WRITER: Henry Greenstein

KU's 'energizer' Council didn't want extra day off, but Jayhawks needed him rested for what's ahead

SAN DIEGO — Kansas had an unusually accomplished water boy at Sunday’s practice back in Lawrence. Fifth-year senior guard Melvin Council Jr., given an unexpected day off by head coach Bill Self, found other ways to make himself useful: besides handing out water, of course, he was “rebounding, clapping, keeping the energy alive and stuff like that,” he said on Thursday. As Self explained on Sunday, he ...

Preview: KU to battle NCAA Tournament newcomer Cal Baptist in first round

SAN DIEGO — As Kansas coach Bill Self recalls, it seemed great in theory for the Jayhawks to get to play the first weekend of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in center Cole Aldrich’s home state of Minnesota. “Until we played … North Dakota State and then they had 20,000 people at the game, or 15,000 people (at the Metrodome),” Self said. KU managed to escape that first-round battle with the Bison, who were ...

Jayhawks arrive in San Diego with clean bill of health

SAN DIEGO — It has been far from a guarantee in recent seasons, and even throughout Bill Self’s 23-year tenure as head coach, that a Kansas men’s basketball team arrives for its first NCAA Tournament weekend ready to play at full strength. Two years ago on a Salt Lake City side street, Self ruled out Kevin McCullar Jr. for the duration of the postseason; last season when he spoke in a hotel lobby in ...

Hanika back from injury — again — and still pursuing football dreams

A lengthy recovery process after an injury is nothing new for former Kansas tight end DeShawn Hanika. He just has a habit of making each one a bit less lengthy. “You know, in my eyes, timetables are meant to be broken,” he said. So there was Hanika on the turf field at the Anderson Family Football Complex running a 40-yard dash last Wednesday at KU football’s Pro Day, less than six months after enduring ...

Peterson named All-American honorable mention

Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson received an honorable mention from The Associated Press in its All-American selections, voted on by a panel of media members. An honorable mention means that Peterson was one of the next 10 players (and ties) selected after the AP filled its first, second and third teams with five players each. Peterson, a candidate for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, has had a ...

Self guaranteed Dawson will win KU a postseason game, but can he do it?

Like so many young players, Jayden Dawson became more of a focal point each successive year he played for Eric Behrens at Omaha Central High School. He could always shoot it, and he always had the right attitude — humble, quiet, still easygoing and friendly, as Behrens described him. It was the rest of his game that needed work, and Dawson was willing to put it in. “He was pretty slender early on,” ...