There will be KU basketball but no senior speeches Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse
For the first time since the 2006-07 home season finale and just the second time in the 16-year Bill Self era, there will be no postgame speeches delivered by Kansas basketball players on senior day at Allen Fieldhouse.
As in 2006-07, there will be team managers and parents to recognize prior to Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against Baylor, but no Jayhawks seniors available to grab the microphone and entertain the fans after the contest.
“It’ll feel a little bit different. We don’t get to have the senior speeches like we’ve had: Lando (Landen Lucas) and Frank (Mason). You’ve got Devonté (Graham) and Svi (Mykhailiuk), Clay (Young), Tyler (Self). We’ve had some pretty good ones,” KU junior forward Mitch Lightfoot said Thursday, recalling his first two senior day celebrations at KU.
“It’s usually a pretty emotional night. I’m looking forward to seeing what the mood is, seeing the energy. Shoot, I don’t know … if you want me to deliver a speech, I’ll deliver a speech out of nowhere,” Lightfoot said, jokingly.
KU coach Bill Self acknowledges Saturday’s atmosphere will be different with no postgame honorees.
“It won’t have as much significance this year obviously since we don’t have a (senior) player. Lagerald is not going to be with us on Saturday,” Self said of senior guard Lagerald Vick, who has been on an indefinite leave of absence from the team since Feb. 7.
“The thing about senior day to me is that day everybody buys into it. You forget about your role. You forget about your own personal expectations. You forget about that and you make senior day all about the players that are playing their last game. That’s what I tell them all along: ‘Hey Dedric (Lawson), you may be getting 20 and 10, but your job is to make sure he (senior) goes out in style.’ I’ve always said that to all my teams. I think everybody has bought into it because that is their one special day. This year obviously is going to be different. We don’t have one suiting up.
“It’s great to win your last regular-season game. We’ve done it a majority of times at home (35 straight wins in regular-season finales) and also not done it when playing at other people’s senior day. It’s a fun day but this year will be different than what it has been in years past.”
During several recent senior days, the Jayhawks honorees have delivered speeches with all the Big 12 title trophies from “the streak” on the court.
KU has had its string of 14 straight Big 12 titles snapped this season.
The Jayhawks are locked into the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Big 12 Tournament and will play Texas approximately 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Sprint Center.
“I don’t know I have a favorite memory (of the streak) other than it usually ended on senior night where we either clinched or got the outright on senior night. That always is a special night when you’ve got seniors to be able to roll out all those trophies (from past) and then have the guys talk in front of them,” Self said on Wednesday’s Hawk Talk radio show.
Self acknowledged that this year’s lone senior, Vick, likely will not return to the squad this season.
“Considering the late date … we are going on a month. There’s not a lot of time to come back,” Self said. “We are pretty set in what we are doing (as a team). I am not going to make a decision right now today because I don’t know. I’d say with each passing day it’s less lightly.”
Self pointed out that the 6-foot-5 Vick, who averaged 14.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a game in 23 games (66 of 145 from three for 45.5 percent) was part of three Big 12 regular-season title teams and teams that won 10 NCAA Tournament games in three years.
“There’s not too many players out there in the country that can say that. He’s played a role in that,” Self said. “People should remember Lagerald in a very favorable way no question. He’s going through some stuff right now. I think he’s doing well. I think it’s good he was able to take care of that and address it and working through whatever personal things that he’s got going. I’m excited for him to be better, however that better is, and for him to take this as a foundation to still go on and do great things after he leaves from here. I think he graduates next week. I think he finishes his last class next week and he only needed one to graduate. So I’m excited for him for that as well.”
Self added that Vick, “became better than what we envisioned when we were recruiting him. A lot better. And then after he got real good, then my expectations of that changed and I think there were times when he did play to that very high level and times where he didn’t. But that’s pretty much the case with everybody. We’ve got good and not-so-good moments and he certainly had his share of good moments for us.”
Lightfoot said Vick “is a great friend of mine. I’ve known him for a while. He was helpful to me when I got here showing me the ropes. We all know how much he means to us and how much he means to the program. We are all appreciative of him and are sad he can’t be here.”
Vick’s mom, La La Vick, has not responded to requests for comment.
Azubuike update
Injured KU junior center Udoka Azubuike has not been able to practice basketball since undergoing surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right hand on Jan. 9.
“He still has the screw in his hand. He can’t even take his cast off when he walks to class as long as there is ice on the sidewalk because there is always a risk he could slip or do something,” Self said Thursday “He has absolutely zero contact. As of today, the only thing he can do with his cast off is walk.
“He’s limited in the weight room. What you would be hoping for would be maintaining. He’ll be a better player next year than he would have been this year, not because of that, just because he’ll be a year older. He’s still real young. I doubt we’ll get a chance to witness that though.”
It’s long been believed Azubuike, 19, will turn pro after this season. He attended the NBA Combine last year, electing to return to KU with the idea it’d certainly be his final collegiate season.
He’s averaged 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in nine games in 2018-19.
Other players also could turn pro, including junior Dedric Lawson and freshman Quentin Grimes.
“I haven’t talked to one person about anything past this season at all. I will when the season is over, but there is no reason to do that right now, in my eyes,” Self said of discussions about whether players will stay or head to the NBA Draft.
Cottrell, Hampton visiting KU
KU will have two junior prospects on campus on official recruiting visits this weekend. They are: R.J. Hampton, a 6-5 guard from Little Elm (Texas) High School who is ranked No. 5 in the recruiting Class of 2020 according to Rivals.com and Isaiah Cottrell, a 6-9 forward from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas, who is ranked No. 69 in 2020. Cottrell has a long list that includes KU, Nevada, Marquette, Florida, UNLV, Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia, UCLA and many others. Hampton is considering KU, Duke, Kentucky, Memphis and TCU.
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 4:44 PM with the headline "There will be KU basketball but no senior speeches Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse."
