Aldrich to throw out first pitch at Royals-Twins game

Kansas junior Cole Aldrich, left, is congratulated by coach Bill Self after Aldrich and Sherron Collins were named co-winners of the Danny Manning/Mr. Jayhawk award at the KU men’s basketball banquet. Aldrich is trying to decide what he'll wear for the cameras during the NBA draft Thursday.

Kansas University junior basketball center Cole Aldrich will throw out the ceremonial first pitch when his hometown Minnesota Twins meet the Kansas City Royals at 1:10 p.m. Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.

“I was too tall to play football and baseball, but this will be fun,” said the 6-foot-11 Aldrich, a native of Bloomington, Minn.

“I may have to practice a time or two before Sunday and get some tips from C.J. (Henry) since he played pro ball.”

KU guard C.J. Henry played four years of minor-league baseball prior to heading to KU this past season.

“Being from the Twin Cities, I’ve always loved the Twins,” Aldrich said. “Having been at Kansas for the past three years, I have become a Royals fan as well because it’s close to catch a game.”

Jones to choose next week: Terrence Jones, a 6-8 senior forward from Jefferson High in Portland, Ore., will announce his college decision a week from today, his mother, Linda Mashia-Jones, told the Oregonian newspaper.

Rivals.com’s No. 13-rated player in the Class of 2010 has a final list of Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Kentucky, Oklahoma and KU.

He has not yet made a campus visit to KU, and his mom said no visit was scheduled.

Chol cuts two: Angelo Chol, a 6-8 junior center from Hoover High in San Diego, eliminated UCLA and Florida on Thursday and now has a final list of five schools, Rivals.com reported.

Chol, who will compete at the three-day Jayhawk Invitational, which starts a week from today at Horejsi Center, Haskell and other gyms in town, lists KU, Alabama, UConn, Georgetown and Washington.

The Sudan native averaged 16.1 points , 13.1 rebounds and 8.4 blocks a game his junior season.

KU coach Bill Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend attended Chol’s open-gym workout Wednesday and also visited Winston Shepard, a 6-7 sophomore from Findlay Prep in Las Vegas.

He’s considering KU, UNLV, UCLA, Kentucky, Arizona, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Indiana and others.

Vitale to speak Wednesday: ESPN’s Dick Vitale will be featured speaker Wednesday at Washburn University’s Lecture Series (7 p.m., Lee Arena).

Tickets are available for both the lecture and a VIP banquet (5 p.m. to 6:45) by calling 785-670-1723 or stopping by the Student Activities & Greek Life Office in the Washburn Memorial Union. All proceeds go to Coaches vs Cancer.

Guests will include KU coaches Self and Bonnie Henrickson, and Kansas State’s Frank Martin and Deb Patterson.