KU’s Self says Jayhawks had ‘good summer ... we definitely got better’
After spending the past two months on the University of Kansas campus, members of the 2019-20 KU men’s basketball team on Friday left Lawrence for a month-long vacation.
“I think it was a good summer. I think we definitely got better as the summer went on,” KU coach Bill Self assessed Monday. He spoke to media members before teeing off in the 11th annual Mario V. Chalmers Foundation Golf Tournament at Jayhawk Club Golf Course.
The Jayhawks attended summer school classes and worked out up to eight hours a week with coaches in accordance with NCAA rules. The players — they are due back a day or so prior to the start of fall semester classes on Aug. 26 — also participated in unsupervised pick-up games.
“Some individuals certainly made the most of what was going on with their time in Lawrence,” Self added.
Self, who is starting his 17th season at KU, was asked specifically about sophomore power forward David McCormack, who reportedly has come a long way since the end of his freshman season.
“I think he had a really good summer,” Self said of the 6-foot-10, 265-pound graduate of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. “But I think others did, too. To me, he’s the most improved player on the team,” Self added.
Freshman wing Tristan Enaruna currently is leading scorer (19.3 points per game) and rebounder (8.0) for the Netherlands team that is 1-2 in the FIBA Under-18 European Championships in Greece. Enaruna, a graduate of Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, enters KU as the No. 44-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2019 according to Rivals.com.
“I talked to him yesterday. He had a really big game against Croatia. I think he had 29 (points),” Self said, correctly citing Enaruna’s stats. “Others told me he’s done fine. He’s a good athlete. He may be arguably as good an athlete as we have. I’d say he and Ochai (Agbaji) are probably the two best guys (athletically) and Silvio (De Sousa).”
Self on Monday expressed concern for former KU forward Perry Ellis, who tore the patellar tendon in his right knee playing for the “Self Made” KU alumni team in the TBT on Thursday in Wichita.
“I haven’t talked to Perry that much at all the last couple years. I talked to he and Fonda (Ellis’ mom) more the last three to four days. Obviously it’s an awful basketball injury. Historically I think it’s worse and harder to come back than from an ACL. He has a long road ahead of him (from the standpoint of rehab),” Self said.
Ellis’ mom told The Star on Sunday her son will undergo surgery Wednesday in Kansas City. There’s a chance he will do the bulk of his rehab in Lawrence.
Self and KU assistant coach Norm Roberts played golf in the Chalmers event on Monday.
“Mario always trying to give back is pretty special,” Self said. Proceeds from the Chalmers golf tourney benefit the Kansas United Youth League of Lawrence and the Chalmers Family Scholarship Fund. He said the organization also remains committed to supporting the Boys and Girls Club.
Chalmers, 33, recently played in the BIG3 basketball event at the Sprint Center. A nine-year NBA veteran who competed for Virtus Bologna in the Italian League last season, Chalmers wants to play professionally again in 2019-20.
“We are trying to figure a way to put something together where me, Brandon (Rush) and Shady (Darrell Arthur) are on the same team again. Any Euro teams out there looking for a point guard, small forward and big man, hey we’re out here waiting,” Chalmers said. “We have a dream of playing together again.”
The three were key factors in KU winning the 2008 NCAA title.
Chalmers said the trio may ultimately surface in Europe, Australia or China.
Chalmers is fully recovered from the Achilles tendon he ruptured near the end of the 2015-16 season. He rehabbed the entire 2016-17 campaign, played 66 games for Memphis in 2017-18, but was not signed by an NBA team for last season and he remains a free agent.
“That’s not a question for me to answer, it’s up to NBA teams,” Chalmers said, asked if teams are still wary of Chalmers’ past injury. “I’m healthy. I’m in good shape. I’m ready to play to help a team out. Hopefully my agent will get a couple phone calls soon and we’ll figure out what my next move is.
“I am trying to show people I can still play,” he added of his competing all summer in Ice Cube’s BIG3 league. “I still have love for the game. I want to keep playing professionally a good four to five years.”
Chalmers was asked if he had advice for former KU forward Ellis, who will face long months of recovery following his own surgery.
“I don’t know a lot about torn patella. The way medicine and stuff is nowadays, I’m sure he will do well in rehab. I wish the best for him. Perry is a great player. He’s a Jayhawk. We always root for each other,” Chalmers said.
“The injury is serious. It is not a little tweak or anything. You’ve got to stay focused and really dedicate yourself, figure out what to do to make your body stronger. He’ll come back the same player he was before he went down.”
Retirement party for Keating, Marchiony
KU coach Self, volleyball coach Ray Bechard and athletic director Jeff Long spoke at a reception for athletic department members Jim Marchiony and Larry Keating on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. Keating and Marchiony, who both have served as associate athletic directors, both are retiring this week after 16 years at KU.
“Today is the going away party for Jim Marchiony and Larry Keating. I want to go back and pay homage to those two for everything they’ve meant to our athletic department over the last 16 years,” Self said. “I’ve never known two individuals who’ve cared more about the student-athlete than those guys.”
Keating worked closely with men’s basketball as the program’s schedule-maker.
“Larry has done wonders with scheduling, did an unbelievable job,” Self said. “They both will be greatly missed.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 5:00 AM.