20 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
P
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005
Jeremy Case, sophomore guard, dribbles the ball down the court. Case helped the skins in their victory during the Basketball Camp scrimmage.
Freshman wows crowd at scrimmage
BY ASHLEY MICHAELS amichaels@kansan.com KANSAN STAFF WRITER
It was the shirts vs. the skins during the Bill Self 2005 Kansas Basketball Camp scrimmage. The score was close as Julian Wright pulled off a turnaround jumper winning the game for the skins.
mining the game Wright, small forward and incoming Chicago Heights, Ill., freshman, got his first taste of vi-
Jeff Hawkins focuses on his next move during the Basketball Camp scrimmage June 15. The players put on a game for 1,100 campers and several fans.
tory as a Jayhawk with his winning shot in the scrimmage at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center, west of Allen Fieldhouse, June 15.
Wright and Mario Chalmers, incoming freshman point guard from Anchorage, Ala., played their first game in front of a Kansas crowd, including close to 1,100 screaming campers and more than 50 loyal Lawrence basketball fans. The week of June 12 through 16 marked the first of
Roderick Stewart, transfer freshman guard from the University of Southern California, also competed in the scrimmage as a first-time Jayhawk.
"Camp is one of the best experiences I have had at KU so far," Stewart said. "I met a lot of new people and have had the opportunity to make some new friends."
The scrimmage was one game to 60 points, with halftime at 30 points. The game started out slow, but both teams picked it up after halftime. The game was close with junior guard Stephen Vinson hitting a three-pointer to tie it up, 58-58, as the game drew to a close. Referees called a foul on the shirts resulting in a free-throw shot, bringing the score to 58-59 with the skins leading. Then came Wright's turnaround jumper and the end of the game with the skins winning 58-61.
kids, having fun," Wright said. "This game shows how competitive we can be and it says a lot about our team."
Zach Strauss/KANSAN
Although it was just a scrimmage, it was an opportunity for everyone to check out the team and get a feel for what the new freshmen were going to bring to the mix.
"It was great playing for the
"I think Mario played exceptionally well. He had some big shots, a lot of threes in the beginning," Nash said. "Julian - I felt he hit some good shots and he won the game for them. He has a lot of confidence in his shot."
Wright said he didn't feel like people were there to watch the game as much as they were there to check out the technical aspects of the team and its personnel.
Historically, at each camp session, incoming freshmen, current players and alumni participate in the scrimmage. Past camp scrimmages have drawn former Kansas players such as Indiana Pacers center Scot Pollard and New Jersey Nets forward Billy Thomas. This session the only players outside the incoming freshmen and current players were Roderick Stewart, transfer freshman, Bryant Nash, former KU small forward, and Lamont Hamilton, St. John's University sophomore.
ROSTER
Shirts:
Sasha Kaun, Melbourne, Fla., freshman (center)
Jeff Hawkins, Kansas City, Kan., junior (guard)
Russell Robinson, New York, N.Y., freshman (guard)
Darnell Jackson, Oklahoma City, Okla., freshman (forward)
Christian Moody, Asheville, N.C., junior (forward)
♦ Bryant Nash, Coppell,
Texas, former player
(forward)
♦ Stephen Vinson, Lawrence junior (guard)
Skins:
♦ Matt Kleinmann, Overland Park freshman (center)
Roderick Stewart,
Southern California
freshman (guard)
Julian Wright, Flossmoor, Ill., incoming freshman (forward)
Mario Chalmers, Anchorage, Alaska incoming freshman (guard)
C. J. Giles, Seattle, Wash., freshman (center)
Jeremy Case, Oklahoma City, Okla., sophomore (guard)
Lamont Hamilton,
St. John's University
sophomore (forward)
As for the campers, they had fun,
and that's really what it's all about.
"The game was so exciting," said 16-year-old Stephen Roney, Des Moines, Iowa camper. "The guys were huge and the dunks were sweet."
— Edited by Erin M. Droste