SB Nation - Quintrell Thomas

Where Will Xavier and CJ (or Lance?) Fit: A Look at the Scholarship Situation

rockchalk — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:34:43 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Bill Self isn't laughing about the scholarship situation. I promise you, he's not. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

13 scholarships.

That's the limit. This past season, we had 12 scholarship players, including transfer Jeff Withey. Add in incoming recruits Thomas Robinson and Elijah Johnson, and that's 14. Or, one over the limit.

Obviously, that's a problem, although one that occurs countless times over the landscape of college basketball. However, from all indications, Xavier is going to be a Jayhawk. Hopefully, at least. If that does happen, as expected, that's 15 scholarships. Or, 2 over the limit.

Naturally, this is a problem that needs fixing. Not the worst problem in the world, having too much talent as opposed to not enough, but one that needs solving.There are a couple of potential, um, ways this could be resolved. I don't want to use the word 'solution', because it isn't ilke there is some strategy involved of this. This ain't the NBA: there are no cuts. However, as has been repeated over-and-over here at RCT over the last week-or-so, I highly doubt that Self would continue recruiting without an inkling of some changes forthcoming. As they say, these things have a way of working themselves out.

So, with that said, here are the potential events that could transpire to open up the available scholarships for Robinson, Johnson and, hopefully, Henry.

Note: I know that it is dangerous to count your chickens before they hatch, and I'm certainly not fully "expecting" a Xavier Henry commit. Although, it certainly appears as if he is Lawrence-bound, so all of these, um, ways to resolve the situation will be assuming that two scholarships need to be opened up. Two.

Cole and Sherron Go Pro

Really, no matter what their friend says on Twins blogs or what comes out mere hours after a heart-breaking loss, it means very little. Similar reports have come out through the years, with the player sitll ending up sticking in the Draft. No matter what, I would bet that both declare. Now, personally, I would prefer Cole and Sherron to return than any potential recruit to come in. But, it isn't like we have the choice between the two. If both declare for the Draft, as has been expected for awhile, and actually stick it out and get drafted, poof goes our scholarship issue. Still, not a desireable result.

We'll get into whether they should go pro or not later on in the month, but both have interesting pro/con things going on. Both do have some reasons to make the jump now, and it certainly is a possibility we never see either in a Kansas uniform again. I sure hope not, though.

Odds of Occurring: 10%

Other scenarios after the jump...

2 Transfers

I really don't want this to happen. I hate transfers, unless kids just get homesick and it's entirely their decision (Alex Galindo) or they are just too soft and unwilling to get down and play tough defense consistently (Micah Downs). Or, if they just refuse to play child support, or whatever (C.J. Giles). But, for the most part, I just don't like transfers. Two names are being mentioned far more often than any others as far as potential transfers go. Quintrell Thomas and Travis Releford.

Both, in terms of playing time, make some sense. Particularly Quintrell, who figures to be behind approximately 18 people on the depth chart next year, assuming Cole comes back. Honestly, just 5 (Cole, Withey, Robinson, Morris twins). But still, that's a helluva lot. As far as Releford goes, he probably will see a decrease in his PT next season. Most likely even the year after that, unless X is just a one-and-done. But, he figures to be a starter in 2011-2012, if he makes the necessary improvements and all. Redshirt next year, and he still has two years of being a starter to look forward to.

But, just like pro prospects, we'll get into specific transfer situations later. For now, regrettably, this seems to be the end result most are expecting. I hope it doesn't happen, because I think both (especially Releford) can be really good players in Lawrence. But if it's their decision, then it's their decision. Nothing you can do about it.

Odds of Occurring: 20%

Cole or Sherron Go Pro + 1 Transfer

Really, I think this is the most likely scenario. In terms of playing time, I wouldn't be surprised to see Quintrell transfer. Now, from everything I've read, he seems to be happy and cool with the situation and all of that. Still, I just have a feeling that he's gone. I hope not, but just a feeling. And, the more I look at the situation, I really think that at least one of Cole or Sherron will go pro. Again, I really hope not. And, I honestly couldn't tell you which one it will be. But either Sherron will take the money, now, or Cole will realize that he will almost certainly go Top 10 and jump a year too early.

I would like nothing more, though, than to be wrong on that.

Odds of Occurring: 30%

Cole or Sherron Go Pro/1 Transfer + Brady/Whoever Gives Up Scholarship

This is really two scenarios combined, but I found it silly to break it up. Because, if Brady, or whoever, really, would be willing to give up a scholarship, I'd feel infinitely better about the whole situation. And, as of January, he said he would be willing. So, fingers crossed. While it would suck for anyone else to leave, it's pretty much impossible to bring in Xavier and the other recruits without someone living. Well, I suppose two players could giveup schollies, but that'd just feel weird. And be practically impossible, particularly in this economy. So, no.

The real question is, which player would you be most willing to leave. Obviously, it feels silly to pick-and-choose who you wouldn't mind leaving. But, for me, it would have to be Quintrell. I love him, as I love everyone, but he really is way, way deep down on the bigs depth chart. And, he needs so much work, it's quite crazy.

Odds of Occuring: 40%

Concluding Thoughts

What do I think will happen? Well, really, it's pretty much impossible to tell. While FHOFNCOYDNCHCBS surely has leads as to potential openings, otherwise he wouldn't still be recruiting, I doubt even he knows exactly what should transpire. But, being my ever-optimistic self, I'll go on the record as Quintrell transfers and Brady gives up his schollie. Please, let this happen. Of all of the potential resolutions, that would be the most tolerable.

"Step Your Game Up" -- Kansas 87 Oklahoma 78

rockchalk — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:33:37 -0000

There was a little less than 9 minutes left in the first half, and Kansas was down, 22-10. After a quick initial start, we were desperate for somebody, anybody to step up and take control. Unsurprisingly, they were focusing most of their attention on Cole and Sherron, making them unlikely candidates. However, this also opened the door.

Two straight Tyshawn Taylor threes later, the score was 22-16. About 2 minutes later, a third trey put the Jayhawks up, 24-23, a lead they would never relinquish again.

However, the game got close again. Oh boy, did it close. After a barrage of threes by Cade Davis, who had the game of his life for Oklahoma, and Omar Leary, a little-used reserve guard off of the bench, the Sooners had cut the once-20-point lead to only 3, 71-68. Sherron Collins received the ball, dribbled some, dished off to T2, went off a screen and once a defensive switch had Cade Davis guarding him, he simply dribbled up, dribbled between his legs and pulled up from 22 feet.

Swish.

However, after an even deeper three from Willie Warren, to cut the lead back to 3, it was up to Sherron again to step up.

This time, there was no switches, no passes, no screens. Once we beat the press and got the ball past halfcourt, Tyrel handed the ball to Sherron. There was about 28 seconds left on the shot clock. 20 seconds of pure dribbling later, Sherron took a pair of dribbles, again crossovered through his legs and, again, pulled up. This time, though, he was shooting from what had to be 30 feet away.

Swish.

And yet, we weren't done yet. Only seconds after Sherron's incredible three-pointer, Willie Warren came charging down. He saw a crease, and took it. Markieff Morris, who had bolted down the court in excitement (watching the final 5 minutes for the fourth time today, this became really evident) after Sherron's thirty-footer and was, thus, in awesome defensive possession underneath the basket, stepped up.

Charge.

End of momentum for the Sooners, and it simply turned into a glorified free throw shooting contest from there.

The game was all about stepping up, you see. And not just in fabulous box score lines, but in clutch moments where the game was on the line. The game seemed to be over countless times, and each time the opponent came charging back, or somehow mustered enough to hold off the surging opposition. But, Kansas stepped up more, elevated their game more substantially, despite having the home crowd work against them. Of course, Blake Griffin wasn't there, and that played a role. But Oklahoma still had a shot to win, to earn oh-so-much respect, to show they aren't just the Blake Griffins, and had the backing of 11,528 whiteout-wearing Boomer Sooner fans. And sure, they made some huge plays, and had some fringe players show up in big ways.

They just didn't have enough to overcome Kansas' incredible supply of it.

Player-by-players after the jump...

For the first time all season, there were three absolutely incredible performances in a single game. And while this made it quite difficult to select an MVP, the final selection shouldn't really be debated. When it mattered most, when there were 11,528 Sooner fans screaming at us and some white boy was hitting running 25-footers, or so it seemed, one guy stepped up. Sherron Collins. Three straight possessions, excluding the fastbreak T2 had that was swatted by Taylor Griffin, equalled three straight treys from SC, each one deeper than the one before it. It was absolutely incredible to watch. Plus, each subsequent three had a more vigorous reaction. He started off with just the fist pump across the chest, then the hop-around-kinda-thing, then my personal favorite, the sliding-backwards-while-yelling-really-effing-loud-semi-leaning-back one. Yeah, I love that one. And I'm telling you, not only did his threes motivate us simply by going in, but the way he reacted helped everyone out, as well. Markieff, especially. The Morris twins seem to be particularly moody, almost, where they can go through stretches played with incredible intensity, then other times play quite lacksadasical. Sherron's yelling, I'm telling you, got Kieffer to sprint down floor into position, which led him to draw the charge.
As absolutely incredible as Sherron's second half was, you could certainly make the argument that Tyshawn Taylor's first half was more needed, and even more impressive. The dude's not known for the long ball, but his three triples in the first half were some of the biggest baskets of his career. Maybe the biggest. A career-high 26, in such a setting, is unreal. And, this is coming off of quite a cold stretch for T2 that had lasted quite awhile; a couple of weeks, at least. No matter, I'll just show up in Norman, knock down a couple of threes (including banking one in; plus, the third one was from like 25-feet and barely even grazed the net), hit my throws and have a positive assist:turnover ratio. No bigs. Talk about stepping up. Plus, he was actually really solid on D, too, struggling when he switched on to Warren during those rare occasions, but playing excellent against Crocker.
While T2 had the first half, and SC the second, Cole Aldrich was the dependable second fiddle throughout the entire game. Obviously, he benefitted the most from Blake Griffin watching on the sidelines in a cowgirl shirt, as he could do whatever he wanted on both sides of the glass. You can talk all you want about the loss of Blake's scoring, but the thing that absolutely killed the Sooners was rebounding. All year long, with one of the 5 best rebounders in the country, they've dominated the glass. However, without Blake, we outrebounded them by 6, including a career-high 20 by Cole. He was fine offensively, missing some relatively easy shots but hitting most, and was money from the FT line after an uncharacteristically bad game against Iowa State. Basically, he was the steadying presence we so desperately needed for 40 minutes, while T2 and Sherron went on their own streaks. Also, he absolutely destroyed the Sooner big men.
In all actuality, the fourth best player for the Jayhawks Monday night was likely Markieff Morris. In an attempt to prove that the Morris twins are the inconsistent basketball players of all time, Marcus had a two-week stretch where he was the one emerging, only to regress back to non-con-McMorris, while Kieffer has emerged as our second best big. The biggest play of the game, IMO, was Kieffer's charge, and he was also working it on offense, picking up 7 much-needed points. He also played much better D than the other two members of the Law Firm (McMorris and Smash), containing Pattillo and Lesser Griffin much more efficiently. Marcus Morris, on the other hand, while not playing terribly, did little to stand out positively. He took an ill-advised three, was in foul trouble throughout the game, turned it over twice. Kieffer did a lot of the same stuff, but Kieffer made up for it with much better D.
Brady Morningstar had his worst game of the year. Without a doubt. Coming in, I was bragging on good ol' Bradystar, telling everyone how he was going to destroy Warren. Yeah, that didn't happen. At all. Warren did just about whatever he wanted when Brady was guarding him, and Brady never really recovered, staying in foul trouble the rest of the game. Plus, on offense, he missed two wide-open three-point attempts. I still love him to death, but too many more games like that and his standing as the third minute-earner on the team will quickly fall.
But who will those minutes go to? Honestly, probably Travis Releford. In an incredibly important time in the game, where the game was in balance, at a time where Brady's played all year, Releford was in the game in his place. Releford was playing comparable D, shockingly, and his offense is way better. On three straight offensive possessions, Releford played a role (two offensive rebounds himself, and another time he poked the ball straight to Cole) in picking up an offensive board, which led to, IIRC, 5 points. And before his charge, he was playing nearly flawless basketball. He is still plenty raw, and has plenty of room for plenty of improvement, but he should see more meaningful minutes after Monday night. For how terrible his line looks, he actually played really well. Of course, that very well may be the bias showing through.
As opposed to Brady's zero good plays, not to be harsh, Tyrel Reed can boast one solid play. A fadeaway, clock-running-down three-pointer to close out the half was quite the shot, but that's about all Relly Ice contributed on offense all night. However, like Releford, he was playing surprisingly good D, so he got more PT than usual. He played fine with those minutes, I suppose, but his lack of success on offense hampers my evaluation.
Finally, the two remaining members of the Law Firm (I'm adding Thomas, sorry KGRTC). Mario Little and Quintrell Thomas both had little flashes of usefulness, but for the most part were just average. After his first couple of games after deciding not to redshirt, where he looked absolutely fabulous, Smash has really declined. He hit a crazy trick shot Monday night, but also got in really quick foul trouble and never really saw the floor in the second half. Trell had a couple of good boards, and played pretty solid D, but he's for sure still a work in progress. The good thing is that he's a freshman, so that's all well-and-good. I just hope that Smash can figure out his problems before the end of the season, or he might not see much PT in the important games in March. I don't think that happens, though.

All in all, a couple of A's (SC, T2, Cole) are enough to overcome a host of B-minus' and C's. The formula to win, though, is usually having CoSh show up big-time, then having at least one role player step their game up. Monday night was Tyshawn's turn. Against K-State, it was McMorris. In Waco, Kieffer. It was the missing element in our trip to Columbia (along with a whole mess of other junk; honestly, looking back, I can't believe we were as close as we were), and it will be again if we lose soon.

Oh, and just one more quick note. Since when do you have to apologize for winning on the road against the #3 team in the country? I understand, it doesn't have the same feel because of Blake's injury, but still. It isn't like the team is just one-player. Even without Blake, I think they are definitely a NCAA-caliber team. Willie Warren is ridiculous, and the rest of the supporting cast (other than Austin Johnson, who I've never, ever been impressed with) is solid enough to back him up.

So, dissenters, we hear you. And, a lot of what you're saying makes sense. But we're not going to say sorry just cause we're in fabulous shape to win the conference, and we "got lucky" in that we didn't have to face Blake. It's basketball, junk happens, get over it. Simple as that.

Oh, and I desperately want to face off with Oklahoma, now, in the Big 12 Tournament. I wouldn't mind a third matchup with Missouri, either (as, assuming we can hold down the fort on Sunday, would serve as the neutral court tiebreaker), but I really want to play Blake. And, while I don't think we would've won (it isn't a sure thing, but I bet we lose) Monday night if Blake were to play, in that hostile environment, I bet we'll be ready in another three-or-so weeks to take them on and beat them.

Mark my words.

"Bring on Oklahoma" -- Kansas 70 Nebraska 53

rockchalk — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:08:38 -0000

Coming into this week, following our hard-fought win in Manhattan, we were merely assigned the task of not blowing the place up.

That's it.

Just feed the cat, walk the dog, pick up the mail and newspaper. Simple tasks, sure, but ones that can have terrible results if things go awry.

That, pretty much, is what this week was like. Iowa State and Nebraska, while not equal teams, aren't particularly dangerous on the road. It wasn't going to take a whole lot to win the games, but it still had to be accomplished.

And, that's exactly what we did. A 17-point victory Wednesday night, 72-55, followed up by Saturday's 17-point victory, 70-53. Besides the eerily similar scores, a lot else was the same between the two games. In both games, two men led us to victory.

It isn't a tricky question, it's as obvious as one might expect: Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins. Really, no one else played well. Like, at all.

And yet, we still won. That's all that matters. But, on Monday night in Norman, we won't be able to get by with only two good performances, no matter how dominant. We need more of a team effort.

Player-by-players after the jump...

Without a doubt, the MVP is Sherron Collins. Dude was dominant, really, for the first time in weeks. Ever since he had the elbow problem, and had to put the sleeve on, he's struggled from the perimeter. His D and his driving ability has kept him being a really good player, but he wasn't playing like the superstar he's shown to be before, like in the beginning of the season. While he looked as if he was beginning to make a comeback against Iowa State, Saturday proved he is 100% back. He was unreal, posting one of the better lines of the season by anybody on the team. 22 points on an incredibly efficient 8-12 shooting, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and zippo turnovers. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.
The other deserving MVP candidate was Cole Aldrich, who had a much better time of it against Nebraska than up in Lincoln. He struggled, big-time, from the free throw line, only going 4-9, but that was really the only negative. He still scored 18 points, picked up 12 rebounds and, most importantly, didn't pick up a foul. If he makes his free throws like usual, and he would've gotten 20, at least. Still, a tremendous performance, one he likely needs to repeat Monday night for us to have a chance.
After those two, it takes a considerable turn for the worse. However, Markieff Morris really came to play. He wasn't awesome on offense, and his three-point attempt was ill-conceived at best, but he was a monster on the boards, picking up 9. Plus, he picked up 3 blocks, and most importantly only had 1 foul. That's a nice little line from Kieffer, and a fine performance. Marcus Morris, on the other hand, had a terrible outing. He hit a three, which was nice, and picked up 3 rebounds, which is all right. But, besides that, he was atrocious; 5 turnovers and 4 fouls. It looked like he was breaking out, for good, but he just didn't show up yesterday.
Brady Morningstar had a pretty good game for himself, as well. Knocked down a pair of treys, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, you know, a very typical Brady line. Nothing that absolutely freaks you out, but solid performances in every facet of the game. He's going to have his work cut out for him guarding Willie Warren on Monday, so hopefully he's ready. Warren had a coming out party of sorts down in Austin Saturday night, and he looked ridiculous. So, yeah, I'm officially nervous.
Everyone else, really, played pretty crappy. Tyrel Reed might've been the worst of the bunch, going kaput on offense and turning it over twice. Mario Little still rebounded, but he picked up the second straight goose egg in the points line. Tyshawn Taylor can't hit the outside three to save his life, and Nebraska figured this out, leaving him open in the corner. He only hit 1-5, not to mention his 3 turnovers.
However, despite not playing terribly well, I wanted to give props to Travis Releford and Quintrell Thomas. Both actually played pretty decent, in their limited PT, and showed me some things. Travis got 11 minutes, the most he's gotten in awhile IIRC, and responded pretty well. Not a terribly active line, and he didn't blow me away, but a fine performance. And Trell, he is a solid rebounder. He is still incredibly raw offensively, but he isn't bad as the emergency big guy to come up in and steal minutes. Not bad at all.

That's all, and now we're entirely done with that Nebraska game. From now on, we're setting our sights on Oklahoma, and Oklahoma alone.

You ready?

"You Can't Give a Good Team Life" -- Kansas 85 Kansas State 74

rockchalk — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:44:09 -0000

There are 8 minutes, 35 seconds left in the first half. The score sits at 30-14, advantage K-State, and Bill Self just used his third timeout.

All of the momentum, all of the flow, all of the confidence was residing with the Powercats. The Blizzarding-out, Purple faithful. They were rocking. They were shaking. They were making a helluva lot of noise. Their boys couldn't miss, particularly the perimeter duo of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. The blowout was on to a win they badly need for their NCAA portfolio. After losing 24 straight to the Kansas Jayhawks in Manhattan, they were about to start a streak of their own; 2, after winning last season.

But then, something changed. In a time of utter desperation, where Kansas needed somebody, anybody to step up, Sherron Collins picked up his second foul. Cole was virtually nonexistent. The two players we had looked up to all season long to pick us up when were down weren't there, at least for the time being. No, someone else needed to pick up the baton and start running. Someone to give us life.

And who gave us life? Marcus Morris.

Brady sinks a three, McMorris puts in a two-point layup, and Morris dish led to a Cole dunk. Seven quick points. After Clemente and Sherron exchanging threes, Morris went 1-2 from the FT line, then dished off to his brother for another dunk. Then, Morris picked up his second steal, dishing off to Tyshawn for a dunk. Another Morris pokeaway, which leads to another fastbreak bucket. Then, the capper.

Down 35-38, Marcus found himself oh-so-wide-open right at the three-point line.

Swish.

Tie game, which pretty much meant game over. Sure, K-State went on it's fair share of runs the rest of the game, including immediately following Morris' three. But, a Brady Morningstar trey as the first half clock ran down re-gave us all of the momentum. Everything the Powercats had going for them was now gone, and the second half was to be simply a talent-on-talent contest. And while K-State does have plenty of it(particularly Jake "I save my best for the Jayhawks" Pullen and Denis "Dis my house" Clemente), their talent doesn't compare to ours.

When we were given life, mostly by an incredible performance from Marcus Morris, the game was all-but-over.

Player-by-players after the jump...

Game MVP isn't even a question, baby. Marcus Freakin' Morris. He wasn't perfect, especially in the early-going, but that's the best either Morris has played all year long. I thought that their four-or-five game stretch prior to the Missouri game was their breaking-out, but then they both played pretty awful in Columbia. However, Marcus re-emerged Saturday afternoon in Manhattan. He was awesome at just about everything, really, playing really sound D (3 steals, including pick-pocketing Clemente IIRC), moving the ball really well (4 assists) and being active on the boards (7 of 'em, including 3 on the offensive end). Oh, and 15 points, too, including a three. Don't wanna forget about that. He was the most important player in the game, and that isn't just normalizing for past performance and expectations and all of that. The last 8:34, or whatever, of the first half, he was the best player on the floor. The best compliment he received, though, is when he played like 16 minutes in the second half. Besides giving him rest and at the very, very end when we were just shooting the free throws, he was always in there. Always, always, always. Self didn't want any part of a three-man rotation between him, Kieffer and Mario 2.0. Nuh-uh. McMorris all the way.
While he struggled in the early-going, including airballing a 14-footer early on, Cole Aldrich was the best player in the second half. During K-State's most realistic run in the second half, when they cut it all the way to 67-65, we went to Cole three straight trips down the floor. The result? 7 points, a 74-70 score, and the game never got down to 2 again. His D was good, not as dominating as against Mizzou but still really good. This time, though, his offense was the side that really dominated. K-State had no answer coming in, and when we really, really need buckets, there was no question where we were going.
Sherron Collins, despite still not having his shot completely, played quite well, really. He still is turing the ball over a bit too much, and his three-point shot is still struggling, but he gets to the rim almost at will. His fifty-foot alley-oop to Cole was pretty incredible, so that gives him some extra points. It is odd, though, that he can play as well as he did on Saturday and yet I am nitpicking for his 2-5 from three-point range and 5 turnovers. Us, as a fanbase, are awfully hard on him; think, though, where we would be without him. I think an NIT invite would have been our ceiling, really, on a Sherron-less Kansas team.
Brady Morningstar, after not being able to buy a basket against Missouri, had a stellar game. One of his best of the season, offensively, really. All three of his first half threes were incredibly needed; the first two during a time where we really couldn't get much of anything done offensively, and the last one as the clock ran out to give us the momentum heading into the second half. His fourth three didn't occur at such an absolutely crucial time, but still: when his threes are falling, it is awfully hard to beat us. Defensively, he did a fabulous job on Fred Brown. I'd have put him on Denis Clemente, but I suppose Bill was fine with letting Clemente get his as long as that's all they got, which is pretty close to what happened. And Brown was virtually non-existent, so that was good to see.
Going back to Clemente, Tyrel Reed was just absolutely wasted defensively. Clemente did whatever he pleased while Tyrel was out there, and I don't think he should have seen the floor in the second half. He's made progress since the beginning of the year with his feet, but they still aren't nearly quick enough to keep up with such a speedy player like Clemente. Offensively, he didn't do too much at all. He hit all of his throws, which is good, and he did drain that one huge three (shocking, I know) after the Clemente T that grew the lead to 7, which was nice. But that's about it; other than that, he was not very often seen or heard from offensively. And on defense, his name was mentioned over-and-over-and-over: because he was beat, of course.
Mario Little and Markieff Morris both played average games. Neither was terribly efficient offensively, and Kieffer was close to awful, while neither was too hot on defense, with Mario 2.0 being the one who was toasted. Little's behind-the-back pass was pretty sweet, and the box score has him at 3 assists, which is at least a positive. Nothing to write home about, and I'd bet he loses his starting slot back to McMorris, but better overall than Kieffer, whose offensive "highlight" was getting the shit blocked out of a ball he should have dunked. Quintrell Thomas was fine, and his offensive rebound was impressive. That's about it. He still isn't ready to contribute for any significant stretch, but he is a fine 5th big to be used in extreme cases of foul trouble and/or terrible play, and next year he could see a significant spike if Cole jumps to the NBA.
Tyshawn Taylor had an interesting game, to say the least. On one hand, he wasn't half-bad on defense, and did a pretty good job on Clemente. On the other hand, he wasn't too often seen on offense, and he did foul out. All-in-all, an OK performance from T-Squared. However, I do wish that some of his playing time (particularly in the second half) would've gone to...
Tyrone Appleton. Strangely, I was incredibly impressed with Appleton, and thought he played the best defense of anyone on Clemente all afternoon long. He moved his feet, stayed in front of Clemente and, IIRC, Clemente didn't score once in Appleton's five minutes. Appleton didn't do anything on offense, but neither did TyTay, and Appleton was the better defender. If I were NCHCBS, I would've given Tyrone plenty of second half PT, if for nothing else than to reward him for his superior D. If he started to struggle, no-harm-no-foul, and just put back in Relly Ice or T-Squared. Hopefully, if both Tyshawn and Tyrel struggle again in a game, Tyrone sees more PT. He deserves it, from what I saw on Saturday.
Finally, and I do know that there are only so many minutes to go around, I'd really like to see Travis Releford get more minutes, at least against run-and-gun teams. He did only go 2-4 from the free throw line, which can't help, but he looks much more active on offense than either Tyrel or Tyshawn. He is a really good offensive rebounder for his size, and is a damn good slasher without the ball. And, best of all, his D is monumentally better than it was at the beginning of the season. Not a lot of minutes, but I'd like him to get around 10 minutes a pop, more if he is outplaying either Tyrel or Tyshawn.

OK, that's all. The Big 12 Roundup, supersized because we missed last week, is upcoming later on tonight.

"Have We Ever Beat Kansas in Hilton?" -- Kansas 82 Iowa State 67

rockchalk — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:53:12 -0000

That quote, in the title, was easily the funniest part of my Saturday. I mean, seriously. The answer wasn't even like 1995, either. It was 200-frickin-3. I mean, come on. Do Cyclone fans not remember when the Clones were last a good, even dominant team? Marcus Fizer? Jamaal Tinsley? Timmeh Floyd? All of those stupid farm boys/Eminem-wannabes/foreigners who could hit the three (primarily Jake Sullivan; I was reminded of my intense dislike for him yesterday during the game, when they showed that one clip of him knocking down enough threes to beat us)? Really, no one?

Well, I suppose the Clones' incredible lack of short-term memory will cause them to forget Craig Brackins' performance. Which is a shame, because that was just absolutely incredible. I mean, we certainly didn't play good defense on him. He scored forty-two frickin' points, for goodness sakes. But even when we played good D, and stuck a hand in the his face, and harrassed him, the shots still fell. So, he deserves his props. Congratulations, Craig Brackins. Good luck in the League next year.

Moving beyond Brackins, everything else was damn-near perfect. I mean, we out hustled 'em. We out shot 'em. We out rebounded 'em. We out coached 'em. We were clearly the better team. Of course, that isn't terribly surprising. We are, clearly, a superior team. However, it was in Ames, and even if their fans don't remember, at one point they dominated us up there. It was an impressive win, to win by 15 on the road against a team that had a player go off for 40. If Brackins didn't go all Kevin Durant on all of us, we win going away, by 25 at least. So, yeah, we played really well.

Well, everyone except the Morris twins.

More on the Morris twins and everyone else after the jump...

As incredible as Brackins was, Sherron Collins matched him bucket-for-bucket in the first half. I mean, holy hell, I've never seen Sherron so on fire. He was so confident in his shot, he took it every time he got an open look. And every signle time, it found the bottom of the net. He had 14 points in a blink of the eye, and while he ended up with "only" 26 (tying a career-high), he did surpass 1,000 career points. And, more importantly, he was amazingly efficient, and was a great faciltator of the offense. Even when his shot was struggling the second half, he still made the offense tick enough to keep the train chugging along, which was awesome. Most important of all, though, is that he clearly showed that he is the leader of this team. It's never been so painfully obvious, at least since I've started following the team, that one player has been the leader of the squad. Honestly, Danny Manning is the last time I can remember that one player was, without question, the leader of the team. And he is. It's one of those things you can just tell. It doesn't necessarily even make sense, all of the time, but we go as Sherron goes. Not as his shot goes, but how he goes. And, since a pair of cold performances in Kansas City early on and an absolutely dreadful half up in East Lansing, he's been consistently on.

See what I mean? (Nick Krug -- KU Sports)

After the obvious MVP choice of Sherron, it gets really difficult. Honestly, just about everybody played really, really well. The Morris twins didn't play well, but everyone else did. But, because I overlook him so often, I'll go Cole Aldrich. He was the power supply to our offense the second half, and his putback dunk with 6ish minutes left to extend the lead to eight (66-60 to 68-60) catapulted the 7-0 run that effectively ended the game. Well, I'll even go beyond the single dunk. With it only a six-point game, and Iowa State having an opportunity to get back into the game, Cole had three straight big plays. The putback dunk, then the incredible D on Brackins (best D of the night, I thought) to force him to come up short. Then, after a non-scoring possession from us and a missed one-and-one from Iowa State later, a gigantic screen to free Tyrel Reed for a three, giving us an eleven point lead. Game. Set. Match. All because of Cole. Oh, and he gave us 16 and 12. Not bad. Not to mention a pair of blocks. Dude is one of the most underrated bigs in the country. Talk all you want about Harangody and Hansborough, but I'll put Cole up against any other white big guy in the country. Honest.
Speaking of Tyrel Reed. I can't remember the exact game, I think it might have been the Arizona game, but I distinctly remember a poor outing from Tyrel and me subsequently thinking he was done for the year. Sure, he'd still get some minutes for the next couple of weeks, but when Little came back, and even before then, Tyrel's minutes would slowly dissipate, until they no longer existed. Kind of what happened to Conner Teahan earlier in the year, just in a more gradual fashion. Well, of course, I was wrong. Reed's D has gotten lightyears better in the past month-or-so, and his shot is finally starting to fall consistently. He has a knack for hitting the big shot, like the one described above, which is nice. He is definitely a contributor, someone who deserves minutes in key moments the rest of the way out. The key part of his box score though? Zero turnovers. He is never going to be a big assist guy, isn't nearly good enough at driving to do that, but as long as he doesn't have any stupid turnovers, we're good. Great game from Tyrel, Saturday.
What more is there to say about Mario LIttle? He is just an offensive machine, a pure shot-maker who can also drive to the basket. He's 10-10 his last two games, and could have a longer pure shot-making streak (he didn't shoot a shot in Boulder, and went 4-6 against K-State in Allen; depending on where those shots were made and missed, he theoretically could have as long as a fourteen-shot make streak). His fadeaway is money, even when he is only 6'5" and he is fading away from future NBA draft pick, 6'10" Craig Brackins. HIs rebounding will obviously suffer because of his height, but he is solid at boxing out, which gets him a couple a game. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid out there, and can handle it physically, his minutes need to go up, up, up. Who he takes them from shouldn't be a surprise.
Quintrell Thomas should also see more minutes, taking some more away from, as this guy (tremendous read, by the way) calls them KieffCus. We'll discuss the Morris twins at great length sometime Monday, so I don't want to discuss them too much, but it was clear on Saturday that only one of the freshmen trio of bigs knows how to really box out, knows how to really rebound the basketball. And that's Quintrell. He is virtually invisible on offense, other than the obligatory moving screen he's called for every game, but he played better D on Brackins than either of the Morris twins. He doesn't deserve a whole bounty of minutes, and he probably isn't a good fit against the small-as-hell Cornhuskers, but he definitely needs to get out of Bill's doghouse. It was good to see him get quality minutes in a tight game, though, and even better to see him do something positive with it.
Brady, Brady, Brady. What more can you say about Brady Morningstar? I mean, I'm not really sure what to say. I mean, he is as good as they get on defense. All year long, Lucca Staiger has been sharpshooting the Clones into games. Against us, Lucca went 1-7 with Brady hounding him all over the floor. And that one make was with a minute left, and the game already in hand. If you have a big name, Brady is just itching to shut him down. It's incredible. And, he'll throw in a pretty good offensive game every now and then, just for fun. The play at the end of the first half was incredible, and his nine overall points were impressive. But even more impressive is his non-scoring box score: 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and zero turnovers. Damn. It's like, he's that one kid your coach always screamed at you to be. Oh, and one more thing. He had 33 minutes, third only to (I bet you can guess) Cole Aldrich at 34 and Sherron Collins at 37. Just about every single game, he's third in minutes played? Why? Well, simple enough. He's our third best player. Not our third most athletic, or third most talented, or third most productive on offense. Third best player. He just does everything right, and if he makes any baskets at all on offense, that's just gravy. That's how good he is at everything else.

OK, like I said, I'm going to do some long-ass post about the Morris twins on Monday afternoon, so prepare for that. For right now, we've got a big road test coming up Wednesday night in Lincoln. I'm worried, and you should be to. We can easily win the game, and really should, but it certainly isn't a sure thing. Nebraska is a much-improved team, and they are so well-coached, it's scary. I'm a big Doc Sadler fan, and if he can ever recruit enough talent there at once to really compete, they could win the Big 12. I think the dude's that good of a coach. It will be interesting to see how we match up with them, but I'd imagine they do the same thing to us and Cole that they did to Oklahoma and Blake Griffin; double-and-triple team the hell out of him, and force you to make threes to beat them.

More on this the rest of the week, though, like I promised. The Big 12 Recap is going to have to wait for Monday afternoon as well, I'm afraid. It'll all come, though, I promise. Pinky swear, even.

A KenPom Preview: Kansas State #1

rockchalk — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:51:17 -0000

OK, so, for each of the conference games, I intend to do a preview. For some games, depending on time and other events occurring, I might do some other preview-type elements, but this should be the staple for all sixteen conference games. Basically, all I'm going to use is the new-and-improved-and-even-awesomer KenPom pages. Here is Kansas State's. We'll break it down into a couple of sections, or segments if you'd rather, and then conclude with some final thoughts on the game...

Opening Thoughts

Ah. The Kansas State Wildcats. I don't want to start spewing any hate, as there's been plenty of little jabs from both sides. You've got the sometimes-funny, oftentimes-reaching course list over at BOTC and then Denver's patriotic, Kansas-loving defending comments on said thread, as well as his little jabs throughout his own Kansas-KSU preview. Nothing like the stuff over at BOTC, but it is still clear we're in hate week. Or Hate Week. Capitilization or not, this game is pretty much a must-win. While I have yet to really freak out about our potential postseason possibilities, or lack thereof as it were, we likely need to go undefeated at home agains the North, at the very least, to stay safe. Pending some major upset, like beating the Longhorns in Allen or the Boomer Sooners in Norman, we can't afford to lose games like Tuesday night's and still squeak into the NCAA's. And so, this is, in a weird way, a must-win game. Not only for those NCAA reasons, but also for confidence's sake. We got demolished on Saturday, and despite a generally positive second half, the completely negative first half is likely still fresh in our minds.

The Background

Kansas State is not an NCAA Tournament team this year. They are a good team, a decent team, a team with some talented players. There is no Michael Beasley or Bill Walker on this year's squad, but they have a nice handful of players that are solid. Of course, they've yet to beat anyone of note. Seriously. Their best win, without question, is against Cleveland State. Now, the game was in Cleveland, and this is the same Vikings team that defeated Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Still, though, Cleveland State is no resume-defining win. They have played a grand total of four other games against Top 100 teams according to KenPom's ratings (vs. Kentucky, vs. Iowa and vs. Oklahoma); they lost three of the four. The first two were played in Las Vegas, and were close, two-point affairs. The Kentucky loss is slightly excusable, but there is no excuse for losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes. And then, last Saturday, they had a chance to pick up a huge win, a win that could catapult them into some NCAA competition. They have also lost to Oregon, who has sucked thus far in the Pac 10, but it was in Eugene and it was by only 5. Oh, and the other Top 100 win; against Southern Mississippi (Larry Eustachy-coached Golden Eagles, by the way) in Kansas City. So, here's what we've got. We've got a bunch of wins against patsies (9 wins against sub-100 teams; 8 of them above 200), a pair of decent victories (@ Cleveland State and vs. Southern Mississippi) and a four losses; one of them entirely defendable (vs. Oklahoma), two of them somewhat acceptable (@ Oregon and vs. Kentucky) and one that doesn't quite compute (vs. Iowa). It's got NIT written all over it, as long as they can win the easy, conference games at home.

The Offense

They are actually a pretty efficient offensive team. Not tremendous, but they are ranked 57th in adjusted efficiency. Breaking it down into more specific categories, they are mostly middle-of-the-road. An average three-point shooting team (35.7%; 107th), a not-much-better two-point shooting team (49.4%; 111th) and average at Effective FG% (50.8; 106th). They are, however, incredibly proficient in one area: offensive rebounding. Which, given are persistent trouble in that area, is particularly worrisome. If we lose, it will almost assuredly be because an exhorbiant amount of second chance opportunities by the Powercats. They are the second rated team in all of college basketball in Offensive Rebounding % (43.8%, meaning that of all shots they miss on the offensive end, they end up picking up nearly 44% of them). This is, quite obviously, the key to their offense, as they aren't a great shooting team. As I mentioned. Of course, this incredibly high offensive rebounding percentage is exaggerated because of two stellar performances; against Wagner and Florida A&M. While Wagner isn't terrible on the defensive boards (132nd in NCAA), the Rattlers are flat-out terrible, ranking 329th. Out of 344. So, while sure, they're a really good offensive rebounding team, they might not be quite as stellar as the numbers make it out to be. They're also really good at not getting their shots blocked (18th in the country), whatever that's worth.

The Defense

The Wildcats real strength is on the defensive side of the ball, though. Their defensive efficiency is off the charts; 11th in the country. They are particularly stellar at two aspects (two of the Four Factors, or four most important elements, too); effective FG% and turnover %. They force a shitload of turnovers, a little more than one every four possessions, which is good enough for 12th in the country. Of course, that turnover percentage is quite exaggerated by a couple of games against creampuffs. They forced a turnover on 40% of Kentucky's possessions in their matchup, and one on 36% of the possessions against Gardner-Webb. That is ridiculous. And they don't let their opponents shoot well; at all. Which is quite important to being a good defense. However, their defense is absolutely terrible at one thing. This is mostly explainable, given the incredble propensity they force turnovers with, but still quite noteworthy nonetheless. They foul. A lot, a lot, a lot. They foul so much, opponents such nearly one free throw for every field goal attempted. Now, this statistic is also inflated because of the high amount of turnovers; as the more turnovers, the less field goals attempted. Still, it is also heavily impact by the amount of fouls by the Powercats. And that, right there, is the Powercats' defensive strategy. To foul and slap and cut lanes and do plenty of stuff attempting to force turnovers, never particularly worried about fouling in the process.

The Players

In KenPom's new team pages, which are so amazing it isn't even funny, he has included a new listing of the players. As opposed to merely listing the players in two general sections (starting lineup and bench), he has now divided the players into several separate categories; Major Contributors, Significant Contributors, Role Players, Limited Roles and Nearly Invisbile. Naturally, we're not going to spend too much time on the Nearly Invisible, and not too much on those with LImited Roles, either. Instead, we'll focus on the first three categories, which presents us with eight players to discuss. Here are those seven players, in order of contribution, roughly:

Major Contributors

Jacob Pullen - #0 Soph. G -- Pullen is the Wildcats' best player. Simple as that. He was overshadowed by the two big stars last season, but now that he is the main show in town, he is performing. He easily plays the most minutes on the team, controls the ball more and shoots the most. He is their primary three-point shooter, having put up 100 treys so far in D-1 games, although he isn't terribly efficient (shooting 35%).
Darren Kent - #42 Sr. F/C -- This is surprising to me. Now, I understand Kent is a better player than he was last year, but he never really impressed me a year ago. And now, he is their primary inside threat, one of the keys to their team. He's the best offensive rebounder on the team, which makes sense given the fact he's 6'10", and one of the best in the country (OR% of 15.4; 25th). He's a pretty good defensive rebounder, as well. He draws plenty of fouls, as well, so hopefully Cole sticks to his disciplined shot-blocking techniques and he doesn't commit any stupid fouls.

Significant Contributors

Denis Clemente - #21 Jr. G -- Denis Clemente is fast. Really fast. In fact, the fine folks over at BOTC took issue with some newspaper that called Sherron Collins was the Big 12's fastest player, vehemently claiming that Clemente should get the honor. Honestly, I'll have to wait until Tuesday night to really make a decision for myself, but he is fast. For sure. He is a decent shooter from the perimeter (36.7% in 60 shots), and a good assist man. Given his speed, I'd imagine he is a drive-and-kick guy, but the stats don't necessarily give credence to that. Still, Pullen's high amount of threes taken means he has to get them somewhere; I'd guess that Clemente's drives have led to plenty of those. I'm not too worried about him, though, as I think we have him under control. Besides Kalin Lucas on Saturday, we really haven't hade a guard go off on us all year. Well, besides that and Tuesday night against Siena. So, yeah, I suppose we're in a cold streak. This is a huge game for Tyshawn Taylor, who will likely be guarding Jacob Pullen. So, we'll get a matchup of the Sunflower State's two fastest basketball players; I don't think there is anyone arguing that.
Fred Brown - #1 So. G -- Fred Brown's best skill? His three-point shot, where he is shooting nearly 44%. Other than that, he is awfully generic. Nothing special, either on the good-or-bad side of the ledger. He will likely be Brady's assignment when they go small (Clemente, Pullen and Brown), and an assortment of the smaller guards when they go bigg(er) and bring in...
Jamar Samuels - #32 Fresh. F -- Jamar Samuels, on the other hand, is good at plenty of things. He's especially adpet at not turning the ball over (although that stat might not be all that important, given he is a F that is 6'7") and drawing fouls. And given the fact that the Morris twins will be his primary defenders, that's no fun. If either of the Morris twins, Kieff or Cus, fouls out early, we could be in for a long game. He's also a really good rebounder. In short, I just became more scared of the Powercats because of Jamar Samuels. He is good at those things we struggle at, particularly the Morris twins. Yikes.

Role Players

Dominique Sutton - #23 Soph. G/F -- I've gotta be honest, I expected Sutton to rank much higher on this list. After Pullen, I likely would've guessed that he is the second best/most important player on the team. Instead, he is merely a role player, according to KenPom. Still, given his height and relative reputation, I'd imagine that Brady draws the assignment, as long as he isn't the 4 in there at the time (which, according to the bolded players on KenPom's page he is at the start of games). He is another really good rebounder, particularly on the offensive end, and has quick hands; he's 107th in the country in steal%. He is average on just about everything else, nothing terribly special.
Ron Anderson - #40 Soph. F -- Ron Anderson is their dirty-work player. Honestly, the kind of player I think is Quintrell Thomas' floor in terms of production. While he could develop into a Darnell Jackson, I think that 'Trell, at the very least, will be our Ron Anderson by the beginning of next season. A solid player, who can play pretty good defense and is an absolutely fantastic rebounder (51st in the country if offense; 239th if defense). He is also good at drawing fouls.

The Keys

Get the ball in to Cole - Really, all K-State has in the way of comparable height to Cole is Jason Kent, and he is quite then. Sure, he is a damn good rebounder, but he isn't incredible, and he likely can't handle Cole one-on-one for an entire game. Look for lots of doubles, which is fine with me considering Cole's passing skills. In any case, no matter what happens after the fact, get the ball in to Cole and see how the defense reacts. If no one comes over to help out, I'd be fine with Cole taking Kent to the bakset every single time. If someone doubles, do that ball movement thing we are so good at, and find someone open.
Don't Foul! - I'm specifically looking at the Morris twins and Mario Little, if he plays at least. They are all expected to guard players that have a high propensity to draw fouls (Jamar Samuels and Ron Anderson), and we can't afford foul trouble. It's OK to challenge shots and play good, hard, physical defense. That, I can live with. But please, please, stop the stupid fouls. Please.
Make the Free Throws - Given Kansas State's immense fouling tendencies, it is likely inevitable we are going to get fouled. I mean, it could reach Eddie Hightower status without Eddie actually even showing up to Allen. And so, when we get our trips to the free throw line, we've got to knock them down. If we give away enough free points, we could lose this game.

Concluding Thoughts

This is one of those games. Y'know, those games that you really have to win, and you know you should win, but you just don't feel all that comfortable going in. It's weird. And, this preview did not make me feel better; particularly the bit about Jamar Samuels. Now, I'm mostly frightened of him. Hopefully the Morris twins can step it up. But, seriously, we've got to win. And although it certainly isn't a sure thing, it is at home. And that's big for such a young team. We've played like a much different team at the Field House all year, and hopefully that confident, playmaking team is the one that shows up Tuesday night. If not, we could be in for a shock; a shock that would send our once so-promising postseason thoughts going down, down, down. We can probably survive one loss like this in conference play. Either a home game against average competition, or an away game against bad competition. I don't want to use it up in the first game of conference play.

Oh, yeah, and it's K-State. They should never, ever beat us in Allen. Ever. So there's that, too.

Check back here an hour before the game (hopefully) for the Open Game Thread.

Press Conference Quotes 1.8.08

Denverjhawk — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:57:42 -0000

Just as we did during football season, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight our wonderful head coaches weekly press conference for basketball. This week we hear from Bill Self regarding the trip to East Lansing, playing Michigan State and playing in Breslin.

As far as players go Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are featured this week alongside a couple of new faces in Quintrell Thomas and Mario Little...enjoy!!

Jump into the post for the entire press conference transcript...

Kansas Head Coach Bill Self

On the last time his team played Michigan State:
“I think it was our second or third game, and the building was juiced. I could be off a little bit, but I think we were both preseason top-five or top-seven. It was a great atmosphere, I remember we played great, got a lead and then they just ran it right down our throats and got back in it. But it was a good game, really a fabulous game.”

On this year’s Michigan State team:
“They’re as good as what their preseason ranking was. They’re a lot like us. They’re playing really well now. They’re a team that can obviously make a run at it and go to the Final Four. I like their team, I think they’re great at the guard spot. They have probably as versatile of two big guards or wings that you could have in Summers and Morgan, and then they have some guys that can anchor the side. They create some problems, and they are fast.”

On the Breslin Center, Michigan State’s home court:
“It’s a great home court, just like we have a great home court. I’ll be honest- Arizona had a great home court when we went out there. This will be one of the best home courts we play at all year, and arguably could be the best. It will be jumping, I would think. I was at Illinois for three years and I only went to the Breslin Center twice because we had kind of a weird schedule. But certainly I’ve got an idea of what it’s like. It’s a fun place to go play. You need to be really focused and tough. And poised.”

On the physicality of Michigan State:
“They have a reputation over the years, for very good reason, of being a team that’s very physical based on the rebounding numbers and all these things. They’ve been dominant over time. We need to play more physical. We’re getting ready to play Michigan State and then we play Kansas State and they are a very physical team. Hopefully this game will prepare us for league play.”

On Cole Aldrich:
“Very rarely do you find a guy with a physical physique that thin. He’s a thin guy. You look at him and you don’t know he’s as athletic as he is. Maybe that is a little bit different. I think the way he is playing right now is how any coach would want their big guys to play. He’s being aggressive. I don’t want to get carried away, the Tennessee game was great, he had seven dunks, but the reason he got those dunks was because other people gave him uncontested shots. I thought personally he played better against Siena because he scored real points where he had to go through people. The important thing Saturday is that he is a presence and is able to at least draw fouls and get to the free throw line.”

On Tyshawn Taylor:
“I think Ty has gone through a phase where I looked at him to be our best perimeter defender and he’s not being that. He needs to get back to locking in and respecting his opponent and really playing to his athletic ability at a higher toughness level. There’s no question about that. I think his focus should be ‘I’m going to guard, I’m going to run the team, I’m going to take good shots and make sure we get a shot every possession.’ For whatever reason, I don’t think his focus has been on what it should be, and I think he understands that.”

Kansas Junior Guard Sherron Collins

On Michigan State:
“They are a great team. They are great in transition. They are tough. I think we’re ready for another road test. It’s going to be a fight, but I think we should be better this time.”

On how to beat Michigan State:
“They can get out and run; they can get out and push the ball. They are the best team in the nation in transition. We have to do a good job of paying attention to the guards. We have to do a good job of trying to get back (in transition).”

On preparing for the tough games ahead:
“It’s been intense. Coach (Self) hasn’t let up, and we know we need to not let up. It’s going to get tougher and tougher. We need to go up to Michigan State and hopefully come back with a win.”

Kansas Sophomore Center Cole Aldrich

On Michigan State:
“They’re good. They are really going to pressure the ball on defense. They’re going to get out and run. They’re going to rebound. It’s going to be a really tough game out there.”

On playing on the road:
“We can’t let up. We had a lead at Arizona and we let it go. One thing we have to do is get the lead and maintain it.”

On the team’s mindset:
“We have some confidence right now. We played a really tough Tennessee team and a really tough Siena team. I think we played those guys pretty well. I think it’s going to be a really tough team at Michigan State. The Izzo fans are going to be pretty crazy, but we’re excited to get out there and play.”

On the fans at Michigan State:
“A kid that I played high school ball with, he went to Michigan State. He told me he is one of the bigger fans out there. From what I hear they are crazy. They are going to ride us and say everything, but that’s what makes a road game fun.”

Kansas Freshman Forward Quintrell Thomas

On the upcoming Michigan State game:
“I think going up to Michigan State and playing a road game against one of the better teams in the country will be a good build-up to Big 12 play. We are going to have to learn to play in atmospheres like that.”

On if Kansas is the underdog against Michigan State:
“Michigan State is the favorite right now because they are ranked, but I don’t feel like we are second to anybody.”

On if they can handle the crowd:
“We should be able to, we just need to come in and feed off of the silence, instead of the cheering.”

Kansas Junior Guard Mario Little

On his mindset heading up to Michigan State:
“It’s going to be a physical game, so we just need to come out with toughness and energy. Last game I didn’t come out with energy, so Coach (Self) put me on the bench. I need to come out with energy and help the team.”

On the challenge of facing Michigan State:
“It’s going to be 15 against however many they have. We are going to go up there as a brotherhood. We will have to play tough and be firing on all cylinders to get a victory.”

"Hey, This Looks Familiar!" -- How the 2008 Kansas Team Compares to the 2004/2005 Version

rockchalk — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:06:16 -0000

Tonight's game against the Arizona Wildcats, being the first road test and all, reminds me a lot of the 2005 contest against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, as that was that year's first road game. That team, just like this one, was jam-packed with youngsters with some veterans mixed in (Aaron Miles and Keith Langford, namely) to make it competitive.

So, that got me thinking about the two teams' rosters. And, after a couple of obvious pair-ups, I figured there were enough similarities between the two squads to make it interesting. Of course, there are some noticeable differences, like there is no one comparable to Cole Aldrich (not by a long shot) on the 04/05 team, but it ends up doing pretty OK overall.

The comparison isn't perfect, but here's what I was able to come up with comparing that 2004/2005 team as it stood on January 9th (remember, Simien is hurt at the time...) to the current unit. We, of course, were undefeated way-back-when in 2005, beat Kentucky and ended up starting 20-0 before falling to Villanova. This year's unit boasts a much-worse record with even less experience, but it is still pretty valid overall.

Comparisons after the jump...

Just remember, though, I am comparing our current players to who these players were in 2004/05. Not who they ended up being, or anything. Keep that in mind. I'm not saying that Travis Releford is the next Russell Robinson; not by a long shot.

Aaron Miles --> Sherron Collins : Obvious. The two leaders of the team, both of which happen(ed) to be point guards.
Keith Langford --> Cole Aldrich : A stretch, given the difference of like 7 inches and the obvious differences in style of play, but both were veterans, so it fits. Yeah. Of course, Langford had been tested on the road prior to this road trip to Rupp, so this one isn't terribly close, but it's the best fit I've got. If Mario would have returned, the comparison would have made a lot more sense, I swear...
J.R. Giddens --> Tyrel Reed : No, Tyrel isn't going to be involved in any stabbing incident, at least I hope not, but this fits nicely. Neither were terribly good defenders, although Tyrel is getting better, while J.R. never seemed to really improve. Both are three-point shooters at heart, though, and both shoot plenty of 'em.
Mike Lee --> Brady Morningstar : The comparison would have fit perfectly, as well as the above one, if Self had decided to start Lee instead of Giddens, but oh well. Morningstar is a lot like Mike Lee, when you think about it; good-but-not-great defender who can knock down the three and move the ball around, but not much else on offense. Also, both are best friends with the point guard leaders of their respective teams.
C.J. Giles --> Marcus Morris : Both uber-athletic forwards who were forced into early playing time because of an immense lack of experience on the front line. Both were, by far, the favorite members of their respective freshmen classes. Let's just hope that Marcus doesn't end up like C.J.
Christian Moody --> Matt Kleinmann : This one is obvious; walk-on senior getting playing time over other, more talented freshmen. Except, Kleinmann doesn't receive playing time except for extreme situations. I suppose that has as much to do with Moody being better than Kleinmann as the superior freshmen, although it's nice to think that this crop of freshmen is better than the one who won four straight Big 12 titles.
Sasha Kaun --> Markieff Morris : This is selling Kieff short, but he fits here more than his brother, and one of the two had to fit in here in this jigsaw puzzle-of-a-comparison. Still, Sasha was better than I remember as a freshman, and both certainly have/had the propensity to get into foul trouble.
Darnell Jackson --> Quintrell Thomas : Sure, Quintrell looks pretty awful for the most part right now, but so did Darnell his freshman year. Both are undersized 4's who played above their height (Darnell obviously did, and Trell should if you trust his scouting report) and were scrappers. Hopefully Quintrell can reach the point that Darnell eventually did; where he had a good enough senior year to make it to the NBA. That would have to be his best case scenario, I'd think.
Russell Robinson --> Travis Releford : The position doesn't fit, but how they're being treated by Self fits perfectly. Both came into KU as High School stars, and were asked to be big-time role players, or glue guys as it were, for the team. Russell had a slow transitition to that role, and it appears Releford is having a similarly slow transitition. However, once it clicked for Russell, he began to play much better and by sophomore year he was a 20-minute-a-night contributor (IIRC). I think the same will happen for Releford, it just might take a little while.

That's the best I could figure. Obviously, I left one quite large name off the list ('05 Alex Galindo and for '08 Tyshawn Taylor), but neither really fit in with any other player on the opposite team. I suppose I could have slid Taylor with Giddens and Reed with Galindo, and considered it, but Giddens' and Taylor's playing styles are just about exact opposites of each other, and they match up terribly with the whole experience thing.

If you have any objections to any of the comparisons, let me know. It doesn't work perfectly, but it is an interesting comparison, given the 04/05 team's future success. Of course, I hope we don't lose to Bucknell in the First Round, but whatever.

"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...

"Hey, We're Young" :: Syracuse 89 Kansas 81 OT

rockchalk — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:14:19 -0000

Last night pretty much summarized what you should expect from a young, talented team. There are plenty of positives to take away from the game, but nearly as many negatives as well. There were some absolutely incredible plays, and then there were some not-so-hot plays.

It was just one of those games, y'know?

But while I am incredibly disappointed in the outcome, it is a good kind of disappointed. It certainly wasn't I would have expected over the off-season, when I was preparing myself for this season. I would have expected some 20-odd turnovers, a plethora of missed shots and, in general, plenty of stupid, freshman mistakes. But that isn't what the game was like at all. And while there certainly were some freshman mistakes, and we aren't a veteran team yet, it is obvious that this team is far more advanced than most teams would be with the same sum of experience for the relevant players. As silly as it is to say, we are a really good team. An awesome team, even.

It wasn't all positive, though. There were plenty of not-so-hot things that went down as well, although, as most seem to understand, they are mostly completely understandable, considering the immense lack of college basketball experience on this team and the fact that it is still only late November.

So, in an effort to get the bad news out of the way first, here we go with the negatives.

Sherron Collins. Uh, who thought that was coming? The first half was great, and it is becoming increasingly clear that we need Sherron's go-getter attitude out there on the court to score (well, at least him or Tyshawn Taylor, as he has a similar attitude, but he deserves to be on the plus side of the ledger; by a longshot). But his two straight turnovers midway through the second half directly led to Jonny Flynn jams, and it ended up being the distinct turning point in the game. A 61-50 lead quickly evaporated after that, and it was all back-and-forth from there until Andy Rautins nailed a three late in OT. But that's a story for a different bullet point. Getting back to Ron-Ron, he forced way too many shots as well. I understand we aren't capable of running the offense we've run the past two years or whatever, at least currently, because we aren't developed enough as players, in general, to effectively execute that system. But that doesn't mean we should run the isolation NBA game, where Sherron brings the ball up, makes a couple dribble moves and then pulls up for a 18-footer. Yay. And while that is fine if he gets the ball with 4 seconds left on the shot clock, it isn't quite as enjoyable to watch with 28 seconds left. So, yeah, I love you Ron-Ron, but let's cut that whole part out. Please?
Free Throws. Now, obviously, this is a gimme. Of course, we have to work on our free throws. And, honestly, who doesn't this early on in the season? Not to make excuses or anything. Still, it would be nice to be able to consistently make the freebies, and we need at least one guy to be the knock-em-all-down guy to give force the ball to late in games with a lead. Sherron Collins would probably be candidate number one, but he has yet to prove anything definitively. And with the holes in Brady Morningstar's game, which we'll get to later on today, it would be nice to have him be the sharpshooter from the free throw line.
Quintrell Thomas. Dude looks lost out there on the court, at least on offense. He has succeeded Cole Aldrich as the designated screen-setter, but the difference is that is about all Quintrell is capable of doing as of right now. He is having trouble getting into good rebounding position and has shown absolutely zero ability to be an offensive threat. Honestly. I still do think that he is Darnell Jackson's clone, only not the senior version of D-Block, at least not yet. Just remember, Darnell wasn't exactly the greatest player his freshman year either. So, stick to it Quintrell, I certainly haven't given up on you yet, but don't be surprised as your playing time decreases.

And now, to the positive side of the ledger. There are plenty of players that belong on this side, that I don't really want to get into player-by-player stuff. So, don't get all angry if some 'positive' doesn't get listed.

Tyshawn Taylor. Are you kidding me? I mean, seriously, are you kidding me? Who knew freshman are this good, this early? And it isn't just his whole driving game, which is incredible. He can get to the whole, right now as a true freshman in early November, against some pretty damn good defenders. That is incredibly impressive. But, more impressive is his defense, and he is already being assigned the opposition's best defensive player on the perimeter. Of course, he didn't play incredibly well against Johnny Flynn, but not many people do, and I'll give him a one-time pass.
Morris twins. The improvement is incredibly visible, and they are exactly what the doctor ordered as far as the low post game goes. Cole Aldrich is great, obviously, but we needed at least another body down low to provide some competent offensive production and plenty of rebounding. Both Markieff and Marcus are providing, but Marcus has shownup to be the much better player so far, at least for what we currently need. Both have oodles of potential, and I am incredibly excited to see what each can do.

OK, that's all I got. It is Thanksgiving, after all. Check back later for some other assorted basketball thoughts as well as some Mizzou preview content.