2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
37
Aldrich's performance shines against UNC
BY RUSTIN DODD dodd@kansan.com
SAN ANTONIO — Once upon a time, Cole Aldrich was an afterthought, the fourth big man off the bench, just another big body at Kansas coach Bill Self's disposal.
On April 5 against North Carolina, Aldrich etched his name onto the list of greatest relief performances in Kansas basketball history.
Kansas' freshman center scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench in Kansas' 84-66 victory against North Carolina, including one board that Aldrich snatched from the clutches of North Carolina All-American Tyler Hansbrough.
"I wasn't gonna let go," Aldrich said.
Aldrich's supporting performance may go down in Kansas lore if the Jayhawks follow up their victory with a national title on April 7 against Memphis.
And oddly enough, Self saw it coming.
Earlier this week Self corrected a reporter who had asked how important Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun and Darrell Arthur would be in Kansas' attempt to contain Hansbrough. Don't forget about Cole, Self reminded.
Self's prophecy came true.
"He may have won the game for us tonight as much as anybody," Self said.
With seniors Kaun and Jackson both committing two early fouls, Self faced a coaching calamity. Send Aldrich, who averaged 8.1 minutes per game during the regular season, onto the floor to guard Hansbrough, the Tar Heels' leading scorer
and the AP National Player of the Year.
No sweat. Aldrich responded with 13 first-half minutes played, six points during Kansas' fun-n-gun first half, and one rebound that Aldrich couldn't help but smile about.
With 10 minutes left in the first half and Kansas leading 31-10, Aldrich sprang from the floor and ripped the ball away from a bewildered Hansbrough.
"Tyler usually outworks someone, but tonight, he got outworked," Rush said.
Aldrich, along with help from Kaun, Jackson and Arthur, held Hansbrough to 17 points and nine rebounds, a shade below his usual averages of 23.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
"I don't think he was quite used to going against four guys that can hold their own," Aldrich said. "We just tried to come out and put pressure on him."
The Kansas frontcourt also controlled the glass,shouldering a 42-33 rebound advantage against their frontcourt comrades from North Carolina.
"We knew we had to keep them off the glass to win the game," Aldrich said.
Aldrich's 6-foot-10 frame stood tall in Kansas' victorious locker room, searching for words to describe his nation-wide coming out party.
"It was a blast," Aldrich said. "This game meant a lot to a lot of people."
Kansas junior walk-on Matt Kleinmann, sitting 35 feet to Aldrich's left, had his own take on Aldrich's bench performance du jour.
"He played like a man tonight," Kleinmann said.
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Freshman center Cole Aldrich jumps up to block a shot from North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough. Aldrich had four blocks, one steal and eight total points in 17 minutes of play.
box score
KANSAS
Player FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA FT-FTA Rebounds Assists Points
Darrell Arthur 3-9 0-0 0-0 9 2 6
Darnell Jackson 5-6 0-0 2-2 4 2 12
Russell Robinson 2-5 1-4 2-2 4 4 7
Mario Chalmers 5-10 1-3 0-2 4 3 11
Brandon Rush 11-17 2-7 1-2 7 2 25
Conner Teahan 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sherron Collins 4-9 1-1 2-2 4 4 11
Jeremy Case 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Tyrel Reed 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Sasha Kaun 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 4
Cole Aldrich 2-4 0-0 4-4 7 0 8
Matt Kleinmann 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
NORTH CAROLINA
<table><thead><tr><th>Player</th><th>FG-FGA</th><th>3FG-3FGA</th><th>FT-FTA</th><th>Rebounds</th><th>Assists</th><th>Points</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Deon Thompson</td><td>2-4</td><td>0-0</td><td>3-4</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Tyler Hansbrough</td><td>6-13</td><td>0-1</td><td>5-6</td><td>9</td><td>1</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>Marcus Ginyard</td><td>0-3</td><td>0-2</td><td>0-0</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Ty Lawson</td><td>2-8</td><td>1-2</td><td>4-4</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Wayne Ellington</td><td>8-21</td><td>1-9</td><td>1-1</td><td>6</td><td>0</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Marc Campbell</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Quentin Thomas</td><td>0-2</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Will Graves</td><td>0-2</td><td>0-1</td><td>0-0</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Danny Green</td><td>6-13</td><td>3-9</td><td>0-0</td><td>5</td><td>0</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>J.B. Tanner</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Surry Wood</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Jack Wooten</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Alex Stepheson</td><td>0-1</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Mike Copeland</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN