It was a very busy Thursday night for Chris Thiesen, the Kansas Jayhawks assistant athletic director for media relations, as he was trying to get in touch with players selected in the 2008 National Basketball Association draft. Of course, when you’re trying to find five different players after 11 p.m. for reporters on deadline, you could understand if he was a little tired of hitting cell phone numbers and automatically getting recordings to leave messages. Two Jayhawks were taken in the first round, while three more were taken in the second -- the most ever from the school for one draft. Shooting guard Brandon Rush and power forward Darrell Arthur were taken in the first round; point guard Mario Chalmers, power forward Darnell Jackson and center Sasha Kaun were all chosen in the second round. “I thought we’d get five drafted,” said Kansas men’s basketball head coach Bill Self. “I was happy for our guys, but I was a little disappointed that a couple of them fell past what they were told they would go, and that’s disappointing to me. “Those pre-draft things, all they are, are rumors. The whole deal is that you have to talk to people who are calling the shots, and you have to get accurate information. We cheered when Brandon went at (No.) 13, and held our breaths when the other guys didn’t go as high as we thought they would.” Kansas State’s top two scorers from last year — freshmen Michael Beasley and Bill Walker — also ...
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It was a very busy Thursday night for Chris Thiesen, the Kansas Jayhawks assistant athletic director for media relations, as he was trying to get in touch with players selected in the 2008 National Basketball Association draft. Of course, when you’re trying to find five different players after 11 p.m. for reporters on deadline, you could understand if he was a little tired of hitting cell phone numbers and automatically getting recordings to leave messages. Two Jayhawks were taken in the first round, while three more were taken in the second -- the most ever from the school for one draft. Shooting guard Brandon Rush and power forward Darrell Arthur were taken in the first round; point guard Mario Chalmers, power forward Darnell Jackson and center Sasha Kaun were all chosen in the second round. “I thought we’d get five drafted,” said Kansas men’s basketball head coach Bill Self. “I was happy for our guys, but I was a little disappointed that a couple of them fell past what they were told they would go, and that’s disappointing to me. “Those pre-draft things, all they are, are rumors. The whole deal is that you have to talk to people who are calling the shots, and you have to get accurate information. We cheered when Brandon went at (No.) 13, and held our breaths when the other guys didn’t go as high as we thought they would.” Kansas State’s top two scorers from last year — freshmen Michael Beasley and Bill Walker — also ...