ANSAN 2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY MARCH 9, 2009
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009
KU 83, UT 73
7B
HONOR
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nally winning
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big 12 award
s coach Bill
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Taylor and freshman forward Marcus Morris round out the list of honored Jayhawks. Both Taylor and Morris made the All Big 12 Rookie Team. Taylor was a unanimous selection.
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Case Keefer
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Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
with one more award than Griffin, however, as the Big 12 named him Co-Defensive Player of the Year — he shared with Missouri's J.T. Tiller — and a member of the All-Defensive Team.
Collins was a unanimous selection. The only other unanimous choice on the team was Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin, who doubled as the Big 12 Player of the Year.
Self, who won Big 12 Coach of the Year, the conference honored five Jayhawks — tied with Missouri for the most of any team. But Kansas was the only team with two players selected to the All Big 12 First Team — junior guard Sherron Collins and
Freshman guard Tyshawn
eningstar, a defend the who is one nooters and
sophomore center Cole Aldrich.
Aldrich actually ended up
Can forward Marcus Morris' back after attempting a defensive rebound during the second half of Saturday's game against Texas in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks defeated the Longhorns 83-73 in the final home game.
averages 17 points per game.
Against Morningstar, Abrams was mediocre. He scored 10 points on 2-for-11 shooting.
"It's a tough challenge," Morningstar said. "He's a great player, but I chased him around long enough. He got me a little tired. I'm sure he's a little tired."
With three and a half minutes remaining, Morningstar hit a three-point shot from the wing after Collins passed him the ball to make the score 76-71.
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor flushed a one-handed dunk on a fast break to separate Kansas for good. Collins assisted that one, too.
wanted it."
"When Sherron got the steal, he looked back to see who was running with him and we made eye contact," Taylor, who had 11 points and five assists, said. "I think he knew I
"Yeah," Collins said. "I made eye contact with Brady the same on the play before that."
But behind Collins' leadership, the laj Hawks kept their composure. With a minute and a half remaining until halftime, the Longhorns were ahead 44-30.
Collins confirmed Taylor's thought and took it a step further.
The victory put Kansas alone at the top of the Big 12 standings, finishing one game ahead of Oklahoma (13-3) and two in front of Missouri (12-4).
Morningstar's three-pointer and Taylor's dunk were the two highlights of the second half, in which Kansas out-scored Texas 46-29. The first half didn't go as smoothly.
consecutive points, finishing with a three-point shot from sophomore guard Tyrel Reed to make the score 44-37.
"He is one of those players who can get hot like that," Collins said. "He got real hot."
The Jayhawks trailed by 14 as Texas' Damion James scored 20 of his game-high 26 points.
If they can win three games in a row, the Jayhawks will be the Big 12 Tournament champions. And then, they'd receive another trophy from Beebe.
"The last minute and a half won the game for us." Self said.
The Jayhawks will have the No. 1 seed at the Big 12 Tournament next week in Oklahoma City and will play the winner of the Nebraska Baylor game Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
Kansas proceeded to score seven
Edited by Grant Treaster
DWYER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
of encouragement before anyone else on the bench had considered standing.
And that epitomizes the type of players Kleinmann and Bechard were. They both knew they weren't going to be stars in crimson and blue, but that never stopped them from doing everything right.
"Coaches have favorites in their mind sometimes," coach Bill Self said. "But sometimes your favorites are the ones that do everything they're supposed to do, that are great ambassadors for your program, conduct themselves right. These guys are two of my favorites. I'll be real honest, they're two of my favorites."
"I have been blessed to be a part of your family, to be part of everything you guys root for and cheer for," Kleinnmann said as he addressed the fans. "I'm humbled and I'm honored and I'm privileged. I love every single one of you, because you guys have made this experience amazing. Thank you so much, and I will forever be a Jayhawk because of you."
Self said the two seniors had enhanced everyone's experience at Kansas by being part of the program. He may not have meant the fans as well, but it certainly would have been accurate if he had.
VIEW FROM PRESS ROW
Edited by Jesse Trimble
IT WAS OVER WHEN ...
Tyshawn Taylor caught the pass from Sherron Collins and unleashed a thunderous slam dunk with three minutes remaining in the game. It made the score 78-71 and made it clear that Texas couldn't handle this Kansas storm. It came in the middle of a 7-0 Jayhawk run. Texas added two more free throws before the end of the game, but the outcome was already decided. Taylor did the job.
GAME TO REMEMBER ...
Senior center Matt Kleinmann
Kleinmann
Kleinmann is the only player in the history of the Big 12 and Big 8 Conferences to win five conference championships. He started the game against Texas and played one minute as a part of Senior Day. Bill Self has long called Kleinmann one of his favorites and it's easy to see why. Spending five years in practice against players like Cole Aldrich, Darrell Arthur and Sasha Kaun isn't the easiest task, but Kleinmann enjoyed every minute of it.
Abrams
GAME TO FORGET ...
Texas guard A.J. Abrams
Abrams got Morningstarred. Yes, that can be used as a verb. It happens when sophomore guard Brady Morningstar guards an opposing team's best player. Throughout the season, Morningstar has drawn many of those matchups and usually holds the player to less than their season average. Abrams was no exception. He made only two field goals. He missed nine field goals. He finished with 10 points and was not a factor in the game. When Abrams can't make a difference, Texas loses.
STAT OF THE NIGHT ...
10. That's the number of Kansas turnovers, which ties for the season-low.That's certainly a statistic that will make Self smile this time of year.
PRIME PLAYS
Case Keefer
FIRST HALF
8:59 Texas forward Damior James pulled up and knocked down an open jumper to score his 16th point only 11 minutes into the ballgame and tie the game at 22. James finished the first half with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting as the Longhorns led by as many as 14 points.
14:09 — Brady Morningstar pulled down the rebound from one of A.J. Abrams nine missed field goals and found Sherron Collins to start the fastbreak. Collins promptly returned the favor, finding Morningstar spotted up on the wing for his second three-pointer in as many possessions to give Kansas a 15-11 lead.
00:57 — Down by 14 with just under two minutes remaining. Marcus Morris scored inside then substitute Travis Relefond finished this play in transition after Collins stole the ball from Connor Atchely. Relefond's layup cut Texas' lead to 10 and forced Rick Barnes to call a timeout to quiet the crowd.
00:08 — True to form. Kansas hit yet another big shot before halftime as Collins collapsed the defense then found Tyrel Reed behind the three-point line. Reed lined the shot up and knocked it down to cut Texas' lead to seven before halftime and cap a 7-0 Kansas run.
SECOND HALF
10:46 — Dexter Pittman caught a lob deep in the paint and rose up for a vicious onehanded dunk that quieted the crowd and gave Texas a five-point advantage. Things went downhill for the Longhorns from there though.
3:07 — Once again Collins led the fastback, this time finding a trailing Taylor for a soaring one-handed jam that gave Kansas a 78-71 lead and ignited the crowd in Allen Fieldhouse. The bucket spelled doom for Texas, which couldn't get closer than seven points the remainder of the game.
9:10 Sherron Collins started the fastbreak, and Markieff Morris finished it with authority. Collins missed his shot at the rim in transition, but Morris was there to slam it home with two hands to give the Jayhawks a 62-61 lead — their first advantage since the 8:47 mark in the first half.
0:15 — Kansas coach Bill Self motioned towards the end of his bench for seniors Matt Kleinmann and Brennan Bechard to enter the game in place of Cole Aldrich and Collins, sealing a fifth consecutive Big 12 regular season championship. The senior duo would be removed second later to a standing ovation that capped their careers in Allen Fieldhouse.
— Andrew Wiebe
GAMENOTES
ONE MORE YEAR
When junior guard Sherron Collins went to the free-throw line with 1:20 remaining in the game, the student section began to chant "one more year."
Collins heard it. Heck, Collins loved it.
"It was funny,"Collins said. "They did the same thing to B-Rush and those guys. It was just funny."
So could Collins forfeit his final year of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft at the end of the year?
"I haven't even thought about it," Collins said. "I'm just trying to win and make a run in this tournament. I haven't thought about the NBA at all."
ESPN.com's Chad Ford currently lists Collins as the No. 45 pro prospect in college basketball and a late first-to-early second round pick.
TAYLOR BAD,
RELEFORD GOOD
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor missed four shots in the first half and had three turnovers.
Bill Self was not happy about it. He decided to bench Taylor to start the second half and went with freshman guard Travis Leeford for nearly seven minutes in his place. Self praised Leeford's four-point performance.
"I thought Travis played very well in his place," Self said. "I don't even know how much Tyshawn would have played if he didn't get tired, to be honest."
Taylor re-gained Self's trust when he checked back into the game and finished with 11 points and five assists.
ON TO NEXT YEAR
Kansas finished off its home season without a defeat.
The Jayhawks still hold the nation's longest home court winning streak, now at 41 games, headed into next season.
Only four of the 16 players on Kansas' roster — Collins, Morningstar, Brennan Bechard and Matt Kleinmann — have experienced a defeat at Allen Fieldhouse.
Case Keefer