SB Nation - Conner Teahan

Kansas Takes on Cal Tonight in the Phog

Denverjhawk — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:00:19 -0000

Kansas vs. California

No. 1 Kansas (10-0) continues is home stand against Pac-10 power California (6-3) on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. The Jayhawks and Golden Bears are favored to win their respective conference races in 2009-10. KU was consensus preseason No. 1 nationally, while California entered the year in many top 10 polls. Kansas is coming off a 75-64 win against Michigan on Dec. 19, while California last played on Dec. 9, posting a 69-45 win at Pacific.

	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
CAL	79.1	46.6	75.1	38.1	40.2	12.8	27.4	15.3	12.4	5.1	3.0	18.2
KU	88.8	51.3	67.7	43.0	43.0	13.8	29.2	19.3	12.1	9.2	7.3	17.9
CAL Opponents	68.0	41.2	67.2	31.5	33.1	10.3	22.8	12.4	12.8	5.1	4.3	16.8
KU Opponents	58.3	34.5	67.2	26.9	33.7	13.7	20.0	11.5	16.0	6.2	3.0	20.0

Rank and Records	CAL	KU
RPI	#14	#13
Strength of Schedule	#6	#160
Overall	6-3	10-0
Conference	0-0	0-0
Home	5-0	7-0
Away	0-1	1-0
Top 25	0-1	1-0
RPI Top 50	0-1	0-0

About Kansas

Kansas followed final exams with a 75-64 win against Michigan on Dec. 19. Kansas averages 88.8 points per game, is giving up 58.7 points and ranks in the top five nationally with a +30.5 scoring margin. KU is shooting 51.3 percent from the field, while its opponents are shooting 34.5 percent.

Sophomore forward Marcus Morris is coming off his second double-double of the season with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds versus Michigan. He is a starter who is scoring 11.1 points and pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game.

Xavier Henry leads the team with a 17.7 point scoring average. He is making 53.5 percent of his shots from the field and 49.1 from three-point range. Xavier leads KU with 26 threes and 18 steals. Senior guard Sherron Collins scores 13.9 points per game, including 19 against Michigan, and he has made 20 three pointers. Collins leads the team with 42 assists, two ahead of sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor (6.8 ppg). Taylor has 15 steals, two ahead of Collins (13). Junior center Cole Aldrich leads the team in rebounds with 9.7 per game and had 11 boards against Michigan.

About California

Located in Berkeley, Calif., and coached by Mike Montgomery, California (6-3) has won two straight and four of its last five games. The Golden Bears defeated Big 12 foe Iowa State 82-63 on Dec. 5 in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup and also won convincingly at Pacific 69-45 on Dec. 9. Cal averages 79.1 points and is giving up 68 for a +11.1 scoring margin. The Golden Bears average 40.2 rebounds per game and have a +7.1 rebound margin.

Four Cal players average in double figures led by senior guard Jerome Randle who is scoring 19.6 points per game. Randle leads the team with 46 assists and 23 three-point field goals. Senior guard Patrick Christopher is next in scoring at 15.6 points and he leads Cal with 14 steals. He is also a solid rebounder with his 5.6 boards per game.

Senior forward Theo Robertson was welcomed back to the lineup last game after missing six games due to injury. Robertson averages 14.7 points in his three games played this season. Senior forward Jamal Boykin is a starter who is second on the team in rebounds with 6.9 per game to complement his 12.2 scoring average.

Sophomore forward Omondi Amoke leads Cal in rebounds with 7.2 per game. He scores 5.8points per contest. Sophomore guard Jorge Gutierrez (7.0 ppg), sophomore center Max Zang (4.5 ppg) and junior center Markhuri Sanders-Frison (2.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) round out the California regulars. Zang is 7-3 and leads the team with 12 blocked shots in his eight games played.

Meet the Opposing Coach

Mike Montgomery is in his second season overseeing the California program. He has a 28-14 record with the Golden Bears and a 575-258 (.690) overall mark that includes eight years at Montana and 18 seasons at Stanford. Montgomery has coached teams to the NCAA Final Four (1998), four Pac-10 regular-season crowns (1999, 2000, '03, '04) and one Pac-10 Tournament title (2004), as well as one NIT title (1991). He was named the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2000 and is a four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, '03, '04).

The Series

Kansas leads the overall series with California, 14-3, and has won the last eight meetings with Cal. This series dates back to 1929 when the two teams met Jan. 3-4-5 in Oakland, Calif. The following year, the teams clashed Jan. 2-3 in Kansas City, Mo., and Jan. 4 in Lawrence. Of the 17 matchups between KU and Cal, only one has been played in Berkeley, Calif., and two in Lawrence. The rest have been in Oakland, Kansas City, Mo., Anchorage, Alaska, St. Louis, Mo., and Lahaina, Hawaii. KU won the last meeting on Dec. 10, 2005, at the Kemper Shootout in
Kansas City, Mo., during KU's third season under head coach Bill Self.

KU-Michigan Leftovers

The Jayhawks attempted 29 two-point field goals, KU's lowest this season.
The game marked the second time all season the Jayhawks committed more turnovers than their opponent.
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris recorded his fourth career double-double with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus' last double-double came against Oakland on Nov. 25.
Marcus was also 8-for-8 from the free throw line. The eight makes were the most by a Jayhawk this season and 100 percent from the line is the highest percentage by an individual this season with at least seven attempts.
Junior center Cole Aldrich registered 11 rebounds tying him with Kenny Gregory for 22nd on the all-time rebounding list. It also marks the fifth time this season he has had 10 or more boards.
Senior guard Sherron Collins moved into fifth place on the career three-point field goal attempts list with 474, passing Brandon Rush.
Junior guard Brady Morningstar logged 22 minutes in his first appearance of the season.

		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#23	P. Christopher	9	7	32.889	15.556	43.7	76.5	34.7	5.444	1.778	3.667	2.111	1.778	1.556	0.0	2.222
#3	J. Randle	9	8	32.333	19.556	44.7	93.5	39.0	1.667	0.333	1.333	5.111	3.111	0.444	0.0	1.667
#10	J. Boykin	9	9	25.667	12.222	63.0	66.7	0.0	6.889	2.111	4.778	1.0	1.444	0.889	0.222	2.0
#2	J. Gutierrez	9	8	21.667	7.0	47.8	50.0	58.8	3.222	0.667	2.556	3.0	1.111	0.667	0.111	2.333
#21	O. Amoke	9	0	17.111	5.778	42.1	80.0	0.0	7.222	2.778	4.444	0.111	0.889	0.222	0.333	1.556
#45	M. Sanders-Fris	8	3	17.25	2.875	34.6	83.3	0.0	4.375	1.25	3.125	0.75	0.5	0.375	0.25	3.125
#14	M. Zhang	8	4	14.5	4.5	64.0	33.3	0.0	3.75	1.375	2.375	0.25	0.625	0.25	1.5	2.625
#13	N. Knezevic	8	0	11.625	3.25	34.8	75.0	33.3	0.375	0.0	0.375	0.625	0.875	0.625	0.0	0.5
#24	T. Robertson	3	2	30.0	14.667	60.0	76.9	57.1	4.0	1.333	2.667	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.333	2.333
#12	B. Smith	9	2	8.333	1.333	31.2	0.0	40.0	0.333	0.0	0.333	1.111	0.444	0.111	0.0	0.556
#1	D. Seeley	9	2	8.222	1.778	28.6	75.0	14.3	1.667	0.333	1.333	1.0	0.556	0.111	0.111	1.0
#15	B. Bak	5	0	7.0	1.2	12.5	100.0	0.0	1.4	0.4	1.0	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.0	0.4
		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#4	S. Collins	10	10	29.8	13.9	46.2	77.8	41.7	2.0	0.2	1.8	4.2	2.0	1.3	0.0	1.4
#1	X. Henry	10	10	27.7	17.7	53.5	80.6	49.1	3.8	0.9	2.9	1.7	1.9	1.8	0.7	2.0
#45	C. Aldrich	10	10	26.0	11.3	54.1	68.8	0.0	9.7	3.2	6.5	1.3	1.4	0.6	3.5	1.9
	T. Taylor	10	8	23.5	6.8	39.7	68.4	29.4	3.0	0.6	2.4	4.0	1.9	1.5	0.2	1.9
#22	M. Morris	10	8	23.4	11.1	57.6	73.8	36.4	5.8	2.5	3.3	1.3	1.5	1.0	0.5	2.4
#21	M. Morris	10	2	16.0	8.1	69.8	65.4	66.7	5.7	1.9	3.8	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.9	2.2
#14	T. Reed	10	0	15.6	4.9	43.6	75.0	38.7	1.6	0.1	1.5	1.4	0.4	0.9	0.1	0.9
#0	T. Robinson	10	0	11.9	5.1	46.2	44.1	0.0	4.8	1.7	3.1	0.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	1.9
#15	E. Johnson	9	2	12.222	4.333	51.7	55.6	36.4	2.111	0.889	1.222	2.667	1.111	0.667	0.0	1.889
#2	C. Teahan	7	0	7.286	2.714	50.0	66.7	42.9	1.429	0.857	0.571	0.857	0.429	0.286	0.143	0.571
#13	C. Henry	5	0	8.6	5.2	60.0	50.0	53.8	1.2	0.2	1.0	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.2
#12	B. Morningstar	1	0	22.0	2.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	2.0

Statistical Rearview: Kansas v La Salle

Denverjhawk — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:58:29 -0000

Is it just me, or are things pretty damn easy when it comes to Jayhawk basketball. Sure it's La Salle but I continue to believe the competition in practice is better than the majority of the games we've played this year. Once again yesterday was a situation where when the lead became 10 it just went downhill from there for an overmatched opponent. Thanks to Warden and his fanshot I'm going to avoid bashing the schedule, but I am looking forward to Michigan this week and a possible formal introduction of our new football coach to the fans. On a side note Kansas fans, regardless of how you feel about the Gill hire...PLEASE give the man a standing O!! We're likely going to have some football recruits in town for that game.

NCAA Basketball Stats

Kansas continues to win in almost every area as it pertains to the four factors of winning. Most impressive...the field goal shooting percentage and the ability to take care of the basketball.

NCAA Basketball Stats

Statistically the Jayhawks defense clearly got the job done. 11 blocks point to a big reason why the Explorers were held to just 36% shooting from the field as La Salle was likely disrupted in their shooting efforts all night long. Throw in a +10 rebounding margin and the Jayhawks were able to match a pretty good night from the three point line for the Explorers with one of their own.

Stat	Game
Stat
Points	65	90
FG Att	61	61
FG Made	22	32
FG Pct	36.1	52.5
FT Att	24	25
FT Made	14	18
FT Pct	58.3	72.0
3pt FG Att	19	17
3pt FG Made	7	8
3pt FG Pct	36.8	47.1
Rebounds	34	44
Off Rebs	16	13
Def Rebs	18	31
Team Rebs	3	1
Assists	14	20
Steals	6	5
Blocks	2	11
Turnovers	14	12
Fouls	22	21

HUGE game from Xavier Henry as he goes for 31 and continues to look more and more like a one and done type player with his ability to score anywhere on the floor. Cole with a solid game and the Morri put together another performance displaying their improvement year over year. Lastly, I'd challenge anyone to find a player impact chart from last year where this little Sherron Collins resulted in a win. Not gonna happen.

NCAA Basketball Stats

Not a starter logging over 30 minutes in this one which is good to see. Keep the legs fresh for later in the season when we might need to rely on some of them a little more. Morri with 21 pts, 18 boards and 4 blocks. Good production from the four spot. Throw in a great game from Xavier, Cole getting into the offense and Tyshawn Taylor finding a bit of a groove and you've got a team that seems to be finding it's way to some consistency from the guys that need to show it.

	S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
Y. Mekongo Mbal	*	40	10	2	7	28	5	8	62	1	2	50	6	3	9	6	1	0	2	1
R. Green	*	40	19	8	21	38	0	1	0	3	7	42	0	1	1	4	1	0	3	3
K. Barrett	*	36	8	3	7	42	1	2	50	1	4	25	2	3	5	2	2	0	0	3
J. Williams	*	33	21	7	13	53	5	8	62	2	3	66	3	2	5	2	1	1	4	4
A. Murray	*	20	4	1	6	16	2	3	66	0	3	0	2	4	6	0	1	1	2	5
T. Williams		12	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	3
D. White		10	3	1	4	25	1	2	50	0	0	0	2	1	3	0	0	0	2	3
S. Weingarten		8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
P. Grant		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
S. Collins	*	29	5	1	12	8	2	2	100	1	4	25	0	2	2	6	0	0	2	4
X. Henry	*	29	31	10	15	66	7	9	77	4	5	80	1	3	4	2	2	1	3	4
C. Aldrich	*	27	19	8	10	80	3	4	75	0	0	0	1	5	6	1	0	5	3	1
M. Morris	*	21	9	4	6	66	1	1	100	0	1	0	3	3	6	0	0	0	1	3
E. Johnson	*	6	1	0	0	0	1	2	50	0	0	0	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	0
M. Morris		28	12	5	6	83	1	4	25	1	1	100	3	9	12	2	1	4	1	0
T. Taylor		28	10	3	6	50	3	3	100	1	2	50	1	2	3	6	0	1	0	1
C. Henry		11	3	1	3	33	0	0	0	1	3	33	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	2
T. Reed		10	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
T. Robinson		9	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	0	1	0	1	3
C. Teahan		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	1	1
C. Buford		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

"That's More Like It" -- Kansas 71 Temple 59

rockchalk — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:31:41 -0000

I know I've missed the past five-or-so basketball games, but the idea is still to recap all of this year's basketball games. And so, here are my assorted thoughts on Saturday's semi-comfortable victory over the Temple Owls. None are terribly insightful, necessarily, but it brings up some interesting discussion topics that we will dicuss plenty more after tomorrow night's game. After said matchup with the Arizona Wildcats, we will be focusing plenty of our attention, when it isn't on holiday dinners and gift-wrapping, on the upcoming bowl matchup with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. However, we will also be discussing plenty of the storylines of the early basketball season, including giving recap-type-features of the key contributors and predictions for the rest of the season.

That was a much, much better performance by Sherron Collins. Even when the game was seriously in question, when they made their mini-run in the first half to tie the game, he continued to run the offense and not simply throw up a contested eighteen-footer off his back foot with :30 left on the shot clock. He only did it once (which was an airball, IIRC), but other than that did a tremendous job of giving the ball to his teammates. There is a big difference between taking the game over and simply taking a lot of shots trying to 'take the game over', and he learned the difference after the UMASS game, it would appear. If he plays like he did on Saturday, we could be going places in March. I just wish he would have kept his haircut...
That is the Tyshawn Taylor that I am expecting to show up every game. He was virtually non-existent against the Minutemen, but he played a big role against the Owls. He is dynomite at getting into the lane, and while he is still struggling with the entry pass, it is getting better.
OK, be honest. Who saw this out of Brady Morningstar? All along, I've acknowledged that, for us to be a contender in March, one of the the White Boys, as I call them, would have to improve big time. Conner Teahan and Tyrel Reed would have to improve on defense or Brady Morningstar would have to come out of the woodworks and be competent on the offensive end. Originally, I expected Tyrel to be the starter, but I suppose I forgot Self's fetish for defense, so it did make sense that Morningstar got the early starts. Still, I was simply waiting for Tyrel or Travis Releford to breakout, sending Brady back to the bench for good. And yet, here we are, on December 23rd, and Brady is firmly entrenched in the Starting 5. He ain't leaving, folks. Only a healthy Mario LIttle could possibly replace him, IMO, and even then, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bill leave the kid out there, at least until Little proves he can play defense. Seriously, though. Brady played perfect D on Christmas the entire gam and knocked down the open shots, namely the huge, momentum-garnering three he nailed at the end of the first half.
On another note, I sure do love me some Morris twins. I personally prefer Marcus to Markieff, but they took their turns yesterday, with Marcus dominating the first half and Kieff taking charge of the second. Marucs' minutes were particularly important, given the immsne foul trouble of our bigs that we'll get into in a second. He had to play the last 10-12 minutes of the first half without rest, and still hustled up and down the court and picked up some fast break buckets. And while Markieff got in far too much foul trouble for my liking (4 fouls in only 16 minutes), he did receive the start and played very well in the second half. Both players are getting much, much better, which is definintely nice to see.
And lastly, I just want to say good job to Matt Kleinmann for his first half performance. He played well in his four minutes of important action, but I'd rather not see him out on the floor in any capacity other than simply finishing out a blowout. Cole Aldrch, especially, needs to stay out of foul trouble, but Quintrell Thomas is the one who needs to improve on something. I mean, two fouls on illegal screens? How long have we been setting screens, second grade? Bill was obviously pissed off at him, too, as seen by his complete lack of playing time in the second. And how do we get this far along in this recap-type-thing without even mentioning another double-double by Big Cole. The kid puts up so many, it's hardly newsworthy anymore.

On a similar note, anyone know the Kansas record for most double-doubles in a season? I would have to imagine it would be Wilt Chamberlain who holds it, but I bet that Cole has a good chance to break the post-1960 record.

Plenty on the AZ-KU matchup coming later tonight (maybe) and tomorrow...

Assorted Thoughts on a Blowout: Kansas 85 Florida Gulf Coast 45

rockchalk — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:28:04 -0000

There isn't a whole lot of negative in Tuesday night's performance. I mean sure, we certainly didn't play perfectly. Teams rarely do, much less in an early-season contest in November, and particularly considering the immense youth of this squad.

But the end result is all that you can ask for, and the first half was even better. A 32-point lead at halftime is pretty difficult to top, regardless of just how poor the opponent shoots (12% for FGCU, in case you were wondering, in the first half) or the talent differential or any of that. It is simply impressive.

And so, these comments tend to shade on the positive side. I mean, I suppose I could go all nit-picky on y'all and try and find the negativity amongst the game, but I would have to search quite hard. If you want more critical analysis, just wait for Monday and Tuesday's recaps in the CBE Finals. Those shouldn't quite be as rosy, no matter the outcome. Unless, of course, we are winning by 32 points again at halftime. Then, my optimism will lose all bounds.

Of all the freshmen, it is painfully obvious that one Tyshawn Taylor is the most developed of the bunch. In Game #1 against UMKC, he made plenty of freshman mistakes and seemed out-of-control at times, like it was all just too much for him to handle. And then, last night, he completely evolved into, as my dad put it, "a sophomore". He looked as if he had been doing this for awhile, making awesome pass after awesome pass and playing awesome defense. In my post breaking down the perimeter rotation, I likened him to Sherron Collins. I would like to semi-renege that statement, as I think he possesses a little bit of ol' Super Mario as well. Maybe it's just the nostalgia of the '15' on the back of the jersey, but he has that flair that Mario always seemed to have. Whichever ex-or-current Jayhawk you want to compare him to, he clearly deserves a spot in the starting lineup. Oh, and thanks should go to Tom Crean for his decision to take the job at Indiana; without that, Tyshawn Taylor is a Marquette Eagle right now.
My personal favorite freshman, however, is easily Travis Releford. Absolutely love the kid. He's gritty. He 'knows how to play the game'. Put simply, he's 'a basketball player'. He's all of those stupid qualities assigned to not-so-talented baseball players who 'do the little things right'. In basketball, though, it's different. In the team atmosphere, it is crucial to have a guy like him. He plays tough defense. He takes charges. He makes the extra pass. He, as Reid Gettys said, provides a spark off the bench. And, as much as it pains me to say, that is exactly where he should stay. I would love for him to start, but he could be even more valuable coming off the pine, and, honestly, there isn't too much room for him left in the starting lineup with the emergence of Tyshawn Taylor.
Because, I think the other wing starter has to be Tyrel Reed. Has to. We badly need an outside, three-pont shooting presence on this team. Really, it is the only painstakingly obvious need in the starting lineup. Sherron Collins is a fine shooter, but he shouldn't be the best pure shooter in any starting lineup. And I already think Sherron is taking too many pull-up jumpers anyways, so why encourage him to shoot some more. No, let's just slot in Reed instead of Morningstar and everyone's happy. He has an awesome three-point stroke, and I still think that he is a better all-around defensive player than current starter Brady Morningstar. Honestly. So, please, Bill, start Tyrel. We're just a better team, that way.
Quintrell Thomas. Ouch. I expected 'Trell to come in and start piling up the rebounds and impress on the defensive side of the ball. Yet, he has looked the worst of all the freshmen, and he has continually looked lost out there on the court. I mean, with how thin our frontcourt is he will continue to get chances to impress, but he certainly has yet to look good for any consistent period of time thus far.
The Morris Twins, however, seem to improve every time they step onto the floor. I mean, they even play better after taking a break on the bench and talking to some assistant coaches. Remember that they haven't had nearly the amount of time to work with Danny Manning that the other big guys have had, and get a little more excited. Then recall the flashes both twins are showing in greater flashes, particularly their insane rebounding abilities. First, Markieff pulled down 15 boards against UMKC. Then, last night, Marcus pulled down 10 boards. While it is probably bad to put them together like this, it is inevitable that they will be compared and contrasted against each other, given their resemblance and twinhood and all.
One more quick note. Conner Teahan? Nuh-uh. I understand why he's having some problems, as he's playing the 4 when Self wants to give multiple bigs a rest, and it is quite obvious that he doesn't fit in there well. At all. But still, I figured that he would at least compete for some early playing time, and not simply be relegated to Matt Kleinmann territory. Oh, and this is probably sad, but I still never remember which 'n' in Kleinmann's name has the two consecutive 'n's'.

More basketball-type discussion upcoming in the next couple of days. We are in basketball season, and I have to say I'm looking forward to it after the rather disappointing football season.

Breaking Down the Perimeter Rotation

rockchalk — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:26:18 -0000

When this whole story idea first got started up, I was set to make a rough comparison between last season's National Championship squad and this year's unit. Obviously, there would be significant gaps in many of the comparisons, with the incredible youth in this year's team as opposed to last year's largely veteran team. And honestly, even looking at it player-by-player, as I likely would have, there are few similarities. For one, it is entirely too early to begin comparing young freshman who have played all of one regular season game to National Championship-winning, currently-professional athletes. Way too early.

Of course, this doesn't mean there are some early comparisons to be made. For instance, I have taken to calling Quintrell Thomas "Darnell", because their styles of play are eerily similar. Of course, and we'll get into this later, Quintrell can't hit the freebies nearly as well as D-Block did (in fact, Darnell was, at times, the best free throw shooter on the team). I also tend to liken Travis Releford to a poor man's Brandon Rush, although that is more of just a general feeling as opposed to actually closely comparing the two respective styles.

With all of that said, here is a quick breakdown of how the rotation should work itself out. There won't be a whole lot of player analysis and all of that fun jazz, I will do that as we continue to progress through the non-conference season, but merely a general semblance of how our rotation figures to break down.

I hestiate to offer a specific definition of the qualifications required to enter into the rotation, and it is largely a subjective measure. And so, merely accept the definition of being part of the rotation as merely earning enough minutes to have an impact on a game over a consistent basis.

Vague enough for you? OK, then good, let's get down to it, then.

Actual breaking down after the jump...

Much of the fun of this season is all of the unknowns. No one really knows who will step up and emerge as crucial players down the stretch, and who will, instead, merely sit far down the bench, getting to play only in the largest blowouts of all.

Of course, some players are more likely to become a member of the final rotation than others. And so, here are all of the conceivable options at Bill Self's disposal to fill up the rotation of eight-or-nine guys, and their rough likelihood of being a final member.

You have to figure that there will be four or five perimeter players and four bigs. The bigs have pretty much already been decided, really, because of the lack of sheer numbers. Cole Aldrich is an obvious member, and the other three are all-but-guaranteed to be the three freshmen: Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris and Quintrell Thomas. I suppose you could try and include Mario Little as part of the big rotation, and if one of the three freshmen bust out that is our best opportunity to piece together the best players, but I still tend to think, as do most, that he is much more of a wing player.

And while the four low-post players are all but figured out, the competition for the perimeter slots are still up in arms. Here is a brief rundown of the candidates:

Sherron Collins -- I promise that he will be one of the key members of the rotation throughout the entire season, and more-than-likely will lead the team in minutes when all is said and done. He is the starting point guard from start to finish assuming there are no injuries, and he is likely the early favorite for Team MVP.
Tyrel Reed -- He was a top recruit coming out of high school, but he never found a niche on a team that was ridiculously stacked and simply resorted to garbage minutes. This led many members of the fan base to expect less from him, which is unfair considering he would have had to outplay an incredibly talented perimeter player (Robinson, Chalmers, Rush and Collins) just to sniff some playing time. But with three of those four departing, he was presented a tremendous opportunity to claim some playing time and he hasn't disappointed. His hot start has at least bought him the beginning of the season in the starting lineup, and he figures to remain a member of the rotation throughout the season.
Travis Releford -- A local recruit out of Bishop Miege, his regular season career got off to a poor start as he sat out almost the entire first half. For whatever reason, in a half where Bill Self was clicking all of the buttons at his disposal trying to find something that worked, Releford never saw much court action at all. But then, in the second half, Travis entered into the lineup and never looked back. He played the majority of the second 20 minutes and looked really good doing it. That performance alone will get him into the picture for the next couple of weeks, and the continued display of the all-around package he showcased on Sunday night will get him into the starting lineup, much less the general rotation.
Tyshawn Taylor -- The other sure-to-be-impact freshman, Taylor reminds me a lot of, well, Sherron Collins. He isn't quite as quick, but he plays similarly; balls-to-the-wall and a hundred miles an hour. His progress will be interesting throughout the season, as he likely won't start too often but, instead, will be, well, this year's version of Sherron Collins coming off the bench. A bundle of energy that will be called upon when we are struggling offensively, I am quickly falling in love with the kid. A surefire member of the rotation, from where I'm standing.
Mario Little -- The wildcard of the rotation, if for no other reason than he hasn't been healthy yet. He figures to be a key member of the rotation once he comes back, but it will be interesting to see whether his return merely reduces minutes or causes someone to effectively be dropped from the rotation. Can't comment too much on LIttle, so we'll just live it at that. He'll be a member of the rotation, I promise, it is just how big of a role he will receive that is up in the air. And I tell you what, that answer can be provided by Tyshawn's and Travis' play as much as Little's potential.
Brady Morningstar -- He played very well in the first exhibition game against Washburn, and then had merely an average game against Emporia State. He played pretty awful against UMKC, looking too much for his shot and not playing good D, but he bounced back against Florida Gulf Coast to have a halfway decent game, again. He looks to be on the outside looking in, but he still stands a decent chance to finagle his way into some minutes, at least early on while the freshmen are learning the ropes.
Conner Teahan -- Ah, Conner Teahan. Conner Teahan is a crowd favorite for his hot-shooting last season, and he is a Rockhurst boy (just like my uncles and my father), meaning he is well-loved in my house. But Connor really only has one above average 'tool', to use a baseball scouting term, and that is his shot. Sure, he can shoot the hell out of the ball, but he can't do much else on a basketball court. His defensive mindset is "hey, I'm gonna punch this guy in the arm as he runs across the lane instead of running with him, hope the ref doesn't see". And, as they tend to do, the refs saw it too often in his limited action Sunday night. His chances to actually scratch the rotation are not looking too hot right now, although he will likely still get another chance-or-two in low-pressure games the next couple of weeks, and if he plays better he could still stand a chance.
Tyrone Appleton -- A JUCO transfer, Appleton looked merely average in his limited time Sunday night. He figures to be used merely for depth purposes throughout the season, an emergency point guard in case of injury to Sherron or Tyshawn.

While there are an abundance of options for Bill Self to choose from, there seems to be a fairly obvious cut line squarely between Mario Little and Brady Morningstar. That would mean that once Little heals up, we would have a nine-man rotation, which is fine for much of the year. Eventually, there would likely be one-or-two members who fade off, giving us a more concise rotation to cycle through in the waning moments of close games. Essentially, the difference between last year's 7-man rotation and the 9-man rotation (7-man plus Cole Aldrich and Rodrick Stewart).

If I were to rank the eight perimeter players in likelihood of being a member of the rotation in, let's say the end of February, here is what I would say

Sherron Collins
Tyrel Reed
Mario Little
Tyshawn Taylor
Tyrone Releford
Brady Morningstar
Travis Appleton
Conner Teahan

Again, there is a rather large gap between numbers 5 and 6.

Other discussions regarding the whole team in general upcoming in the next couple of days. Plus, we'll try and get some Washington and Florida/Syracue preview materail up for the upcoming CBE Classic Final Four in Kansas City.