+
Volume 128 Issue 110
Monday, April 20, 2014
kansan.com
+
THE UNIVERSITY DAYY KANSAN
COMMENTARY Derrick Rose and a different game of basketball
The past three years have had Chicago fans holding their
tans holding their breath - especially during every second point guard Derrick Rose was on the court.
The Bulls' first game of the 2015 NBA Playoffs was no different. This was Rose's first game back in the playoffs since the dreadful Game One in 2012 — a game Chicago fans like to forget.
To dredge up painful memories, it was late in the fourth quarter when Rose went down, jumping off his left foot while in the paint. You could hear a pin drop in the United Center. It was quieter at that moment than when the building is completely empty. Hours later, it was confirmed that Rose tore his ACL, and the rest is history.
Three years later, Rose laced up his red, white and gray D Rose sneakers and was back on the court of the United Center, wearing the same No. 1 white jersey. He was ready to return.
His first bucket came three minutes into the game, invigorating Chicago fans. But Rose wasn't stopping there.
With just over two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Rose slammed down a two-handed rim rattler that was worthy of a SportsCenter Top 10 nomination. On the next possession, Rose drove on the lane to lay it in, in similar fashion to the Rose of old. Almost immediately, Rose was sent back to the bench because of his limited minutes and did something completely out of character: show emotion to the fans.
Halfway through the third quarter, it was the D Rose show. He drained back-to-back three-pointers. Two and a half minutes later, Jimmy Butler dished a pass to an open Rose, who subsequently nailed another three-pointer.
By the time it was all said and done, Rose notched 23 points and seven assists in 27 minutes of play. What's spooky? Rose put up an eerily similar stat line in the 2012 game: 23 points and nine assists in 37 minutes of play.
Derrick Rose will never be the Derrick Rose of old. He may show flashes of the player he used to be, but he plays a different game now. He's less aggressive on the floor; he's not as flashy as he once was. He's older now and has the scars that tell his past.
After the game Saturday, Rose said, "I only had three expectations: to have fun, to have no expectations and to compete."
Edited by Lane Cofas
Chicago fans will probably never be able to rest easy when it comes to Rose. Every time he falls down for the rest of his career, Benny the Bull will still cover his eyes, and the Chicago faithful will still continue to hold its breath.
Kansas unable to stop hasty Texas offense
Sonhomore catcher Michael Tinsley watches the ball while up at bat Wednesday at Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks lost to Missouri State 3-0.
EVAN RIGGS
@EvanRiggs15
BEN BRODSKY/KANSAN
After a walk-off win for the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday night, the Texas Longhorns made sure that wasn't a possibility Sunday with a convincing 16-7 victory in windy conditions to win the series 2-1.
The conditions made it difficult for freshman pitcher Blake Weiman (1-6) to be effective.
"When I walked in here at 8:30 in the morning and the wind was blowing, I knew we were in trouble with a soft lefty (Weiman) pitching," coach Ritch Price said. "I was hoping his change-up was good enough, but unfortunately it wasn't, and anything that got hit in the air had a chance to be a homerun."
For Kansas, freshman shortstop Matt McLaughlin, sophomore catcher Michael Tinsley and senior first baseman Blair Beck all had two hits apiece. McLaughlin had two RBIs, and Tinsley had three. Senior right fielder Dakota Smith added a homerun and two RBIs, but it was not enough to keep up with Texas' offense.
After going more than a month with less than seven
runs in a game, the Longhorns exploded with season highs in runs (16), hits (23) and home runs (five). Junior left fielder Ben Johnson had two home runs and three RBIs. He has five home runs and 26 RBIs on the season.
"We might have made him National Player of the Week today," Price said. "That was an unbelievable show he put in for the Royals' guys (scouts) today. He's not only the fastest guy in college baseball, he's one of the strongest, too."
Junior shortstop C.J. Hinojosa accomplished a rare feat in baseball; He hit for the cycle (at least one single,
After two scoreless innings, the Longhorns struck first in the third inning with doubles by Hinojosa and freshman catcher Michael Cantu to put Texas up 2-0.
double, triple and home run) and added four RBIs.
In the fourth inning, freshman designated hitter Joe Baker ripped the first of five Longhorn home runs to make the score 4-0. However, the Jayhawks answered back with a two-run home run of their own by Tinsley to make it 4-2.
"They had four runs on 10 hits and had dominated the game, and we're only down
two," Price said. "With the wind blowing like it was, I really liked our chances."
The Longhorns answered with an offensive explosion in the fifth inning to put the Jayhawks out of reach. After recording two outs, the Longhorns scored seven runs in the inning on three singles, a double, a triple and a two-run homerun by Johnson to make it 11-2.
"When they put up seven with two outs in the inning, we really got buried," Price said.
The Jayhawks continued to fight and cut the deficit to 11-5 off a two-RBI single by
McLaughlin and a sac-fly by Tinsley. But that would not be enough for the Jayhawks to overcome the Longhorns' offensive onslaught.
The Longhorns scored five more runs in the game to pull away, while the Jayhawks scored just two off Smith's home run in the eighth inning.
The Jayhawks have little time to sulk with instate rival Wichita State coming to Hoglund Ballpark Tuesday at 6 p.m. to conclude the Jayhawks 10-game home stand.
SWEET SIXTEEN
Edited by Lane Cofas
Taking a look at some of the more unique matchups in #FaceOfTheStreak
COLE ALDRICH
JEFF WITHEY
SIMILAR STYLES:
As the Round of 16 begins, one matchup features a battle of big men who played the game in a similar way. In their final seasons at Kansas, Cole Aldrich and Jeff Withey averaged nearly identical numbers, differing in combined points and rebounds per game by just 1.1 and by less than 0.4 blocks per game.
Interestingly enough, the big men remained similar in their first-round victories, as both defeated wings from the other
player's generation.
However, while the similarities run deep between the two players, they represent two very different things for the layhawks.
Aldrich was a player who peaked as a sophomore, when he posted his career-highs in points and rebounds per game, in addition to field goal percentage. But in his final two seasons, the Jayhawks disappointed in the NCAA Tournament; they never made
it past the Sweet 16
Withey, on the other hand, didn't even look like he fit in with the Jayhawks until his junior season, when he led the Jayhawks all the way to the 2012 National Championship game. His points, rebounds and blocks per game nearly quadrupled between his sophomore and junior seasons, and he would keep getting better, finishing first in the nation in blocks his senior season.
While Cole Aldrich and Jeff Withey played with similar styles, one of the more diverse Round of 16 comes as Darnell Jackson takes on Andrew Wiggins.
HEART VS. FLASH:
Jackson was never the flashiest player, but he wasn't ever asked to be. As a senior on the 2008 National Championship team, Jackson provided a toughness and inside presence the team needed.
As a senior, he averaged 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while shooting over 62.5 percent from the field, but his energy and spirit made him one of the most beloved players in Kansas basketball history.
However, on the other side of things, his opponent played in just 28 percent of the games that jackson did, but he was the star in his lone season at KU.
At Kansas, Andrew Wiggins scored 20-or-more points in
In one year, Wiggins accounted for more than 70 percent of the points Jackson scored over his career, but that's the thing. Wiggins only stayed one year; Jackson stuck around for four.
11 different games, cracking the 30-point barrier on two separate occasions. With an array of dazzling dunks, Wiggins also found his way onto the SportsCenter Top 10 time after time.
DARNELL JACKSON
ANDREW WIGGINS
RUSSELL ROBINSON
THOMAS ROBINSON
Russell Robinson and Thomas Robinson shared two similarities: A last name and a hard-nosed style of play.
A COMPLETE CONTRAST:
Russell Robinson was a key cog in the 2008 title team, despite the fact that his statistical presence wasn't all that great. From his sophomore year to his senior year, Russell Robinson averaged at least seven points, four assists and two rebounds per game, but his numbers never really peaked.
That's about it.
However, Russell Robinson was a smart player who was a good team defender and would scrap with anyone. He used every inch of his 6-foot-8 wingspan to create problems for opponents on defense, while running the show at point.
However, at a completely different position, Thomas Robinson did things another way. T-Rob was a statistical phenomenon, racking up just under 18 points and 12 rebounds per game in his
junior season, finishing right behind Anthony Davis in player of the year voting.
With a usage rate of 30 percent in his junior season, Thomas Robinson wasn't just a key part of the Kansas offense; he was the Kansas offense. The Jayhawks advanced all the way to the National Championship game, where a rough performance by Robinson left a bad taste in the mouth of Kansas fans, but his play that year was certainly nothing to scoff at.
Watching Aaron Miles and Tyshawn Taylor play point, I don't think there would be any way to confuse the two of them. Miles was a pass-first guard who averaged more than six assists per game all four years at college, whereas Taylor never averaged more than 4.8.
PG PLAY:
However, Taylor posted at least 9.3 points per game in three of his four seasons at KU
Miles also had the advantage on defense, where he recorded 1.5 times as many steals per game as Taylor over his career, and he would even lead the Big 12 in steals in the 2002-03 season.
— something Miles would do just one time.
Taylor, on the other hand, never got above seventh in the league in steals. Instead, he chose to show his aggression on the offensive end.
For Taylor, that meant a ton of points, but it also meant a ton of turnovers. He finished top five in the Big 12 in points per game in his senior season, but he also finished with the second most turnovers in Big 12 history, dating back to 1997-98.
The two played the game quite differently, which is why they combine for one of the most intriguing matchups in #FaceOfTheStreak.
AARON MILES
TYSHAWN TAYLOR
VOTE FOR TODAY'S MATCHUP AT KANSAN.COM
MARIO CHALMERS VS MARCUS MORRIS
1
+