THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSA
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007
SPORTS
3B
MEN'S BASKETBALL WRAP-UP Versatile Budinger nearly sinks Hawks
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Russell Robinson, senior guard, tries to take a charge against Arizona freshman guard Jerryd Bayless. The referees called a blocking foul on Robinson on the play. Kansas and Arizona committed a combined 45 personal fouls during the game.
BY RUSTIN DODD
rdodd@kansan.com
Chase Budinger certainly made the most of his first opportunity to play in Allen Fieldhouse. For all 38 of his minutes on the floor, the Arizona sophomore forward played the role of an unwelcome houseguess. And judging by the Allen Fieldhouse faithfully raucous celebration of Budinger's fifth foul, it's probably safe to say that Kansas fans won't mind if the golden-locked All-American candidate never comes back.
Budinger finished with 27 points and six rebounds and nearly willed his unranked Arizona squad to an upset of Kansas. Budinger showcased his versatile inside-outside game in the first half, mixing six three-pointers with drives to the basket and mid-range jumpshots.
"I try not to be one-dimensional, but be able to do everything. I felt the shots I took were good shots," Budinger said.
With a handful of NBA scouts in attendance, the San Diego native put on a dazzling display, answering every Kansas run with big shot after big shot. Perhaps none was as crucial as his three-pointer that tied the game a 65-65 with 430 left in overtime. Fortunately for Kansas, Budinger was done scoring, and it was time for the game's other heralded sophomore — Kansas' Darrell Arthur — to take over. Arthur, who finished with 20 points, countered Budinger's three-pointer with four straight points, two off a short jumper and two off a layup, giving Kansas a 69-65 lead — a lead Kansas was finally able to hold on.
Arthur and Budinger have shared the court once before. The duo were teammates on the West squad at the 2006 McDonald's All-American game, and it was Budinger who shared the MVP award with former Kansas nemesis Kevin Durant.
"He's a guy that's hard to stop," Arthur said. "He's so long, and he can do so much out there. We just tried to keep him off the ball."
Budinger's wonderful performance didn't come as a surprise to Kansas coach Bidell Self, who called Budinger a lottery pick last Wednesday. The Jayhawks recruited Budinger, the Pac10 Freshman of the Year last season, but Budinger committed to Arizona
during the early signing period in 2005. Kansas snatched up Arthur the following spring, and although Budinger came away from Sunday night with better overall numbers, Arthur's team came away with the victory.
"He shot the lights out, and he's big and he can see over you and shoot over you. He's a really nice player," Self said.
Edited by Matt Erickson
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Darrell Arthur, sophomore forward, tries to grab a rebound during Sunday's game in Allen Fieldhouse against Arizona. Arthur had three defensible rebounds during the game.
Jon Gnerrin/KANSAN
Sophomore forward Darrell Arthur goes up for a shot over Arizona's Chase Budinger, sophomore forward. Arthur led Kansas with 20 points on 8 of 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
basketball notes
AN INJURY TO REED
After playing seven minutes in the first half Sunday night, freshman guard Tyrel Reed didn't leave the bench in the second half. He helped defend the final shot of the first half and fell to the ground. Senior forward Darmell Jackson blocked a shot by Arizona's Jerryd Bayless and fell on Reed's ankle. Self said he thought it was just a rolled ankle.
ROBINSON'S BAD NIGHT
Russell Robinson might want to forget this one. He picked up three fouls and two turnovers in the first half and didn't start the second half. He didn't make a field goal through out the entire game.
"It was not good," Self said. "He's been so consistent for us and hopefully tonight was just one of those nights where things didn't go well."
GOOD GUESTS
Former Jayhawks Greg Ostertag and Milt Newton were both in attendance last night. Newton played on the 1988 National Championship team. Ostertag played from 1992 to 1996. He also played for the Utah Jazz in the NBA when they competed in back-to-back NBA Finals.
A famous non-Jayhawk saw the game too. Phillies first baseman and 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard watched Sunday night's basketball game and Saturday night's football game. His brother works for the Athletics Department.
Mark Dent
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Rodrick Stewart, senior guard, rises up for a dunk over Arizona freshman guard Jenny Baydyl during Sunday night's game in Allen Fieldhouse. Stewart had 13 points and six rebounds in the game.
Kansas 76, Arizona 72
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
Player Name
FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Arthur, Darrell 8-13 0-0 4-6 3 3 6 4 20 0 5 3 0 34
24 Kaun, Sasha 3-5 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 6 1 1 2 3 25
03 Robinson, Russell 0-3 0-3 2-2 0 0 0 4 2 3 3 0 3 25
05 Stewart, Rodrick 5-8 0-1 3-4 1 5 6 3 13 2 0 0 1 27
15 Chalmers, Mario 5-11 0-2 4-6 0 1 1 1 4 14 7 2 1 3 37
10 Case, Jeremy 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
14 Reed, Tyrel 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7
25 Rush, Brandon 6-12 2-2 3-4 1 7 8 0 17 2 1 0 1 36
32 Jackson, Darnell 2-5 0-1 0-0 1 4 5 3 4 1 3 1 0 29
45 Aldrich, Cole 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 29-58 2-10 6-22 6 23 29 20 76 17 15 7 11 225
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
Player Name
FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
34 Budinger, Chase 10-23 6-12 1-3 1 5 6 5 27 1 5 0 2 38
43 Hill, Jordan 2-5 0-0 1-2 2 3 5 4 5 0 2 1 0 24
54 Walters, Kirk 0-1 0-0 1-4 0 3 3 2 1 0 2 1 1 19
00 Bayless, Jerryd 5-9 2-2 7-7 1 2 3 2 19 2 7 0 1 31
05 McClellan, Jawann 2-4 2-4 0-0 0 3 3 1 6 2 4 0 1 33
12 Dillon, Daniel 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
13 Wise, Nic 2-6 0-2 3-4 1 2 3 3 7 6 3 0 0 0 32
42 Horne, Jamelle 2-2 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 16
44 Brielmaier, Bret Totals 24-54 10-21 14-21 12 26 38 25 72 14 25 2 5 225
Arthur thrives in post-holiday match-ups
BY CASE KEEFER
Arthur scored a season-high 20 points in a 76-72 overtime victory against Arizona Sunday
If Arthur eats turkey, his refrigerator needs to be supplied with six months' worth of leftovers. If Arthur watches football, his closet needs to contain film of his favorite games.
I don't know how sophomore forward Darrell Arthur celebrates Thanksgiving. But whatever he does, he needs to do it more often because his two best games as a Jayhawk have come directly after the holiday.
BY CASE KEEFER
KANSAN SPORTS COLEMNIST
CKEEFER@KANSAN.COM
"We've got to learn that we have to play through Darrell. And the sooner we learn that, the better off we will be."
and said it was his best game of the season. Exactly one year ago, Arthur had an equally brilliant performance in an 82-80 victory against Florida with 19 points.
BILL SELF Coach
"It was a similar game," Arthur said.
"I thought we did a good job on offense and defense in overtime. I thought we controlled the game in the overtime."
To be exact, Arthur controlled the game in the overtime. The score was tied at 65 when Arthur pulled up for a short jumper to put the Jayhawks ahead by two. The Wildcats had answered all night whenever the Jayhawks made a big shot. But not this time.
On Arizona's next possession, Arthur personally made sure that wouldn't happen, with a block that made the Allen Fieldhouse faithful rise like a cake after adding flour. Junior guard Mario Chalmers missed a jumper 20 seconds later, but Arthur jumped above all the Wildcats in front of him to tip in a basket. It made the score 69-65, and the Jayhawks never looked back.
The Jayhawks would have lost and sent a tidal wave of depression toward Kansas sports fans if it weren't for Arthur. During one media time-out, a clip of Macaulay Culkin from "Home Alone" played over the scoreboard.
Kansas fans cheered at the brief scene but little did they know that shortly after, Arthur would play the role of Culkin from the classic 1990 film. He hand-d联edly discouraged the enemies through a set of incredible incidents just like in "Home Alone."
1
He knocked down two critical free throws with three minutes remaining in regulation to tie the game and put all the pressure on the Wildcats. It brought a flashback of last November 25th when he calmly made seven of his nine free throws against Florida to keep Kansas alive.
"We've got to learn that we have to play through Darrell," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "And the sooner we learn that, the better off we will be. We still haven't quite figured that out."
Maybe Arthur's clutch performance in the biggest non-conference game of the season will help the Jayhawks with that concept. And maybe Arthur stowed away enough Thanksgiving weekend cheer to last the duration of the season.
Edited by Meghan Murphy