KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2010 / SPORTS
5B
KANSAS 92, WASHBURN 62
BASKETBALL REWIND
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Poor 3-point shooting is lone blemish in win
Kansas head coach Bill Self talks with junior guard Tyshawn Taylor during a break in the action. Taylor was one of three Jayhawks to score in double figures with 12 points and did not commit any turnovers.
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_thibodeaux
Junior center Markieff Morris has turned himself into quite the outside shooter.
Morris spotted up at the top of the key about five minutes into the game, and his improved stroke was pure.
He was 2-for-2 on threes in the Jayhawks' 92-62 victory against Washburn, and part of that is a good sign for the team.
"Oh man," junior forward Marcus Morris said. "I feel like if he hits them like that, teams will be in trouble because Keef is shooting it with confidence now."
Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, no one else is. As a team, the only blemish on an otherwise complete game was the poor 4-for-19 performance from beyond the arc. Marcus hit one of them and senior guard Tyrel Reed hit the other.
It looked good from the beginning when Reed made the first bucket of the season with a three. But that would be the last for the guards.
The backcourt was a combined 1-for-10, and they were open looks, while the Morris twins had three makes. Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor said no one had a shot that coach Bill Self could be upset with, but it happens.
"We have nights like that when guys are off," Taylor said.
Last season, Kansas made 7.3 three pointers per game, shooting 40.3 percent. The numbers wouldn't have been that high without Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry, who had 70 and 69 three point makes, respectively.
But looking at the roster, someone has to step up or there could be a trend.
Reed, who made 44 threes last year, was the only other Jayhawk last season with more than 20 makes.
Self knows he needs to find another source of outside shooting, aside from his post players.
"That won't fly over time," Self
said.
But that's just one weakness, Taylor said. The Jayhawks showed they can do about everything else right in the easy victory.
Those threes should come in time, but Taylor said those other aspects of the game should be enough to get by.
"I don't think we have to focus on making shots or not," he said. "We have to be able to do other things."
Though the jump shots weren't falling, the free throws were. The Jayhawks racked up 32 free throws on 35 attempts. That's 91 percent.
How the team was able to pull that off is still a mystery.
"We've practiced them absolutely zero so far," Self said. "I guess our fans think whatever we're doing practicing free throws is working."
- Edited by Clark Goble
Game to remember
This will be the first of many games to remember for Marcus Morris, who proved why the hype surrounding him this offseason has been so overwhelming. Morris was remarkably efficient in 22 minutes, finishing with 28 points on 8-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds. He also went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line.
- Conner Teahan didn't dress for Tuesday's game. Bill Self is considering redshirting him, and doesn't want to lose that possibility quite yet.
Junior forward Marcus Morris
- Self said he hopes to have Jeff Withey back in seven to 10 days, but that he already expected to have him back on the floor.
Morris
Johnson
- Bill Self said the timetable for a ruling on Josh Selby's eligibility is still unclear, but he had the feeling he would know when a ruling would come down soon.
Self pointed out at the end of the game that he actually thinks the Morris twins are two of the best passers on the team. There seems to be the element of a guard player in every person wearing a Kansas jersey.
Sophomore guard Elijah Johnson
Player to forget
Quotes of the night
Notes
the bench to watch the start of the game. As his crowd pleasing alley-oop shows, he can bring energy when the team needs it.
Although the team is lacking the prototype point guard that Josh Selby could offer them right now, the guard group, as a whole, provided a glimpse at a team that will be able to rotate the ball without problem. That includes getting the ball to the forwards down low.
Johnson had two of everything last night: two points, two assists, two rebounds two fouls, two turnovers ... You get the idea. In 20 minutes he was unspectacular, hitting just 1-of-6 shots and missing all four attempts from behind the three point line. He'll need to be much more effective to take playing time away from seniors Brady Morningstar (six points, two assists) and Tyrel Reed (nine points, four rebounds, three assists).
"Of course, I'm looking at it biasedly, but I'm thinking, gah...Let him play."
"I told the guy, 'You could've let me go.' He was like, 'Nah.' His coach would've ran him for the rest of his life, he said."
- Marcus and Markieff Morris were the only Jayhawks to shoot 50 percent or better from behind the three-point line.
Bill Self on Josh Selby
Self
The chemistry that's developing between all of them is yet to be seen, but the Kansas guards should make some noise this season.
Morris
1ST HALF (SCORE AFTER PLAY)
-Marcus Morris after Washburn's Virgil Philpit was called to an intentional foul for grappling him.
Shooting 21 percent from the three-point line is not inspiring, but everything else is. With a potential rotation of six guards, the backcourt should prove hard to stop for any opponent. Even with all of those combinations of players, Taylor thinks they can all work well together
Prime plays
ROESLER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Obviously the talent is there, even with freshman Josh Selby's ineligibility. Self said that if Selby could play now, he would be a starter.
15:22 - Markieff Morris showing off his range with a three from the top of the key. (14-2)
19:11 - Tyrel Reed gets the 2010 season started with a wide-open three.The tip was the closest Washburn would get. (3-0)
8:43 - Markieff Morris with the fade away jumper. He had a three from the top of the key earlier. The jump shots and post play from the twins is superb so far. (32-14)
2ND HALF
13:28-Odd. Mario Little, who has a few inches on Elijah Johnson, fed him the alley-oop on a fast break. (64-37)
11:46 - Elijah Johnson found Thomas Robinson with a bounce pass and the big man slammed it home. (69-38)
6:35 - On the Jumbotron during a media timeout, up popped a video about what the players are afraid of. Josh Selby's response? "Ghosts. I think I could fight a vampire." (78-49)
— Edited by Alex Tretbar
2:01- Royce Woolridge put in his first bucket as a Jayhawk with a finger-roll layup. (90-58)
Key stats
28,7,3,3
Marcus Morris' points, rebounds, assists and steals. He tied or had the team-high in all but rebounds. Markieff Morris had eight.
4-19
The Jayhawks struggled from three point land Tuesday, making just 21 percent.
What the Jayhawks lacked in three-point shooting, they made up for in free throws, hitting 91 percent.
8
Eight players had two or more assists. Four tied for the team lead with three.
— Tim Dwyer and Corey Thibodeaux
32-35
THE OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
invite you to
"TEACHING SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT: A TALE OF SHORTENING THE SALES CYCLE WHILE ENRICHING THE LEARNING CYCLE"
A lecture presented by
Kissan Joseph, Associate Professor and Stockton Faculty Fellow in the School of Business & Recipient of the 24th Byron T. Shutz Award for Excellence in Teaching
Thursday, November 4, 2010
3:30 p.m. in The Commons at Spooner Hall, 1340 Jayhawk Blvd.
A reception will immediately follow