For the second time in its storied basketball history, Kansas is No. 1 in The Associated Press’ preseason top 25 poll.
The Jayhawks were a runaway choice Thursday, receiving 55 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel to easily outdistance Michigan State, which was No. 1 on five ballots.
There was little suspense about which team would top the preseason poll. Kansas has all five starters and the top nine scorers back from last season’s team that went 27-8 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks also feature a recruiting class considered among the nation’s best.
“I’m not surprised,” said Bill Self, who also was the coach the other time Kansas was the preseason No. 1, in 2004-05. “But I know this — we aren’t practicing like a team that’s preseason No. 1 in the country. It has been a very few good days of practice, but we do have good players. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding these guys.”
The Jayhawks received great news when guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich, last season’s leading scorers, decided to return to school rather than test the NBA draft. Then brothers Xavier and C.J. Henry decided to enroll in Lawrence, making the Jayhawks the early national favorites as well as the choice to win a sixth consecutive Big 12 title.
Texas, Kentucky and Villanova rounded out the top five, while defending national champion North Carolina, a unanimous preseason No. 1 last season, was sixth.
Wyoming’s Waddell sidelined
LARAMIE — Wyoming sophomore center Adam Waddell is expected to miss two to three weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Coach Heath Schroyer said the surgery repaired cartilage damage.
Waddell started 24 of 33 games as a redshirt freshman last season. The Cody native averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. He also blocked 21 shots.
Knight won’t attend induction
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Former Indiana coach Bob Knight will not attend next week’s induction into the athletic department’s hall of fame.
Athletic director Fred Glass said Knight contacted him directly to decline the invitation. Glass said Knight was concerned that the interest in him would be a distraction from the other six inductees.
Knight won a school-record 662 games and three national championships at Indiana before being fired by then-university president Myles Brand in September 2000.
The Associated Press
