Mario Little Gives 60 Elementary Students an Inside Look at Kansas Basketball

Feb. 17, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan –

The students of Central Heights Elementary (Richmond, Kan.) got a special treat on Tuesday morning with a field trip to Allen Fieldhouse. The students, grades four through eight, were rewarded the trip because they scored exceptionally well on their state assessments.

The tour began in the Booth Hall of Athletics where the students were awed by the rich history and tradition of KU Athletics. After dozens of pictures were taken in front of the display cases and interactive displays, the students set out to continue the tour of Allen Fieldhouse. They were pleasantly surprised when senior guard Mario Little came out of the locker room and invited them in for a rare insiders look at Kansas Basketball. The students were able to huddle in the pre-game area just like the team does. They also relaxed in the team lounge and toured the locker room. Several of the students ran to senior guard Tyrel Reed’s locker and took multiple pictures in front of it. Reed is considered a hometown favorite because he competed against Central Heights when he was in high school at Burlington (Kan.).

The highlight of the trip was when two lucky students were chosen to compete in a game of H-O-R-S-E with Little. The rest of the students cheered on their overmatched classmates as Little reigned countless three pointers in the Jayhawks practice gym. Little eventually lost on a trick shot from the top of the key.

This once in a lifetime trip ended with the students eating their sack lunches in the bleachers of Allen Fieldhouse. Many of the students have never been to a game so they were busy imagining what the Fieldhouse is like with a sold out crowd of 16,300 thousand loyal fans. Kyle Milles, a fifth-grade student at Central Heights said, “This is an amazing experience, I never thought I would be in KU. This was overall the best field trip ever!”