Gooden weighing his options

KU junior addresses decision about future during, after rally

Drew Gooden heard cheers and chants of, “One more year” on Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

About 5,000 adoring fans who gathered for a post-Final Four pep rally on a cold, windy afternoon, let it be known they want the 6-foot-10 junior power forward to return next season and lead the Jayhawks to glory.

Kansas junior drew gooden, center, acknowledges the crowd as fans were chanting, One

The Richmond, Calif., native hinted during a short speech he just might be back, but later told reporters he’s yet to make up his mind.

“I don’t know. I’m not in a rush to make any decision,” Gooden said, asked what his time frame for making a decision would be.

He has until May 12 to declare for the 2002 NBA Draft.

“When I made my decision last year, it was a little easier than this year,” he added.

Gooden toyed with the idea of leaving KU after his sophomore season, announcing his decision to return at KU’s postseason awards ceremony, which this year will be Monday night.

“I’ll take some time,” Gooden said, “but I should have something within two weeks.”

Gooden said the fact KU fell short of winning a national championship would make him more determined to win a title his senior season.

“It’s a big factor now in my decision as far as staying another year,” Gooden said. “Knowing what I want to accomplish, it’s going to make the decision a little bit tougher. I will get together with coach (Roy Williams) and my family and we’ll have something soon.”

Various scouts have said Gooden would be a lottery pick in the upcoming draft.

“I am in the process of beginning to gather some information (from NBA officials),” Williams said Tuesday, just three hours after returning from the Final Four in Atlanta. “After I gather some information, Drew and I will sit down and talk. There’s nothing to say except I’m starting to gather information.”

During the rally, Gooden picked up on Williams’ statement that the Jayhawks would come back determined to win a national title on the opening day of practice on Oct. 15.

“I’ve given the guys a challenge,” Williams said. “Last year Maryland lost in the semifinals and they were determined to get back and do something more. It’s what I want these guys to do.”

Maryland, which fell to Duke in the Final Four semis a year ago, beat Indiana for the national title on Monday night, just two days after ending KU’s magical 33-4 season.

“This is the Final Four trophy,” Gooden said, hoisting the trophy for the fans to see. “Like coach says, Oct. 15, we have something to look forward to. Hopefully next year it’ll say national championship trophy.”

Gooden turned heads Sunday when he accepted his NABC co-player of the year award, saying he’d like to win it outright next season. On an ESPN awards show, he said he hoped to improve “even more” under Williams next season.

Williams on Tuesday sounded like a man eager for next season to begin.

“I hope you enjoyed it,” he told the crowd of the just-completed season, “because I tell you it was the most fun I’ve ever had as a college basketball coach.

“On Oct. 15, if you asked anybody on this stage, ‘Would you take 16-0 (in the Big 12)? Would you take going to the Final Four? Would you take 33-4?’ We’d all say, ‘Yes.’ But we also wanted to win the last one. We realize we fell a little short in that part, but it was a fantastic, fantastic season.”

Williams was joined on the stage by KU players, assistant coaches, managers and trainers, Chancellor Robert Hemenway, athletic director Al Bohl and radio announcers Bob Davis and Max Falkenstien.

Help wanted: Williams is looking for a new assistant coach. Neil Dougherty, who has worked for Williams the past seven seasons, begins his new head coaching job today at Texas Christian University.

“I don’t have a set time frame,” Williams said of naming an assistant. “We’re going to try to make some decisions and talk to some people this week. I have nothing in concrete about what we are going to do or when we’re going to do it.”

Former KU assistant Steve Robinson, who recently was fired as head coach at Florida State, has been mentioned as a possibility along with former North Carolina assistant Phil Ford and former Middle Tennessee State head coach Randy Wiel.

Awards celebration Monday: KU’s postseason awards celebration will be moved from Allen Fieldhouse to the Lied Center this year. Tickets for Monday’s celebration, which includes speeches from the seniors, awards presentations and viewing of the season highlight video, cost $5. Already about 1,200 tickets have been sold. The Lied Center seats about 2,000. The Williams Fund is in charge of the festivities.

“There’s better sound and more comfortable seating,” KU associate athletic director Richard Konzem said of the Lied Center compared to the fieldhouse. “Also we don’t have to build a stage like we have to do in the fieldhouse.”

Cold day in the shade: A stage was constructed near the stands on the west side of Memorial Stadium for Tuesday’s speeches with fans sitting in the nearby bleachers.

One problem.

The stage and west stands were in the shade while the east stadium stands were basked in bright sunlight.

“We might ask ourselves, ‘What are we doing out here today?’ We are freezing,” Hemenway joked. “To me it’s a chance to say, ‘Thank you.’ We did it the right way. We talk about ‘Roy’s Rules of Order.’ That’s the way it’s done at KU. With class. We thank coach Williams for giving all of us a great ride.

“Thank you (coaches and players) for the grace, dignity and intelligence for representing the university so well.”

Of the 40-degree wind chill, Williams said: “I am freezing my buns off. I would like to pledge to you now if we have a great year next year we’ll put all of your buns over there in the sun. I don’t know if I can do a lot of things, but I can figure out it’s a heck of a lot warmer over there. We appreciate you coming out in these numbers. As cold as it is today it’s amazing.”

After the ceremony, Williams said: “It (crowd) was really awesome. When you think about how many people would have been here if it hadn’t been so cold It was really cold. In that shade it was awful.”

AD’s comments: Bohl gushed about the job Williams did this season.

“There are 310 colleges in Div. I. If we could line up coaches of all the schools and if we could only pick one coach, I’d say everybody here would pick Roy Williams,” Bohl said. “Coach, I’ve only been here a few months. It didn’t take me long to recognize these people love you.

“Coach Williams talked about we needed to enjoy the journey. Coach you made sure we all enjoyed the journey.”

Recruiting: Williams will be in Coffeyville today recruiting Devin Smith, a 6-5 shooting guard from Coffeyville Community College, who is considering visiting KU, Iowa, Illinois, UNLV, Virginia and Oklahoma.