Reed expected Aldrich’s move

Kansas University junior center Cole Aldrich’s decision to turn pro didn’t shock his roommate of three years, Tyrel Reed.

“I knew it was coming,” Reed said of Aldrich’s declaration to enter the 2010 NBA Draft and bypass his senior year at KU. “I talk to him all the time. I have a really close relationship with him.”

The bosom buddies engaged in some serious conversations following KU’s season-ending loss to Northern Iowa on March 20 in Oklahoma City.

“During the season, we really never talked about his future or anything, NBA-wise. We were just really focused on the season,” Reed, a junior guard from Burlington, said. “After the season, first off we were just really, really disappointed. We didn’t really want to talk at all to anyone. You kind of holed yourself up in your room for a while.”

But eventually …

“(We) just talked about the great success he’s had here and how big of an influence he’s had on this program,” Reed said, indicating the consensus was that, “he’s ready. He definitely is. He’s matured over the years from the time he came in as a freshman. He’s mature and ready to get going.”

Reed remembers a time when Aldrich wasn’t quite as mature as he is today.

“My freshman year, right when we got here, me, Conner (Teahan), Chase (Buford) and Cole all had a class together. It was up on the hill. It was a long walk. And I remember walking to class one day, and he had a wife-beater (undershirt) on and just looked hideous. Some big old jeans shorts,” Reed joked.

“Coach (Bill) Self drove up and he’s like, ‘What are you wearing?’ He’s like, ‘We don’t wear that kind of stuff around here at Kansas.’ That probably just sticks out in my mind. He’s just goofy enough that he doesn’t care what he’s wearing. That’s just him. I can just joke on it now.”

Reed will miss Aldrich, who easily could have left KU after two seasons, especially with his dad and mom out of work at the time.

“That’s probably what stands out most in my mind. He put his teammates, he put his coaches, the fans all in front of his family’s financial needs at that time — even his financial needs,” Reed said.

Keller a Pitt State finalist: KU video coordinator Kyle Keller is one of five finalists for the Pittsburg State head coaching position, the Pittsburg Sun reports. Keller is a former assistant coach at Oklahoma State.

Others: former Pitt State aide Jeff Hafer; Coffeyville CC coach Jay Herkelman; Cloud County CC coach Kevin Muff; and former Northwest Missouri State coach Steve Tappmeyer.

Lamb cuts Zona: Doron Lamb, a 6-4 senior from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., has eliminated Arizona from his list of schools, Rivals.com reports. Lamb, Rivals.com’s No. 21-rated player, has a final four of Kansas, Kentucky, UConn and West Virginia.