KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010 / BASKETBALL PREVIEW
3
COMMENTARY
Releford ready to make an impression
BY MAX ROTHMAN
If you forgot about one of the areas top recruits from a few years ago, here's your free pass. But when the season rolls around, it will be a quick reintroduction. Travis Leeford is done waiting and ready to ball. The Kansas City, Mo., native starred at Bishop Miege High School and caught scouts' eyes while playing for the AAU team Kansas City Pump N Run. When he signed his letter of intent for Kansas in 2008, it seemed like the perfect marriage. After the national championship victory, gone were Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and other hindrances to playing time. It seemed as if Leeford would step right in and share shooting guard duties with Tyshawn Taylor.
But Taylor started and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team, and Releford rarely looked comfortable on the court and played a meager seven minutes per game.
Last season was to be his time to play consistent minutes, but then Kansas plucked one-and-done Xavier Henry in the final stages of recruitment. Stuck in a muddled rotation, Releford opted to redshirt his sophomore season and refine his skills. He practiced with a game like intensity and worked on his jump shot for hours on end.
With a polished jump shot and an itch to prove his place, Releford is ready to shine this season. But on a team with offensive talents such as Taylor, Josh Selby and the Morris twins, Releford's calling card will likely come as a defender.
The loss of Cole Aldrich may slightly sting the defense, so the Jayhawks need all the defensive help they can get. Releford already has athleticism and a proper frame. With the mindset of a pit bull that's hungry for dinner, he could mold into a defensive stopper. Besides, it's about time he gets on par with the rest of his class.
Back in the days of new student orientation, there stood a tall and skinny freshman in front of me in the "R" line, ready to check in.
"Do you play a sport?" I asked the towering kid.
"Yeah, basketball. You?"
I had a good feeling about that one before I asked. I looked into the sky to respond.
"Baseball."
I left out the "club" part. He said his name was Travis Releford and that he was from around here, but the guys he was with weren't. He then pointed to the left where two tall twins with backpacks and flatbrim hats stood with shoulders shouced.
"I'm with them," Releford said. Since that day, I've kept close tabs on Releford. I haven't really needed to do the same with the Morris twins, because they've made plenty of headlines since their arrival.
As a slashing scorer or a defensive plug, Travis Reford, it's time to make your own headlines.
Edited by Lisa Curran
Winning remains focus for star player
PROFILE
Marcus Morris puts team's success over accolades and NBA potential
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
It isn't so much that Marcus Morris doesn't think he's one of the best players in the country. It's just that he doesn't read about it when other people say he is.
After hearing that he had been named first-team All-American by The Sporting News and Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook about a week after the publications were released, Morris was legitimately surprised.
"Word? I didn't even know that," he said. "Damn. I gotta tell my mom. I don't know if she knows. I gotta tell Kieff, too."
Such is the manner of the Jayhawks' unassuming star, who was more excited because his mother would be than for any personal reasons.
"I need to be on that All-American list," he said with a laugh. "Not really, Honestly, I just want to win. I would rather win than be on any list."
Driven by a work ethic matched perhaps only by his brother's, Marcus has turned himself into one of the best players in the Big 12. He said he knows that if he chose to style himself as the face of the team he would be. But he'd
prefer not to stand out — at least, as much as a 6-foot-9 guy can help it.
but I'm real proud of how they've matured," Self said. "They get it. They've become some of our hardest workers."
"I can be, but I don't want to," he said. "I want this to be a family thing and a team thing where everybody is the face of
Part of that work ethic comes from his experience practicing with Team USA, Marcus said. He said he hadn't felt as overwhelmed since he first came to Kansas and now has even more drive to better himself for the next level.
"It felt like just coming to college," Marcus said. "When I first got here at Kansas, it was like, 'Damn, these guys are strong.' The game is fast now. I think it's just another adjustment. Another bump I can get over."
Morris is best suited to the NBA game as a small forward, rather than the power forward position he plays for Kansas. Self said he could be Kansas' best small forward, too, and that he may use Marcus there with Thomas Robinson, Markieff and Jeff Withey filling in the other two post spots. Robinson loves the idea.
"That'd be real big. Huge if we could put that lineup out there," Robinson said. "We've just gotta do what coach asks and hopefully we can get that lineup out there. That'd be scary. That'd be real scary."
MARCUS MORRIS Junior foward
"I've got to win every day here. I've got to. Go undefeated here and win a national championship. It'd be hard to leave here without one."
the program, not just one or two players. We need the whole team to play, not just one or two players."
"They're a unique twosome,
Marcus spent much of his summer away at camps — LeBron James', Amar'e Stoudemire's, and the Adidas Nations camp — but coach Bill Self said there were still at least 30 days when he would get to his office overlooking the practice court at 8 a.m. and the Morris twins would already be finishing up a workout on their own.
As Marcus works to get ready for the pro game —
works to get ready for the pro game — Markieff says his brother has become a better ball handler and more fluid outside player — Kansas fans wonder if he'll make the jump to the league a year early.
before that becomes a question, though, Marcus has some goals left to accomplish.
"The goal is just to win. Stay undefeated at home, too," Marcus said. "If I do leave, I can't, can't go out saying that they lost at home when I was here. Can't do that. My senior year, too. I can't. There's no way. I've got to win every game here. I've got to. Go undefeated here and win a national championship. I'd be hard to leave here without one."
- Edited by Leslie Kinsman
Adam Buhler/KANSAN
Junior forward Marcus Morris doesn't get caught up in individual awards. "I would rather win than be on any list," he said
What do you think?
BY HANNAH WISE
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE KANSAS BASKETBALL PLAYER?
SHELBY MITCHELL
Overland Park freshman
"Juenemann. He's a crowd favorite."
Overland Park freshman
"Josh Selby because he is fast,
accurate and badass."
Korea, freshman "Jeff Withey because he is really tall and super nice and I think he has lots of potential if he doesn't get hurt again."
CRAIG SARGENT
LEAH MANESS Osan Air Force Base, South Korea. freshman
SALESMANEL MENTH Mumbai, India, sophomore "Cole Aldrich because he is crazy tall and the way he could block helped us win and he is just really talented."
JALASHREE MEHTA
3201 Iowa St Lawrence, 785.841.2020 www.AtteberryEyeCenters.com
Phat Pizza in the Phog Your #1 Delivery Choice
- 20" Massive Pizza Fresh, never frozen wings Hokey Pokey Stix
FREE DELIVERY
Atteberry Eye Center, LLC
Fat Freddy's
785-841-5000
pizza & wings
23rd & Naismith
FATFREDDYSPIZZA.COM
10% discounts for students
NEED NEW GLASSES?
-HAPPY HOUR!-
$2 - $4 appetizers
EVERYDAY AT THE BAR
{from 3-6 pm}
/// daily drink specials ///
785. 856.7150
715
715mass.com