Phog Blog » Micah Downs

Downs’ Dad: Micah hasn’t spoken to me for months

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 8/24/2006 -

The whole story of the strange Micah Downs midnight disappearance is now starting to come out. His dad called friend of Phog Blog Tom Keegan out of the blue this week and explained that he (Steve Downs) was disappointed that Micah had left.

“He hasn’t spoken to me for months now,” Steven said of Micah. “We have personal issues because of his girlfriend. I never approved of her. � My wife is heartbroken over the situation.”

In the message-board world in which we live, nobody is spared from criticism. That’s life, but Steven Downs doesn’t have to like it.

“I don’t like the way people talk about coach Self,” he said. “That man is a good Christian man. I will stand behind Bill Self ’til the day he dies. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s good with X’s and O’s. � I just want everybody to know in Lawrence that Bill Self is good for Lawrence. It wasn’t Bill at all. It was Micah’s own fault, man. You can’t blame the coach or the staff.”

This seems to mesh with what happened, so I don’t doubt Steve. I might question whether calling his son out in the newspaper is the best way to reconcile things, but his story explains the facts, which is more than any of the rumors did.

And here the weird go pro:

He said his wife, Gerri, attempted to speak with her son at the home of the girlfriend’s parents over the Christmas holidays, but “had no luck.”

“I just think Micah’s a confused young man,” Steven said. “I just really believe the wrong people have gotten in his ear.”

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Micah Downs: “Kansas Really Sucked”

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 2/23/2006 -

MySpace is not just for pedophiles any more. Dear friends, this internet marvel now allows fans such as you and I to plumb the depths of the teenage consciousness to reveal the mysterious truths that lie therein. So what’s there? Why did Micah leave KU?

Because Kansas Sucked. Really Sucked. Or so says Micah, to his buddy snarf snarf:

im doing pretty good. kansas really sucked so i transferred to gonzaga and that is where i am now. me and natanya are still together and as strong as ever.

Glad to hear about Natty. And to know that the Red Vest has been summarily tossed into the blazing fires of fashion hell.

Micah Downs says that Kansas Really Sucked

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Katz on Downs

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 2/13/2006 -

This will inspire a chuckle from more than one KU fan:

Kansas transfer Micah Downs spent time with the Zags throughout the weekend. Downs is still getting his feet on the ground at Gonzaga. He’s not on scholarship, but he will be a part of the program. The Zags want Downs to get tougher and more physical before he’s eligible next mid-December.

I don’t even think this snip needs any pithy editorializing from me…

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Self lays out his philosophy for handling Freshmen

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 2/10/2006 -

Pulled from the Wichita Eagle. Read the whole thing, but this particular bit his helpful for identifying Self’s core philosophy - you have to earn it. I think it also reveals one reason why last year was tough - he couldn’t make players he didn’t recruit appreciate his system as much.

You can argue forever whether Chalmers’ defense would have come around just as fast — or faster — if Self had started him from the get-go.

“I’m sure if you asked Mario, he’d say yes,” Self said. “But from our perspective, when you bring freshmen in, you’re not in it to win games in November and December. You’re in it to do what’s best over time and over their careers.

“If guys don’t fight through certain things and understand certain things, they’re not going to appreciate certain things. It’s better if you have to earn everything you get, especially early in your career when that foundation is laid.”

That is the lesson he has applied to all his young players, which the same as saying pretty much the entire team.

Link

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Spokane Spokesman Review: Downs is enrolling at Gonzaga

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 1/27/2006 -

Micah Downs has begun the enrollment process according to the Spokane Spokesman Review. Said Downs:

“I really just want to focus on getting the rest of this (admissions) stuff taken care of,” he explained. “Then I’ll be willing to set down and talk to the media � hopefully by the middle of next week.”

Link to Gonzaga beat writer Steve Bergums blog entry on this topic.

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Micah going to Gonzaga

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 1/26/2006 -

As many have anticipated, at least according to 810 WHB, Micah Downs will be a Gonzaga Bulldog. More as I get it, but if there are any legs to this story, I’m sure you’ll be hearing about it soon enough. In the fullness of time as it is said.

Paint me naive again regarding those personal problems that weren’t basketball related if this is true.

UPDATE: I added this to the comments section, but I thought others might be interested:

I don’t thing enrolling is tantamount to playing for them immediately. It may, at this point, be a hedge bet to enroll to try to preserve eligibility. And naturally, it would make sense to enroll at a potential destination.

Don’t know if you read this article in the LJW that discussed the complications that Downs would face regarding his impulsive departure:

Should KU release Downs, he won’t lose his sophomore season. From there, the best-case scenario is that Downs could suit up and play second semester of the 2006-07 season. However, given the unusual timing of Downs’ departure, he likely won’t be able to suit up in an NCAA game until the 2007-08 season.

Downs has to sit out two semesters, and unless he goes to a junior college, his down time has to be while enrolled full-time at his next school. Current KU sophomore and USC transfer Rodrick Stewart did this when he began taking classes last January and became eligible to play last month — after his second semester at Kansas wrapped up.

By enrolling now in a likely destination, I believe he’ll be eligible a year from now. I think he’ll have to jump through some hoops though with KU in order to be granted a release.

As I understand it, he left without dropping his classes or even picking up his room. We’ll see how it plays out, but I think he’ll end up a Zag if he has indeed enrolled there).

I can’t tell if it’s too late for him to have enrolled. This link provides some insight as to that and I welcome any insight that anyone cares to provide.

UPDATE 2:

A moderator from a Gonzaga message board confirms (to the extent that you can confirm such meaningless speculation):

There are conditions that Micah will have to stick to before he gets a scholarship at Gonzaga, and he has agreed to them and understands them. If he proves himself to the conditions, he’ll get a ride for next year and beyond. Fwiw, David Burgess is not on scholarship, either, until he proves himself, albeit a different kind of proving himself than Micah.

In short, the law has been layed down and must be abided by, or else…..

His personal issues make it understandable that he wants to be closer to home and away from Kansas. I can’t and won’t divulge details but it’s safe to say that he has left behind a major piece of baggage that followed him to Lawrence.

Micah will be eligible mid- to late-December if everything works out here. You’ll see him Saturday in K2.

UPDATE 3: Hate to rely so heavily on message boards for more information here, but the latest twist in the increasingly strange story of Micah Downs comes courtesy of BobZag, the same above-mentioned moderator who provided our last update. Color me a litte tired of all of the “damn drama” to borrow *natty*’s words, but I’ll just put this on your plate and you can decide if you wants to eat it.

Re: Micah Downs - a silly question He’s here and we’ll all see him Saturday at the game.

A couple things:

His transfer had NOTHING to do with his girlfriend.

His transfer had NOTHING to do with PT.

If what happened to his family happened in your family, many of you would want to leave, too, and be closer to your Mom. Most know that his Dad was a problem and moved to Lawrence to be with Micah. Well, Dad is still in Lawrence, he’s the only one. Now Micah is free of him which is a good thing.

So what appeared once to be a Micah pendulum, swinging somewhere between no PT and lonely for girl, is now a Micah triangle.

UPDATE 4:

The Star is saying Gonzaga as well (with the caveat that it’s just a rumor), as are a few other journo-sources who haven’t yet gone to print with it. Here’s the Star’s blurb:

The scuttlebutt on Wednesday was that Downs is attempting to transfer to Gonzaga, where he’d probably be eligible to play beginning in January of 2007. Meanwhile, Robinson has the place all to himself - again. Robinson’s roommate last season, Alex Galindo, transferred to Florida International over the summer.

UPDATE 5: The Seatte Post-Intelligencer quotes Micah’s dad as saying Micah’s looking at either Washington or Gonzaga.

UPDATE 6: The PI is getting much closer to saying that Micah’s going to be a Zag, but that he must walk-on at present, as Gonzaga has no free scholarships.

My question: how can a kid who has evidently struggled for money afford a school that costs over $30,000 a year to attend?

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Micah Downs’ Myspace gives clues to his disappearance

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 1/25/2006 -

Well, this just keeps getting weirder. Not only does Micah Downs have a Myspace account, but his girlfriend posted on it yesterday and in so doing revealed a few things.

But I’ll let you interpret it your self.

$Micah\'s Girlfriend Waxes Romantic About Micah$

Here’s the text for those of you who like to read:

1/25/2006 12:11 AM

you need to update ur profile duuude. as in WHERE U LIVE!! i have a feelin toto we arent in KANSAS anymore hahaha for suurez. anyway im glad ur home…but u’ll be leaving shortly again…. but its for the best! im so happy all this damn drama is over. i love you and cant wait to c u playin again and take fun road trips to come visit…yaay!!
xOxOxOxOxOx
<3 looooove yoooou <3

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Micah Downs Quits KU’s team

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 1/24/2006 -

According to the Star:

“Yes it’s true,” Downs said. “No offense to you, but I’m not going to comment any further. Coach (Bill) Self has been really cool about this situation and we agreed that I wouldn’t make any comment other than what’s in the press release.”

Sounds like a done deal to me. I imagine this year was tough on him, but I hate to see things end like this.

UPDATE:

Here are some press release highlights from the LJW:

“It is unfortunate that Micah’s tenure as a Kansas basketball player only lasted one semester,” said KU coach Bill Self in an issued statement Tuesday afternoon. “Micah has decided to go home to resolve some personal issues. We wish Micah and his family the best.”

Downs said he needed to address some personal issues back home.

“I apologize to my former teammates and coaches for leaving at mid-year,” Downs said in the statement. “I feel I can best deal with some personal problems closer to home that have been weighing on me over the last few months. I wish KU the best the rest of the season.”

Downs’ father, Steve, said the reason for his son’s decision to tranfer was not basketball-related.

“Our family appreciates the treatment of Micah by the Kansas coaches, players and administration,” he said. “This is not a basketball issue. At this time in his life, being closer to home will hopefully enable Micah to resolve some of his issues. We thank Kansas for its support and wish them the best of luck.”

I don’t think this is a Bill Self thing.

UPDATE 2:

Watch this video and tell me this is not a Micah Downs thing.

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A Downs-right telling statistic

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 12/2/2005 -

Tom Keegan makes a pretty convincing argument today that Downs ought to be in the game instead of two small guards. Read the whole thing, but this is the money quote

In Downs’ 19 minutes, KU outscored the 20th-ranked Wolf Pack, 37-26. In the 21 minutes he sat, Nevada outscored the Jayhawks, 46-33.

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KU’s 2005-2006 Kansas Basketball Media Day Quotes

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 10/14/2005 -

It looks to me as if Coach Self is very very happy to have his own team here and that, at least in their public thoughts, the players appear to be on his side. Jason Whitlock, who lately seems to have become a conspiracy-obsessed caricature of himself, suggests that Self “blamed” last years flame out on four historic Seniors. I disagree with this assertion, unless Bill Self has been more candid with Whitlock privately than publicly, and Self’s got far too much media savvy to do something as silly as that. His comments on the matter have always been indirect and have never placed any blame at the seniors’ feet so much as they have brought to light certain “infrastructural” difficulties that to me, became evident as the year progressed and were pretty darn obvious at the Bucknell game and during the fallout thereafter.

Last year, it was a team divided. This year, it is Bill Self’s team. Last year, “there was the Seniors and there was everyone else.” This year, everyone is equal.

Last year, we fizzled out in an embarassing loss to Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

This year…

Oct. 13, 2005

Head Coach Bill Self

Opening statement:
“Good afternoon. I hope everything went well earlier. We’re excited about the 2005-06 campaign. We certainly have a lot of numbers to replace from last year. We have good players, they’re just young. It’s going to take a while and we’re going to have our ups and downs, but I’m really excited about this group. This is an athletic group that’s very long. On paper it probably has some deficiencies, but on paper also has some strengths. We’re very excited about it and looking forward to the season.”

On if he feels like this is his team:
“I have always felt this was my team. There is something new and different about coaching a group of guys that you recruited. More than that, there’s something about coaching a group of guys that only know one way. Sometimes it’s more difficult to coach guys if they know different ways to do things. These guys don’t know any better. I think in some ways, that will be a bonus. The negativity will be lack of experience.
I felt like last year it was my team, and I certainly feel that way this year.”

On chemistry issues:
“I’ve never heard that chemistry stunk this early in the season. It’s easy to say that we have good chemistry right now. The thing the players don’t understand is that in practice, ten of them are playing. When you get in games, only five play. Everyone is happy during practice. They want breaks. Chemistry issues, if you have any, will come about in games when not everyone is getting the same minutes. Last year, there were
the seniors and then the rest of the team. This year, because we’re so young, everyone is about the same. While it certainly wasn’t bad last year, I think you could say that this is a closer-knit group.”

On this year’s team:
“I think we’re going to have more depth. I think we’re going to be faster as a team. I think we’ll be a much better offensive rebounding team. We’ll probably have more balance. Last year, to defend us, you stopped Wayne and Keith. This year I think we could have five guys that average 10 points a game. Those are positive things. If you were to ask me if we would like Wayne and Keith’s production back, I would say definitely. Sometimes balance is the hardest thing to defend, and I think we’ll have more of that.”

“In a perfect world, if we play two big guys at all times, we’ll have a nine-man rotation. If you play three big guys and one perimeter player that could play little or big, the perfect world is eight. Realistically, it will be nine. It will be hard to get to nine with us, because there are probably more than nine that deserve to play.”

On this year’s freshmen:
“There’s probably not a guy being recruited into the Big 12 that wasn’t a number one guy on his high school team. I think what you’ll find out is that these guys have been humbled. They know not everything revolves around them. I think they’ll relish the fact that there is balance. With
balance comes more opportunities for the individual. I think that the quality of the young guys will actually be a benefit over time than what it would be if we didn’t have that. If playing time is the sole thing that keeps them happy, then we could have some problems. If we play the right way, I think we can play nine guys and keep them all happy.”

On how he thinks the season might progress:
“I
think there will be more ups and downs. We’ll be more inconsistent, and I think think we won’t be as tough as we should be. We’ll probably make some mistakes early that hopefully we won’t make in February. That will happen with any team. This is a team I think the coaching staff will need to be patient with. We aren’t going to be as good in November as we will be in February. I think the early season games will put pressure on our guys and give them a sense of urgency that tells them
we need to get pretty good, pretty fast. The season won’t be determined in November, however.”

On this season’s potential leaders:
“I think that Jeremy Case, Russell Robinson, Jeff Hawkins and Christian Moody are the best candidates. I would say that they are all 25 percent of what they could potentially be. I think it is unfair to say that they are more than that, because right now they don’t know exactly what their roles will be as well. It is much easier to be a leader if you are totally secure with what your role is in a particular situation.
There will be a lot of things that will be defined in the next three or four weeks. Right now it’s too early to tell.”

On expectations for this year’s freshmen class:
“When you recruit, you recruit where they’ll be at ages 19, 20, 21 and 22, not where they’ll be when they’re 18. These guys are going to have their ups and downs. There will be some fans that will say they’re great one game and some that will say they aren’t quite as good the
next game. If I’m not mistaking, almost everyone went through the same thing when they came here.”

“There are probably more expectations on Brandon Rush because his last name is Rush, which isn’t really fair. When you have two brothers, one of them arguably the best to come out of Kansas City in years and the other one that’s going to be an NBA veteran soon, I would say there are reasons why expectations would be high with him, especially since a lot of people projected him to be in the NBA 12 months ago. There’s a reason why he isn’t in the NBA. He needs to get better. Expectations might be high for him, but he’s a big boy. He can handle it.”

On Sasha Kaun and C.J. Giles:
“They are probably the two most improved guys on our team from last year.”

“The Las Vegas Big Man Camp probably helped (Sasha) some. If anything, it gave him confidence to know he can go against other big guys and do well. These two guys have been our two most consistent performers so far. That doesn’t mean it will continue. Neither one have ever been huge stars. They have to get the confidence to lead and have the team depend on them. Probably our two most proven guys right now, if we had to have a basket, would be those two. They
have to know that they can carry a team during stretches of games. My biggest concern is that they have never done that before.”

“They’re more confident. Their bodies look great. They’re more athletic and stronger. They have both improved their ability to score.”

On expectations for the team:
“I think coaches would do anything for motivation. I think expectations are down, because we aren’t preseason No. 5 in the nation. The expectations for this team, from us as coaches, won’t be any different than they were for other teams. They become a problem when players try to live up to other people’s expectations. Our expectations won’t change. Last year our goal was to be as good as we could be. This year our goal is for us to be as good as we can be. That won’t change.”

On Russell Robinson:
“I think Russell Robinson has been our most consistent perimeter player we’ve had since school started. A lot of that is that he understands what we want. He’s not thinking, he’s reacting. Another part is that the guy is a machine. He’s the best in the weight room. He works on his game individually as much as anyone. He wants it real bad. He wasn’t real happy how last season ended. He’s out to make sure that doesn’t happen
again.”

On the point guard position:
“If you’re going to lose a four-year guy that had almost 1,000 assists, it’s nice to have Hawkins, Mario Chalmers, and Robinson. Any time you lose a guy like Aaron Miles, you don’t know if he’s replaceable until you try to play without him. He was one of those guys that just made everyone else’s job a little bit easier. Those three have still yet to prove if they can make other’s job easier. I like the talent. The talent is there.”

On last year’s loss in the NCAA tournament:
“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it a lot. That’s as much motivation for players and coaches as there can be. It certainly has been motivation for us to work in the off-season. I really feel like that when you’re in competition and you wear a bullseye on your back, there will be times when bad things happen. You don’t want them to, and we’re not trying to make light of the situation. Unfortunately,
things do happen. Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup record isn’t very good, but he’s still the best golfer on earth. There are times when bad things happen, and you have to be able to move forward from that. We won’t forget the Bucknell game, but we aren’t going to dwell on it any more.”

“I still haven’t watched the tape. Coaches spend a lot of time watching tape, but when that last game is played and the season is over, that tape doesn’t help out that team too much.”

On Brandon Rush’s arrival:
“I think we were in an upswing before Brandon got here, but I would say that when we landed Brandon it was a very welcome momentum boost. I think that got some people’s minds off the negativity that had occurred and got people looking forward a bit.”

On Darnell Jackson:
“I think he has improved in all aspects of his game. I think he still can improve more. I’m a big believer that he has improved in all areas. Not that he was bad before, but he is certainly better now. He’s more confident. He was dealt a hand that forced maturity in a lot of ways. In some ways, that has brought a new sense of focus than what he has had in past years.”

On expectations for Late Night in the Phog:
“I don’t want any injuries. I want our team to have a great time. I want our fans to connect with our players, because it is a new group. I want the fans to see our players as `their guys.’ That’s how they saw Mike Lee, Aaron, Keith Langford, and Wayne Simien. I think this is a great
start to that. One thing we sell as coaches is how much our fans care about the team. This is a great reinforcement for that. I also want to see who can play under the lights a little bit.”

On Jeremy Case:
“I would say he’s our best shooter. He’s a guy that if he continues to work and get stronger, he could make our team a lot better. He brings a dimension to the game that other teams are going to have to guard and deal with. He’s a much improved guy. His redshirt year helped him out a lot.”

On Jeff Hawkins:
“I’ve always liked Jeff as a kid. I think he has worked hard to prove that he can be a guy who is a leader and a big-time competitor and performer at the University of Kansas. A lot of the reasons why he hasn’t had an opportunity to play is because he came in the same year as Aaron Miles. No matter how well Jeff played, Aaron was always a little bit ahead. Those days are gone. Jeff appears to be very hungry. He’s a very talented kid. Hopefully this year he’ll be able to show that.”

On Stephen Vinson:
“I think Stephen will have similar role as he did last year. He’ll be one of, if not the hardest worker on the team. He’ll be a great leader. He earned the scholarship. That was no gift. He earned it. He’ll have more of a sense of responsibility to do even more. He’s a natural leader. If Stephen outplays other guys, he’ll play. He brings some intangibles to the table that this team certainly needs.”

On what fans can expect this year:
“I hope we’re sound enough that we’ll be able to force tempo on both ends.If we’re not sound defensively, it will be hard to press. Hopefully we won’t give up easy baskets and we’ll be able to do some things that we haven’t done as much of in years past. I think we’ll also be able to push the ball at people more than we’ve been able to do in years past. I think it best fits our personnel. This year we should have more
interchangeable parts and get out and run a little bit more.”

Kansas Player Quotes

Senior guard Jeff Hawkins

On entering his senior season:
“I’m looking forward to kicking off this last year. I’m going to do all that I can as far as hard work and leadership go to help us achieve a national championship.”

On being a leader:
“The best thing that I can do is to listen to Coach Self and do what he wants me to do. When someone starts to second guess him, I need to be the one to say that Coach Self knows what he is doing. I want to try to be the guy that can speak for Coach Self when he is not around.”

On his role:
“I’ve been here for five years so my role is to teach the young guys the ropes. I’m not worried about playing time, because my role is to help out the young guys.”

Freshman guard Brandon Rush

On his goals for the year:
“I just want to come in and play as hard as I can. I’m glad basketball season is rolling around.”

On team chemistry:
“Everybody is getting along. Everyone hangs out together and we have been getting along very well.”

On the freshmen:
“I have played with most of the freshmen coming in so I really know how they play. I love their games, and that is one reason why I came here. Most of the young guys don’t really know how to play college defense, but we were working on that during boot camp. We are really young, but we’re going to be really good.”

Sophomore guard Russell Robinson

On the upcoming season:
“We are a young team, but we are just going to try to win games. We are going to try to learn from our mistakes and not let one mistake turn into two. We are going to get stronger as the season goes along.”

On his goals for the season:
“I’m going to try to be a leader and help any way that I can. I want to use what I learned last year to make this a better year.”

Sophomore guard Jeremy Case

On team chemistry:
“We have great chemistry. We started early and were up here all summer which has really helped out a lot. We all know that we have to be together and work as one.”

On Late Night:
“Late Night is always fun. It’s great to be out in front of 16,300 fans. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

On the freshmen:
“They are doing great and are working hard. We are trying to show them the ropes and how to work and they are coming along great.”

Sophomore center Sasha Kaun

On his game:
“I think that I have improved in the weight room, I feel stronger. Our strength and conditioning coach, (Andrea) Hudy has done a phenomenal job with the entire team. The game has slowed down a lot for me. Last year at times it came too fast, but this year it has been a little easier.”

On the freshmen:
“I think that the incoming freshmen have a lot of talent. They are all great players, and it is just a matter of how far they come each practice. It might take us a little bit of time getting comfortable playing together, but I think that we have a lot of potential.”

Sophomore forward Darnell Jackson

On the freshmen:
“They came in ready. They didn’t come in with any egos, and they are level-headed. They all came in here as McDonald’s All-Americans, but they didn’t think that they were better than anyone else on the team.”

On the pressure he feels this year:
“I don’t feel like I have any extra pressure. Coach expects a lot out of us. We have to do what we’re supposed to do and stay united as a team. If we do that, we’ll go a long way.”

On last year’s loss:
“The Bucknell game is in the past, and now it’s the future. We’re just looking ahead now to bigger and better things. We lost to Bucknell, but we feel like we’ll be better this year.”

On his relationship with Sasha Kaun and CJ Giles:
“We are real close, on and off the court. We call Sasha the `machine’. He’s just so big, and he worked so hard over the summer. When he’s on the court, you can’t take the ball from him, so that’s why we call him the machine.”

Sophomore guard Rodrick Stewart

On the transition of the freshmen being guarded by a smaller player:
“It’s not necessarily a transition, it’s just getting used to things that you aren’t normally used to. There were probably a lot of people that guarded them that were their size. It’s kind of different when you have someone small and scrappy like Hawk (Jeff Hawkins) who is pressuring you everyday. It is going to bring out the best in them because practice makes perfect.”

On his improvement:
“I go into every practice trying to be the best I can. I am just trying to be the best player I can be for Coach Self.”

Redshirt freshman Matt Kleinmann

On redshirting last season:
“For me, it was really great. I had the opportunity to get stronger physically and really adapt to the college life. Some players have the pressures of playing right away, and I got a year to improve my skills.”

On what he needs to improve young:
“The biggest thing I need to work on right now is just confidence. Technically I haven’t played a game before, so I will be stepping out on the floor for the first time. I have been here a year, I have practiced with these guys and I know I can do it. I just have to keep working hard.”

Freshman guard Mario Chalmers

On what to expect at KU:
“We don’t know what we’re in for yet, but we’re getting a little taste right now. We’re very excited.”

On the freshmen class:
“A lot of people say we don’t have that much experience, but we’re just going to come in and work hard. The players and the coaches are helping by showing us what we need to work on.”

Freshman forward Julian Wright

On his expectations for the year:
“I’m trying to focus on the year right now. I think tomorrow at Late Night, I’ll start to realize what 16,000 people in the stands means. It will be a great experience. I am looking forward to getting better in practice as the season goes on.”

On the team veterans:
“I expect us all to stay focused and stay grounded. The old guys have been great support. This is a very young team but we’re a lot more mature. We have no choice other than to grow up fast and we understand that. We’re a close-knit team. The old guys have especially helped in keeping us focused.”

On the upcoming season:
“With the season approaching fast we need to gel quickly. We have some great contests early on such as Arizona. We understood that we needed to work hard in the offseason.”

Senior guard Stephen Vinson

On the team:
“We don’t have as many proven veteran guys. We are young, but we are going to be a fun team. We are going to be the hunter this year instead of the hunted. I think that we will be a good team towards the end of the year. With as many athletes as we have, we can be a great defensive team.”

On being picked third in the Big 12:
“People don’t expect as much possibly. Teams are still going to get up to play us. We get to look up ahead at somebody and really come after them. It should be a good year.”

Freshman guard Micah Downs

On the freshmen:
“There has been a lot of hype about us. Everyone asks us, `How are you going to play? Who’s going to play? Are you going to start? How many minutes are you going to get?’ We really don’t know now though. We have to wait until closer to the first game and then see what Coach says.”

On his goals:
“I want to play a lot. I think all of the freshman want to. I think we have a chance to.”

On his body:
“I have been working on getting a lot stronger. I don’t look that way. I’m still pretty skinny, but I am getting stronger.”

On adjusting to school:
“I’m out of a big city, Seattle, which is a really big city. Lawrence is quite a bit smaller, so that’s been the biggest adjustment so far.”

On playing smaller, quicker guys:
“That’s going to be the tough part. Those small guys are so quick that it’s sometimes tough to guard them. It’s a little bit tougher playing offense against them too because they are quicker.”

Sophomore center C.J. Giles

On playing this year without Wayne Simien:
“There probably won’t be as much banging this year. I loved Wayne, but this year we’ll get up and run the floor more. I think there will be a lot more highlights and dunks because we are all athletic.”

On his impression of the freshman class:
“It’s just like any other freshman class. They’re not special because they don’t know anything yet, but once they get the system down, they’ll help. We need all of them to step up early this year.”

On his play:
“I just have to step up a lot more. I have to be more of an action leader, not just a vocal leader. I have to do the little things this year like run when I’m really tired.”

On playing with Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun:
“Darnell has a lot more confidence than last year. He’s going to the hole and shooting the ball with more confidence. Sasha improved a lot last year.
I think the game was a little too slow for him last year. He’s worked hard this summer though and gained a lot of weight and strength. We lean on each other on the court. We want to be able to walk off the court, hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder. We were a team last year and that’s what we are going to do this year.”

On the renovations to Allen Fieldhouse:
“I like it a lot. I like the scoreboard. I like how they painted everything to make it look better and brighter.”

Senior forward Christian Moody

On the freshmen:
“They have no clue what it’s going to be like tomorrow night when they run out onto the court for the first time. That’s why they came here, because they saw what it’s like, but it is totally different being out here on the floor. I think they got a taste of the toughness it’s going to take at Boot Camp. It was a huge step for our team and I think it’s helped us a lot.”

On which freshmen have impressed him so far:
“I’ve been impressed with all of them in different ways. All of them are great athletes for their height. All of them can handle the ball too. Mario (Chalmers), even though he’s not 6′8″, he’s quick and can score too. I’ve really been impressed with all of them.”

On the season’s fresh start:
“Witha lot of new guys and some guys that don’t have a lot of experience makes this an entirely new, fresh team. I’m excited about our team though. I have a new fresh feeling about this team. I’m anxious to learn from coach and become the team that coach wants us to be.”

On the improvements to Allen Fieldhouse:
“The lighting helps. It’s just so impressive. The new paint job is unbelievable, the new scoreboard and lights are awesome too. I’m excited to be out here everyday.”

On being the leader:
“I want to be the best leader I can be. Whether it’s in a starting role or not, I want to (lead this team). Coach will make the decision on who starts, and he’ll make the best decision for the team. I just want to help the guys in a way that will best help the team.”

On playing without Wayne Simien:
“Wayne is a great player. I was honored to play with him. I’m excited about playing with Sasha, Darnell, C.J. and Matt. They made incredible improvements over the summer. I’m excited to watch Wayne play with the Heat though.”

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Nice Article on Micah Downs

posted by Jeremy Chrysler on 9/8/2005 -

There was a lot of hand-wringing about Micah Downs during the offseason after he was upset about playing time during the McDonald’s All Star Game. Since then, however, he’s done nothing to merit the concern of Jayhawk fans, except, the Kansan speculates today, that he’s been too quiet:

Self would also like to see Downs get more aggressive. He said Downs’ passive personality was reflected a great deal in his game.

“Probably too much so,” Self said. “I think Micah is not as aggressive as he should be on the court. I think he turns down open shots. I think he doesn’t play with the tenacity that he needs to play with consistently. But I also think part of that is just his personality and how he has played.”

As Downs becomes more comfortable off the court he will become more assertive on it, Self said.

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Who Will Start for KU B-Ball This Year?

posted by DHarger on 8/31/2005 -

Let the speculation begin!

A recent article on Phog.net highlights KU Coach Bill Self’s philosophy for building his team and setting his lineup. The author, Kristi Chartrand, really did her homework and was given a great interview by Self. It is clear from the excerpts she includes in the article that Self emphasizes three areas in particular: (1) player versatility; (2) ignoring traditional position classifications (i.e. playing the 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5); (3) defensive pressure. Self said:

I don’t like labeling guys positions. I personally like it when guys are versatile . . .

The Perfect scenario for me is to play with three guys who all have point guard skills, and one of them big enough to defend the three. That would be the perfect scenario for me.

There will be pressure. We’ll play faster. . . .

With Stewart unavailable for the first semester, I expect that there will be several starting lineups. Once the Big 12 season gets under way, and Stewart is available, Self will settle in on one starting lineup. Here’s my prediction:

STARTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OFF THE BENCH
Chalmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robinson
Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawkins/Case
Rush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Downs
Wright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moody/Jackson
Giles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaun

Chalmers will start, but Robinson will play a big role. He has gotten stronger in the offseason, and he will settle down with a year under his belt. Pressure on the ball will be a trademark of this team, and they will be fast with either point guard leading them.

Stewart is a slasher with a handle and is an excellent on-ball defender. Hawkins will play significant minutes. There’s been lots of talk about the offseason work Case has done, but I don’t see him playing significant minutes.

Rush gets the nod over Downs because he has a better handle and similar scoring capabilities. Rush is better in the open court as well. Downs will play significant minutes.

Moody’s role will not be nearly so great this year as it was last year, when the team’s depth was an issue. Moody and Jackson will split the backup time, assuming Jackson has made progress this summer. Otherwise, it may be a long season for Darnell.

I expect Giles and Kaun will split time pretty equally. I am excited to see how they have developed in the offseason.

Comment and let me know what you think! In February, I will pull out this blog and re-post it. We’ll see how accurate it is then.

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September 2010
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“I really just want to focus on getting the rest of this (admissions) stuff taken care of,” he explained. “Then I’ll be willing to set down and talk to the media � hopefully by the middle of next week.”

“Yes it’s true,” Downs said. “No offense to you, but I’m not going to comment any further. Coach (Bill) Self has been really cool about this situation and we agreed that I wouldn’t make any comment other than what’s in the press release.”

In Downs’ 19 minutes, KU outscored the 20th-ranked Wolf Pack, 37-26. In the 21 minutes he sat, Nevada outscored the Jayhawks, 46-33.

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