BearTalk

Mike Montgomery held his weekly press briefing today and said the Bears are healthy for their game Tuesday at No. 1 Kansas.

“We’re actually as healthy as we’ve been at any time, other than when we started practice. Theo’s practiced every day,” he said, referring to senior forward Theo Robertson, who made his return last week to face Pacific after missing six games with a right foot injury. “Everybody’s pretty much over their illness. We’ve had everybody available to us.”

Added senior Patrick Christopher: “Theo has made a great transition from not playing at all and coming in and doing a great job. To me, it doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat. He doesn’t look out of shape. He’s still shooting the ball well. He’s still a smart player.”

With final exams distracting the players’ attention much of the week, Montgomery said practices were limited to about two hours and involved learning few new concepts.

“It’s been kind of tough. Finals are tough on our guys. We’ve had days off in between,” Montgomery said. “Generally speaking practice has been in the morning and everybody has finals after practice. Guys have probably been up late.

“I think we’ve gotten some things done, but I supposed as is normal, it’s been a little lethargic at times. We’ve tried to get some things done and shore up some areas we weren’t happy with, but we haven’t had real, real crisp practices, no.”

Cal leaves Sunday afternoon for Lawrence, Kan. Tuesday’s game on ESPN2 will be Montgomery’s first visit to famed Allen Fieldhouse.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve played Kansas before but never in Phog Allen.”

Monty said the Bears have spent most of their energy on themselves, devoting little time to trying to dissect the unbeaten Jayhawks.

“If anybody is any good, they don’t do one thing you could take away and have that be the thing. When you’re the No. 1 team in the country, you’ve got a variety of different ways you attack people,” he said. “You’re generally athletic, you’re big, veteran. We’ve got to do what we do.

“We can’t double (center) Cole Aldrich and expect that’s going to be something that will allow you to win a game. We’ve got to do what we do. Plus, you’re playing through one game. You want to get ready for your tournament after Christmas and head on into conference.”

Christopher said that despite the long layoff, he expects the Bears to regain the good energy with which they played in wins over Iowa State and Pacific.

“I think this game will be a good test for us to see if we can continue to do that against a great team,” he said. “It should be fun. I think we’ll be up for the task.’

Kansas, which has won 47 consecutive home games, faces Michigan on Saturday before the Bears visit.

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