Here’s a KU injury report that includes Jamari McDowell and 2 non-scholarship players
Kansas freshman guard Jamari McDowell, who missed the Jayhawks’ season opener against North Carolina Central because of a minor injury sustained at a practice, should be available for Friday’s game against Manhattan, coach Bill Self said Tuesday night on his Hawk Talk radio show.
McDowell, a 6-foot-4 freshman from Houston, had “his bell rung pretty good the other day,” Self said after the Jayhawks’ 99-56 victory over the Eagles.
“He’s fine. He’ll practice tomorrow,” Self stated Tuesday on Hawk Talk. The Jayhawks did not practice, instead went through a walkthrough on Tuesday afternoon, Self indicated.
McDowell committed one turnover in four minutes in KU’s 82-75 exhibition loss to Illinois on Oct. 29 in Champaign, Illinois. He had two rebounds and an assist while playing 12 minutes in a 73-55 exhibition win over Fort Hays State on Nov. 1 in Lawrence.
“He is one of the most-liked guys on our team,” Self said. “Jamari has a great personality. He wants to learn, keeps it light for everybody. He will be a good player. I don’t know how much he’ll play this year. He’s capable of playing and impacting our team this year. I don’t know how much.
“From a depth standpoint, we don’t have a ton. We may end up needing him. You hate to play a youngster and he not play a lot. (If that happens) he loses the opportunity to get a year back (as a redshirt). Our plans are to put him out there and see how he does.”
Walk-ons Wilder Evers and Patrick Cassidy were added to KU’s injured list following the game.
“The Red (scout) team got beat up last night. Patrick has a high ankle sprain. Wilder has a foot issue that might knock him out a couple weeks. We had rough sledding the last couple minutes,” Self said.
Cassidy, a 6-foot-1 senior guard/former team manager from Columbus, Kansas, missed two shots in five minutes.
Evers, a 6-foot-4 redshirt-freshman guard from Birmingham, Alabama, had two points and an assist in eight minutes. Michael Jankovich, a 6-foot-4 senior guard from Dallas, hit a 3 and had five points in eight minutes.
“The Red team has played well at practice. It was not their best performance last night,” Self said.
Self was pleased to see his Jayhawks click on offense and defense after so-so exhibition outings against Illinois and Fort Hays State.
“We were so bad at Late Night. The best thing about Late Night was Flo Rida, no doubt about that. We were so bad at Illinois and we were so bad against Fort Hays State, we needed to have a good outing,” Self said.
“I think our players have been tired. Hunter needed to have a good outing too,” Self added of senior transfer center Hunter Dickinson who scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting (3-for-3 from 3) with eight rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes.
“People saw last night the kid can really score the ball and shoot. He had 15 points the first eight minutes he played. I was pleased but not to the point where you get overly excited, because we should beat that team pretty handily,” Self added of NCCU.
Self praised the 16,300 fans for making a lot of noise Monday night in the season opener.
“Our guys were turned up. The Fieldhouse was magnificent,” Self said. “Our players couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t believe it.
“The first thing I do is, I look behind and see if the corners are filled. They were filled. Three of the corners were filled to the rafters. It was great. It won’t be one of the best eight or nine atmospheres that we play in this year at home, but it certainly is going to be one of best non-conference if you get past UConn and Missouri. Seeing that last night just teases you what it’ll be like in so many games this year.”
