KU Basketball Notebook: Gooden faring well in summer league

Drew Gooden poured in 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to fuel the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a Southern California Summer Pro League game on Friday night in Long Beach, Calif. Gooden, the Grizzlies’ first-round NBA Draft choice out of Kansas, made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and 12 of 14 free throws while playing 41 minutes.

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Thomas to Nets: Former KU guard Billy Thomas, who scored 15 points for Indiana in a summer league game last week, left the Pacers Friday to join the New Jersey Nets’ summer league team.

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Manning to become Bull?: Former KU All-American Danny Manning is apparently on the wish list of the Chicago Bulls.

Manning, 36, who played in 41 games for Dallas last season, could serve as a mentor to the Bulls’ young big men, including Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.

“He’s definitely going to play next season,” Manning’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald. “He played really well when he was on the court (for Dallas). We’re talking to a number of different teams.”

The 6-foot-10 Manning, the Herald said, is a longtime favorite of Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who likes to point out that he selected Manning’s father, Ed, for the Baltimore Bullets in the eighth round of the 1967 draft. Ed Manning went on to play nine seasons in the NBA and ABA.

Manning, who recently was brought in by Bulls’ management for a visit, would likely sign for the veteran’s minimum of $1 million.

“One of the main reasons we’re bringing some guys in for visits is to conduct physicals, because a lot of the guys we’re looking at are far along in their careers,” Krause told the Chicago Sun Times. “But as far as visits, a lot of the guys we’re looking at already know us.”

The Bulls are also interested in Washington’s Popeye Jones, Denver’s Scott Williams and Houston’s Kevin Willis.