6B the university daily kansan
sports
wednesday, november 5, 2003
Jayhawks' junior guard Aaron Miles drives past EA Sports Midwest All-Stars Anthony Edwards and Jeff Gibbs for a basket during the first half yesterday. Miles led Kansas with 18 points and seven assists in the exhibition match.
BASKETBALL: Javhawks win
"I just went hard and good things happened," Lee said. "The spin move was just a freak situation and I'll probably never make a move look that good again."
Lee followed that score with two more fastbreak layups. After that, EA Sports never got closer than three points. Self said that Lee led the team in putting the game away down the stretch.
"I thought Mike did some really good things." Self said. "I see the good things he can do, but I also see a lot of things that we can do better as a group. But I thought Mike was really good in the second half, much better in the second than the first."
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the Jayhawks would never relinquish.
EA Sports shot 11-17 from three-point range in the second half and ended the game shooting 48.5 percent from behind the arc. That was almost two percent better than the team shot from the field. Mike Brownlee from West Virginia hit 7-11 from three and scored 26 points.
Even though it was just an exhibition game, Self said that the EA Sports team was amongst the most experienced teams the Jayhawks will play all year.
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The game could not have been scripted any better, Self said. This game can send a message to his team about what they need to still work on.
"There are a lot of things we can improve on," Self said. "We can eliminate carelessness and we can eliminate a lot of things, but one things I did like was that we competed hard even though we didn't play great."
Jayhawk juniors Wayne Simien and Keith Langford were also chosen as members of the Preseason Media All-Big 12 team. The two are joined by Missouri seniors Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding and Texas Tech's senior Andre Emmett.
with a freer mind than those guys." Self said. "We were put in some situations today that we may not even face the rest of the year."
"We won't play a team this year
For the fifth straight season, the Big 12 media has picked Kansas to win the Big 12 Conference this season. The Jayhawks received 18 first place votes in the poll.
The Jayhawks complete their exhibition season Nov. 11 against Pittsburg State and begin their regular season Nov. 21 against Tennessee-Chattanooga. Both games are in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas Basketball Notes
Eric Braem/Kansan
Kansas freshman forward David Padgett kept the ball away from EA Sports forward Lucas Johnson during the second half of yesterday's game. Johnson played under Kansas coach Bill Self when he was at Illinois. Johnson scored 10 points in 30 minutes of play yesterday.
Edited by Michael Owells
JOHNSON: EA All-Star player faces former college coach Self
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with a surprising 40-33 halftime lead. His pull-up jumper off a Robert O'Kelley pass at the 7:26 mark gave the All-Stars their first lead at 21-20.
After a free throw from sophomore forward Moulaye Niang tied the game at 21, Johnson passed out of a double team, finding O'Kelley near the top of the key. O'Kelley quickly whipped the ball into the corner to Mike Brownlee, who nailed a three to give EA Sports a lead it held to the half.
Aided by Johnson's two threes, the All-Stars built a double-digit lead early in the second half before Kansas turned up its defense. A series of steals and breakaway baskets culminated
"This place is loud. Oh, my gosh," Johnson said. "When they came back and finally took the lead, my ears were hurting."
with a lay in by Jeff Graves, senior forward, at the 11:13 mark. The basket gave the Jayhawks a 59-58 lead, their first of the second half.
Johnson called Self "a great coach." He said Self used to give him and his Illinois teammates a wake-up call at the beginning of
Three layups down the stretch by Michael Lee, junior guard, gave Kansas a cushion, but three-point shooting kept the All-Stars in the game until the final minute. Brownlee, who finished with 26 points and seven three pointers, hit his final trey with 45.7 seconds left to close the score to 88-85.
"This place is loud. Oh my gosh. When they came back and finally took the lead,my ears were hurting."
Lucas Johnson
EA Sports forward
the season.
"The first day of conditioning, he comes in with Army fatigues," Johnson said. "And he goes, 'All right, fellas, it's time to go to war.'"
Self remembered Johnson fondly for his willingness to come back quickly from a severe
injury his senior year.
"Anybody that comes off ACL injuries, and is back playing in three months, and does that just because he wants to help them win a championship, knowing he can redshirt and have a full healthy year — I'll always be a fan of those type of guys," Self said.
Johnson said making a transition to Self's coaching style could take time for Kansas' players.
"They just need to trust coach Self," Johnson said. "He knows what he's talking about, and he's going to take them. Obviously, they have to do it on the court, but they've got to trust in him, and he knows what it takes."
Edited by Neeley Spellmeier
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