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PAGE 9
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4,2014
KANSAS 42-43 85
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13-40 53
KANSAS STAT LEADERS
Alexander
Mason
KANSAS
Alexander
PLAYER PTS FG-FGA REBS A TO'S
Cliff Alexander 14 6-8 9 0 2
Frank Mason 13 4-5 6 7 1
Perry Ellis 9 2-6 1 2 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. 9 4-7 4 2 2
Landen Lucas 9 4-4 6 1 1
Devonte Graham 7 3-5 0 3 3
Sviatoslav Mykailiuk 6 2-5 3 1 2
Hunter Mickelson 6 2-4 4 0 0
Other Players 12 3-9 13 4 5
TOTAL 85 30-53 46 20 17'
WASHBURN
<table><thead><tr><th>PLAYER</th><th>PTS</th><th>FG-FGA</th><th>REBS</th><th>A</th><th>TO's</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Korey Fisher</td><td>14</td><td>3-10</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Kevin House</td><td>8</td><td>4-6</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Alex North</td><td>6</td><td>3-8</td><td>7</td><td>0</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Stephon Drane</td><td>6</td><td>2-5</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Jeremy Lickteig</td><td>5</td><td>2-4</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Christian Ulsaker</td><td>4</td><td>1-6</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Brady Skeens</td><td>4</td><td>2-2</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Kyle Wiggins</td><td>2</td><td>1-6</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Other Players</td><td>4</td><td>1-19</td><td>15</td><td>1</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>TOTAL</td><td>53</td><td>19-66</td><td>40</td><td>4</td><td>15</td></tr></tbody></table>
GAME TO REMEMBER
Kansas' leading scorer and leading rebounder was a freshman forward Cliff Alexander, who scored 14 points in 17 minutes and grabbed nine rebounds with four of them on the offensive glass. In the first half, Alexander had three consecutive possessions when he grabs offensive rebounds and scores on all three
rebounds and scored on all three.
Alexander
GAME TO FORGET
Kelly Oubre Jr., guard
Freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. didn't play poorly, because no one on the team had a bad game. Oubre did have a bad statistic tonight; his 0-5 from the free-throw line. Oubre finished with nine points and four rebounds, but couldn't capitalize when he not fouled.
capitalize when he got fouled.
Oubre Jr.
UNSUNG HERO
Landen Lucas, forward
If Alexander didn't score 14 points, junior forward Landen Lucas would have been player of the game. Lucas was perfect from the field on four shots and added two block shots to his stat line. From first glance, Lucas has developed a nice short-game. In 13 minutes, Lucas was able to grab six total rebounds.
Lucas
Kansas 85 I Washburn 53
POWERFUL PRESENCE
Cliff Alexander shows off preseason promise
Freshman forward Cliff Alexander looks to pass during Monday night's game against Washburn. Alexander finished with a team-high 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
KYLE PAPPAS
@KylePan
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN hburn Alexander
Kansas freshman forward Cliff Alexander said he "had the butterflies" in the hours prior to his college debut at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night.
It was hard to tell — he looked as comfortable as anyone on the court, finishing the night with a team-high 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting in Kansas' 85-53 defeat of Washburn.
"I felt good going into the game," Alexander said. "Coach just told me to come out and play my hardest and that's what I did."
A surprise to many, the blue-chip prospect wasn't included in the Jayhawks' starting lineup on Monday. Junior forwards Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor began the game as Kansas' two big men. However, Alexander served as one of Self's first players off the bench, entering the contest just five minutes into the game.
It didn't take long for his presence to be felt. He notched six points in his first two minutes of play, going 3-for-3 from the field in the process. The Ichabods employed several different formations to slow down the freshman in the paint — all to no avail.
Alexander made the most of his seven first-half minutes, finishing with an impressive 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks.
"Cliff was great the first half," sophomore guard Frank Mason said. "He got in, got offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, and even scored inside. He was a big plus tonight."
With a comfortable 29-point advantage entering the second half, Kansas slowed down its offensive tempo a bit. Alexander was on the floor for 10 minutes in the second period, taking only two shot attempts in that time. He finished the half with four points and five rebounds.
Even with the Jayhawks' large lead, Alexander's physical style of play was on full display for the entire evening; though it was a much more controlled physicality than many anticipated. In 17 minutes of action, he recorded only one foul on a swat attempt that
he maintained was "a clean block" in the post-game press conference.
Nobody may have been more surprised at this than Kansas coach Bill Self, who has expressed concern about Alexander's ability to stay out of foul trouble this preseason. At the Jayhawks' media day, Self said that "[Alexander's] idea of being physical would be getting three fouls in the first five minutes."
"I am surprised at that," Self said. "I was shocked the first half, I don't think that [Washburn] got to the bonus in the
first half. That was a pleasant surprise to me, that they didn't do that."
Defensively, Alexander was a nuisance for Washburn all night, as its inferior post players simply couldn't match up with the big-bodied freshman. Offensively, he was just as effective, cleaning up several misses from teammates underneath the basket as he ended with the evening four offensive rebounds. With 14 points and nine rebounds, he finished one rebound short of a double-double.
If there were indeed butterflies, Alexander certainly didn't show it. He looked every part of the dominant force that he's been made out to be this preseason.
But even after his quality numbers in his Kansas debut, Alexander wasn't overly impressed with his performance - he said he still hasn't come
— he said he still hasn't come close to reaching his ceiling.
"It ain't even started yet," he said. "By the end of the season, I think I'll potentially have reached my peak."
Edited by Brian Hillix
PRIME PLAYS
Cliff Alexander's first offensive rebound and score
Just seconds after Cliff Alexander checked in, he pulled down an offensive rebound and put it right back up for an easy two points. This improved Alexander's confidence tremendously, as he went on to snag two more offensive boards before the half.
Kelly Dubre Jr.'s fast break dunk. (11:45 mark in the second half)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk dove on the ground for a loose ball and shovel-passed it to Wayne Selden Jr. who passed it to Dubre for the fast break jam.
This marked the first large ovation from the crowd, during which Washburn used a timeout.
Hunter Mickelson's second block (7:07 second half)
Washburn senior guard Korey Fisher drove to the lane, meeting Hunter Mickelson at the basket and sending the ball flying into the second row. Washburn immediately called another timeout as Kansas was led by 34. After the timeout, Kansas forced a turnover, which led to an easy transition bucket for Frank Mason.