Five from KU hoops squad enjoy Sunday graduation ceremony

By Matt Tait     May 17, 2021
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Teammates of Kansas guard Marcus Garrett congratulate him as he is brought out to the court prior to tipoff on Senior Night, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Rainy weather did not prevent five recent members of the Kansas men’s basketball program from celebrating their graduations on Sunday on KU’s campus.

Marcus Garrett, Chris Teahan, David McCormack, Silvio De Sousa and Mitch Lightfoot teamed up together for the ceremonial walk down Campanile Hill, joining hundreds of other KU students on the big day.

Kansas coach Bill Self, who was in Connecticut for Eddie Sutton’s Hall of Fame induction over the weekend, made it back in time to see his players make the walk. Several members of Self’s staff, including assistant coaches Norm Roberts, Kurtis Townsend and Jeremy Case, along with Brennan Bechard and Fred Quartlebaum, also joined in the festivities.

“Whether it be David, Mitch, Chris, Silvio, or Marcus, I think it’s pretty cool that not only did all of them graduate, but they all completed their degrees in four or less years,” Self told the Journal-World. “So, yeah, I’m really proud of all of them.”

As has been well documented, Lightfoot is already deep into his post-graduate studies. And McCormack and Teahan are planning to return for a fourth and fifth season at KU despite graduating.

McCormack, who had surgery on his right foot shortly after the end of the season to repair a fracture that he played through down the stretch, participated in Sunday’s graduation ceremonies while wearing a protective boot.

For Garrett, Sunday was extra special as he became the first person in his family to graduate from college.

Garrett talked about what that meant to him during his senior night speech and again after the final game of the 2020-21 season. And it’s clear that seeing one of his all-time favorites make the walk meant a lot to Self, too.

“With Marcus, coming from a background in which I don’t think he took school that serious in high school, to a time where now he’s graduating in four years, you have to make some form of commitment academically, not just athletically, in order to have that success,” Self said. “And it’s good to see the student-athlete (part of it) even with our best basketball players.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.