Gary Bedore / LJWorld.com

Staff

Gary Bedore (KU basketball reporter)

I was born and raised in Chicago, the South side of town. 103rd Street South and Homan Avenue.

Chicago natives care about sports, mostly pro sports. In fact, I never watched a college sporting event — except for football bowl games I guess — until I was a junior or senior in high school. It's unusual, but I grew up liking both the Cubs and White Sox because my grandfather loved the Cubs and would take me to Cub games and my dad had Sox season tickets and would take me to Sox games.

I switched allegiance solely to the White Sox after we moved to the suburb of Lisle for my junior year of high school. We had season tickets in the fifth row, lower level, which made for some fun summers at Comiskey Park. The 2005 World Series was a great moment for me as Ozzie Guillen finally took care of the Chicago hex in baseball. The Sox not only won it all, but breezed though the postseason. It was nirvana.

I must plug my grade school, Queen of Martyrs. I was 12th man on a 15-man team that won the city eighth grade championship. I ran cross country and track for two years at Brother Rice High School, only because I unfairly got cut from the baseball and basketball teams (just kidding). I moved on to Benet Academy in Lisle for my junior and senior years, but by then my baseball skills had rusted off, so I stuck with running.

Both Catholic high schools are among the best in the country. I'd recommend parents sending their kids to Benet and/or Br. Rice. Brother Rice remains a football power and I enjoy following the team every fall. Benet was a basketball powerhouse for years ... right after my high school class graduated.

At Benet, I was co-editor of the school newspaper with my great friend John Hoppenrath. I knew I was going to major in Journalism in college; he knew he was going to be a rich engineer. Still, he wrote most of the headlines and did most of the layout as putting out the paper in high school proved a major headache.

I decided to attend KU after taking Amtrak to Lawrence with my good friend Gary Karafiat the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. We had a great time on our "visit." A great time. Yes, back in the day, parents would let juniors in high school board a train alone and spend 3 days a good 500 miles from home. My how times have changed.

I attended KU during the end of the Ted Owens era and upon graduation worked for a spell at the Emporia Gazette and Oklahoma City Times before returning to Lawrence after receiving an offer from Chuck Woodlng I couldn' t refuse — covering high schools, KU, the Royals and Chiefs.

I've covered many great sporting events, including the '88 and '08 national basketball title games; two Royals World Series; many excellent Chiefs teams. I've been all over the country following Roy's and Bill's Jayhawks the past 23 years. Favorite places to cover games? Hawaii and Canada of course.

Favorite coaches to deal with? Bill Freeman and Bob Frederick at the high school level. Self, Roy, Larry, Ted Owens, Mike Gottfried, Bob Valesente at the college level. Glen Mason was fun to be around, as well. Self is the best to deal with. He's quite a guy.

Favorite KU player of all time to interview? Ryan Robertson, though there have been many others in his league.

Best player I've ever covered? Danny Manning. Simply amazing.

Best KU hoops team I've covered?: It might have been the 1996-97 squad that fell to Arizona in the Sweet 16. That team lost just two games, unfortunately one was a big one, to the eventual national champs. The '88 and '08 champs of course were amazing teams as well. All three of those teams were unbelievable.

Best game I've ever seen? Probably the '88 final between KU and OU. Remember, it was 50-50 at halftime; people were shaking their heads at halftime.

Best performance I've ever seen? KU wiping out that impossible deficit late against Memphis to win the '08 title.

Lawrence, I feel, is a great place. One of my favorite places in the world is St. John the Evangelist Church. Some great priests have blessed that place, my favorites Fr. John and Fr. Charles. They are great men and I applaud their order - the Capuchin Franciscans. Those who help others, like those priests, are my heroes in life.

Recent stories

They said it … about Tarik Black: By Gary Bedore; May 20, 2013; Tweets and other comments regarding new Kansas University forward/center Tarik Black, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound senior transfer from the University of Memphis, who is immediately eligible to play in games his final season following his graduation from Memphis.
Memphis forward Tarik Black transfers to KU: By Gary Bedore; 04:44 p.m., May 20, 2013 Updated 12:03 a.m.; Tarik Black, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound junior forward from the University of Memphis, is transferring to Kansas University, the school announced Monday evening. By Gary Bedore
For Kansas basketball, recruiting never ceases: By Gary Bedore; May 20, 2013; “Recruiting is a never-ending process,” said Bill Self, KU’s 10th-year coach, who added top-ranked Andrew WIggins to his recruiting haul last week. By Gary Bedore
NBA teams size up McLemore, Withey at combine: By Gary Bedore; May 17, 2013; Former Kansas University guard Ben McLemore was a popular interview target at Thursday’s NBA combine in Chicago. He’s expected to be tapped No. 1 or 2 in the June draft. By Gary Bedore
Bill Self basks in glow: KU coach relishes gift of Andrew Wiggins; By Gary Bedore; May 16, 2013; Wednesday seemed a lot like the day after Christmas to Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self. By Gary Bedore
Prep coach: Wiggins’ ability ‘off the charts’: By Gary Bedore; May 15, 2013; Huntington (W. Va.) Prep coach Rob Fulford — who has worked with Canadian sensation Andrew Wiggins the past two seasons — won’t go so far as to compare the future Jayhawk to LeBron James or Michael Jordan but insists ‘his future is very bright.” By Gary Bedore
Wiggins followed heart in signing with Jayhawks: By Gary Bedore; May 15, 2013; Down to four finalists, basketball phenom Andrew Wiggins had a difficult time deciding between Kansas University, Florida State, North Carolina and Kentucky. Ultimately… “I just followed my heart. Kansas had my heart so that’s where I wanted to go,” Wiggins said Tuesday morning after signing a letter-of-intent with KU. By Gary Bedore
D-Day arrives for prep standout Andrew Wiggins: By Gary Bedore; May 13, 2013; Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 prospect in the high school recruiting Class of 2013, will sign a letter of intent with Kansas University, Florida State, Kentucky or North Carolina at 11:15 a.m., Central time, today in a ceremony at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep High School. By Gary Bedore
Top prospect Andrew Wiggins to announce on Tuesday: Zach Peters picks Arizona as transfer destination; By Gary Bedore; 08:28 p.m., May 12, 2013 Updated 11:40 p.m.; Andrew Wiggins will sign with either Kansas University, Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina in a ceremony at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, his coach announced Sunday. By Gary Bedore
Basketball notebook: KU’s Sadler mentioned for job at ISU: By Gary Bedore; May 12, 2013; Kansas University director of basketball operations Doc Sadler has been mentioned as a possible candidate for a full-time assistant coach opening on Iowa State’s staff. Notes by Gary Bedore

Full story list

Recent photos

Evan Manning signs autographs at Bill Self’s basketball camp on Sunday, June 10, 2012, at Allen Fieldhouse. Look closely, and you’ll see a picture of Evan’s dad, Danny, behind Evan’s left shoulder.

Kansas freshman Zach Peters poses for a photo inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self meets the press after participating in the Otto Schnellbacher Classic on Friday, June 8, 2012, in Mayetta.

Kansas University freshman Andrew White says he's adjusting well to KU and the area after just one week in Kansas. The Charlottesville, Va., guard/forward helped out at a KC Gym Rats camp on Tuesday at Blue Valley Northwest High School.

Kansas University’s Elijah Johnson, center, poses with a pair of young participants in the KC Gym Rats Collegiate All-Star Camp on Monday, May 28, 2012, in Overland Park.

Full photo list