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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20. 2011
THE UNIVERSITY UAILY KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPECIAL SERIES
Sept. 12: Larry Brown, Ted Owens
Sept. 13: Greg Ostertag, Scot Pollard
Sept. 14: Nick Bradford, Jeff Graves, Jeff Hawkins, Ron Kellogg, Ryan Robertson, Billy Thomas
Sept. 15: Xavier Henry, Josh Selby
Sept. 16: Wayne Simien, Darnell Valentine
Yesterday: Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, Julian Wright
Today: Cole Aldrich, Nick Collison
Tomorrow: Marcus and Markieff Morris
Thursday: Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush
Friday: Paul Pierce
BRINGING THE THUNDER
KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Cole Aldrich AT KANSAS YEARS: 2007-2010
Cole Aldrich was one of college basketball's most intimidating defenders while at Kansas. A member of the 2008 national title team, Aldrich came into his own the following season. He averaged a double-double (double digit rebounds and points) during the 2008-2009 season while leading Kansas to the Big 12 regular season championship.
ACCOLADES
High School All-American (2007)
(2009)
- Athlon and NBC Sports' College basketball's Most Improved Player (2009)
- Recorded first triple-double in Kansas school history in 2009 (13 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocks)
- Second all-time on Kansas single season blocked shots list with 94 (2009)
- Honorable-Mention All-American (2009)
BEFORE KANSAS
As a senior at Jefferson High in Bloomington, Minn., in 2007, Aldrich averaged more than 22 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots on his way to becoming a McDonald's All-American. He was named the Minnesota Player of the Year in 2007 as well. A three-time Minnesota all-state selection, he was also the first player to be named the state's Defensive Player of the Year three straight seasons.
ON TO THE NBA
Aldrich was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets with the 11th pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He was immediately traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he joined fellow Jayhawk Nick Collison.
A highly touted prospect coming out of high school, Aldrich was mostly a backup as a freshman in 2008 playing behind big men Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur and Sasha Kaun. In the 2008 national semi-final game against North Carolina, Aldrich had one of his best games of the year. He finished with 17 minutes, eight points and seven rebounds in the 84-66 victory.
DEFINING MOMENT
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
Nick Collison AT KANSAS YEARS: 1999-2003
One of the most popular players of the Roy Williams era, Nick Collison was a solid contributor right off the bat, averaging 10 points per game as a freshman. He was a key player on back-to-back Final Four teams in 2002 and 2003, and he formed one of college basketball's best duos with guard Kirk Hinrich for four seasons.
ACCOLADES
- High school All-American (1999)
- His No. 4 retired at Kansas in 2004
- Big 12 Conference Player of the Year (2003)
- Member of Big 12 Conference 10th anniversary team
- All-Big 12 first team member (2001, 2003)
- Finished career as Big 12's all-time leading scorer (2,097)
ON TO THE NBA
Collison was drafted by the Seattle Sonics with the 12th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He has averaged more than 17 minutes per game since the 2004-2005 season, and has played for the same franchise (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) since being drafted. He's scored 4.9 points per game for his career, including 6.6 points in this past year's playoffs.
Collision is entering the second season of a four-year contract extension which included a $6.5 million signing bonus. He is signed with the Thunder through the 2014 season, which would be his 11th consecutive year with the franchise. After the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, Collision continues to make Seattle his home. He lives there in the offseason with his wife and daughter.
THESE DAYS
In his senior season at Kansas, Collison led the layhawks to a No. 3 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. In a Sweet 16 matchup with Duke, Collison had one of his best performances in his four-year career. Playing against future first-round draft pick Shelden Williams, Collision dropped in 33 points while playing the entire 40 minutes of the game. He led both teams in scoring and propelled the Kansas to a 69-65 win.
DEFINING MOMENT
SOURCES: KUATHLETICS.COM, ESPN.COM, AOL.SPORTINGNEWS.COM
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BASKETBALL RITUAL
remove basketball poster from the Kansn and store in a safe layer until same time Create a newspaper cone with the rest of the newspaper Tear up remaining newspaper into tiny sheets to fill cone.
While the teams are being announced, hold the Basketball Poster in front of your face
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