PAGE 10
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2013
KANSAS 42-38 80
Louisiana-Monroe 32-3163
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS STAT LEADERS
Wiggins
KANSAS
Mason
Ellis
PLAYER PTS FG-FGA REBS A TO's
Andrew Wiggins 16 5-9 3 2 2
Perry Ellis 12 3-5 8 1 2
Andrew White III 12 4-6 4 0 3
Joel Embiid 9 1-2 4 0 2
Wayne Selden Jr. 8 3-7 2 4 1
Tarik Black 8 3-3 7 0 0
Conner Frankamp 5 2-6 3 3 1
Jamari Traylor 5 1-2 2 2 4
Rest of players 5 0-3 3 5 0
TOTAL 80 23-43 36 17 15
Louisiana-Monroe
PLAYER PTS FG-FGA REBS A TO's
Marvin Williams 19 8-13 6 0 2
Amos Olatayo 11 5-10 3 2 4
Nick Coppola 10 2-5 3 2 2
Daniel Grieves 6 2-2 1 0 1
Jayon James 5 2-8 4 4 0
R.J. McCray 5 1-2 0 0 0
Tylor Ongwae 4 1-4 2 3 1
Millaun Brown 2 0-1 0 0 0
Rest of players 1 0-4 8 2 3
TOTAL 63 21-49 27 13 13
GAME TO REMEMBER
Wiggins reached double-digits again and finished with 16 points on 9-5 shooting to go along with a game-high three steals. He twoed 3-pointers for the night—his first two of the season. Defenders are likely to give him some space in order to prevent his quick first step, so his long-range shooting could be the difference between 10 and 25 points on a night.
given night.
Wiggins
GAME TO FORGET
With a chance to assert himself with Tharpe out of Friday's lineup, Mason picked up two quick fouls and sat out a majority of the first half. He did have five assists to zero turnovers, but his four trouble kept him on the bench longer than Self would have liked. The Kansas offense stalled without Mason in the lineup, with an inexperienced Seldon running the point at times.
FIERCE FIRST OUTING
Mason
UNSUNG HERO
Despite getting into foul trouble, Embid asserted himself Friday as a potential threat in the paint. He got to the line 10 times and made seven attempts. Five points and a steal during a short stretch in the second half gave the team a spark while the Warhawks were still hanging around.
Embiid
Freshman guard Andrew Wiggins attempts a dunk in Friday night's victory. Wiggins had 16 points, leading the Jayhawks in scoring in his first career game.
BASKETBALL REWIND
Wiggins, Ellis lead Jayhawks to season-opening victory
BRIAN HILLIX
hhillix@kansan.com
One constant during the team's three games this season has been the consistent play of the two players expected to lead the team in scoring this season.
Guard Andrew Wiggins and forward Perry Ellis have reached double-digit scoring in every game as both players have averaged nearly 14 points a game. At least one player has led the team in scoring each night while each has also contributed on the defensive end.
Making his first official start, Wiggins tallied a team-high 16 points against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on 5-for-9 shooting. He got a boost from his long-range shot as he made his first 3-point shots of the season. He also topped the 50 percent field goal threshold for the first time this year.
Senior forward Tarik Black skies for the ball during Kansas' 80-63 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Friday night. Black tallied eight points on 3-3 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in his first game as a Jayhawk.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
"Effcient, that would probably be a pretty good way to put it," head coach Bill Self said. "I thought he did some good things."
He has led the team in field goal attempts per game averaging almost 11 field goals per night. Self thinks he can force the action even more.
"I think he can be more aggressive," Self said. "But I think all our guys can be more aggressive."
Not just an offensive weapon, Wiggins has also recorded five steals and four blocks on the season. His speed and long arms have helped him close quickly on defenders, including Louisiana-Monroe senior guard Amos Olatayo.
Olatayo.
"He has a quick first step," Olatayo said. "He's very long."
With Jamari Traylor and Joel Embid in foul trouble most of the evening, Ellis scored 12 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. He did most of his damage in the first half, finishing with nine points and five rebounds in 15 minutes. Not known for blocking shots, Ellis rejected two Warhawk attempts on the evening.
One of the few returners in the frontcourt, Ellis has been the team's most efficient offensive player for Kansas this season scoring on 68 percent of his field goal attempts. While his forward counterparts have struggled from the charity stripe, Ellis has knocked down 15 of 17 free throw attempts—good for 88 percent.
Ellis has also been effective on the glass averaging nearly eight rebounds a game. He has led the team in rebounding in two of the three games.
three games Perhaps the team's most complete post player, Ellis has been consistent while Tarik Black, Embid and Traylor have all struggled at times
this season. For the most part, Ellis has avoided foul trouble despite the Jayhawks committing 69 for the season.
Friday was the first night both Wiggins and Ellis logged more than 25 minutes in a contest. Look for each player to play 30-35 minutes against Duke on Tuesday.
Both Wiggins and Ellis will have to show this same consistency against the No. 4 Blue Devils next week for the Jayhawks to have a legitimate shot at making an early season statement.
Edited by Casey Hutchins