'Grind' awaits Jayhawks / LJWorld.com

Sports

After short break, KU will live, breathe ball

December 24, 2007

Kansas big man Sasha Kaun, left, bumps chests with guard Rodrick Stewart after getting a bucket and a foul against Miami of Ohio. The Jayhawks, who beat the RedHawks 78-54 on Saturday, will get a couple of days off before getting back to the "grind" Wednesday.

Kansas University's basketball players better rest up physically and mentally during their short-but-sweet holiday break, which officially started at the final horn of Saturday's game against Miami of Ohio.

They'll be facing quite a grind upon their return to campus for practice Wednesday night, coach Bill Self said.

"I do believe it's going to be a tough time," Self said of multiple daily practices leading up to the start of second semester on Jan. 17.

"Everybody else is on vacation, home with their family, friends and girlfriends, and we'll be up here practicing two, three times a day. That gets old.

"We have to look at it as a positive. It's our last chance to get better before we start conference play. We'll spin it into a positive. It can be a grind if you don't handle it right."

The Jayhawks, who enter the break with a 12-0 record, will practice extensively because NCAA rules do not limit practice time over the break between first and second semesters. Of course, KU will continue to play a regular slate of games, beginning with a Saturday, Dec. 29, game against Yale (7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).

"It'll be very important because we can focus in and get better during this period. We don't have to think about anything but basketball," junior Mario Chalmers said, adding, "extra practice will make us better as a team."

Darnell Jackson noted: "I think it'll be good for all the guys because finals are over, and we don't have to worry about anything but basketball, and we're learning every day. The coaches can work with us on and off the court and let us know what we need to do."

Self said he learned the value of practice time from former KU coach Larry Brown.

"Coach told the guys, 'Now you know what it's like to be in the NBA : except you don't get paid,'" KU's coach joked of players focusing only on hoops, not hoops and books.

It'll especially be a rude awakening for the KU freshmen, who already have survived Boot Camp conditioning as well as their first preseason camp with workouts much tougher than they were used to in high school.

"It's really important for the freshman," Jackson said, "because they have to be attentive with it. We're going to have to bring the huddle in even closer together when we play because the Big 12 is about to start, and anything can happen in the Big 12 and along down the road in the NCAA Tournament. So we definitely have to become one as a team and have great chemistry if we're trying to win a national championship."