Volume 126 Issue 22
kansan.com
Monday, September 30, 2013
COMMENTARY Ellis looks to lead by example
The loudest message at Kansas' basketball media day didn't need any words
Words were used to compare Joel Embidt to Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrew Wiggins to be the second coming of, well, a number of players, but neither of those said much about the team as a whole.
Which is why it's fitting that the loudest message came in the form of a picture featuring a man known for his lack of speech.
Smack-dab in the center of the Jayhawks' media guide stands Perry Ellis, his stoic face at a noticeably more muscular frame. While the rest of the team emits playful energy around him, Ellis is a rock, his eyes locked dead ahead.
FOOTBALL
Forget a tagline, it's all too apparent what the program is saying: The 2013-14 Kansas Jayhawks are Perry Ellis' team.
"Perry could easily be our leading scorer," Kansas coach Bill Self said during the year's first press conference.
Hes very quiet," Self said. "But the fire burns, there's no question."
"A lot of guys are looking up to me." Ellis said. "It was a quick transition. I was a freshman last year and now I'm one of the older guys."
Not on this team at least.
The coaching staff believes Ellis can make this transition. Self mentioned ways of getting his players to use their voice and didn't seem concerned that Ellis would have trouble doing so.
To reiterate, a team stocked with Wiggins, Wayne Seldon, Conner Frankamp – all with unconscious scoring ability – will follow Ellis' pace.
"I think he's a natural scorer," Self said. "Last year he was trying to fit in and be one of many, this year he's got to have more of a hungry attitude."
Like he did last season, Ellis will be put in a new situation, one that he's not accustomed to. And like last season, the coaches expect Ellis to thrive.
So it's conceivable to think that Ellis can pick up where he finished last season, but that's not the tough part for the soft-spoken forward.
"I think the big thing with Perry is him being comfortable," Self said. "It's nice to see him grow in that way."
It was all too easy for Ellis to coast through most of the year. His quiet demeanor didn't lead to any noteworthy comments and his gradual transition to the college game didn't merit much excitement.
Self alluded to Ellis' final stretch of last year as his turning point. Over the closing 11 games of the season, including the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments, Ellis averaged 9.3 points and five re-bounds. In the 26 games prior to that Ellis topped nine points only three times.
Then, one day, everyone looked up and saw Ellis dropping 23 points against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament seemingly out of nowhere. He played as calm and cool as he had all season, but with an air of confidence guiding him to the basket.
Edited by Evan Dunbar
Wide receiver Justin McCay transferred to Kansas from Oklahoma last year. McCay says one of the main reasons he chose Kansas was the opportunity to be closer to his family. McCay is from Kansas City, Mo.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN from Kansas City. Mo.
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
As often as he can, Justin McCay climbs into his Ford Escape and makes the 45-minute drive back home, to Kansas City, Mo.
He usually stops along the way and grabs two cups of ice cream before getting back into the car and driving the rest of the way.
"Every time I get a day off I'm there. I drive there and come back when I want to see my little sisters," McCay said.
Two little girls, six and nine years old, patiently await his arrival.
It's been much easier in the past year for McCay to visit them while living in Lawrence. There were not many opportunities for family time while he was at Oklahoma. It's part of the reason he
Friends say that when McCay is in town he often makes the rounds to see everybody with his sisters tagging along in the back seat.
decided to transfer to Kansas.
"He loves those little girls," Jon Holmes, McCay's coach at Bishop
That event shaped Justin's life more than any other.
he suffered with diabetes.
In May of justin's junior year,
Robert died from his battle with
the disease.
he suffered with diabetes.
His father was the one he asked for permission to play football
"Like my dad always said, 'if you go in halfhearted to something,you don't love it."
JUSTIN MCCAY Kansas wide receiver
Miege High School said.
Holmes remembers Justin talking with his father Robert McCay after every game during his high school years. It wasn't easy for Robert to make it to games as
when he was 8 years old, though it was just flag football at first. Robert, who played basketball at Rust College in Mississippi, allowed it.
" ever since he said I could play football I've loved it." McCay said.
Robert saw how much his son enjoyed the game and gave him some advice; if he really loved playing football, he should play the game with all of his heart.
"Like my dad always said, 'if you go in halfhearted to something, you don't love it,'" McCay said.
It's difficult to lose a parent at any age, but the year before college is crucial for most young people. It's a time that determines the direction of a person's life and the man that McCay most leans on for advice wasn't there.
McCay relied on friends to help him through that. One of his best friends is Alabama point guard Trevor Releford, the brother of former Kansas basketball player Travis Releford. Justin and Trevor won both football and basketball state championships together the year after Justin's father passed
When Justin came to Kansas it was Travis that told him to keep working hard and that he would reach the light at the end of the tunnel.
Justin arrived in Kansas after two years at Oklahoma that didn't go as planned. He was expected to become a star, rated as the top player in the state of Kansas out of high school by Rivals, but instead never caught a pass as a Sooner and struggled with being away from home.
away.
He thought about quitting the game altogether, but friends and family changed his mind Tim Grunhard, former high school coach of McCay at Bishop Miege had just received a job as the offensive line coach at Kansas.
SEE MCCAY PAGE 11
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