Stewart on all-star team

Rodrick Stewart was the only member of Kansas University’s men’s basketball team to miss the Jayhawks’ first team meeting of the school year Wednesday.

Stewart, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from Seattle, is overseas playing in six games as a member of Sport Tours International’s college all-star team.

He left Saturday on a junket to Slovenia and Austria and will return Aug. 22.

“We thought it would be great for Rodrick since he hasn’t played in some time,” KU coach Bill Self said of Stewart, who transferred to KU from USC first semester last year and will be eligible to play for the Jayhawks after fall semester.

Stewart – who scored 17 points in the first game on the tour and broke a backboard dunking in Game Two, the dunk ending the game – had to pay his own way to play on the tour, which is led by a friend of KU assistant Tim Jankovich.

Meanwhile, the rest of the KU team is in Lawrence.

“They looked fine sitting in their chairs,” Self quipped of his players at the organizational meeting. “We’re excited they are back and ready for the start of school.”

Julian Wright, who had recent foot surgery, should be full speed within a week.