SB Nation - Travis Releford

Self, Collins and Aldrich from Big 12 Media Day

Denverjhawk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:12:53 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

about 1 month ago: Kansas coach Bill Self talks to the media during during the men's Big 12 Conference college basketball media day Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Kansas head coach Bill Self took the podium Thursday for a question and answer session at the annual Big 12 Basketball Media Day at the Sprint Center.

A few things really standout to me from Coach Self's comments. First his comments on freshman Thomas Robinson's intensity in practice and how that has stepped up the overall competitiveness in practice. I don't think anyone can over exaggerate the impact that the competition in the program is going to benefit this years team and those moving forward.

Secondly, coach really gives some high praise to Cole Aldrich and it's just fun to watch a guy like Cole come in as a wide eyed freshman who really made his presence known once in a big way, but now is developing into a leader and a potentially dominant player with the program.

PETER IRWIN: Coach Self, welcome. Your opening comments, sir.

COACH SELF: I know I can probably speak for everybody that we're all very excited to be here this morning. This early. No, it's an exciting time. Of course, everybody's optimistic this time of year, and rightfully so. I really like our team. I think we have a chance to be a special group. We'll have to be very special because I think the league is the best since I've been in it, and I think it's the best it's going to be since the inception of the league. We've had success in the league the last few years, and certainly it will be much more difficult to maintain that because of the quality of teams in the league.

PETER IRWIN: Okay. We'll take questions. When you ask a question, we'll get a microphone to you.

COACH SELF: I wonder if Mike Jones will ask the first question.

PETER IRWIN: He always does, Coach.

Q. Let's get this out of the way, Bill. How did the events of the recent past affect the image of your program and the chemistry of your team, if at all?

COACH SELF: I'm sorry, Mike. Would you elaborate on that? I don't know what you're talking about. You know, for a short term, I do think it probably hit us from an image standpoint, you know, especially with the fight. But from a long-term standpoint, I don't think it's going to hurt us from an image standpoint. I think it's one of those things that people deal with and move forward. As long as you don't have major hits after it. You look around the country, and all programs have had something at some point in time. Unfortunately, it was a distraction we had to deal with. Fortunately, it was a distraction we dealt with before the season started. In my mind, I can say, that was the off-season; now the season is a fresh start. I'm not real happy with our guys for those events that took place. But if we were that undisciplined and irresponsible that selfish motives could get in the way of something so insignificant as that at that point in time, then we weren't obviously disciplined or responsible enough to win big. So, if anything, I think we'll be more disciplined. We'll be more responsible. And if you have that combination along with good players, I think that can make for some fun. I see it as being a positive over time, and certainly it was a negative in the short term.

Q. Coach, I know practice is just a week old. Can you talk about how your guys are developing and maybe if anybody has stood out or any -- a couple guys?

COACH SELF: Probably the guy that's been the most -- it's not really a surprise, but the most pleasant surprise, you know, from what I thought the day we were recruiting was Thomas Robinson. Thomas is a good player, and he'll impact his team immediately. His motor is different than what we've had, so he's definitely raised the level of -- not the - the level of effort may be the right word, from the twins. Thomas has changed practice more than anybody else. Xavier is a guy that's going to be really good. He's kind of finding his way right now. As he gets more comfortable, he's a thinker now instead of a reactor. As he gets more comfortable, I really think the ceiling is so high for him. Those two have been the two most pleasant surprises. Withey's been nicked up. He's hurt right now. He's going to be out a significant amount of time with the bum knee. And Elijah Johnson's come along nicely. It's just going to take some time. C.J. Henry has been in and out with injuries, but he's going to be a nice player too. I'd say Thomas has been the most pleasant surprise we've had so far.

Q. Bill, when you look at the First Team Preseason All-Big 12 picks, how many of those guys do you put on an All-American list, maybe Player of the Year, National Player of the Year candidate?

COACH SELF: You know, if I recall correctly, I think there's six. Is that right? They all deserve to be on the first team. And I think you have six pros there, not just good college players. I think you have six pros. I also think there are a couple others that may emerge to be in the top six players or seven players in our league that hadn't even been mentioned yet. So that tells you the depth - the quality of players. You know, I think Brackins is deserving of All-American mention without question. I think Damion James. I think he's terrific. I think he's very deserving. I think Willie Warren is as good as any guard in the country, especially a combination of strength and scoring and all those things. And James Anderson, to me, is a guy that could get -- you know, could get 30 any night. Those four have gotten a lot of attention. Then there's several newcomers, and you throw in R2, who I think Sherron is about as good a league guard, if not the best guard in the country. And I think Cole's the best big man. So you could make a case that you could have guys fighting each other in the league not only for Player of the Year honors but for big-time national honors also, I agree.

Q. Bill, you think there's any kind of common denominator. There's been an influx of freshmen that make for the top ten in some lists. Just a bunch of guys. Any reason in particular why so many teams are getting so many good players?

COACH SELF: I think the staffs, the respective staffs all know what they're doing. The League is a good recruiting league too. I also think you talk about our league, and primarily the state of Texas being the proximity of players, but schools are going outside their area also and bringing in some really good talent. But when Durant plays at UT, and then when Beasley plays at K-State, and Griffin plays at Oklahoma, how could young kids not be interested in going to a league which has produced, you know, the premier player in America the last three years. So that's kind of how I see it. All those guys were the best players in the country the last three years. They may not have won all the awards, but they impacted the game more so than anybody else. So I think recent success. You know, this may sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, but I think one thing that the Big 12 hadn't had happen prior to '08 was, as great a league as it was, they haven't been able to crown a champion. Maybe that and the combination of Durant and Beasley and Griffin and coaches that know what they're doing. Maybe that's all been a bonus because the league is going to continue to get good players.

Q. Bill, two years ago you lost some great players. Could you have imagined rebuilding this quickly?

COACH SELF: You know, recruiting is a weird deal in that sometimes you don't get what you deserve, and a lot of times you get what you don't deserve. I would have had no idea. I had no idea Cole would be what he's become. I knew Sherron was a good player, but we went into last season thinking we had one good player, and Cole emerged to be outstanding, and then our young guys really developed as the season went on. You know, the way we got Tyshawn Taylor was because of a coaching change. We didn't deserve that. That kind of fell in our lap. So we've been fortunate in that regard. You know, one thing about our guys, you know, they expect to have success, and they play at a place every day where there's pressure on them to perform. I think in a lot of ways that forces the development more rapidly with our young kids than maybe what it would some other places just because they feel that every day that they wake up.

Q. Bill, there's been a pretty good coaching turnover the last, I guess, three or four seasons. Has the style of play in the Big 12 changed much in your time there?

COACH SELF: Yeah, it probably has. But I think the league, if anything, it may be playing a little faster. I think having Mike at Missouri kind of helps create that image because they do play fast and really pressure. And the thing about it is there's been a lot of turnover coaching-wise, and I think some people probably questioned whether or not the turnover -- we were losing such experienced guys, that the turnover would be able to measure up to those guys. I think what people have shown already, in that these coaches in our league, they're getting it done. I mean, the programs, if they haven't been elevated, they're real close to being on the verge of being elevated in a short amount of time. So I think there has been a lot of smart ADs, to be honest with you, that have made some hires that were very good and represented their university very well.

Q. Bill, from what you can tell around college basketball, how unique is Cole as a true post man?

COACH SELF: I think you have -- we've had some true post men in college, going back to Oden, although just one year, that was a true five. But the game's getting smaller in that he knows who he is. We have a couple of true fives in our league that -- you know, Pittman obviously at Texas -- they're true fives. You don't have to pacify them in any way other than this is what your job is, this is what you do. At this time, all fives want to be fours, all fours want to be threes, all threes want to be twos, and these guys want to be fives. I'd say it's unique. There's probably more out there than what's called attention to. But as far as -- you know, Cole has a chance, in my opinion -- a lot depends on what kind of year he has, obviously. He could be the best true big man Kansas has had since Wilt. You start and think about the true big man. Danny wasn't a center and Raef wasn't a center. But you really look at it, that's a pretty big statement for 50-plus years that he could be the best true big guy. I'd say not common, but certainly not totally unusual to have a guy like Cole that knows who he is. Most -- there's just not very many guys out there that do that. Most guys feel like they've got to be something else, and he doesn't feel that way at all.

Q. Back to Cole, you talked about he became something you didn't expect right away. Was it just the fact that he had -- he was able to have that playing time extensively last year?

COACH SELF: I don't think so. I think that, obviously, when you get playing time and experience, you've got a chance to get better. You know, in recruiting, most guys - I shouldn't say most guys, but the majority of guys that we deal with, and I'm sure the majority of guys that guys in this league deal with, they look at your roster, and they say how can I play immediately? It's a quick fix. I want to go somewhere that I can impact it right off the bat or have a chance to start. The best thing for Cole was that didn't register with him. He went to a place that he wanted to be at first and foremost, and then style and playing time and all that was way secondary. And the fact -- what got him better prepared more than anything was getting his butt beat every day by Sasha and Darnell and Shady. That prepared him. Cole played eight minutes a game as a freshman, and four of the minutes don't count because they were mop-up minutes. So he probably averaged four minutes a game as a freshman and got better every day in practice and used practice as his vehicle for getting better. And then at the end of the year, obviously, he had the one good game, and you can kind of see what it was -- what was getting ready to happen. To me, I don't think it was last year's experience, I think it was him having the right attitude his freshman year when he went getting experience is what allowed him to be pretty good last year.

PETER IRWIN: Coach, thank you.

Mizzou Links, 7-6-09

Bill C. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:55:31 -0000

For some strange reason, Fox Sports Midwest showed the 2007 Mizzou-Oklahoma game late Saturday night. I watched it again (turned it off just as the ball fell into Pig's hands early in the fourth quarter...then I closed my eyes and pretended), and it prepared me nicely for yesterday's Wimbledon final. "Holy crap, does Roddick really have a chance to win this? Oh. Guess not." Granted, Roddick responded a lot better to his main error (losing the second-set tie-breaker) than Mizzou did to theirs, but regardless.

We start with football, where Mizzou is starting to show up in preseason countdowns. And naturally, their placement is arranged just to tease me. For instance, Rivals.com has Mizzou at #42...and Colorado at #41 ("Colorado appears equipped to finish in the upper half of the North Division.").

Meanwhile, Dave Matter throws together a pretty respectable countdown of the Big 12's top offensive backs. I'd flip #1 and #2, but that's just me.

Not a ton of recruiting news at the moment, but PowerMizzou did its best in throwing together some decent news for last Friday's Chamber.

To basketball, where Mizzou's camp attendance is soaring, and Mizzou's interest in Trevor Releford continues to grow. Trevor is the younger brother of Travis Releford, the KU guard, and his stock has risen considerably this summer.

Meanwhile, YouTube highlight's of the recent DJ All-Star Game have emerged.

In the first of what I assume will be a pretty interesting series of off-season posts, Trrip at SimmonsField.com takes a look at the catcher position. Not the catcher position as it pertains to Mizzou...just the catcher position in general.

Finally, Dave Matter continues his football previews with looks at the Big East and MAC...and as I did last time, I'll pass along my own BTBS projections for those conferences as well.

Big East

Rutgers 7-0 (12-0, Orange Bowl)
Cincinnati 4-3 (8-4, PapaJohns.com Bowl)
Pittsburgh 4-3 (8-4, Meineke Car Care Bowl)
South Florida 4-3 (8-4, St. Petersburg Bowl)
West Virginia 4-3 (8-4, International Bowl)
UConn 3-4 (6-6, EagleBank Bowl)
Louisville 2-5 (6-6)
Syracuse 0-7 (2-10)

When you preview this conference, you quickly come to realize that each of the Big East's top six (or maybe even seven) teams have unique strengths and fatal flaws. I certainly didn't expect one of the teams to be projected to go undefeated in conference (or overall), and I don't think it will happen, but if nothing else this shows that the Rutgers schedule does them quite a few favors. They get Cincinnati (projected win: +6.8), Pittsburgh (+5.9), South Florida (+6.9) and West Virginia (+5.1)--the four teams projected to tie for second place--all at home. Meanwhile, they're just good enough to get by their road opponents, Syracuse (+8.3), UConn (+2.7), and Louisville (+0.6). As you can see, they're projected to go 7-0 while only winning one game by more than a TD. Not bloody likely.
Without looking at schedules or anything else, I'd be inclined to agree with Matter's pick of West Virginia at #1, but their schedule (@Rutgers, @USF, @Cincy) doesn't do them a lot of favors.
For Steve Kragthorpe's sake, Louisville had better go at LEAST 6-6.

MAC

East

Bowling Green 6-2 (6-6)
Akron 4-4 (5-7)
Ohio 4-4 (5-7)
Temple 3-5 (5-7)
Kent State 3-5 (4-8)
Buffalo 2-6 (3-9)
Miami-OH 2-6 (2-10)

West

Central Michigan 7-1 (8-4, Motor City Bowl)
Toledo 7-1 (9-3, GMAC Bowl)
Northern Illinois 4-4 (6-6, Internatioanl Bowl)
Eastern Michigan 4-4 (5-7)
Ball State 3-5 (5-7)
Western Michigan 3-5 (4-8)

MAC Title Game

Central Michigan > Bowling Green

The power resides in the West, apparently.
Clearly Central Michigan, with 17th-year starter Dan Lefevour, is the most proven team, but the projections like Toledo for some reason. CMU, Toledo and Bowling Green are the only three teams predicted to go over .500. Everybody else falls between 2-6 and 4-4. This is to be expected in statistical projections for a conference with teams that just aren't that distinguishable talent-wise.
Um, my projections VERY MUCH disagree with Dave Matter's predicted champions. I do fear that Turner Gill missed his best opportunity for a big-time job, as his team loses a lot of talent from last year, and they could fall. Then again, being super well-coached could account for an extra handful of points a game, and that could make a difference (as it did last year). All six of their projected conference losses are by less than 5 points.

Anyhoo, happy Monday.

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)

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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.

"HE IS A BALLER!" -- Kansas 84 North Dakota State 74

rockchalk — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:40:50 -0000

To the rest of the country, this was not a good day for us. We barely snuck away with only a 10-point lead, which is only so big because of late fouls, as a 3-seed. Against a 14-seed.

To the rest of the country, I'm sure they were cheering with every three. Every time Ben Woodside drove into the lane, I'm sure there were millions across the United States jumping up-and-down. The big, bad defending National Champions, for much of the game, were playing even against a team from North Dakota who was in their first year of eligibility.

But in all reality, it wasn't anything like that. Not one bit. You see, North Dakota State is probably the best 14-seed of all time (and no, I don't even know what hyperbole is). They hit the three with the best of them, and they had 20,000 fans in the place. It was practically a road game. Oh, and you know that one kid, that 5'10" white boy with a shaved head and ridiculously big ears and high socks? Yeah, that one. Well, that dude has a future in the NBA. You see him on the street, and you guess soccer player, and that's if you're told he's a college athlete at all. Assuming he can act, he would have been a perfect cast for White Men Can't Jump, with no wardrobe necessary to hustle the opponents. In a freakin' basketball jersey, the dude doesn't look like much. I mean, if I had just happened to flip the TV on, without knowing anything about him, I would have been fairly confident I could've taken him.

But damn. He was the best guard we've played all year, bar none. He got into the lane in a moment's notice without any effort whatsoever, and once he got there that little floater of his was, literally, unstoppable. Even for Cole. But you can't Dogus Balbay him, because he shoots 44% from three-point range. An impossible matchup.

So, don't be depressed. Don't get down on the Jayhawks. We played really well, for most of the game. Just because we are a 3-seed and they were a 14-seed doesn't mean a whole helluva lot. It was a bad matchup for us, they are, as we established, history's greatest 14-seed. It was just a surprising result for everyone else.

Which, might not be all that bad. We're still well under-the-radar, yet to make a peep on anyone's national radar. The longer that stays, the better it is for us.

Player-by-players after the jump...

Yes, one player scored 32 points. We'll get to him in a second, though, because he isn't the MVP. That would be Cole Aldrich, who dunked at will throughout the entire game. The Bison, literally, had absolutely no answer for him, despite double-teaming him at times. Whenever we so desired, we could merely toss the ball up and watch him go to work. Why we didn't do it more is beyond me. I'd imagine it was beyond Bill Self, as well, because whenever he had a role in the offense, off of out-of-bounds plays and things, it was clear where we were going. So clear, in fact, that near the end of the game, when the Bison needed a stop, we called for an alley-oop to Cole. The Bison had two players waiting underneath the rim, basically using 40% of their defense to limit that one, alley-oop. Cole jumped over them, anyways, and this time got an and-one for his troubles. Please, please, please, focus on getting Cole the ball more. Please?
One reason why Cole didn't touch it as often was Sherron Collins. More specifically, Sherron's love of the crossover-to-pullup 19-footer. When he is visibly on fire, and ends up making the shot anyways, you can give him a one-time-only pass. When he hasn't made a shot in five tries, and Cole is getting a free dunk every time, and Sherron still comes down and does it, it's not so forgivable. But don't get me wrong, Sherron still had a really good game. In the first half, he was every bit Ben Woodside's equal. But you see, that's the problem. Whenever an opposing guard goes off, it's as if Sherron thinks it's his duty to match them, point-for-point. Luckily, he stopped the mono-a-mono tango in the second half, but still.
After those two, the unheralded hero of the game, to me, was Marcus Morris. He's changed so much since the beginning of the year. With our two stars, we aren't exactly going to run our offense through McMorris. Everyone understands that. So, just don't make mistakes and provide some bonus plays that get everyone excited about the future. Against North Dakota State, he didn't make a mistake, and made countless little plays that were huge. Seriously. He was incredibly efficient (3-3), which is big, because we can't waste possessions with McMorris misses. He was extremely active on the glass (7 rebounds), which is big because Cole can't do anything, and most opponents will make Cole the focal point. That leaves Marcus to pick up the boards and kickstart our break. And, finally, he knows how to run the freaking high-low. I never thought I would say it, at least not this season, but dude's a really good passer. Whenever we got it to him at the free throw line, a Cole dunk was pretty much a certainty. If he can consistently hit that jumper (given his vast improvement from the line, I'd bet on yes) he could start to be incredibly dangerous.
On the other hand, Markieff Morris and Mario Little are quickly being left in the dust by McMorris. Little's height, or lack thereof, is starting to really hurt him, and in hindsight, a redshirt might have done him some good. Next year, I imagine he'll be more comfortable on the wing, but still. Kieffer, on the other hand, has devolved into just a rebounder. It's not bad, and we still have a need for him to steal minutes and pick up rebounds, but he's not a good scorer. Really, at all. And please, don't take threes. Thanks.
Tyshawn Taylor is such a freshman. Not consistent whatsoever, but good for a couple of mind-numbing drives to the bucket. Just keep it up, T2, and you'll be the leader in just a couple of years.
Ah. Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed. I love 'em both, but yikes. Brady came up big yesterday, with his two gigantic threes at gigantic times and his really good D on Winkelman, but Tyrel certainly didn't. Tyrel, at this point, is basically a three-point shooter. Nothing more, nothing less. He's improved on D, yes, but still not enough to hang with Brady and Sherron and even T2. Really, as T2's shooting increases and we don't have to have one-or-the-other in for long range purposes, I'd rather Travis Releford get these minutes. Particularly against athlete-heavy teams, like Dayton.
Finally, Tyrone Appleton. He should have received more minutes than he did yesterday, as he was clearly the best defender on Woodside. In fact, I can't even recall Woodside driving on Appleton, ever. I understand that he's a rough equivalent of Dogus Balbay with a jump shot, but he can drive to the hole and his D, as mentioned, is quite excellent. If Sherron leaves, I'm alling it right now: Tyrone will be our starting PG at the beginning of the year.

That's all. And, now we're officially moving past North Dakota State. Only Dayton matters, now.

Two sets of Q&A's (hopefully) with Dayton bloggers are upcoming later on today, as well as the standard KenPom preview.

Today's going to be a helluva busy day, for me. But I'm going to enjoy it.

It's March, after all, and our Jayhawks are moving on.

Survive and Advance.

"Back on Track" -- Kansas 83 Texas 73

rockchalk — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:04:43 -0000

There was 1:39 left in the first half. Texas was on an 18-4 run, and the Field House was slient.

Dogus Balbay had just waltzed right on through absolutely no one on his way to a layup, so open you'd have guessed he was in pregame layup lines. That was a common theme in the first half; uncontested drives to the bucket. Our defense was terrible, and we couldn't do anything wrong. Damion James couldn't miss from the outside, we didn't have anyone who could bully up with Dexter Pittman on the inside, and Dogus Balbay and Justin Mason walked into the lane whenever he wanted to. The one positive was holding A.J. Abrams in check, and even that was only because the Texas offense ran through others, largely ignoring Abrams for large portions.

But then, we settled down. Our stagnant offense came to life, and Sherron dipsy-ducked his way to the hole. On defense, Sherron poked the ball away from Pittman while doubling-him up, then sped down the floor before dishing it off to Releford for an easy two. After a Rick Barnes' timeout, Texas had another good offensive possession. But then, Pittman inexplicably Arthur Johnson'd the dunk, and we got the ball. Shot clock off, Sherron slowly dribbled the ball at the top of the key as always. For some random reason, Balbay ran away from Tyrel Reed, waiting patiently on the right wing, towards Sherron, presumably in an effort to double and force a turnover. Sherron merely dribbled in another step, to further draw in Dogus, then kicked it out to Relly Ice.

Swish.

After a last-second attempt came up long, our bench ran into the half. Despite getting outplayed for 20 minutes, including an 8-minute stretch that was bordering on embarrassing, we had momentum.

Basketball's a funny game, ain't it?

In the second half, we used that momentum to slowly draw closer, then have Texas pull away. The cat-and-mouse lasted for the first 12 minutes of the second half, until a Markieff Morris putback dunk put us on top. The Horns reclaimed the lead once-or-twice after that, but it was clear; it became the Hawks' game to lose.

And lose it we didn't. We used our homecourt advantage, our superior talent, all of it, to race away from the Horns late. Against a good Texas team, that played as well as it has all season in the first half, we were able to reclaim everything we lost on Wednesday. We began to rebuild that swagger, we regained some confidence, we flashed our potential.

Oh, and we clinched the outright Big 12 title. Fifth in five years, 7th in 8 years. Talk about owning a conference.

Further, player-specific previewing after the break...

Game MVP is a tough one, this time around. But, to diversify the MVP awards, I'll go ahead and give it to Brady Morningstar. I've been really tough on him lately, and for good reason. His defense had declined, and he hasn't had a good offensive game in months, it seems like. However, he played a role in Abram's off-day, and he was (finally) on fire from the perimeter. It was he, and not Relly Ice, who hit the biggest shot of the night with his momentum-garnering trey to bump the lead up to 5. He also picked up 4 rebounds, including skying as high as I've ever seen him jump for one, and dished out 4 assists. Basically, this was the late-December version of Brady; the Brady who was involved in the offense, was hitting the open threes and was playing dominant D. Hopefully, whatever that caused his slump is done with, and he can be this good going forward.
So, yeah, sure, Sherron Collins ended up taking 19 shots. That's bad, in theory, and not exactly a step forward from Wednesday night in ball distribution. But, watching the game, I wouldn't have guessed he actually threw up 19 shots. Maybe I'm just an idiot, or don't pay enough attention, but he didn't seem like he was forcing anything. He got too aggressive on some fast breaks and tried to take it two-on-one, and those failed, but that's just Sherron. You've gotta live with some of those getting turned back around, particularly when playing a team full of athletic freaks like Dogus Balbay and Damion James, if you also want to see those absolutely ludicrous, one-on-three layups he twirls off the corner of the backboard. It's just who he is as a player; fearless. He hit some huge shots, though, and wasn't shy at all about dishing it off, twice, when we had a chance to blow the game open. He found Brady open for the three, he found T2 for the dunk. He is the key to our team, no ifs, ands or buts. Cole is important, too, but we've showed before (like today) that we can live if he is only all right. With Sherron, though, he's gotta bring it. And boy, did he ever.
All year long, we've heard about how Cole Aldrich is the most improved player this year in college basketball. And maybe this is true. I'd argue that it isn't, that he didn't see any PT last year because of who was in front of him, but maybe I'm wrong. However, he still has a bunch of improving yet to do, and he is far from ready to play in the NBA. Two incredibly large flaws were exposed today by the surprisingly talented Dexter Pittman (honestly, if the dude could just finish around the basket, he's an All Big 12 talent...and I have a feeling he'll learn how to make layups). On offense, as Warden says, Cole turns into a racecar driver: "Turn left, repeat". He has no other move. And he never, ever faces up to the basket. And two, on defense, he got exposed today by Pittman. Dexter moved him where he wanted, placing him like a walkon off the end of the bench. It was bad. For the first time all season, I desperately wished we still had Sasha Kaun on this team. But, even amidst all of that poor play and non-readiness, Cole picked up a double-double. Yes, this is where we're already at with Cole. A double-double, and I'm disparaging him, almost to the point of calling him out, and proclaiming he ain't ready for the NBA. Sorry, Cole. But, when you're as important and potentially amazing as you are, people tend to be tough as hell on you. But, seriously, one more year.
If Cole Aldrich is the nation's most improved player from last year, then Marcus Morris is the nation's most improved player from November. I mean, the dude has more post moves than Cole, and ate Damion James up for lunch. James had no hope of defending anything Morris threw at him, and that is incredible, given where he was when we were facing nobodies at the beginning of the year. It's gotten to the point where, when Cole is out there on the perimeter setting screens, I'm actively yelling at the TV for Sherron, or whoever, to get the ball in McMorris' hands. I know that he'll either get a good look or get fouled, and his free throw shooting is instrumentally better.
While Markieff Morris isn't nearly as talented around the basket as his brother, and is a more boneheaded player, I think he's a better defender and rebounder. His putback jam was one of his best plays of the year (he read it from the elbow on the opposite side of the lane, and played it perfectly), and he provided us some monstrous minutes following Marcus' 4th. The three he took was atrocious, and he still has too many stupid turnovers, but he'll get better. Just look at his free throw shooting. Both he and his brother, to start out the year, were absolutely awful at the lane. Embarrassingly bad, really. But now, Kieffer stroked two in like he was a 94% free throw shooter, neither one touching rim.
To close out the analysis of the Law Firm, this was the best game Mario Little's played in weeks. He wasn't perfect, and wasn't necessarily even awesome, but he did very little wrong. He couldn't really contain Damion James in the first half, but no one could, and he did a much better job in the second half. He should, definitely, be the fourth big off the bench, but he's still worth of consistent minutes.
Tyrel Reed, on the other hand, probably should see his decline. He's had some really good games, but most of the time, he just isn't that good. His three to close out the first half was huge and clutch and Relly Ice-ish, but that's the only positive of his entire day, really. He was exposed on D, and otherwise non-existent on offense. When Brady is hitting his threes, he provides nothing new. Instead, I'd rather be playing Travis Releford, who at least provides us with some versatility. 10 minutes, what he received today, seems to be about right for Travis. He still is very rough around the edges in the halfcourt, but his D is lightyears better than it was, and he's probably the third-best player on the team in fastcourt action, after Sherron and T2. Plus, dude's a solid rebounder.
Finally, we get to Tyshawn Taylor. I have no idea why it took so long to get here, really. Dude played fine, for the most part, although it wasn't an awesome performance. It was what the "norm" should be considered for T2; some offensive flashes, and some stupid turnovers. Some instances of awesome D, sometimes where he just lost his man (like when he forgot to box out Justin Mason and Mason had a layup off the glass that tied it up in the second half). As long as he doesn't fall off the deep end for any games, and play terrible, I'm fine. Have some games like this, and then have some blowout, explosion games like down in Norman. That's all we really need, honestly.

That's all for now, as we officially wave good bye to Texas and the entire regular season. 6 losses ain't bad, not for a team losing 6 of their top 7 scorers.

Now, we turn our attention towards the Big 12 Tournament, set to kick off a day early now, on Wednesday.

We clinched our fifth straight regular season title this week, let's clinch our 4th straight Big 12 Tournament title on Saturday, huh?

"The Inevitable Letdown" -- Kansas 65 Texas Tech 84

rockchalk — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:38:05 -0000

We all knew it was going to happen.

Denver's been saying it for ages.

With how young this team it is, and just the inevitability of letdowns, we were bound to lose a game like this. A game where we just don't show up, at all, and the other team does everything right. Even last year's team, one of the better teams of the past decade, dropped a very similar game in Stillwater.

Bam.

There is little, if anything, positive you can point to. We would play fabulous for quick, little three-minute stretches, and then they'd hit a three, and we'd go back to playing like utter crap for another seven minutes. To be honest, we just seemed very uptight and flat. I don't think we necessarily looked over the Red Raiders, just couldn't get up for it. There was so much intensity, so much passion, so much fury displayed on Sunday afternoon, it's tough to expect such a young team to get all pumped up for a game just three days later.

Hell, I'm just a fan, just a follower of the team, and I couldn't get up for it. I just couldn't do it. It wasn't that I was just overlooking them, or was guaranteeing a victory, or anything. It's just, there's only so many games you can really "get up for". And after two consecutive ones that were as big as they've been all year, we were due for a letdown.

We've had some letdowns before, but we've always recovered from them. Well, at least since this team became as good as it is now, and conference play started. The difference, this time, was two-fold.

On one hand, Alan Voskuil was just unconscious. Nothing you can do about that. Take the Nebraska game, for instance. Sure, we played much better late, and worked our way back into the game, but the Cornhuskers' complete inability to hit a shot in the middle of the second half helped us out. Last night, though, Voskuil couldn't miss, even when he went all Sherron on everyone and started firing off thirty-footers.

So, primarily, congrats, Red Raiders. You guys played to win, instead of not-to-lose. Whenever we got close, you came down and nailed a huge, Relly Ice-esque trey. Voskuil was the best, obviously, but Mike Singletary and Nick Okorie were both awesome, as well. If you guys could have played that well throughout conference play, you're an NIT team. And I mean that in the absolute best way possible.

The other reason, which shouldn't be terribly surprising, is after the jump, along with the rest of the player-by-players...

MVP? I have to pick a MVP? Actually, this wasn't terribly difficult. Marcus Morris played quite well. He was the only one who got open at the beginning of the game, and while he missed both early shots in the first minute, he kept playing. And playing. And playing. 8 rebounds, easily the most on our team (on a night that Cole picked up 3), including six all-important offensive ones. He's still rough around the edges, and needs to control his temper (he probably didn't deserve the technical, but you can't even give the ref an option, there), but he's getting better. A lot better. Still want him to transfer to a D-II school, folks?
Tyrel Reed, I suppose, was next-best. Whenever a three was fired up, I immediately assumed it was out, unless Relly Ice was the one shooting. Then, I gave it some thought. He is still improving, obviously, and his D on Voskuil was just as poor as everyone else's. But, he's a better player than he was just a month-or-so ago, and I'm excited to see how far he can develop the rest of his game. Cause he's got a shot.
OK, it's official, now. I'll make another post about it, but I'm officially starting up the Travis Releford bandwagon. I've been a big fan for awhile, but last night confirmed it for me. Releford can rebound, particularly for his height, skying for rebounds like no one else on our team does. At least, no one not named Cole. And he is as good of a driver, this side of Sherron, we have on our team. His outside shot obviously still needs a lot of work, but is a fine compliment to Tyrel Reed. One three-point shooter, one player completely capable of driving in and getting to the bucket. However, based on how he was used against Tech, what about playing him at the 4? Not entirely, and only in small stretches, at least at first, but I have a hard time believing he would do any worse than Smash does, there. More on this later, though, like I said...
I'll give one more player a passing grade: Tyshawn Taylor. He didn't do anything awesome, but he was as average-at-best on D as everyone else, and he could at least drive. And when the threes ain't falling, taking closer shots is probably a good idea.
Besides those four, everyone else was pretty awful. None moreso than Sherron Collins, though, who went all UMASS on all of us. 3-19 shooting is absolutely terrible, particularly 1-10 from three. I understand he's the leader and all, and he had at least three-or-four that went in-and-out, but come on, bud. Dish the ball off when you can't hit the ocean falling out of a boat. I still love you, and between the trip to Columbia and last night, he might have been the best player in the country (or close to it). But, if we have a performance like that in the NCAA Tournament, we'll be one-and-done all over again. And that, my friends, would suck.
Of course, Cole Aldrich didn't play any better. 3 rebounds is absolutely embarrassing, as is 1-5 shooting. While Sherron shouldn't, ever, be shooting the ball 19 times, it's kind of hard to blame him when no one else could hit a bucket. Especially when our security blanket, dropping the ball into big Cole and letting him do his thing. When that ain't happening, and Sherron ain't on fire, our offense, frankly, sucks for stretches.
Brady Morningstar was absolutely awful, as well. He couldn't stay on Voskuil any better than anyone else, and he isn't the same defensive player he was earlier on in the year. He's shut people down all year long, but recently, I don't know if it's an injury or what, but he just isn't nearly as quick. And when he isn't playing good D, he shouldn't see the floor, because he hasn't had a good shooting day for a long-ass time. Another terrible performance against Tech, 1-6 from three, and we're at the point where I'd bench him. Maybe that's too harsh, but that's what I'd do. Bench him, and start Tyrel. With Brady's defensive drop-off, they're basically the same player, only Relly Ice is a better shooter.
And finally, the two posts who I wish wouldn't see so much playing time. Markieff Morris and Mario LIttle -- blech. Kieffer is up-and-down, and Wednesday night was a down night. Still, he's solid, and he deserves to keep his 12-or-so minutes a night. Little, on the other hand, hasn't had a solid game in weeks. Maybe even longer than that; maybe a month. I mean, shit. I still think he can be a really solid player in the future, but he's got to show it, eventually. We can't live forever on just promise, Smash.

That's all, for now. Tomorrow, it's all about Travis Releford and Texas. Get ready. Oh, well, there's another Championship Week OGT tomorrow. Today's was all right, I suppose. Plenty of solid discussion, and hopefully we can get some more of that tomorrow.

Kansas: Know your rival (again)

Bill C. — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:52:26 -0000

UPDATE: Okay, no update, but I'm bumping this back to the top of the page.

Gotta love this blurb from PowerMizzou's MU-KU preview:

Just another game? Not even close. DeMarre Carroll remembers when he first got to Mizzou and his cousin, Michael Anderson, Jr., was telling him about the place.

"He told me, 'You're going to trip out when you see this.' And he showed me the Kansas game, I guess, when the Kansas dude missed the free throws, Moody or whatever. And they went crazy. He was just like, 'Man, they got big time rivalries up here,'" Carroll said. "When I first got here, I was like, 'Why you all hate KU?' I really didn't get why they hate them. As I keep playing, the way they play, the way their fans act towards us, I kind of see why they hate them. I guess I'm falling in that mode of Missouri versus KU, I kind of dislike them just like they dislike us."

Further proof that you don't have to be born a true son, to end up a true son, I guess.

Not too much has changed since last time I analyzed Kansas, but with the magnitude of tomorrow's game, it's worth taking another close look.

vs Big 12
Kansas: 12-1

	KU	Opp
Points Per Minute	1.88	1.58
Points Per Possession (PPP)	1.11	0.94
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.43	1.15
2-PT FG%	53.6%	42.1%
3-PT FG%	41.2%	31.6%
FT%	72.6%	71.4%
True Shooting %	60.2%	49.3%

	KU	Opp
Assists	188	153
Steals	83	96
Turnovers	207	170
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	1.31	1.46

	KU	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	135	169
Offensive Rebounds	130	121
Difference	-5	-48

What KU's good at: shooting, preventing good shots on defense, defensive rebounding.
What KU's not as good at: ball-handling, offensive rebounding. Now, they're certainly solid in both regards--I think we would all love to have a guy like Cole Aldrich crashing the offensive glass, and a 1.31 BCI is certainly far from terrible. But if you're going to beat them, it's by stealing the ball and, if they do get a shot off, holding them to one. Especially at home, where one offensive rebound and kick-out for 3 creates an insane amount of momentum.

Stats by StatSheet.com

Player	AdjGS*	GmSc/Min	Line
Cole Aldrich (So)	18.66	0.60	14.6 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 2.2 BPG
Sherron Collins (Jr)	16.12	0.45	18.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 3.1 TOPG
Tyshawn Taylor (Fr)	8.50	0.34	10.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.7 TOPG
Brady Morningstar (So)	7.97	0.24	6.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG
Marcus Morris (Fr)	6.59	0.38	7.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 2.3 TOPG
Mario Little (Jr)	6.07	0.43	5.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Markieff Morris (Fr)	4.75	0.37	4.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.0 BPG
Tyrel Reed (So)	4.58	0.22	5.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG
Travis Releford (Fr)	1.33	0.22	2.3 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Matt Kleinmann (Sr)	1.05	1.05	3 minutes
Jordan Juenemann (Fr)	0.00	0.00	1 minute
Brennan Bechard (Sr)	-0.04	-0.04	3 minutes
Tyrone Appleton (Jr)	-0.22	-0.13	12 minutes
Chase Buford (So)	-0.46	-0.61	3 minutes
Quintrell Thomas (Fr)	-0.46	-0.14	0.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG
Conner Teahan (So)	-0.58	-0.36	8 minutes (and still 1 lifetime of shame)

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It does the same thing my previous measure of choice did (it takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game), only the formula is more used and accepted. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

When Sherron Collins is on fire, KU's more or less unstoppable. We know that. But when he's not on fire, they're still damn solid because of the underrated presence of Aldrich underneath. As I mentioned (I think) in the Podcast the other day, Aldrich has mastered the art of leaning on his man when the ball's in the air and giving them no leverage or good angle with which to jump and grab the ball.

Is it a foul? Probably so, in a technical sense--I know every single fan of every single KU opponent thinks Aldrich got away with about 17 fouls in their game(s) against KU--but it doesn't really matter because it's subtle enough that he's clearly always going to get away with it, and he's so skilled at the nuances of rebounding (like that) that he's going to grab just about any board that ends up on his side of the rim. When Mizzou caught up in the second half against KU, it was because a) they were merciless in tipping balls and attacking Aldrich with whatever bodies were around, and b) Aldrich was completely gassed. It will be harder to duplicate that at Allen, but Mizzou has to try.
Like everybody who dabbles in basketball stats, I do wish there were better ways to measure defensive ability. Because if there were, Brady Morningstar (and to a lesser extent, Tyrel "Reggie Cleveland All-Stars" Reed) would clearly be averaging well over 0.25 AdjGS/min. Morningstar and Reed are not really offensive threats--they will nail open 3's, and that's a great weapon to have, but they're not going to punish you in a lot of different ways. But on defense, they're one of the main reasons KU's opponents have a true shooting % under 50%.

Granted, you're able to take chances on the perimeter when your interior defense is so good--and the first time around against KU, their interior D was what impressed me the most--but KU fans think of Morningstar the way we think of J.T. Tiller on the defensive end, and that's clearly not just because of interior D.
Mario Little's averages have fallen since last time MU and KU played. He entered that game averaging about 0.55 AdjGS/min--tied for first on the team with Aldrich (and he reaffirmed his importance by confidently hitting the tying jumper with under a minute left). Now that number's tumbled by about 20% (meanwhile, Aldrich's has gone up to 0.60).
Other changes since the first time around: Collins has improved slightly, Reed has regressed (as has, to a lesser extent, Marcus Morris), and Releford has improved a bit with more playing time (give me Kim English if I had to make a choice, of course, but Releford would have done some good things in Mike Anderson's system). But this team still clearly revolves around Aldrich and Collins. If Collins has his "great Chicago-style player" mask on, making fearless shots, playing great defense, and in general refusing to be denied, then KU is a killer team. But if he's in "bad Chicago-style player" mode, taking stupid shots, turning the ball over, and suffering brain farts on D, then KU's imminently beatable.

Keys to the Game

Turnovers. Have you caught on that this will probably always be the #1 key to a Mizzou game? It goes double for KU, whose biggest armor chink comes in the form of ball-handling. They clearly won't turn the ball over 27 times like they did at Mizzou Arena, but if Mizzou doesn't lay a first half egg this time around, they won't have to force 27--17-20 will do. Any less, and Mizzou's probably in trouble.
Wear Cole Aldrich out again. The offense runs through Collins, but the team's success runs through Aldrich, who completely and totally dominates every inch of the paint when he's on. If Mizzou can take other interior weapons (a.k.a. the Morris twins) out of the picture and make Aldrich dominate for a longer period of time, then his "0.60 AdjGS/min" starts to fall precipitously down the stretch.
Hustle & Flow (a.k.a. JT Tiller and Zaire Taylor). They were 3-for-12 from the field the first time around (1-for-10 in the first 39 minutes), but their late-game heroics earned them all sorts of well-deserved love and admiration from Mizzou fans. That's great...but they can't go 3-for-12 this time around. KU is custom built to stop the inside threat of DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons (and I'm thinking the outside shot of Carroll and Lyons is much less likely to be successful in a hostile environment like AFH), and Mizzou is going to have to get great games from Hustle & Flow on both ends of the court to take the pressure off the bigs.

Technically it doesn't have to be Tiller and Taylor--basically Mizzou needs a backcourt threat on offense, be it Tiller, Mr. Coffee, Goose, Denmon, English, whoever. But Mizzou's probably not going to win if Mike Anderson has to severely dip into the bench, so the best case scenario is that Tiller & Taylor both play big minutes, and one of them is hitting some shots.

Prediction

Back when The Beef and I did Tigerboard Radio, I would always base my predictions with this disclaimer: "If Mizzou wins, I want to say I called it. So if they win, it will be something like..."

So with that in mind, if Mizzou wins at AFH for the first time since 1999, it's going to be in the "74-70 dogfight" range. As I said on the Podcast the other night, Ken Pomeroy's odds (38% chance of Mizzou winning) are more or less dead on. If MU and KU play this game three times, you'll probably see two dogfights (and at this point, I like Mizzou's chances of winning a dogfight against anybody--I'm a convert) and one easy KU win. Clearly I'm hoping for the former. So with that said...hell yeah I'm picking Mizzou to win! 74-70 Mizzou (unless it's 82-66 Kansas, ahem). Bring home the Big 12 lead, boys.

And because it needs to be done...

"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?

"That was closer than it shoulda been..." -- Kansas 72 Iowa State 55

rockchalk — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:48:08 -0000

The fine folks over at Clone Chronicles, the SB Nation Iowa State blog, opened their OGT with the following little statement:

Iowa State goes into Lawrence, Kansas tonight with absolutely no shot to win. Bet your children on it.

When I read it, I didn't bat an eyelash. It just made sense. After all, Iowa State is a bad team, and we're really good. We were playing in Allen Field House, where we haven't lost in 38 games. It wasn't supposed to be close.

And yet, it was. On a day where Bill Self required the team to run post-shootaround, cause we weren't putting forth the effort. For the most part, the lack of effort transferred over to the game.

We started out hot, trying hard and just flexing our muscles. It was 30-13, at one point, and the blowout appeared to be on. But then, we just got lazy. Lazy, lazy, lazy. We turned the ball over time-and-time again, gave up open looks from beyond the arc, just generally looked disinterested. Not completely; I mean, it wasn't like we were going half-ass, or anything. But, we didn't have that same intensity we've showed recently. And, really, it is completely understandable. Think of this team's last four games: @ Baylor (a game that was highly stressful at the time, and a large one for our team), vs. Oklahoma State (the relative stress-free game of the bunch), and then the two biggies, @ Missouri and @ K-State. All stressful, particularly the last two. We were coming off of two of the biggest games of the year, in incredibly hostile environments in two quite intense games. We had to show up, bigtime, in order to win just one of the pair, and were clearly suffereing from a bit of a hangover.

Still, though, our team's progressed. In a hungover state, blinded by those damn bright lights, we were still able to beat the Clones. That's the key, really: just pick up the W's baby. That's the key. We won last night because, for little flashes, we decided to show up. And in those five-minute surges, we were good. Damn good, at times. We just didn't how up consistently.

But man, those surges. That's what we can build off of.

Further analysis after the jump

MVP? I'll go Cole Aldrich. But, I'm not blown away, or anything. I'm almost officially certain that I'm far too hard on Aldrich and Collins, and expect far too much. It isn't that I get frustrated at them more than most during the game, but in the box score, no matter how dominating, it almost always feels that "it's just the way it should be". I know, I know; it's probably a flaw, but I just can't help it. Take it as a compliment, Cole and Sherron. CoSh? Anyways, moving on to Cole's game: dude still can rebound with the best of 'em. Offensively, he was quite awesome too, except for the 5 turnovers. Really, that's what ruins the entire line for me. For how talented he is, and we'll talk about this later, too, with the Law Firm, but he made some godawful passes. Just absolutely terrible stuff. But, let's try and cous on the positive. When he is hitting that fifteen-footer consistently (which he is more often than not, really) his offensive arsenal is NBA-ready, methinks. Obviously, he's still raw and could still use plenty of honing and developing, but I'm statring to get a nasty feeling that he's going to leave. The Draft class is so weak, and he has so much potential, he'll likely go Top 10. And that, no matter how much you love college, has to be hard as hell to turn down.
Oh, the other half of CoSh (?) had quite a game himself. Sherron Collins' shot still isn't 100% (which really means his elbow isn't 100%; ever since that brace came on, his stroke has been just a little off), but he is making up for it. He finally had a damn good shooting night (4-6 from three), and while it still looks a hair off, the performance says otherwise. We'll see how he does on Saturday, to see if it was a one-night thing or him fully healing. Most importantly, though, he dished out 6 assists and didn't turn the ball over once. It is less-impressive considering the Clones' complete inability to turn anyone over, but still: a zero-turnover game is a zero-turnover game.
Besides the Big Two (again, CoSh?), who combined to score 44 points, the rest of the team combined to score all of 28. Total. That makes picking the next player to go over, if we're going in value-order, quite difficult, but we'll go with Mario Little. He was pretty awful scoring-wise, going 0-5 total including blowing a pair of wide-open layups, but he was a beast on the boards. He pulled down 6 of them, including 4 on the offensive end, which was awesome to see. It doesn't mean nearly as much without the subsequent bunnies being converted, but that's the easy part to teach. I just can't wait until he's 100% healthy, next season. Damn, is he going to be awesome.
Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris are almost two entirely different players, now. This will, likely, be the last time I ever pair them together, again. Both, along with Little and Cole, struggled mightily with the simple 10-foot pass from big-to-big, never reading the Cyclone defender jumping in the passing lane. And both, more-or-less, are equal in the rebounding game. But, there is a reason that McMorris got 29 minutes, and Kieffer only got 16. Actually, two. First of all, and more importantly, MC is the better defensive player. He is better fundamentally, putting his hands high in the air (like he don't care), sliding his feet and getting into position. He still isn't perfect, and has plenty of offseason work to do with Danny Manning, but he's much better than he was. Kieffer is getting better, too, but he's much more likely to let his arms slip a hair and pick up the cheap foul. Both picked up 3; McMorris played 13 more minutes, though. However, McMorris' offensive repertoire is incredibly more extensive, as well. Marcus' outside shot is better, and he can actually drive the ball in. Plus, he has a pair of post moves (the mini-drive to his right and then throws it up off the glass, and the dribble to the middle of the lane pump-fake and step through for the finger-roll) compared to Kieffer's one (the lefty jump-hook). Kieffer is a fine player, as well, and is great as a rotational, rebounder-plus-five-fouls-to-give, and has oodles of potential. But, right now and probably throughout their future in Lawrence, Marcus is the better player.
Early on in the season, Tyshawn Taylor was praised, and rightly so, for doing the "little things" particularly well, especially for a freshman. He was playing awesome D, he was holding on to the ball, he was, more-or-less, playing well beyond his years. But, now, it's almost as if he's regressing. I'd say he's the poster-child for hitting the "freshman wall", as he's trailed off quite substantially recently. He is still lightning-quick, and his D is pretty good (not awesome, but pretty good), but he turns the ball over far too often for my liking, and his shot isn't all that consistent. He's still a good rotation player to have, and I bet he's going to be a star in the near future here at Kansas, but I'd like to see Travis Releford pick up some of his minutes. Releford looked good, again, Wednesday night. Another good performance from Travis on Saturday afternoon, and I'm officially joining his fanclub and beginning the march to get him more PT.
Bleh games from Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed. Both hit some nice shots, including another clutch three from Relly Ice, and both played solid D (obviously, BradyStar's better on defense, but you get the idea). Nothing special, either bad or good, to write home about.

That's all, for now. Plenty of content on the slate for tomorrow, so watch out for all of that stuff.

SB Nation - Travis Releford

Self, Collins and Aldrich from Big 12 Media Day

Mizzou Links, 7-6-09

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

Cole and Sherron Go Pro

2 Transfers

Cole or Sherron Go Pro + 1 Transfer

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

Concluding Thoughts

"HE IS A BALLER!" -- Kansas 84 North Dakota State 74

"Back on Track" -- Kansas 83 Texas 73

"The Inevitable Letdown" -- Kansas 65 Texas Tech 84

Kansas: Know your rival (again)

vs Big 12Kansas: 12-1

Keys to the Game

Prediction

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

"Bring on Oklahoma" -- Kansas 70 Nebraska 53

"That was closer than it shoulda been..." -- Kansas 72 Iowa State 55

vs Big 12
Kansas: 12-1