🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Musings at the mid-week:

■ One question was posed to me often on a visit to Las Vegas. Heck, even before I went out for a weekend of unrest and no relaxation.

■ What’s the spread gonna be on Kansas State-Auburn?

■ Usually I offered a stumped look, then blurted out the number, eight, thinking that seemed about right.

■ Hey, I hit one. For no money as luck would have it.

■ Oddsmakers installed the Tigers as 8-point favorites, though that creeped up to nine by the time I thumbed a ride to the airport.
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LAWRENCE — There’s no quarterback controversy yet, but Charlie Weis admitted Tuesday that he wouldn’t hesitate to go to backup Michael Cummings if Montell Cozart struggles in Saturday’s game against Central Michigan.

“All I know is whoever is going to give us the best chance to win this game, that’s who’s going to be in there,” Weis said during his weekly news conference Tuesday. “And right now we think that Montell gives us the best chance to win this game.”

The sophomore Cozart was ineffective against Duke, completing 11 of 27 passes for 89 yards with two interceptions.

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K-STATE, KU GAME TIMES SET: The Big 12 announced Monday that the Kansas State football team’s home game Sept. 27 against UTEP will kick off at 11:05 a.m. with television coverage on FSN.

Kansas’ Sept. 27 home game against Texas will kick off at 3:10 p.m. and air on Fox Sports 1. The Longhorns, who fell 20-17 to No. 12 UCLA last Saturday, have a bye week before facing the Jayhawks.

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LAWRENCE — The Allen Fieldhouse trash cans went unused for the first day of Kansas basketball boot camp.

The two-week conditioning program — a staple of coach Bill Self’s 12 seasons in Lawrence — began Monday without any Jayhawks losing their breakfasts.

“We made it through day one just fine,” KU sophomore forward Landen Lucas said.

Freshman Kelly Oubre — sitting next to Lucas at an interview table Monday afternoon — chimed in as well.

“You’re right,” he said with a smile. “We’re tough, man.”

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Charlie Weis scheduled an early-morning meeting Sunday with starting quarterback Montell Cozart.

The goal? Get him refocused after a disappointing effort in Kansas’ 41-3 loss Saturday to Duke.

“I said, ‘Lookit, when you win the quarterback gets all the credit. When you lose, the quarterback gets all the blame,’” Weis said during Monday’s Big 12 teleconference. “I said, ‘You and I are tied at the hip on this one.’ When we win, everyone wants to say, ‘Well that’s good,’ and when you lose, he needs to understand as a young guy that everyone’s looking at him.

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FOOTBALL

High school boxes

LATE RESULTS FRIDAY

AXTELL 92, LEWISTON, NEB. 40

Axtell (1-1) 54 22 8 8 — 92

Lewiston, Neb. (0-1) 0 6 6 8 — 40

Axtell — Jones (3), 12 run, 20 run, 39 pass from Buessing; Talbot (3), 5 run, 21 run, 46 punt return; Buessing (2), 3 run, 61 kickoff return; Heiman (2), 21 interception, 1 run; Meybrunn 35 run; Kuckelman 33 pass from Buessing. PAT — Jones 4 runFailed run; Heiman 2 run; Buessing runpass from Heiman; Coon run; Buessing Failed run; Meybrunn pass from Buessing.

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DURHAM, N.C. — Though Kansas has an array of problems to address following its 41-3 loss to Duke on Saturday, the most discussed topic next week will likely be this: Do the Jayhawks have the right guy to lead them at quarterback?

Montell Cozart was inconsistent with his throws and decision-making, completing just 11 of 27 passes for 89 yards with two interceptions.

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DURHAM, N.C. — Even before the season, Kansas coach Charlie Weis pointed to this game as a significant one for his team.

If there was a time for KU football to show this year was different, this was it. Go to Wallace Wade Stadium, take down a strong Duke squad and end a 24-game road losing streak that has hung over the program for a half-decade.

So no, this didn’t go as planned.

If anything, the Jayhawks only mirrored the incompetence of their last few teams in a 41-3 blowout loss to the Blue Devils on a cloudy afternoon in central Carolina.

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KU VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS VILLANOVA, YALE: The No. 24 Kansas volleyball team picked up two wins on Friday, posting sweeps in both matches. KU (8-1) first defeated Villanova, 25-12, 27-25, 25-19 at the Villanova Classic in Villanova, Pa., and then defeated Yale, 25-22, 25-15, 25-21. Against Villanova, sophomore middle blocker Tayler Soucie led the way with a season-high 10 blocks. Libero Cassie Wait had 20 digs against Yale.

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**KANSAS JAYHAWKS **

MATCHUP: Kansas (1-0) at Duke (2-0).

KICKOFF: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, N.C.

RADIO: KMAJ-AM (1440).

TV: Fox Sports Midwest.

LINE: Duke by 15.5.

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LAWRENCE — With Kansas cornerback Dexter McDonald hauling in two interceptions against Southeast Missouri State last Saturday, you’d think there’s little reason to poke fun at his game.

How do you bully the Big 12’s defensive player of the week?

Well, fellow defensive back JaCorey Shepherd actually made it seem pretty easy.

“It was the fact that he didn’t return either of those interceptions,” Shepherd said. “I gave him some trouble. I felt he had an opportunity to return at least one of them.”

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LAWRENCE — Panther Creek football coach Wayne Bragg quickly made his way down the sideline to find his team’s backup quarterback.

“Go down and get the extra-point team ready,” he told his team’s holder.

The request hardly made sense.

Panther Creek had just started a drive at its own 36, meaning the field-goal unit should have had plenty of time to congregate.

Bragg, though, saw something different.

Isaiah Johnson was about to score a touchdown.

Bragg says he could tell immediately he had a player in Johnson.

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LAS VEGAS — No, the corporate credit card is not getting swiped on this diversion.

The timing just seemed right. K-State idle. Washburn playing a Thursday night game in Kearney, Neb. KU headed to Duke … uhh, for football. The Chiefs out of town and, one game into the NFL season, out of gas.

Why not head to Vegas? This idea was not endorsed by Dave Ramsey as one of his baby steps to financial independence, but then I was never destined to take part in some shout-out at his Nashville studio.

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TRIP IN TIME

30 YEARS AGO | SEPT. 8, 1984

KANSAS 31, WICHITA STATE 7

LAWRENCE — Kansas suspended seven players just hours before the season opener, all but one of them defenders, yet allowed just 188 yards and smothered Wichita State.

The game was the last in football between the in-state rivals. WSU disbanded its program after the 1986 season. The Jayhawks enjoyed a 5-2 all-time advantage over the Shockers in the series.

Among those summoned into the KU starting lineup was freshman Rick Bredesen.

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LAWRENCE — Quarterbacks are always measured by their win-loss record. So Kansas sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart passed the first test last week in the Jayhawks’ season-opening win against Southeast Missouri State.

Now comes a more difficult test as Kansas will travel down Tobacco Road for a 2:30 p.m. Saturday game against Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. Cozart should enter the matchup against the Blue Devils with plenty of confidence after having played the best game of any quarterback in the Charlie Weis era at KU.

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LAWRENCE — The microphones needed to be checked, so new freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk leaned forward in his chair with the lights shining brightly on him.

“Boo!” he said, drawing laughs from reporters around him.

For a 17-year-old that had just arrived at Kansas two days ago, the 6-foot-7 guard sure seemed comfortable in his own skin during a short meeting with media members at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

That was most evident when the Ukrainian national team player was asked what he felt he did best as a basketball player.

“Everything,” he said with a smile.
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LAWRENCE — Anytime Kansas and Duke get together, it’s usually a marquee matchup. This weekend’s game is as well, although it won’t be played at Allen Fieldhouse or Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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Kansas Athletics released ticket information for the upcoming “Celebrating 60 Years” event to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Allen Fieldhouse. The ceremony, which will have KU’s last four basketball coaches attending in Bill Self, Roy Williams, Larry Brown and Ted Owens — also will have ESPN’s Jay Bilas as an emcee. Event-only tickets range from $25-$60 and will be available to the general public on Sept. 22. Williams Education Fund members can purchase their tickets up to a week earlier, with a limit of 10 tickets per account.

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Musings at the mid-week:

■ Kansas State quarterbacks keep the football so often it is a wonder QBRG is not as recognizable as EMAW.

■ For those who still need assistance, that’s Quarterback Run Game.

■ Jake Waters never showed much in the run game while starring in junior college at Iowa Western.

■ Yet the K-State coaches saw something in him that suggested Waters could be a dual threat.

■ “We’ll never take the quarterback run game out of our offense, or no one would recognize our offense,” co-offensive coordinator Dana Dimel told me at K-State’s media day.

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LAWRENCE — Kansas coach Charlie Weis was his candid self when told by a reporter Tuesday that his players spoke openly about losing their focus against Southeast Missouri.

“The players should just shut up. That's what the players should do,” Weis said with a half-grin. “They should be happy they won the game. They don't need to comment on focus.”

Weis also took the opportunity to address another hot topic: KU fans leaving before the game was over. Though the official attendance was 36,574, more than half those people left early.

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LAWRENCE — Twice on Monday, Charlie Weis mentioned how he felt good about Kansas’ matchup against Duke, saying his team’s strengths matched up with the Blue Devils’ strengths.

The third-year coach was more specific Tuesday: He believes Duke’s receivers against KU’s secondary will be the battle to watch.

“The people most dynamic on their team are the wide receivers. (Secondary) also happens to be the position that we feel the best about on our defense,” Weis said. “So something is going to have to give here. I'm rooting for the good guys.”

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K-State coach Bill Snyder and Kansas coach Charlie Weis, with both their teams coming off tight wins last weekend, spoke to the media Tuesday in their weekly news conferences. See what the coaches had to say.

For mobile users, see Weis' news conference here ↗ and Snyder's here. ↗
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LAWRENCE -- Here’s a quick rundown of Kansas coach Charlie Weis’ comments from his Tuesday news conference.

■ Said KU’s players should go to Duke with the expectation of winning. “Our players have visual evidence on tape that they have a legitimate chance of winning,” Weis said.

■ Added it “would be a big win for our program.” A win, of course, would put KU at 2-0 with a home game coming up in two weeks.

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Kansas Athletics released ticket information for the upcoming "Celebrating 60 Years" event to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The ceremony, which will have KU's last four basketball coaches attending in Bill Self, Roy Williams, Larry Brown and Ted Owens — also will have ESPN's Jay Bilas as an emcee.

Event-only tickets range from $25-$60 and will be available to the general public on Sept. 22. Williams Education Fund members can purchase their tickets up to a week earlier, with a limit of 10 tickets per account.

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Though his team has opened as a 17-point underdog for Saturday’s road game against Duke, Kansas coach Charlie Weis doesn’t sound like a man that believes his team is a longshot.

“They’re very well coached, very methodical in what they do, but we also think this is a good matchup for us,” Weis said during Monday’s Big 12 teleconference. “A lot of times, football games are about matchups. And sometimes you go into a game and the matchup isn’t really good.

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LAWRENCE — If the spin worked, Kansas wide receiver Tony Pierson was going untouched to the end zone. Even from 50 yards out. Even with half of the Southeast Missouri State defense ahead of him. If Pierson was able to juke to the inside and regain his balance, none of that would matter.

And maybe in any other year this wouldn’t have been such a foregone conclusion, yet with a retooled Kansas offense it was clear Pierson would get better opportunities to show off his speed.

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LAWRENCE — As far as openers go, this is one Kansas wide receiver Nick Harwell likely will remember for a while.

The senior transfer from Miami (Ohio) made his Jayhawk debut against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, and statistically by KU standards didn’t disappoint, catching four passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns in KU’s 34-28 win.

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LAWRENCE — What are Kansas football fans supposed to do with a game like this?

KU’s 34-28 season-opening victory over Southeast Missouri was a blowout, then it wasn’t. A breath of fresh air, then a reminder of all the blunders that have made the program a laughingstock the last few years.
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Topeka native Gary Woodland shot a 3-over 73 on Friday and tumbled 19 spots down the leaderboard at the BMW Championship in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. Woodland entered the second round tied for first but four bogeys cost him dearly. He sits at even-par, tied for 20th. Sergio Garcia shot a 6-under 64 to take the lead. Garcia holed out of a bunker for birdie on the second hole. He holed a lob wedge for eagle on the seventh hole. Ryan Palmer also had a 64 and was one shot behind.

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**KANSAS JAYHAWKS **

MATCHUP: Southeast Missouri (1-0) at Kansas (0-0).

KICKOFF: 6 p.m. Saturday, Memorial Stadium, Lawrence.

RADIO: KMAJ-AM (1440).

TV: Cox Kansas 22.

LINE: No line.

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LAWRENCE — It was about a week after Kansas’ top two running backs, Taylor Cox and Brandon Bourbon, suffered season-ending injuries that sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart realized the Jayhawks would recover.

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LAWRENCE – Discuss all you want the elements required for Kansas to play competitive football this season.

Essentially it will boil down to two variables – experience and quarterback play.

Throughout the fall, and as far back as spring drills, Montell Cozart was coronated as KU’s best quarterback.

He demonstrates leadership, he grasps the new spread attack, he throws the ball accurately, he possesses the skills necessary to pose a dual threat. At least that’s what we’ve been told.

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LAWRENCE — Keon Stowers was watching television on the couch when he heard the knock at the door.

Two men in suits wanted to talk to his father, Desmond.

Seventeen-year-old Keon had seen family members arrested before, and on this day, his father surrendered himself willingly and without a struggle.

For the future 6-foot-3, 297-pound Kansas defensive lineman, the incident was just the latest in a string of childhood letdowns. As he watched out the window, getting one last glimpse of his father being taken away, Keon figured he’d see him tomorrow, maybe the day after.

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LAWRENCE — The Southeast Missouri State sideline will have plenty of Kansas flavor Saturday.

Silver Lake native Tom Matukewicz will lead his undefeated Redhawks into Memorial Stadium to take on the Jayhawks in KU’s 6 p.m. season opener.

For Matukewicz, who is in his first year as head coach at the school, the opportunity to coach a game so close to home is something he’s been looking forward to.

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LAWRENCE — When you’re standing at the bottom of the Big 12 and looking up like Kansas is, there obviously is a lot of work to do before you get to the top.

But a good way to help speed up the process — or at least take that pivotal first step — is with a talented, young quarterback who can make plays with his arm, his legs and light a fire in those around him. KU believes it has one in Montell Cozart.

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Josh Pollard, a 6-foot-4 guard from Cedar Hills, Utah, will join the Kansas men's basketball team as a walk-on, coach Bill Self announced Wednesday.

Josh is the nephew of former KU forward Scot Pollard, who played for the Jayhawks from 1993-97.

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Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Brian Waters is calling it quits after 13 seasons in the NFL, CBSsports.com reported on Tuesday. In his statement, he thanked Kansas City for “eleven wonderful seasons.” Waters also recently played for New England and Dallas.

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Musings at the mid-week:

■ The unveiling of the new spread attack at Kansas — delayed a week by a scheduling quirk — is almost here.

■ Getting the football into the hands of receivers and scoring points is key.

■ If, for no other reason than to give the Jayhawks defense a chance.

■ KU coach Charlie Weis insists if the offense can produce at a greater clip, the defense will give the Jayhawks more opportunities to win.

■ Love the man’s optimism, wit and candor. I really do. But he carries a 4-20 mark at KU.

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LAWRENCE — Seven true freshmen made an appearance on Kansas’ Week 1 two-deep, and don’t expect them to simply hold clipboards in the Jayhawks’ season-opener Saturday against Southeast Missouri State.

“I think they’ll all play,” KU coach Charlie Weis said during his weekly news conference Tuesday. “If they’re on the depth chart, you should expect to see them in the game.”

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Kansas cornerback Kevin Short has withdrawn from the team for personal reasons, coach Charlie Weis announced Tuesday.

Short, a junior juco transfer who sat out a season ago to get his academics in order, was expected to battle for a starting cornerback spot.

"I am sorry to report that I must withdraw from school for personal reasons," Weis said. "I want to be clear that I am not leaving due to academics and I am not being dismissed from the team. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am hoping to return to KU."

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LAWRENCE -- Here’s a quick rundown of Kansas coach Charlie Weis’ comments from his Tuesday news conference.

■ Weis said the player who has to improve the most this season for KU to be successful this year is quarterback Montell Cozart.

“For us to win more football games, it starts with the guy with the ball on every play,” Weis said.

Also added that the new offense fits Cozart very well and the play at receiver has helped him improve as well.

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Charlie Weis spent Saturday like most other college football fans, flipping through channels to watch games during his team’s bye week.

That was both a good thing and a bad thing, he said.

“I could lie and tell you that everyone was happy that they were off this week, but that’s what it would be: It would be a lie,” Weis said on Monday’s Big 12 teleconference. “I think that every player and all the coaches would have been much happier if they were playing on Saturday than sitting around and watching games.”

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The No. 22 Kansas volleyball team downed No. 23 Creighton in four sets Saturday in a rematch of the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament to win the Kansas Invitational.

Sara McClinton registered 18 kills while leading the Jayhawks (2-1) to the 25-21, 27-25, 17-25, 25-16 victory against the Bluejays (2-1).

K-STATE ENDS TOURNAMENT RUN: The Kansas State volleyball team met mixed results Saturday in the Green Bay Country Inn & Suites Tournament.

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LAWRENCE — Ryan Cantrell knows he’s been hired this year to be more than Kansas' assistant director of football operations.

He is here to be a belief coach, as well.

If anyone knows the odds stacked against KU — and that those obstacles can be overcome — it’s Cantrell, who played center from 2005-08 and was part of the Jayhawks’ magical run to the Orange Bowl in 2008.

Now, after spending the last four seasons at Rice with new KU offensive coordinator John Reagan, Cantrell has returned, in part, to try to infuse some positive thinking back into the program.

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HORTON -- Former Olympic champion Billy Mills will attend a ceremony Saturday to unveil a new, half-mile oval walkway to be used by the Kickapoo Nation.

The event begins with registration at 8 a.m. Ribbon cutting for the new walking trail is scheduled for 8:45 a.m., followed by a walk at 9.

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TRIP IN TIME

15 YEARS AGO | AUG. 28, 1999

NOTRE DAME 48, KANSAS 13

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kansas was convinced the Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame’s football tradition were not factors in the Eddie Robinson Classic.

Not just before the game, but afterward.

“We know we can play with Notre Dame,’’ said Termaine Fulton, a wide receiver from Topeka. “We weren’t intimidated by who they were or by their helmets or anything. We just made too many mistakes.’’

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HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets have signed forward Tarik Black, who played on their summer league teams in Orlando and Las Vegas.

The 6-foot-8 Black played two seasons at Memphis and one at Kansas, averaging 8.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in his career. In his lone season at Kansas, he was named preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and went on to average 15 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.

Black averaged 10 points and six rebounds in five games in the Orlando Summer League. He played in eight games for the Las Vegas team.

The University of Kansas is tapping its roster of famous alumni, lining up Rob Riggle to lead the school’s homecoming parade in downtown Lawrence next month.

The actor and comedian, a 1993 KU graduate, will be grand marshal for the parade, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 26. A pep rally will follow to cap a week of activities leading up to the football team’s Sept. 27 matchup with Texas.

This year’s homecoming theme is Roll with the ’Hawks. A complete schedule is available at www.homecoming.ku.edu ↗.

LAWRENCE — Bill Self says catching up academically shouldn’t be an issue for incoming freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who will be a late arrival to campus after making his native Ukraine’s FIBA World Cup national team.

The 12th-year Kansas coach mostly isn’t concerned because of Mykhailiuk’s makeup, describing him as a “really, really bright kid.”

“I would still predict that he’ll be a 3.5 (GPA) student by the end of the semester,” Self said Monday at his Boy Scout Golf Tournament at Lawrence Country Club.

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Freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk's arrival to Kansas' campus has been delayed ... for a good reason.

The 17-year-old Mykhailiuk officially made the FIBA World Cup roster for his home country of Ukraine. The tournament is set to run from Aug. 30 through Sept. 14 in Spain.

Mykhailiuk, who's listed as a 6-8, 195-pound guard on KU's roster page, helped Ukraine's U18 team to a second-place finish in FIBA's Division B European championship tournament earlier this month in Bulgaria. Mykhailiuk, who averaged 16 points and 4.7 rebounds at the event, was named the tourney's MVP.