Dajuan Harris and his Kansas Jayhawks teammates working as hoops fantasy camp coaches

Kansas national championship basketball point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. confidently shouted instructions to players ages 30 and over competing for “Team Graham” in a game against “Team Simien” on Friday afternoon at the 2022 Kansas Fantasy Experience in Allen Fieldhouse.

Harris and current Jayhawks Ernest Udeh, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Charlie McCarthy stood on the sidelines working as assistant coaches on the staff of former KU guard/current New Orleans Pelicans standout Devonté Graham. Graham on Friday was head coach of the team that lost a close contest to former KU forward/NBA player Wayne Simien’s fantasy squad.

“I want to be a teacher and coach one day, too. I’m out here practicing,” Harris, a 6-foot-1 redshirt junior from Columbia, Missouri, said after the first of several Team Graham fantasy camp games to be held Friday through Sunday.

“We’re enjoying this,” Harris added of the current Jayhawks, who are actually running the camp this year as an activity associated with NIL (name, image likeness). In the past it was known as the Bill Self/KU Fantasy Pro Camp and KU’s coaches did much of the instructing.

“They are coming out and for real, playing. We’re just trying to show our support and back them up,” Harris added of participants in town from all over the country.

Jayhawk guards Bobby Pettiford and Joseph Yesufu, who are working as assistant coaches for Team Simien, said they enjoyed working their first-round victory.

“(Hes a) role model,” Pettiford, a 6-1 sophomore from Durham North Carolina, said of former KU forward and former NBA player Wayne Simien. “It’s fun going from player to coach, doing what Coach (Bill) Self would do or Coach Rob (Norm Roberts) would do. It’s all fun.”

Yesufu, KU’s 6-0, 180-pound junior from Bolingbrook, Illinois, added: “It’s an honor coming out and coaching the older guys (fantasy campers), helping teach them how to play the game. It’s kind of tough being a new coach, but we’re getting there.”

KU redshirt freshman combo guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. worked as assistant coach for a team that lost the first game of the day.

“J-Will is our head coach. I’m assistant,” Cuffe said of redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson, one of two starters (with Harris) to return from last year’s national title KU team.

“It’s cool though. You’ve got to let the big dog do it,” Cuffe added, smiling, referring to letting Wilson, 6-8 redshirt junior from Denton, Texas, run the show.

Cuffe said this weekend’s NIL activity “is amazing. It’s real fun getting to coach these guys and actually be able to tell them when they are doing bad or when they are doing good. I kind of actually feel like coaching could be something I could do one day.”

Cuffe, a 6-2 native of Harlem, New York, said he was looking forward to a Friday evening meeting in which trades of players would be discussed.

“I think our team … we’re going to stick with our team. We’re going to be good,” Cuffe said with a smile.

“Everybody is having fun, a good time. I’m trying to keep the energy up high, letting them know if we lose we can always bounce back.

“They (fantasy players) are fired up. Coach (Bill) Self laid it out for them beforehand. He told them, ‘Hey, they (Jayhawks) have Boot Camp coming up so they are fired up. They want to make me happy.’ That’s what we’re trying to do, make Coach happy, make the older players happy. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Cuffe noted.

Indeed, Monday morning marks the start of a two-week early-morning Boot Camp conditioning program for the current players. The Jayhawks were going to enjoy every second of the weekend prior to Boot Camp conditioning drills.

“I am loving it,” freshman forward Ernest Udeh said of coaching with NBA player Graham and Udeh’s KU teammates. “It’s fun to be on the other side of the ball. It’s been a fun experience. Going into Saturday, Sunday I can’t wait. This is great. I’m happy to be here.”

Of getting to coach during an NIL outing, Udeh, 6-11 from Orlando, Florida, said: “The NIL thing that has opened up for us (players) … great opportunities are coming from all sides. We appreciate it, for real.”

The Kansas Fantasy Experience includes three days of basketball for the participants ages 30 and up. Trainers are on hand to help the participants if they need icing or other treatment. The players gather for dinners Friday and Saturday nights. They attend film sessions and other meetings after their games and are able to use KU’s hoops facilities for the weekend.