Little distractions building for Kansas
Posted: Friday, August 22, 2008 8:54 PM
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Big 12
Say this about Kansas coach Bill Self – he’s earning that new contract.
Self, who guided the Jayhawks to their third NCAA tournament title in April and first since 1988, signed a mega $30 million deal in the offseason. He’ll get a short grace period from fans and school officials because they’re elated to raise another banner in Allen Fieldhouse, but Self admits the pressure will build for KU this season.
“That’s the way it should be, to be honest with you,” Self told the Journal-World. It’s one of those things you have to keep striving to get better.
Then again, I’m not sure Self would’ve envisioned things to start quite like this.
Most of last year’s title team is gone. The one returning player who saw significant minutes, Sherron Collins, is already behind on rehab from offseason knee surgery. (Did he lose focus because of ongoing issues with an alleged 2007 incident where he exposed himself and rubbed against a girl in the dorms? Couldn’t have helped. Self may be calling out Collins to motivate him, but he could just be mad.)
“He is a month behind where I thought he’d be at this stage. He is just in bad shape,” Self said. Collins, a 5-11 guard, has always played heavy, usually around 200 pounds, sometimes heavier. The extra pounds make him a formidable force when driving the lane, but also create extra stress on his knees.
As a result, Collins didn’t participate in Kansas’ first practice on Thursday, and isn’t expected to play with Kansas during their upcoming three-game trip in Canada.
Self is hopeful freshmen twins Markieff and Marcus Morris will be cleared by the NCAA in time to practice for the Canada trip. “Missing today didn’t kill the twins. It won’t kill them to miss more days. Certainly for the betterment of the team it’d be good to get them out there,” Self said.
Especially when it comes to taking attention away from Markieff’s recent off-court incident where he allegedly fired a BB gun from his dorm window. A woman in the dorm’s courtyard reported being shot in the arm with a BB at that time.
Yes, it sounds like typical behavior for a freshman boy – any freshman, not just an athlete – but it’s something Kansas could have done without.
An attorney entered a plea of not guilty for Markieff on Thursday. A Dec. 12 hearing has been set, which means it’s an incident that will linger around the defending champs when the season begins.
As if defending an NCAA title wasn’t hard enough.
