maxwell -** “I picked Kansas because it was the best fit for me.”
**• Sr. Landen Lucas -** “I chose Kansas because of all these beautiful ladies.”
**• Jr. Tucker Vang -** “I picked Kansas because of this place (motioning to Allen Fieldhouse).”
**• Jr. Devonte’ Graham -** “Like Dwight said, ‘Why not Kansas?’ and like Landen said, ‘The ladies here.'”
**• Soph. Malik Newman -** “Like Dwight said, ‘Why not Kansas?'”
**• Soph. Lagerald Vick -** “Just the tradition.”
**• Jr. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk -** “I came here because Kansas is one of the best colleges in the NCAA.”
**• Sr. Frank Mason III -** “It’s the best tradition you could ever be a part of.”
**• Fr. Josh Jackson -** “I chose Kansas because I wanted to play with all these guys.”
**• Fr. Udoka Azubuike -** “Because of the tradition and winning.”
**• Sr. Tyler Self -** “Kansas is home.”
**• Fr. Mitch Lightfoot -** “I chose Kansas because of all the great teammates, coaches and fans.”
**• Soph. Carlton Bragg Jr. -** “I chose Kansas because it’s a special place.”
Someone in KU’s Williams Education Fund captured the second half of Wednesday’s sharing session on video and posted it to Twitter.
VIDEO: Members of the team share the reason they decided to attend @KUnews at @KUHoops Ladies Night Out! pic.twitter.com/o8gK1jhtZQ
— Kansas Athletics Development (@KUDevelopment) October 19, 2016
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2016/oct/19/7th-annual-ladies-night-out-bill-self-another-rous/
