Keegan: Mario will be super

Every coach has his pet phrase, and for the face of Kansas University’s basketball program, “Wake up!” is it.

Bill Self probably hollers “Wake up!” a good 15 times a game. Two games into the exhibition season, Mario Chalmers just might lead the team in “Wake ups!” as in, “Wake up, Mario!”

And with each one, the expression on the face of the freshman point guard never changes. Ronnie Chalmers coached his son Mario at Bartlett High in Anchorage, Alaska, and now is on Self’s staff as director of basketball operations.

Watching the face of Ronnie Chalmers stay the same as his son is getting corrected emphatically by the head coach is a good sign. It’s not surprising, considering the no-nonsense reputation of the elder Chalmers, who is noted as a disciplinarian. Still, when it comes to fathers and sons and sports, it never hurts to see evidence that backs that up.

Whether Self is hollering, “Wake up, Mario!” or “Wake up, Micah!” Ronnie Chalmers is doing what he always does, taking his eyes off the action on the floor only to make his notations on the clipboard he holds.

Throughout Mario’s KU career, it will behoove the other four guys on the floor with him to “Wake up!” to avoid a basketball off the nose or the chin. His passes have that much velocity.

Even on a night Self was displeased with the perimeter play, Chalmers showed enough skill and savvy in KU’s 73-47 exhibition victory Monday night over Pittsburg State to make it easy to envision a terrific guard in the not-too-distant future. Like a great pool player who keeps the table all night, Chalmers sees shots (for teammates) that most don’t.

In 17 minutes, he totaled five points, four assists, two steals and two turnovers. We’re sorry to report that “Wake ups!” are not recorded. Some directed at Chalmers were for forgetting to apply full-court pressure on his man. Before long, doing the right thing will become second-nature, and he’ll have a better feel for when to go for steals, when to stay home. Once he gets those things down and cranks up his defense a notch, he’s likely to start every game for the rest of his career.

Unless Self changes his mind between Monday night and Friday’s opener against Idaho State at Allen Fieldhouse, Jeff Hawkins will start the season alongside Russell Robinson.

“I thought Mario did some good things, but he gambled and missed too much,” Self said afterward.

All four of Chalmers’ assists were memorable crowd-pleasers, delivered with Joe Montana accuracy and, except for a late lob to slam-happy C.J. Giles, with Bobby Douglass velocity.

Soon-to-be-Super Mario’s first helper came on a 2-on-1 fastbreak started on a Chalmers steal, when he drew the defender to him and hit Julian Wright with an on-the-money wrap-around in the lane. Wright fumbled it, then recovered in time to throw it off the glass for a bucket. Thirty seconds later, Chalmers laser-beamed a long one to Wright on the left block for an easy layup, his best pass of the night. With 2:04 left in the half, Chalmers had the ball on the right wing, saw Jackson on the left block and got it to him in a blink for a dunk.

When the ball’s in the hands of Chalmers, for those playing with and watching him, it’s wise to “Wake up!”