THE UNIVERSITY OF DARY KANSAN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2006
KU 91 - NAU 57
5B
RUSH (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
12 points; had six rebounds and blocked three shots in his debut.
break points to the Lumberjacks' six.
Adras said he liked his team's demeanor before the game, but noticed a change when the game started.
Junior guard Russell Robinson said Northern Arizona was better than the score reflected, but the Allen Fieldhouse atmosphere helped Kansas send Northern Arizona home with a loss.
"The new guys played scared when they got into the ball game and maybe the environment had something to do with it," Adras said. "That's intimidating as all get out. I don't know many people who are playing in front of 16,300 people the first game of the season."
The fast-paced game gave the Jayhawks plenty of highlights, including an alley-oop from freshman guard Brady Morningstar to freshman forward Darrell Arthur. Arthur had to reach high and behind his body with one hand in order to slam it home.
"Northern Arizona was a good team," Robinson said. "They were just a little bit nervous, and I think we just fed off that. We didn't let them get comfortable."
Darnell Jackson. Chalmers had five points.
"On a night like this, it makes a lot more highlights and Top 10s on ESPN." Rush said.
Self said the team probably had a little extra incentive to play well after the poor practice on Friday.
As well as Kansas played on Saturday, the Jayhawks had what Self called a "pitiful" practice
the team out of Friday's practice. "I think he's going to try to do it some more — try to kick us out and then make us come back on gameday"
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Catherine Odson
Friday, which caused him to end the practice about 45 minutes early and call a regular practice Saturday morning.
Kansas 91,
Northern Arizona 57
"We weren't getting anything done yesterday, we were just getting worse, so there was no reason to be out there." Self said.
Northern Arizona 25 32----57
Kansas 51 40----91
Northern Arizona coach Mike
Rush said it was the first time at Kansas hed had a morning practice the day of a game and joked that it might become routine if it gets the same results it got on Saturday.
"It was mostly my fault, then it led on to the team and he just booted us out," Rush said of Self kicking
Northern Arizona
Taylor 4-7 3-4 12
Sir 3-7 0-9 0
Wilson 4-5 0-0 8
Bazy 2-7 4-4 8
Landry 3-7 1-2 7
Geiser 2-3 0-0 6
Boykin 1-8 2-4 2
McCurdy 1-7 1-2 3
Van Pattern 0-3 0-0 0
Burrell 0-3 0-0 0
Larson 0-1 0-0 0
Green 0-2 0-0 0
Kansas
Rush 9-14 1-2 21
Wright 7-9 1-2 16
Collins 4-7 4-5 14
Arthur 4-8 4-4 12
Jackson 5-7 2-3 12
Robinson 2-5 4-4 9
Chalmers 2-7 1-2 5
Morningstar 1-3 0-0 2
Stewart 0-2 0-3 0
Beachard 0-0 0-0 0
Witherspoon 0-0 0-0 0
Kleinmann 0-1 0-0 0
Totals 20-60 11-14 57
Kansas
Totals 34-6317-2591
Records ----
Kansas 1-0
Northern Arizona 0-1
Jared Gab/KANSAM
(above) Russell Robinson, junior guard, defends against northern Arizona's Stephen Sir. Robinson added three of the 13 total Jaywalka steals during Saturday night's home-opener.
(left) Brandon Rush, sophomore guard, takes a shot late in the game Saturday against Northern Arizona. Rush left the victory with 21 points and six rebounds.
from press row...
IT WAS OVER WHEN...
IT WAS OVER WHEN... Although Northern Arizona was never really in the game after the first three minutes, every time Kansas tried to pull away, the Lumberjacks would inch closer. That trend ended with 13:04 to go in the game. Brandon Rush sank his third straight shot of the game to put Kansas up 22-11. Northern Arizona would only get within nine points after that.
GAME BALL GOES TO...
GAME BALL GOES TO...
Julian Wright and Darnell Jackson get a share of the game ball. Although Rush played like an All-American should, Wright and Jackson provided an inside presence that Kansas didn't have in the
preseason. The du combined for 28 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks. They also played within themselves by taking smart shots and made 12-for-16, collectively.
STAT OF THE GAME...
Thanks in part to Wright and Jackson Kansas dominated the lane. While the Jayhawks outscored the Lumber-Jacks 44-16 in the paint, the real stat of the game is seven blocks to zero, in Kansas' favor. The Jayhawks played with the aggressiveness and tenacity inside that they lacked in the preseason, which is evident in the disparity in blocks.
— Shawn Shroyer
UP OR DOWN