Kansas University sophomore forward Jamari Traylor didn’t expect to break down and cry before 800 youths during his appearance as guest speaker at the Bill Self basketball camp on Monday in Horejsi Center.
Yet that’s exactly what happened. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder wiped away tears as his coach used phrases such as “there’s not a bigger stud in the world” and “I’ve never been prouder of a kid I’ve coached” in reference to the Chicagoan, who survived about a year of homelessness on the cold, mean streets of the Windy City during his freshman and sophomore years of high school.
“Listen,” Self exclaimed to the campers, bringing them to attention. “Jamari lived on the streets for almost a year and in homeless shelters and on his own, sleeping in abandoned cars with no heat. The only reason he went to school was to get a free lunch. A bad day for him is a little bit different than us. Try to go three to four days without eating. That’s a real bad day. That’s why he’ll be an unbelievable father and husband, provider and play pro basketball someday — because he cares so much.”
…Revisiting his life path — and listening to the approving words of coach Self — proved emotional for him Monday.
“That’s coach Self. He knows me. He’s proud of me. It’s good for him to share that with the kids, so I understand,” Traylor said. “Sometimes I just get emotional in talking about it. It’s crazy. Little kids look up to me. My life can inspire other people, so it’s a little touching to me.”
Self said Traylor’s big heart and toughness on the court will enable him to make it big on the court and in the classroom the next three years.
“Some of the things I went through definitely made me a lot tougher, made me a lot smarter, made me appreciative,” Traylor said. “Anything I do, I appreciate it. I always say, ‘Thank you.’ It’s made me more humble.
“It was tough,” he added of a year roaming the streets at night. “No shoulder to lean on as much. It was pretty much a life lesson, helped me get to where I am today. I’m in a good situation now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s definitely made me a lot better.”
...KU freshman forward Andrew Wiggins could be in town by Wednesday, Self said.
“He’s ready to get here,” Self said. “He has some things to tie up from his situation back home with the Canadian National Team. That was a pretty gutsy move to say (Saturday), ‘I’m not going to play (for Under 19 team). I want to come here.’ That wasn’t coerced by us at all. It’s something we were hoping he’d come here. We were going to work with the Canadian team to try to make both things work.”
Self said Wiggins “will probably still go up there at some point in time this summer and participate in some way. I think it speaks volumes he’s trying to get here as soon as he possibly can.”
He will enroll in summer-school classes.
“His life has been so much fast-forward right now,” Self said of Wiggins, expected to be top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. “I think he should relish being a kid for as long as he possibly can. If he were going to spend nine weeks with that team and come right in and be intense with us right off the bat that makes for a long year for a kid not used to carrying that kind of pounding. I’m excited he’s going to be here and work hard, do what he needs to do but not feel the pressure he has to perform each and every day up until he gets here.”
LJW (Video at the link)
VIDEO: Bill Self Camp Game 6/13/12
VIDEO: Bill Self Camp Game 6/20/12
LJW: Bill Self's best shooting guards
Jeff Withey says Kansas coach Bill Self was “shocked” when he landed Andrew Wiggins and that the Jayhawks can win the 2014 NCAA championship with the Canadian star.
“Everybody [in Lawrence] is excited for him to come in and play big minutes and I think next year they have a chance of winning it all,” the 7-foot Withey said Monday after working out for the Knicks.
“Coach Self is going to develop him and they got a young, athletic team.”
…“I think [Coach Self] was more shocked just because everybody did think he was going to go to [Kentucky or Florida State],” Withey said. “And when he was on his visit to Kansas, he was really quiet so you couldn’t get a good read on it. So everybody there is just really excited to have him and he’s going to have a lot of pressure but hopefully he can develop into a great player and lead that team.”
Wiggins will skip playing with the Canadian U19 team this summer in order to be at Kansas for summer school. Withey thinks that’s a wise move.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “Coach Self’s system, it’s hard to learn right away, but if you go early and you put in the work, you’ll learn it and get good from it.”
…Myck Kabongo, a fellow Canadian who also worked out for the Knicks Monday, agreed that Wiggins will have a huge impact at Kansas.
“Oh, man, he’s a great player,” Kabongo said. “With Wigg, he’s talented, man. He’s one of those guys that comes every once so often. He’s done a great job with what he’s done this summer. I know he’s working up there in Kansas, and I know he’s going to be fine with whatever he does.”
Asked if Wiggins makes the Jayhawks contenders for a national title, Kabongo smiled and said, “I go to Texas. I’m rooting for Texas. It is my boy, but at the same time that’s a rivalry right there. I’m all about Texas. Hats off to him at Kansas, but at the end of the day I’m going to root for Texas.”
Zags Blog
NBA Comparison: O.J. Mayo
McLemore has that same eye opening potential that Mayo had coming out of USC. He has the all-around scoring package, combined with the size and athleticism that makes you think he has what it takes to be an All-Star. However, the question with O.J. Mayo was always his drive and determination. With McLemore it’s sort of the same thing. How bad does he really want to be great? Is he content with just being another role player in this league or does he want to take his game to the next level and become the next great shooting guard after the likes of Kobe Bryant, James Harden and Dwyane Wade? That’s something that’s truly up to him.
…McLemore will be a solid guard in the NBA regardless. He has enough talent to have a decent career, but the question is if he’s satisfied with that. For the majority of O.J. Mayo’s career, he has been content with being a decent player. This year he showed flashes of the type of player he could become, but the lack of consistency is what’s holding him back. At worst, McLemore will be another O.J. Mayo. He’ll be a player capable of putting up big numbers occasionally but never on a consistent basis. Hopefully his drive and determination exceeds that of Mayo, so he doesn’t stall out the same way Mayo did.
Athleticism: 9
McLemore is a supreme athlete for a shooting guard. He has all the necessary traits to become an electrifying player at the position. His jumping ability is good enough to catch backdoor lobs. His speed and quickness is good enough to attack the rim with force in transition. His strength allows him to finish at the rim, and his shiftiness allows him to get past defenders.
Dime Mag
In a draft loaded with question marks and devoid of sure-fire NBA stars, it’s going to be really hard to pass on McLemore, even starting at the No. 1 overall pick (especially if Cleveland manages to find a trade partner). He’s that promising, with overt athleticism, very good size and a nice shooting stroke. Like fellow St. Louis native Bradley Beal (last year’s No. 3 overall pick by Washington who had a pretty credible rookie campaign), McLemore’s overall game-to-game contributions were impacted by playing with ball-dominating senior guards. Unlike Beal, though, McLemore’s gaudy college percentages actually underscore his talent.
It’s just the consistency question that’s going to dog McLemore until he shows it at the NBA level, and the team that picks him is going to have to take a leap of faith that he can bring that 41 times a season on the road when he couldn’t inside the relative comforts of an elite college program. McLemore already has overcome a ton of things in life more daunting than making 23-foot jumpers in various cities, but he’s going to have to defeat the self-limitations displayed to this point in order to achieve the level his talent suggests is possible.
SI
Good read on Coach Weis and Hannah and Friends
RockChalk Roundball Classic on June 13
Yet that’s exactly what happened. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder wiped away tears as his coach used phrases such as “there’s not a bigger stud in the world” and “I’ve never been prouder of a kid I’ve coached” in reference to the Chicagoan, who survived about a year of homelessness on the cold, mean streets of the Windy City during his freshman and sophomore years of high school.
“Listen,” Self exclaimed to the campers, bringing them to attention. “Jamari lived on the streets for almost a year and in homeless shelters and on his own, sleeping in abandoned cars with no heat. The only reason he went to school was to get a free lunch. A bad day for him is a little bit different than us. Try to go three to four days without eating. That’s a real bad day. That’s why he’ll be an unbelievable father and husband, provider and play pro basketball someday — because he cares so much.”
…Revisiting his life path — and listening to the approving words of coach Self — proved emotional for him Monday.
“That’s coach Self. He knows me. He’s proud of me. It’s good for him to share that with the kids, so I understand,” Traylor said. “Sometimes I just get emotional in talking about it. It’s crazy. Little kids look up to me. My life can inspire other people, so it’s a little touching to me.”
Self said Traylor’s big heart and toughness on the court will enable him to make it big on the court and in the classroom the next three years.
“Some of the things I went through definitely made me a lot tougher, made me a lot smarter, made me appreciative,” Traylor said. “Anything I do, I appreciate it. I always say, ‘Thank you.’ It’s made me more humble.
“It was tough,” he added of a year roaming the streets at night. “No shoulder to lean on as much. It was pretty much a life lesson, helped me get to where I am today. I’m in a good situation now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s definitely made me a lot better.”
...KU freshman forward Andrew Wiggins could be in town by Wednesday, Self said.
“He’s ready to get here,” Self said. “He has some things to tie up from his situation back home with the Canadian National Team. That was a pretty gutsy move to say (Saturday), ‘I’m not going to play (for Under 19 team). I want to come here.’ That wasn’t coerced by us at all. It’s something we were hoping he’d come here. We were going to work with the Canadian team to try to make both things work.”
Self said Wiggins “will probably still go up there at some point in time this summer and participate in some way. I think it speaks volumes he’s trying to get here as soon as he possibly can.”
He will enroll in summer-school classes.
“His life has been so much fast-forward right now,” Self said of Wiggins, expected to be top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. “I think he should relish being a kid for as long as he possibly can. If he were going to spend nine weeks with that team and come right in and be intense with us right off the bat that makes for a long year for a kid not used to carrying that kind of pounding. I’m excited he’s going to be here and work hard, do what he needs to do but not feel the pressure he has to perform each and every day up until he gets here.”
LJW (Video at the link)
VIDEO: Bill Self Camp Game 6/13/12
VIDEO: Bill Self Camp Game 6/20/12
LJW: Bill Self's best shooting guards
Jeff Withey says Kansas coach Bill Self was “shocked” when he landed Andrew Wiggins and that the Jayhawks can win the 2014 NCAA championship with the Canadian star.
“Everybody [in Lawrence] is excited for him to come in and play big minutes and I think next year they have a chance of winning it all,” the 7-foot Withey said Monday after working out for the Knicks.
“Coach Self is going to develop him and they got a young, athletic team.”
…“I think [Coach Self] was more shocked just because everybody did think he was going to go to [Kentucky or Florida State],” Withey said. “And when he was on his visit to Kansas, he was really quiet so you couldn’t get a good read on it. So everybody there is just really excited to have him and he’s going to have a lot of pressure but hopefully he can develop into a great player and lead that team.”
Wiggins will skip playing with the Canadian U19 team this summer in order to be at Kansas for summer school. Withey thinks that’s a wise move.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “Coach Self’s system, it’s hard to learn right away, but if you go early and you put in the work, you’ll learn it and get good from it.”
…Myck Kabongo, a fellow Canadian who also worked out for the Knicks Monday, agreed that Wiggins will have a huge impact at Kansas.
“Oh, man, he’s a great player,” Kabongo said. “With Wigg, he’s talented, man. He’s one of those guys that comes every once so often. He’s done a great job with what he’s done this summer. I know he’s working up there in Kansas, and I know he’s going to be fine with whatever he does.”
Asked if Wiggins makes the Jayhawks contenders for a national title, Kabongo smiled and said, “I go to Texas. I’m rooting for Texas. It is my boy, but at the same time that’s a rivalry right there. I’m all about Texas. Hats off to him at Kansas, but at the end of the day I’m going to root for Texas.”
Zags Blog
NBA Comparison: O.J. Mayo
McLemore has that same eye opening potential that Mayo had coming out of USC. He has the all-around scoring package, combined with the size and athleticism that makes you think he has what it takes to be an All-Star. However, the question with O.J. Mayo was always his drive and determination. With McLemore it’s sort of the same thing. How bad does he really want to be great? Is he content with just being another role player in this league or does he want to take his game to the next level and become the next great shooting guard after the likes of Kobe Bryant, James Harden and Dwyane Wade? That’s something that’s truly up to him.
…McLemore will be a solid guard in the NBA regardless. He has enough talent to have a decent career, but the question is if he’s satisfied with that. For the majority of O.J. Mayo’s career, he has been content with being a decent player. This year he showed flashes of the type of player he could become, but the lack of consistency is what’s holding him back. At worst, McLemore will be another O.J. Mayo. He’ll be a player capable of putting up big numbers occasionally but never on a consistent basis. Hopefully his drive and determination exceeds that of Mayo, so he doesn’t stall out the same way Mayo did.
Athleticism: 9
McLemore is a supreme athlete for a shooting guard. He has all the necessary traits to become an electrifying player at the position. His jumping ability is good enough to catch backdoor lobs. His speed and quickness is good enough to attack the rim with force in transition. His strength allows him to finish at the rim, and his shiftiness allows him to get past defenders.
Dime Mag
In a draft loaded with question marks and devoid of sure-fire NBA stars, it’s going to be really hard to pass on McLemore, even starting at the No. 1 overall pick (especially if Cleveland manages to find a trade partner). He’s that promising, with overt athleticism, very good size and a nice shooting stroke. Like fellow St. Louis native Bradley Beal (last year’s No. 3 overall pick by Washington who had a pretty credible rookie campaign), McLemore’s overall game-to-game contributions were impacted by playing with ball-dominating senior guards. Unlike Beal, though, McLemore’s gaudy college percentages actually underscore his talent.
It’s just the consistency question that’s going to dog McLemore until he shows it at the NBA level, and the team that picks him is going to have to take a leap of faith that he can bring that 41 times a season on the road when he couldn’t inside the relative comforts of an elite college program. McLemore already has overcome a ton of things in life more daunting than making 23-foot jumpers in various cities, but he’s going to have to defeat the self-limitations displayed to this point in order to achieve the level his talent suggests is possible.
SI
Good read on Coach Weis and Hannah and Friends
RockChalk Roundball Classic on June 13
Big 12/College News
6/10/13, 1:20 PM
I like UF's Kasey Hill as a prospect, but from what I saw at Nike Hoop Summit, he's not ready to run Top 10 team right now.
@franfraschilla
Scottie Wilbekin already may not have been able to maintain his grip on Florida's starting point guard position with McDonald's All-American Kasey Hill arriving.
Now the senior is going to have an even tougher time keeping his job.
Florida announced via Twitter on Monday afternoon that Wilbekin has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified team rules violation, the second time in seven months coach Billy Donovan has suspended the senior guard. Wilbekin also sat out the first three games of the Gators' season last November as a result of another unspecified team rules violations.
It's unclear when Wilbekin will be reinstated, but the fact this is his second suspension suggests his status on the team could be in some jeopardy, especially if he were to get into further off-the-court trouble this summer. A Florida spokesman declined comment when asked for further information about the cause of Wilbekin's suspension and how it would impact his status with the program.
Yahoo
Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith didn’t need to be reminded how good Sprint Center has been to his program.
“We got a win streak going,” Haith said.
Five games and counting, all from the 2011-12 season. Missouri will look to extend the success on Nov. 16 when it meets Hawaii as part of the Tigers’ 2013-14 nonconference schedule, which was announced Monday.
The game will mark the Tigers’ first appearance in Kansas City since they joined the Southeastern Conference last year, though there was something of an SEC feel to its last trip to KC.
When the Tigers beat Baylor to capture the 2012 Big 12 tournament, Mizzou fans at Sprint Center chanted “SEC” in the game’s waning moments. Missouri had announced its new league affiliation about five months earlier.
That year the Tigers blasted two opponents in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic and swept three Big 12 foes.
KC Star
Missouri has lost assistant coach Rick Carter, Tigers basketball coach Frank Haith said on Monday.
“We’re losing one,” Haith said.
Carter was hired in 2012, joining the program from Western Michigan, and primarily worked with Mizzou guards. A connection with fellow Tigers assistant Tim Fuller — both had worked at Fairfield — helped Carter land the job.
KC Star
Will Iowa State’s self-imposed penalties be tough enough for the NCAA, which is deciding how to sanction the Cyclone athletic department for 79 rule violations?
It may be, if the NCAA’s penalties handed down last week for Mississippi State’s more severe NCAA violations are an indicator — but it’s a cautionary “maybe,” according to someone with knowledge of the NCAA process.
Both schools investigated after learning about wrongdoing by coaches, penalized offenders and filed detailed reports with the NCAA.
Iowa State did it after learning 33 coaches throughout the athletic department violated NCAA recruiting regulations, mostly through planned and accidental cellphone calls and text messages. The school responded by cutting ties to a student-assistant men’s basketball coach, reducing recruiting opportunities for coaches, and by placing itself on two years probation — all of which have been served.
DesMoinesRegister
The trail of evidence surrounding North Carolina's academic scandal continues to grow.
The school's internal investigation has whimpered out, and the NCAA has slowly taken its time fleshing out its own multi-stage probe. But now comes something of a shell in this case. Over the weekend, the Raleigh News & Observer released emails that it obtained more than a year after an open-records request. Those emails are embedded at the bottom of this post.
The emails in question shed light on the nature of the relationship between academic advisors and Julius Nyang'oro. He is the former chair of UNC's African studies program, the wing of academics at the school that received allegations of phony courses and manipulated grades.
The emails show Nyang'oro to be the benefactor of perks from the advisors, including offerings of standing on the sideline at football games and tickets for Tar Heels football as well.
CBS
Kansas State’s John Currie was honored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics on Monday as an Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year.
The honor, which also was given to three other Division I athletic directors, comes following a successful year in which the Wildcats won or shared Big 12 championships in football, baseball and men’s basketball. Off the field, K-State has also undergone recent facility upgrades, including a new $18 million basketball training facility and a $75 million expansion to the west side of Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
KC Star
2013-14 Early-season events schedule
Recruiting
Rivals: Elite 100 recap
6/10/13, 10:34 AM
Brekkott Chapman will participate at the prestigious NBAPA TOP 100 Camp this week. Camp is held at the University of Virginia. @Top100Camp
@UtahProspects
Recruiting Calendar
2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule
My KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube
6/10/13, 10:34 AM
Brekkott Chapman will participate at the prestigious NBAPA TOP 100 Camp this week. Camp is held at the University of Virginia. @Top100Camp
@UtahProspects
Recruiting Calendar
2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule
My KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube
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