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Volume 127 Issue 7
kansan.com
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COMMENTARY Former basketball star hopes to play for Finnish team
By Ben Felderstein
@Ben Felderstein
Former Jayhawk basketball player and NBA star Drew Gooden is not playing in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but hopes to play for Finland in the future.
Gooden's mother is Finnish, so the former Jayhawk saw an opportunity to represent his mom's country this year at the Basketball World Cup, but he was left off their roster because delayed paperwork stopped the NBA veteran from dual citizenship and the ability to play for Finland.
Gooden kept regular contact with his family and his basketball ties in Finland, speaking to the coach almost every day around the time of the NBA playoffs. There was speculation that Finland planned to have Gooden as their No.1 scoring option due to his NBA experience and the lack of skill from the remainder of the team.
Unfortunately for Gooden and Finland, the paperwork was started late and was unable to be completed on time.
While Gooden may not be able to represent Finland in this year's competition, he will be on the sidelines cheering them on and looks forward to the time he can represent Finland on the court.
"If something happens and there's a bump in the road where this is not possible this year, I'm still going to be going there and supporting the team, supporting the players in Spain and start to build a relationship for the future for years to come," Gooden said. "Either way you want to see it, I'm still going to get my dual citizenship and I am going to become a Finnish citizen, whether I'm playing on the team or not, eventually"
Gooden does not just want dual citizenship to be eligible for the Basketball World Cup; he takes pride in his Finnish heritage as well.
"Half of my family is still over there and I communicate with them all the time," Gooden said. "So it's like I have time spent there. It's not like I'm doing this because I just happen to be half-Finnish. No, I really actually have ties to Finland and the culture."
While at Kansas in 2000, Gooden played for the United States in a tournament in Brazil. Gooden hoped to continue representing the United States throughout his career, but was unable to make the roster. At 32 years old, he felt it was time to try something different.
"As a kid you always dream of winning the gold medal," Gooden said. "It was a point where I got to 26, 27, 28, where that might've not been happening, might not have been a possibility for me, that I can compete and represent another part of me, which is Finland. I feel like, 'Why not?'
However, the road looks a little rocky for the former Kansas star. Finland is the 39th ranked team in the Basketball World Cup and was chosen as a mere wild card due to their ability to sell tickets, according to FIBA's Central Board. The next international basketball competition is the 2016 Olympics, and with a field of 12, Gooden and the rest of Finland's squad will not likely be in attendance.
- Edited by Kelsie Jennings
Kansas football gets new spread offense
SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3
Kansas football ranked last in almost every statistical category on the offensive side of the ball, and as a result, that is exactly where it finished in the standings. The Jayhawks ranked last in the Big 12 in total offense and scoring offense in 2013 under second-year coach Charlie Weis.
Knowing he was entering his third and most crucial year in terms of job security, Weis made some tough decisions in the offseason. The decision that was heard the loudest amongst Jayhawk faithful was his decision to step down as the play-caller, handing the reins over to offensive coordinator John Reagan.
"From my understanding it has been everything I was told it would be, and everything I was expecting it to be," Reagan said of his new role with the team.
Weis was no stranger to calling plays on the offensive side of the ball, serving as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots in the midst of their dynasty in the early 2000s. He also served as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he aided the Chiefs to the AFC West Division title, averaging an impressive NFL-best 165 rushing yards per game.
"It's going to be refreshing," Weis said of the change. "Sure I'll talk with John from time to time, but some practices I don't even put a headset on."
Having a coach with that level of a reputation step down from calling the shots, told the locker room that changes needed to be made. Perhaps the biggest change under Reagan will be the new spread offense Kansas plans to run this year.
The spread offense has quickly taken over at the
collegiate level, where most,
if not all, successful teams
are running it in some sort
of fashion. Teams may not
be running it to the level of
Oregon whose average touch-
down drive time is 1:33.
It's simple; score fast to get the ball back faster. This means more drives and more opportunities to score points. Kansas knows better than anyone the damaging effect this method has on opponents. They saw it firsthand against its conference foe, Baylor, in a 59-14 drubbing last season.
Admittedly so, Art Briles' Baylor Bears are a well-oiled machine when running the spread. Last season the Bears had one of the most frightening offensives in the country, averaging more than 600 yards a game on an average of 85.2 plays per game. Texas averaged the most plays per game with its spread offense, averaging 90.3 plays per game.
"It doesn't help to go fast if you are not really that good, but I do hope to take advantage of speed at times, if we can handle it," Reagan said.
Reagan understands better than anyone that it's not always ideal to work quickly within the spread.
It would be foolish to expect the 2014 Jayhawks to be a mirror image of their conference foes in their first year with the new system. But it is clear with this year's personnel and a new offensive mindset, Kansas doesn't expect to be back at the cellar in the Big 12 from an offensive standpoint or in the standings.
"I think our defense can be pretty salty." Weis said. "If our offense puts up some points, I think we can win a bunch of games."
Edited by Logan Schlossberg
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Former Kansas center Dylan Admirie looks to the sideline for instructions in the matchup between Kansas and Louisiana Tech on Sept. 21, 2013. The spread offense being deployed by Kansas this fall calls for linemen to spread out, creating gaps for running backs to run through.
Basketball recruit not rushing college decision
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@HardyNEI
@HardvNFL
Combo-guard Mitchell Ballock, from nearby Eudora, is no newcomer to college offers. The phenom has garnered offers from Iowa State and Creighton University in the summer leading up to his sophomore season, but on Aug. 18, Coach Bill Self extended Ballock an offer to play a little closer to home with the Kansas Jayhawks.
"They're a big time school and they play good basketball, obviously, and they bring in some of the top recruits every year," Ballock, 16, said. "It's a good feeling to me that I'm on Coach Self's radar, and that shows me that they want and they're interested in me."
To some, the offer from Self might come with more excitement than his other offers. But for Ballock, who's still trying to develop his skills to find where he fits on the next level, they're all the same, despite being a Kansas hoops fan from a young age.
"I live in the Kansas environment; everyone around here likes Kansas, they go to Kansas games and know more about Kansas here," Ballock said. "I just have to see how I progress as a player, then see how I play and how I turn out. ... Overall, they were all good. I am equally excited about all of them."
"I want to play for a place that
More important to Ballock than playing at a university closer to home is playing at a university where he can make an impact.
"It's a good feeling to me that I'm on Coach Self's radar, and that shows me that they want and they're interested in me."
MITCHELL BALLLOCK Kansas basketball recruit from Eudora
fits my play style more than the sense of playing at home," Ballock said. "If I can play right away at Creighton and make an impact and it'll help me play as a better player, or if they fit me into the system better than Kansas, then obviously I would
do something like that."
Ballock's offers and interest from a multitude of universities across the country have been well warranted. In his freshman season, Ballock led Eudora to a Class 4A-II championship as he averaged 20.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and shot 57 percent from the field. He was one of 20 guards from across the globe to be invited to the inaugural Stephen Curry Select Camp, where he was crowned the 3-point champion and named "best shooter."
"At the high school level, he can bring everything to the table." Eudora basketball coach Kyle Deterding said. "He can handle the ball, he's a great shooter, he's a good passer, rebounder. He can do it all."
Ballock worked to improve on
some minor facets of his game this summer with Run GMC, a traveling summer AAU team that plays in some of the best tournaments across the country. He played up an age group early on to better prepare himself for the next level.
"I just started playing against better talent and longer and more athletic kids. You're not going to have enough time to get the ball up, so you've got to get it up quicker," Ballock said. "Defensively, I've just worked on staying in front of (point guards), in front of (shootingguards), in front of (small forwards), cause that's what you're going to have to do at the college level."
Edited by Logan Schlossberg
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