tuesday, November 11, 2003
basketball preview
the university daily kansar
9B
Padgett should help Jayhawks early in season
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansas shortwriter
Freshman center David Padgett was unsure if he wanted to honor his commitment to the Jayhawks after former coach Roy Williams left. Padgett decided to honor his commitment to Kansas after the hiring of Bill Self.
For almost all his life, David Padgett has easily stuck out in a crowd.
Of course, that's what happens when you're a 6-foot-11 high school All-American.
Padgett, now a prized Kansas freshman center, will no longer be the center of attention as he prepares to work and grind through his inaugural collegiate campaign. Though instant stardom may not be expected out of Padgett in his first season as a Jayhawk, he said he wanted to live up to the comparisons to former Kansas forward Nick Collison.
"I think Nick ran the floor really well, and the coaches tell me I do that very well, too," Padgett said. "Nick was a very good player, and if people are comparing me to him, then that's unbelievable."
Like Collison, Padgett comes to Kansas after having been coached in high school by his father,and is fundamentally
sound enough to contribute early.
Padgett might not be starting immediately for the jayhawks, like
Collison did. Padgett will be able to learn from watching seasoned veteran forwards Wayne Simien,
junior, and Jeff Graves, senior.
However, from the advice he was given by Collison this summer,
that's not such a bad thing.
"Before he left to go to Seattle, we wung out quite a bit, and that was a good help," Padgett said. "He told me not to rush into things, but to get used to things over time."
Rushing into anything is not a concern for Padgett. He missed the final portion of his senior season at Reno High School in Reno, Nev., with a strained patella tendon in his right knee. Even with knee injuries toward the end of his junior and senior seasons, he averaged 24.7 points and 14.2 rebounds per game in those two seasons. Though he's not expected to put up those kinds of numbers this year, coaches are just happy he's here at all.
After former coach Roy Williams, who originally recruited Padgett, left in April, Padgett was uncertain if he'd stay or ask for a release. He was unsure whether to tough it out in Lawrence, follow Roy to Carolina, or go to another school he considered, Arizona.
"I wanted to see who the new
coach was going to be," Padgett said. "Once I found out it was coach Self, I was pretty happy with it."
Padgett is now on a stage bigger than any high school or AAU game he ever played in. As an excited and enthusiastic freshman, he is stepping into the Big 12 Conference, the Rolls Royce of college basketball conferences. He may be stepping onto the floor for the first time in college deaf and blind as far as what to expect from the competition, he certainly has an idea. He has been given fair warning not only by his veteran teammates, but also close friend Brad Buckman. Buckman is a sophomore forward at Texas who learned from the Big 12's school of hard knocks last season.
"There's a lot of good big players in the Big 12, and just getting used to the physical play every night is the biggest adjustment he told me about," Padgett said. "He just says you've got to get used to the strength factor."
Michigan State juniors look to take Spartans back to Final Four
Edited by Neeley Spellmeier
By JONATHAN MALAVOLTI The State News Michigan State University
EAST LANSING, MICH. — Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert were getting ready for their respective high school proms when Michigan State appeared in its last Final Four.
The three junior players entered MSU in 2001, two seasons after Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to the 2000 NCAA National Championship. In the two seasons all three have played at the Breslin Center, they have a combined 41 games, but, unlike so many former Spartans, they have veto to raise a banner.
This past summer, head coach
Tom Izzo said he would take the three upstairs in the basketball complex to look at the trophy and rings to remind them that they haven't won one.
"No one's going to remember you if you don't win a ring or raise a banner." Izzo said.
Hill, a preseason John. R Wooden All-American, said now was the time for his classmates to pick up where those before them left off.
"The last few years," Hill said, "this is definitely the most urgency that we've had."
One of those former players, Cleaves, spoke with Hill over the summer about what the team needs to do to win its first championship. Cleaves told him
that he and his teammates must "stay behind each other."
After falling one game short of the Final Four in the spring, the Spartans have set their aim high for the upcoming season.
Anderson, a swingman who will be seeing time at the point again, said the pressure was on him and his classmates to lead the team to glory. Extra pressure will be brought on, because opponents will be viewing them as a top team and they have to be ready to play them as not to be upset, Anderson said.
"There's a lot of pressure, because there's not too many guys who have come into the program and left without a ring," Anderson said. "We've only got two
years left."
"I wasn't as vocal coming in as I am now." Anderson said.
The talent, experience and depth of the Spartans very well could allow the juniors to reach their goals and ease some of the pressure.
One of the players who will help with the pressure is sophomore guard Maurice Ager.
"It's not going to be three people who are going to be singled out; it's a team effort." Ager said.
Hill agreed, saying he and the other juniors have high expectations on themselves, but everyone is expected to win.
"I think there's a lot of pressure, not only on myself, but on the entire team," Hill said.
Izzo said his team might not be the most dominant in the nation heading into the season, but he knows it's prepared to compete for that title.
"I think our team is ready, but I don't think we're the best team in the country right now," Izzo said.
Torbert, a highly touted recruit who some critics have questioned for his lack of production in his first two years at MSU, said the team must remain patient.
"Our goal is to win game by game, not to rush anything," said Torbert, who was named Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 2001.
Torbert did acknowledge that the wealth of talent surrounding and supporting him and the other juniors makes the upcoming season their best chance for success.
"Now's the time for us to live up to what we can do - this is the best team since I've been here," Torbert said.
Anderson also said the team is full of good players, but their motivation and aggression will be the ultimate deciding factors.
"We have a lot of talent," Anderson said. "It's just going to be a matter of are we going to use it to our ability and work hard with it.
"The sky's the limit for us; it depends how bad we want it."
---