20 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Offense shines in 107-68 blowout
Self still expects more from Jayhawks on defense
By Corey Thibodeaux cthibodeaux@kansan.com
The preseason is not made to make teams look pretty.
The Jayhawks appeared to have the offense of a championship-caliber team defeating the Fort Hays State Tigers on Tuesday night in a packed Allen Fieldhouse. Their defense is another matter.
"You guys saw it" coach Bill Self said. "We showed flashes where we looked pretty good, we showed stretches where we didn't look good at all."
Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor said Self's goal for the players for this game was to show him they could play defense.
Despite being an exhibition game, high standards remain for Kansas. Taylor had 15 points and three turnovers — a performance his coach called "careless."
"Coach still expects things from us no matter who we're playing." Taylor said.
Several players tried to do too much with the ball, which resulted in 18 turnovers, and the Tigers had wide-open three-pointers available all night long.
On paper, the defense and offense both looked great; Kansas shot 53.3 percent and held Fort Hays to 33.8 percent.
The Jayhawks did impress their opposition. Fort Hays State coach Mark Johnson said he is confident Kansas will find a way to maximize its potential.
"I think that they have a lot of pieces to the puzzle," he said, "and he (Self) will get them to play the way that he wants them to play, that is for sure."
The most positive news came from the young stars.
With two of the best players in the country in Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, it was good for them to see they have teammates to ease their burden.
"Tonight, I didn't do as much as I've always had to do," Collins said. "We have so much talent to take pressure off of me."
Collins led the team with 19 points, going three for six from three-point range in 27 minutes.
Freshman guard Xavier Henry's debut came with a three-pointer a minute into the game. He finished with 14 points in 20 minutes.
Right: Sophomore center Markiek Morris dunks the ball over a defender. Morris had 12 points and shot 8-9 from the free throw line in the Jayhawks' 107-68 win.
Weston White/KANSAN
Left: Freshman
forward Thomas
Robinson gets
talked to by coach
Bill Self after fouling
out in the second half.
Robinson finished with
six points in a 107-68
win tuesday night.
Weston White/KANSAN
2009-2010 men's basketball roster
No. Name Year Pos. Ht. Wt.
0 Thomas Robinson Fr F 6-9 230
1 Xavier Henry Fr G 6-6 220
2 Connor Teahan Jr G 6-5 215
3 Sherron Collins Sr G 5-11 205
5 Jeff Withe Fr C 7-0 225
10 Tyshawn Taylor So G 6-3 185
12 Brady Morningstar Jr G 6-3 185
13 C.J. Henry Fr G 6-4 205
14 Tyrel Reed Jr G 6-3 185
15 Ellijah Johnson Fr G 6-2 183
21 Markeiff Morris So F 6-9 232
22 Marcus Morris So F 6-8 225
23 Mario Little Str G 6-5 210
24 Travis Releford So G 6-5 205
40 Jordan Juenemann So G 6-4 195
41 Chase Buford Jr G 6-3 210
45 Cole Aldrich Jr C 6-11 245
2009-2010 men's basketball schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Time | | Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | 8 p.m. |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 11/3 | Fort Hays State (Ex.) | Lawrence | W, 107-68 | 1/13 | Texas Tech | Lawrence | 12:45 p.m. |
| 11/10 | Pittsburgh State (Ex.) | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 1/16 | Baylor | Lawrence | 8 p.m. |
| 11/13 | Hofstra | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 1/20 | Baylor | Lawrence | 8 p.m. |
| 11/17 | Memphis | St. Louis | 9 p.m. | 1/23 | Iowa State | Ames, Iowa | 1 p.m. |
| 11/19 | Central Arkansas | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 1/25 | Missouri | Lawrence | 8 p.m. |
| 11/25 | Oakland | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 1/30 | Kansas State | Manhattan | 6 p.m. |
| 11/27 | Tennessee Tech | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 2/3 | Colorado | Boulder, Colo. | 8 p.m. |
| 12/2 | Alcorn State | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 2/6 | Nebraska | Lawrence | 5 p.m. |
| 12/6 | UCLA | Los Angeles | 4:30 p.m. | 2/8 | Texas | Austin, Texas | 8 p.m. |
| 12/9 | Radford | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 2/13 | Iowa State | Lawrence | 7 p.m. |
| 12/12 | La Salle | Kansas City, Mo. | 1 p.m. | 2/15 | Texas & MM | College Station, Texas | 8 p.m. |
| 12/19 | Michigan | Lawrence | 11 a.m. | 2/20 | Colorado | Lawrence | 3 p.m. |
| 12/22 | California | Lawrence | 8 p.m. | 2/22 | Oklahoma | Lawrence | 8 p.m. |
| 12/29 | Belmont | Lawrence | 8 p.m. | 2/27 | Oklahoma State | Stillwater, Okla. | 3 p.m. |
| 1/2 | Temple | Philadelphia | 4:30 p.m. | 3/3 | Kansas State | Lawrence | 7 p.m. |
| 1/6 | Cornell | Lawrence | 7 p.m. | 3/6 | Missouri | Columbia, Mo. | 1 p.m. |
| 1/10 | Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | 12:30 p.m. | 3/10-13 | Big 12 Championship | Kansas City, Mo. | |
THE WAVE NOVEMBER 6,2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN