PAGE 8
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU
TIPOFF
First look at the Jayhawks
Exhibition game opens season tonight
KANSAS VS. EMPORIA STATE 7 p.m., Lawrence, Kansas
AT A GLANCE
Although last year's Kansas team finished the season as the second best shooting defense in the nation, this year's team will be even more defensive-minded. Emporia State will be far from the most difficult defensive challenge this team will face this season, but it will provide a good early season barometer to see how the team's communication and chemistry is coming along. With three starters from last year's squad returning, most of the chemistry should remain. Now it is all about seeing how the new pieces will fit together as the players morph into new roles that they hope has another deep tournament run painted on it.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Freshman Forward Perry Ellis
Ellis will be the first player off the bench for the Jayhawks once the game gets underway. He is the most talented offensive threat in the Jayhawks front-court and will be counted on to help replace the offensive void left by the departures of Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor.
QUESTION MARK
Who will score for the Jayhawks?
It's not that the Jayhawks aren't a talented offensive team—they have many players with the capability of producing a double-digit performance on offense—but none of their returning players have proven that they can carry the scoring load on a night-in and night-out basis.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
"I asked Travis, has anybody told you that 'Hey, don't get hurt because if you get hurt you may not get your spot back.' Nobody's told Travis that. Nobody's told or walked up to Elijah and said 'hey, I know you're the guy now, but don't sleep on me.' We don't have that yet and we have nice kids and nice kids are great, but we certainly need that aggressiveness, that mindset that 'Hey, wake up every morning and I'm going to do whatever to take his spot, so just don't stub your toe."
Releford
KANSAS
0-0, (0-0 BIG 12)
STARTERS
-Bill Self on how he needs to get the younger guys to play with a more aggressive mindset.
Travis Releford, Senior Guard
Teleford will be tasked with defending Emoria State's best perimeter player. The senior has built his reputation around defense and being a hustle player, but he will be counted on to provide more of a consistent scoring punch this season as the Jayhawks will look to diversify their offensive attack after relying on two players for nearly half their scoring last season.
McLemore
Ben McLemore, Freshman Guard
Coach Bill Self feels McLemore is the furthest along of the extensive freshman class. Part of that can be attributed to his natural ability, but a good portion of it is because he was tasked with guarding Tyshawn Taylor in practice every day last season.
Johnson
Elijah Johnson, Senior Guard
Johnson, the Jayhawks leading returning score with 10.2 points per game last season, steps into the role of the point guard following the departure of Tyshawn Taylor. He is not a true point guard, and he projects to the NBA as more of a combo guard, but for the majority of the time when he is in the game, he will be tasked with running the Jayhawk offense.
Traylor
Jamari Traylor, Freshman Forward
Traylor is a raw but athletic forward. He gets the nod to replace Kevin Young, who will miss the exhibition season due to a broken hand suffered in practice last week because of the energy he brings to the floor. After being ruled eligible by the NCAA last season, this is his first chance to show the coaching staff what he can do in a game situation.
Withey
Withey faces the challenge of transitioning from the secondary offensive option to the team's main option down low this season. This will be the first chance for him to show off the offseason improvements he's made to his offensive game, and he should have an easy time as he'll have a few inches over his Hornet counterpart Daniel Shaw.
Jeff Withey, Senior Center
Ethan Padway
EMPORIA STATE
0-1
STARTERS
Taylor Euler, Senior Guard
Taylor Euler shot 41 percent from three point range and made three three-pointers in eight games. Euler led the MIAA conference in assist-to-turnover ratio last season for players that averaged three assists per game or more. He did seem to struggle against Tuisa — in 28 minutes Euler scored five points, with one assist and two turnovers.
Euler
Kaleb Wright, Junior Guard
Wright
Against Tulsa, Wright was tied for taking the most shots and playing the most minutes for Emporia State. He also was the team's leader in turnovers. Wright is playing his first year at Emporia after transferring from Mineral Area College where last season he averaged 9.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Chris Sights, Senior Guard
Chris Sights is the highest returning scorer for Emporia State, averaging 10.9 last season starting in 25 of the team's 27 games. Sights shot 43 percent from three point range last season. The issue for Sights seems to be turnover. He had more turnovers than assists last season and turned the ball over more than any other player for Emporia State.
Sights
Gavin Brown, Junior Forward
Last season with the Cowley CC Tigers, Gavin Brown made a run to the NUCAA Region 6 Championship game averaging nearly eight points, six rebounds and six assists during the tournament. Brown begins his career at Emporia State as a starter. In his first game for the Hornets, Brown he grabbed eight rebounds.
Brown
Daniel Shaw, Sophmore Forward
A native of Cambridge, England, Daniel Shaw is another transfer in his first year at Emporia State. Shaw came off the bench last season while playing in every game for Alaska Fairbanks.
Max Goodwin
Prediction:
2024
Kansas 82, Emporia State 49
ESU TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Coach Shaun Vandiver is in his second year of coaching at Emporia State and he is coming off of a 9-18 record last season. Seniors Taylor Euler and Chris Sights are the only returning starters for the Hornets, both of them shot over 40 percent from three-point range last season. Eight newcomers fill out the Emporia State roster, including freshman Terence Moore who was a high school teammate of Perry Ellis at Wichita Heights. Of the five Emporia State players, Wright, Brown and Shaw are new to the program. Emporia State began their season on Sunday with a loss (60-49) to Tulsa and new coach Danny Manning.
Freshman Terrence Moore
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Can Emporia State avoid the distraction of playing in Allen Fieldhouse?
Moore came off the bench and provided energy for Emporia State against Tulsa. Moore scored 12 points, had four steals and showed aggressive playmaking ability. With Kansas freshman Perry Ellis as his teammate, Moore helped lead Wichita Heights to their fourth consecutive Class 6A State championship. Wichita Heights won 60 straight games with Moore and Ellis both being involved in every game of the streak.
Vandiver
QUESTION MARK
"It's always
HEAR YE. HEAR YE
Emporia State has seven players on their roster from the state of Kansas. For many of them playing at Allen Fieldhouse is a lifelong dream. The Hornets can't afford to get caught up in the distractions of the environment; if they do, it will lead to turnovers and fast breaks for the Jayhawks. Emporia State will need to be aggressive. They can't let "the Phog" intimidate them.
it's always great when you play against Division I competition. The big thing is to make sure we keep our confidence and morale up playing these games, but
they're tough games. The biggest thing we can do is go into each game believing we can win, believing we can get better and believing we can execute our game plan from start to finish."
- Shaun Vandiver on the importance of team confidence and morale.