BY MIKE MARZOLF
Special to the Tribune
One Cheick mark down. Too bad it isn’t a Cheick mate. Perhaps that is later. Cheick Diallo made his long awaited debut for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team Tuesday night. By most accounts it was pretty successful. Diallo provides a key missing element the Jayhawks haven’t had the past couple of seasons.
Diallo is that inside presence that can defend, rebound, and block shots. This is one of the most experienced Kansas teams since the 2012 team that made the Championship game. That team had a guy named Jeff Withey. If Diallo can be close to how Withey played that year, this might be another.
Final Four team in the making.
Prep thoughts
Ah, the sweet sounds of basketball season. Music reverberating throughout the building as high school bands play. The repetitive thud, thud, thud of basketballs bouncing off the gym floor. Sneakers squeaking as kids stutter step to confirm their grip on the floor.
While football has the biggest following and gets the most publicity, basketball is perhaps the most fun of all the high school sports environments. There is nothing like a packed gym full of loud, obnoxious high school students cheering for their team.
Some of the early events to start the season will lack much of that atmosphere as teams travel to the so-called pre-season tournaments – although it isn’t the pre-season at all. Never did understand why the early season got the label pre-season, but oh well.
The Great Bend boys and girls make their traditional starts at the Hays City Shoot-Out later today. Good luck to all the area teams this season.
Former athlete/coach update
I will keep giving Ray Bechard updates until his magical volleyball season comes to an end. The former Barton coach, now in his 18th season at Kansas, was just named the Big 12 Coach of the Year.
The Jayhawks finished the regular season with a record of 26-Texas. The Jayhawk were 26-0 against everybody but Texas and 0-2 against the four-time defending Big 12 champion Longhorns. The winning percentage of .929 is a school record as was the 19-0 start the Jayhawks got off to.
Kansas will look to take the magical season to new heights in the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawk get things started at 6:30 p.m. tonight at home. Kansas is seeded ninth overall in the 64-team field and will have a home draw to start the tournament.
Kansas will play Furman at the Horejsi Athletics Center tonight. If the Jayhawks win, they will take on the winner of the Missouri State and Missouri battle. That contest would be played Friday at 6:30 p.m. Both matches can be seen on ESPN3.
Around campus
The Big Band era. I didn’t live in it by any means but I do like the sounds of a big band. Especially around Christmas time. The Barton Community College Jingle Bell Swing big band will be performing Saturday from 8-10:30 p.m. at the American Legion.
The evening will feature a live 16-piece big band and the Hilltop Singers. For $15 per person or $25 per couple you can shake a leg and the Legion and help to fund the Hilltop Singers spring 2016 tour.
And finally
The weather. People curse it, compliment and deal with it. This past Thanksgiving, we in central Kansas had to deal with it. You could curse it, which I did, but that didn’t help.
It definitely threw a wrench into our plans. Our typical Thanksgiving from one border to the other was nixed this year. The trip to Pratt and my in-laws Thursday was canceled before it started. Friday we attempted to drive to Glen Elder and my hometown but that lasted to about Holyrood.
When the line of cars got about five deep on slick roads at 40 mph, I realized it wasn’t worth it. Not much after turning around, we saw a pretty bad wreck and on the way back to Great Bend witnessed several cars in the ditch.
Not being able to spend time with family that you intended to, makes you realize how much you miss those don’t get too see as often as you would like.
So, in honor of the family in Glen Elder, we played board games that Friday night since that is something we do regularly when there. Clue. I won. Colonel Mustard in the billiard room with the wrench.
Perhaps it was that same wrench that got thrown into our plans.
