THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15,2011
PAGE 7
KANSAS TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
The regular season began Friday against Towson, but the showdown in New York City is what fans have waited for all offseason. Coach Bill Self will face off against Kentucky coach John Calipari for the first time since the 2008 championship game, when Calipari still coached Memphis. In that game, Calipari had Derrick Rose, now the NBA's most valuable player. Since sending Rose to the league, Calipari has willingly told kids to join him at Kentucky for one season, then sprint to the NBA if they wanted. Because of this philosophy, top recruits have flocked to Kentucky, and it shows in this season's starting lineup. This could be the most difficult matchup of the year for the Jayhawks, yet also could be the best chance at proving themselves as a contender.
PLAYER TO WATCH
JEFF WITHEY,
CENTER
Withey will get the opportunity to prove that he belongs against some of college basketball's very finest. If he succeeds, he will
do so by altering and blocking shots as a defender, cleaning up rebounds and scoring when Robinson is double teamed. He will fail if he lacks aggression and allows his opponents to out-muscle him for rebounds. Withey dropped a triple-double (18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks) against Pittsburg State in the team's first exhibition game on Nov. 1, but he was facing a much weaker and smaller opponent than Kentucky. Withey's finesse style complements Robiney's strength to form a front-court with diverse skills. To influence this game, Withey must avoid foul trouble and passive tendencies.
What does Kansas do defensively?
QUESTION MARK
Kentucky has three forwards — Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Anthony Davis — who are comfortable on the perimeter. Athletically, Thomas Robinson can hang with any of them. After Robinson, though, it gets tricky. If Robinson guards the 6-foot-9 Jones to start the game, he runs the risk of drawing a quick foul away from the basket. Jeff Withey, who will start at center, isn't capable of guarding the quick Jones, so Self might not have a choice. Some sort of zone may work for the Jayhawks, but Self has rarely played zone while at Kansas. If he sticks to man-to-man, he'll have to figure out a way for Withey, Justin Wesley and Kevin Young to keep the Wildcat forwards contained on the perimeter when they decide step outside.
"It'd be a great home-and-home every year to play Kentucky."
— Coach Bill Self
Taylor
01ЕFНЕСТКОПИСЮ
KANSAS STARTERS
KANSAS VS. KENTUCKY 8 P.M., MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY
Johnson
Robinson
Releford
TYSHAWN TAYLOR, GUARD
Withey
Taylor was solid in his first game back from suspension, recording 12 points, four assists and just one turnover in 24 minutes played. Following the theme of the Towson game, Taylor played well but was hampered with foul trouble. Taylor needs to take less risks and stay focused on guarding his man. By playing without mistakes on defense, the points and assists will come. If Taylor wants to prove himself as a leader and upper echelon point guard, tonight is the night.
ELIJAH JOHNSON. GUARD
Johnson only sunk two of his seven three-point shot attempts in his first game back from suspension against Towson, but most of his misses were right on target, then plopped out. With an improved long-range shot, Johnson will be able to adapt to the more traditional shooting guard role that he must fill this season. His length and speed could match up well against sophomore Doron Lamb, perhaps Kentucky's best scorer.
Breaking down the teams
TRAVIS RELEFORD, FORWARD
Releford had his best game of the young season against Towson on Friday, scoring 14 points in 25 minutes played. Self said he needs more rebounding from Releford, who will likely be assigned to guard both Jones and Kidd-Gilchrist. Releford and Self have both said that this team will go as far as the defense takes it. If Releford can lead a stout defensive effort and slow down Kentucky, he could do the same against any team in the nation.
THOMAS ROBINSON, FORWARD
It's as simple as this; if Robinson draws a few early fouls, the Jayhawks will likely lose. If he plays composed and intelligent defense, this game could be a toss up. Robinson has the skills to be the best player on the floor tonight, especially if he can knock down the midrange jump shot. However Robinson was built to bruise inside. He will be most successful if he doesn't foul and sticks to what he does best: finishing by the basket. Robinson outplayed Anthony Davis over the summer. Tonight, whether he matches up against Davis or Jones, he will have to do the same. If not, it will be a long ride back to Lawrence.
It wouldn't be fair to evaluate a player based on a single game, but tonight will tell us a ton about Withey. Can he block shots from 6-foot-10 centers or just 6-foot-4 forwards? Does he have that killer instinct to get a tough bucket by the hoop when his team him the most? Under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, Withey will start to tell us if he can really handle the starting center job. He must also avoid foul-trouble, because there just isn't much behind him on the bench. If he can stay in the game and comfortably guard Davis when he steps out to the perimeter, Withey will back up all the offseason praise of his teammates and coaches.
JEFF WITHEY. CENTER
— Max Rothman
KENTUCKY STARTERS
MARQUIS TEAGUE, GUARD A top-five recruit, according to every major recruiting service, Teague was a McDonald's High School All-American after averaging 22.7 points and 5.9 assists last season in high school Coach John Calipari said Teague is possibly the best pick-and-roll guard he's ever had. Teague started the opener against Marist and tallied 16 points and four assists in the win.
MARQUIS TEAGUE, GUARD
Teague
DORON LAMB. GUARD
Yet another McDonald's High School All-American, Lamb started 14 games last season as a freshman. He averaged 12.3 points per game, setting a then-freshman school record with 32 points in a victories over Winthrop. He joins Terrence Jones as the only freshman to score 20 points in his Kentucky debut. He had 15 points and eight assists against Marist last Friday.
Lamb
DARRUUS MILLER, GUARD
The lone upper classman in the starting five, Miller started 37 of 38 games last season as a junior. He averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds on the year and hit at least one three-pointer in 36 games. He was named SEC Tournament MVP after averaging 13.3 points and 5.6 rebounds during the three-game championship run by Kentucky. Miller played 28 minutes against Marist, notching eight points and five assists on 4-for-6 shooting.
Miller
TERRENCE JONES, FORWARD
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF .
Robinson stays out of foul trouble and proves himself as the best player on the court. For Kansas to have a shot, he must help his team outrebound Kentucky; a feat it couldn't accomplish against Towson on Friday.
Jones could easily be in the NBA right now and he is the biggest matchup problem for Kentucky opponents. He's 6-foot-9 but can handle the ball like a guard and can play on the perim- eter on any possession. He has
scorer's mentality and barring any hiccups, looks to be a top-10 pick in next June's NBA draft.
Jones
ANTHONY DAVIS FORWARD
Much like nearly every other forward recruited by John Calipari, Anthony Davis, 6-foot-10, 220 pounds.
on handle his own on the perim
can handle its own on the penn eter and dominate the paint. He averaged 32 points, 22 rebounds and seven blocks last season at Perspectives Charter High School in Chicago and was also a McDonald's All-American.
Davis
— Kory Carpenter
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF
Kentucky's athleticism and skill cannot be matched. With future NBA players scattered across his lineup, Calipari has the talent to leave New York City with an easy victory. Self must find a game plan to contain that talent or his team will prepare for the Maui inviting come off a big loss.
KENTUCKY TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Coming off a pair of blowout wins to start the season, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 13 Kansas meet up in Madison Square Garden tonight in one of the young season's best matchups. Kentucky handled Marist in the second half Friday night, eventually winning 108-58 in Rupp Arena. Kansas had the same type of success against Towson on Friday and both fan bases should have a better idea of where their teams stand early in the year after Tuesday's contest. Self called the Wildcats "scary athletic." Sophomore forward Terrence Jones was projected by many experts as a top-15 pick in June's NBA draft before returning to Kentucky. Jones is teamed with future NBA talent at nearly every position, and some people have called this the best collection of talent John Calipari has had as a coach.
Prediction Kansas 77, Kentucky 86
PLAYER TO WATCH
Terrence Jones, guard:
A former McDonald's High School
All-American and two-time Oregon Class 5 player of the year, Jones averaged 15.7 points per game
Jones
last season as a freshman. He joined former center Sam Bowie as only the second player in Kentucky history to have a 20 point, 12 rebound freshman debut for the Wildcats. Jones was a near lock to be selected in the early-to-mid first round of June's NBA draft and surprised many fans by returning for his sophomore season. At 6-foot-9, Jones looks more comfortable playing on the perimeter as opposed to down low, creating quite the matchup problem for opponents. He had 11 points and 15 rebounds in Kentucky's Final Four loss to Connecticut and scored a Kentucky freshman record 35 points against Auburn last season.
Who will Kentucky lean on the most?
QUESTION MARK
Calipari's unit has talent all over the floor and could exploit several kinds of weaknesses the Jayhawks never knew about. How will it be done, or at least attempted? Calipari could opt to go for a more balanced scoring attack, spreading the ball to Lamb, Jones and Davis among others, to keep Kansas guessing. Calipari could also keep feeding the hot hand or take advantage of a mismatch, perhaps targeting Withey. Having so many scorers gives Kentucky the option of a different approach every time it takes the floor. Kansas must adapt to whatever the game plan seems to be and prevent it. That could mean teaming Davis, playing a box-and-one zone on Jones or simply playing man-to-man, as Self usually does.
HEAR YE. HEAR.YE
"Kansas is a great school, great team. I just can't wait to go out there and play them. Coach Cal said they're real physical, and if we start the game the way we started (Friday), we're not going to win."
— Kentucky freshman forward Anthony Davis
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