Jayhawks tour destroyer in Hawaii; Landen Lucas wears boot as precaution

Kansas senior forward Landen Lucas marched with his teammates down the middle of a side street Wednesday afternoon at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, hopping aboard the deck of the USS Chafee DDG 90 destroyer to begin a greatly anticipated tour.

The 6-foot-10 Portland, Ore., native was eager to gain admittance to the 509-foot ship with cruising speed of 38 knots and climb flight after flight of stairs despite wearing a walking boot on his right foot. It’s a boot that had several KU fans concerned after spotting it in a picture on social media earlier in the day.

Not to worry … KU coach Bill Self said Lucas, who practiced on Wednesday morning, had a “sore foot” and was wearing the boot for precautionary reasons.

“He doesn’t have a stress fracture. We don’t want it to become one,” Self said.

That topic of discussion out of the way, Self, KU’s managers, assistant Norm Roberts and some support staff members broke off into one of three groups to tour the impressive destroyer. The players split into two additional groups for the 45-minute tour.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the experience.

At one point, KU’s Frank Mason passed a 70-pound ammunition round to Josh Jackson, who delivered it to Lucas, on to Clay Young, Dwight Coleby and Devonté Graham, who returned it to Navy personnel conducting the tour.

KU freshman Udoka Azubuike, who was standing in the bridge at the top of the ship, asked if he could sample a pair of binoculars to look out into the distance. The Navy happily obliged.

Self and Roberts, meanwhile, stood high on an observation deck and peered at the surrounding ships, including the USS Missouri.

“I think the guys are really getting a lot out of this,” Self said after the tour of the destroyer. The squad then was ushered to the Pearl Harbor memorial and toured the USS Arizona. After that, the players took part in a clinic for Hawaii youths, also on the base.

“It’s very educational and I assume it will be moving going to Pearl Harbor and watching the video and actually being at the memorial,” Self said.

“Part of why we wanted to come here,” Self added, “is because it was an educational, once-in-a-lifetime experience, not only for our guys, but our coaches, too. I think they are getting so much out of it.”

The Jayhawks were to practice again Thursday morning and enjoy some free time in the afternoon prior to Friday’s 8:30 p.m. Armed Forces Classic game against Indiana.

Sexton to decide Thursday

Collin Sexton, a 6-foot-1 senior point guard from Pebblebrook High in Mableton, Ga., who is ranked No. 7 nationally, will announce his college choice during ESPNU’s Recruiting Nation: Basketball Signing Day Special at 5 p.m. Thursday. He has a list of KU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech and Georgia.

Many analysts consider Alabama the favorite for Sexton. His friend, John Petty, a 6-5 senior shooting guard from Jemison High in Huntsville, Ala., also will announce Thursday. The country’s No. 30-rated player is considering Alabama and Kentucky.

Preston may decide soon

It looks as if No. 8-ranked Billy Preston, a 6-9 senior forward from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., may announce his college choice in the weeklong early signing period.

Preston’s mom, Nicole Player, told Rivals.com that he indeed will choose among KU, Indiana, Syracuse and USC between now and next Wednesday. KU was to announce the signing of Marcus Garrett, a 6-5 combo guard from Dallas Skyline, once the compliance office received and approved the paperwork. He signed with KU on Wednesday morning.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Jayhawks tour destroyer in Hawaii; Landen Lucas wears boot as precaution."