ANSAN 2008
THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIRY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008
KU 85, FGCU45
at Allen Fieldl
BALLREWIND
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Aldrich's fouls weren't as offensive as the ones in the first game. Aldrich was still disappointed.
"It shouldn't happen," Aldrich said. "I shouldn't get those two quick fouls because I've got to play a little more smart."
ouse. This year's team stepped onto the court after the banner was unveiled and ended up dominating Florida Gulf Coast, winning 85-45.
more than seven minutes remaining in the first half. Taylor sprinted down the court on a fast break and found freshman guard Travis Releford near the basket. Releford caught Taylor's rocket pass and slammed it down screaming.
points, six rebounds and three blocks — back on the floor.
Not that it mattered. With Morningstar playing with defensive intensity and freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor attacking offensively, the Jayhwaks stayed afloat without Aldrich in the game.
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"He gunned it at the last second," Releford said. "But I played football, I was a wide receiver."
It eerily resembled what happened when Aldrich came back into the UMKC game. Call it a sequel. He threw down a dunk on a fast break and connected on a straight-ahead 18-footer. Aldrich, however, assembled a cast of coasts this time. Collins made his second three-pointer during the run. Freshman forward Marcus Morris — who finished with five points, 10 rebounds and four steals — stole the ball and took it down the court for a layup.
No word on whether Releford, who finished with eight points, doubled as a cornerback. But he was also the best defender on the floor for a stretch of the second half when most of the starters were resting on the bench.
The climax came with just
When Aldrich checked back in, the score was 18-9. The Jayhawks proceeded to go on a 14-0 run with Aldrich — who recorded 12
Collins was also on the bench at the end of the game. His 25-point performance came in 29 minutes of action. Collins only took 14 shots. If the game required Collins to play more, who knows how high his totals would have been.
"Right now, he's good," Self said. "He's comfortable and we've got to play through that."
Especially if Collins keeps shooting a higher percentage in the game than in the pregame.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Edited by Brenna Hawley
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich slams down two during tuesday night's Aldrich shot 6-for-7 for the floor at 12 points but played only 19 minutes because of fault trouble.
GOVERNOR KARANA
Junior guard Sherron Collins works to get a shot around Florida Gulf Coast defender Derrick O'Neil during the first half of Tuesday's game. Collins drew a foul on the play and sank both free throws. Collins led Kansas with 25 points on 9-14 for 10-raking from the floor.
VIEW FROM PRESS ROW
IT WAS OVER WHEN...
Sophomore guard Brady Morningstole stare the ball away from Florida Gulf Coast guard Reed Baker a minute and half after the game began. Sure, the score was
still only 2-0 but the Jayhawks proved on that possession that the Eagles would not be able to score all night.
GAME TO REMEMBER...
Junior guard Sherron Collins. Beyond his domination in the game with 25 points, Collins also got to watch his highlights from the NCAA Championship game against Memphis before the curtain dropped to expose the national championship banner.
Collins
GAME TO FORGET...
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich. For the second consecutive game, Aldrich recorded two fouls within the first four minutes. Aldrich made up for the mistakes with a couple of highlight-worthy dunks and 12 points in the second half. But if Kansas wants to compete against the best teams in the nation, Aldrich must be on the court.
Aldrich
STAT OF THE NIGHT...
Three. That's the number of shots Florida Gulf Coast made in the first half against Kansas. Seven of the
Eagles' 13 points in the first half came from the free-throw line.
Case Keefer
PRIME PLAYS
FIRST HALF
8:45 - Sherron Collins drove the lane for an acrobatic layup as the whistle blew for a foul. The shot went in, as did the free throw, giving Kansas a 23-9 lead.
18:07 - As a FGCU Eagle stormed down the court for a wide open layup, sophomore Brady Morningstar somehow chased him down. The 6-foot-3 guard jumped and swatted the ball off the Eagle and out of bounds, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving Kansas the ball.
SECOND HALF
13:59 - As if he couldn't do anything else, Sherron Collins hit a wide-open three to make the score 59-22. Collins had 23 points with still 14 minutes left to play.
7:19 - Tyshawn Taylor brought the ball across court before feeding a nice cross-court bounce pass to Travis Releford. Releford completed the freshman-to-freshman connection with an emphatic slam dunk as he was fouled to put Kansas up 27-9.
7:15 - Aldrich found Quintrell Thomas for a nice lob pass down low. Thomas had a nice post move and hit a short shot to put Kansas up 76-34 as fans continued to head to the exits.
14:17 - After blocking a layup attempt on the defensive end, Cole Aldrich used the next KU possession to show off his offensive skills. The 6-foot-11 man had a nice baby hook over his left shoulder to make the score 57-22.
TOP RECRUIT SIGNS WITH MEMPHIS
B. J.Rains
GAME NOTES
Xavier Henry, ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the nation, took weeks to decide where he would play basketball next year after narrowing his choices down to Kansas and Memphis.
After taking time to deliberate, Henry chose Memphis live on ESPN Tuesday morning. He said he regretted having to turn down Kansas.
Playing with his brother, C.J. Henry, turned out to be the most important to Xavier, C.J., who originally committed to Kansas in 2004, decided to play at Memphis after spending three years in minor league baseball.
"I loved everything about the school, the coaches, the players. I knew who I'd be playing with and everything. It was the same thing with both schools," Henry said on ESPN. "I had to figure out what was most important to me."
Both of Henry's parents are Kansas graduates. Xavier, an Oklahoma City shooting guard, quickly became Kansas' top target of the 2009 recruiting class.
The Jayhawks still have one scholarship remaining for the upcoming class. Dominic Cheek, Jersey City, N.J., shooting guard and rivals.com's No. 16 player in the nation, and Lance Stephenson, New York shooting guard and Rivals.com's No. 9-ranked player, remain targets.
Kansas has already signed point guard EliJah Johnson and forward Thomas Robinson for
John Wall, A Raleigh, N.C., point guard and Rivals.com's top recruit in the nation, has also not eliminated Kansas from his list of potential schools.
next year's class. Xavier Henry, on the other hand, has high expectations for his career as a Tiger alongside C.J.
"We both know how to play and we play great," Henry said. "We should be able to take over Memphis."
DATE SET FOR HINRICH
JERSEY CEREMONY
After unveiling the permanent national championship banner Tuesday, Kansas is already planning its next addition to the Allen Fieldhouse rafters.
Kirk Hinrich's No. 10 jersey will be retired on March 1 during a ceremony at halftime of the Missouri game. Hinrich played point guard for Kansas from 2000-2003 and took the Jayhawks to back-to-back Final Fours.
NEW STARTERS
Bill Self elected to start freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor and freshman forward Markieff Morris for the first time this season.
Taylor and Morris replaced sophomore guard Tyrel Reed and freshman forward Quintrell Thomas in the starting lineup.
UNPOPULAR EAGLE
Addison Smith, a Florida Gulf Coast freshman guard, drew the disdain of Kansas fans near the end of the first half when he pulled Tyrrel Reed down to the floor when he went up for a breakaway layup.
The referee called Smith for an intentional foul. Smith apologized to Reed. But it was too late for the Jayhawk fans. They booed Smith for the rest of the night.