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A smooth, athletic swingman with loads of
potential
• Has the
tools -- a good shooter with quickness and leaping ability
-- to be one of the Big 12’s top players this season
• Played
a key role in KU’s 35-4 record last season, seeing
action in all 39 games (tying a school record for games
played in one season) and serving as a starter five times
• Came to
Kansas with a reputation as a great shooter and he
didn’t disappoint, shooting 50.4 percent from the field
as a rookie
• The
odds-on favorite to earn the starting job at shooting guard,
replacing Billy Thomas
• Could
also see action at small forward
• Started
four consecutive March games last season when Thomas sat out
with an injury
• Was
plagued sporadically last season with an injured back
• Was
named to the Big 12 all-bench team last season and was the
Big 12 rookie of the week for games played Dec. 1-7
• Came to
Kansas as a highly-touted recruit
• Was
considered one of the nation’s top 15 prospects by
recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons
• Played
in the McDonald’s High School All-America
Game
Freshman Season
(1997-98)
Tied a KU single-season record by
playing in 39 games
• Started
five games at shooting guard
• Played
nearly 16 minutes per game
• Ranked
third on the team in field goal percentage (.504) -- best
among non-starters
•
Averaged 7.1 points per game
•
Finished fourth on the team with 15 three-point field goals
•
Averaged 1.4 assists per game and had more assists (51) than
turnovers (41)
• Started
four games in the postseason including all three Big 12
Tournament games when Billy Thomas was sidelined with a
hamstring injury
• Helped
lead KU to the Big 12 Tournament title by averaging 8.3
points and 2.7 rebounds per contest
• Also
started in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against
Prairie View A&M
• Named
to the Big 12 all-bench team and earned Big 12 Player of the
Week honors Dec. 8
• Scored
in double figures 11 times
• Scored
a career-high 21 points (on 9-of-13 shooting) Dec. 4 versus
Emporia State
• Scored
13 points against UNLV in the Preseason NIT
• Chipped
in 10 points against Arizona State at Madison Square Garden
• Pumped
in 12 points against defending NCAA champion Arizona at the
Great Eight in Chicago
• Scored
12 points against Nebraska in his first ever Big 12
Conference game
• Erupted
for 18 points in Jan. 28 home win over Baylor
High
School
Independence (Ohio) High School,
1997 •
Averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a
senior •
Shot 63 percent from the field and 45 percent from
three-point range
• Led the
76ers to city championships in 1995 and 1997 and a district
title in 1997
• Left
Independence as the school’s all-time leading scorer
and holds the single-game scoring record as well with 46
points, which he scored in two and a half quarters
• The
state player of the year and a McDonald’s All-America
in 1997 •
Earned three varsity letters in basketball
• A good
student, Gregory earned a 3.076 core GPA at
Independence
Personal
Gregory won MVP honors at the
McDonald’s High School All-American Game in 1997 and
was handed the trophy by John Wooden
•
Gregory’s pregame superstitions: touching things five
times and sitting alone for the last two minutes of warm-ups
• When he
has time to relax, Gregory likes to sleep and watch Michael
Jordan tapes
Notes
• Owns
the best vertical leap -- 41 inches -- on the Jayhawk
team.
•
Gregory’s brother, Andre, played basketball at
Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• Gregory
and Eric Chenowith were teammates at the 1997
McDonald’s High School All-American Game.
• Signed
with KU in 1997 after receiving more than 5,000 recruiting
letters from all over the nation.
Major
Sport Management
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Season/Career
Highs
Points
27 vs. Southern Cal
(12-12-98) Season
27 vs. Southern Cal
(12-12-98) Career
Rebounds
10 vs. DePaul
(12-17-98) Season
10 vs. DePaul
(12-17-98) Career
Field Goals
12 vs. Southern Cal
(12-12-98) Season
12 vs. Southern Cal
(12-12-98) Career
Field Goal Attempts
16, Two Times Season
16, Two Times Career
Three-Point Field Goals
2 vs. St. Louis
(12-23-98) Season
3 vs. Texas A&M
(1-14-99) Career
Three-Point Attempts
4 vs. St. Louis
(12-23-99) Season
4 vs. St. Louis
(12-23-99) Career
Free Throws
7 vs. Nebraska
(1-27-99) Season
7 vs. Nebraska
(1-27-99) Career
Free Throw Attempts
9 vs. Southern Cal
(12-12-98) Season
9 vs. Southern Cal
(12-12-98) Career
Assists
5, Two Times Season
5, Two Times Career
Steals
3, Two Times Season
3, Three Times Career
Blocked Shots
2 vs. DePaul
(12-17-98) Season
2, Three Times Career
Minutes Played
36 vs. Gonzaga
(11-13-98) Season
36 vs. Gonzaga
(11-13-98) Career
Miscellaneous
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|
1998-99
|
Career
|
|
Double-Figure Scoring Games
|
17
|
28
|
|
Games with 2+ Three-pointers
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2
|
4
|
|
Games with 5+ Rebounds
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18
|
19
|
|
Games with 3+ Assists
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8
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13
|
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Games with 20+ Points
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4
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5
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Honors
• 1998 Big 12 All-Bench Team
• Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 8)
'Hawktalk
Full Name
William Kendrick Gregory
Parents
Gomas and Emma Gregory
Birthdate
November 16, 1978
Birthplace
Columbus, Ohio
High School
Independence (Ohio) HS
High School Coach
David Feyh
Up
Close
Favorite TV shows
Martin; WWF Wrestling
Best book I have ever read
Money Players
People who have had the greatest influence on my
athletic career
My AAU coach Scott Williams
When I played basketball as a kid I pretended to
be
Michael Jordan
The thing I like most about KU is
The fans and the laid-back atmosphere
The first time I met Coach Williams I
thought
He was really short
Person in history I would like to meet
Tupac Shakur
My favorite class at KU is
English
If I could change one thing about college basketball
I would
Shorten the TV time-outs
My greatest moment in sports was
Being named MVP at the McDonald’s High School All-Star
Game
My ultimate SportsCenter highlight would
be
Dunking on a 7-footer
My favorite sports announcer is
Dick Vitale
My nickname is
Kenny Gee
The best player I ever faced was
Paul Pierce
My advice to youngsters is
Always believe in your dreams
If I could add one team to the schedule, it would
be
Ohio State (in Columbus)
The thing I like most about the city of Lawrence
is
It’s the perfect size
When my KU career is over, I’d like to be
remembered as
A player who improved every year
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