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BASKETBALL PREVIEW / WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Note from the editor
The face of Kansas basketball is faceless.
Many of you will say it's junior forward Marcus Morris, but he won't accept it.
"I want it to be 'us' instead of just 'me,'" Morris said.
With each magazine-cover photo shoot, he has demanded that his teammates be included, shining no light solely on himself.
This is precisely the reason the layhawks are better suited for a tournament run this year than last.
No matter how you play it, the Jayhawks were built for Sherron Collins last year. Even if he wasn't the hot hand that game, they always lived or died by his performance.
Morris isn't that type of player. If freshman point guard Josh Selby is cleared to play, coach Bill Self is not going to make him the focal point of the offense, either.
So the idea of "team" is more relevant than it was last year.
It's a weird time for Kansas basketball. The Jayhawks aren't picked to win the Big 12 after losing Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry. Those guys brought so many intangibles to the team, it's no wonder people aren't putting Kansas higher in the rankings now.
Kansas State is a solid team with a great coach. I'm just not convinced that it's better than what coach Bill Self has here.
If you were in that locker room after the Northern Iowa game last season, you'd feel the same way.
Instead of focusing on what the Jayhawks don't have, look at what they do.
I there were so many tears shed in that room, probably more than any other team in the tournament. A team expected to do so much accomplished so little. If people tell you that loss didn't mean anything, they are lying.
The Wildcats went where they expected. The desire to do better than finishing in the Elite Eight doesn't run as deep as the feeling of losing in the first round. Look what the Kansas guys did in the offseason if you don't believe that.
The Morris twins worked out three times a day during the summer: wake up early for a run, work out around lunch time and then do some more at night.
I'm assuming the degree of their training wasn't totally unrelated to the Northern Iowa loss.
Markieff's body ballooned, but in a good way. Marcus showed up some of the top college athletes at the camps he visited this summer.
As arguably the two most talented returning players, that is a statement for the twins. I never heard of Sherron Collins doing that.
So how do you go about
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_thibodeaux
replacing the winningest player in Kansas basketball history? You can't. But it's not a bad thing. In all honesty, maybe some losses would do the team some good.
How do you replace one of the nation's most disruptive defenders in Cole Aldrich? Once again, you can't. But it will allow for the team to do different things that might be just as effective, such as guard on the perimeter and run the floor at a faster pace.
It's not better. Self said, but different.
"If we're able to do those things well," he said, "then maybe some of the things that Cole covered up won't be quite as important as what it was last year."
The quiet offseason might do this team some good, too.
Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor is a year wiser and hasn't been in the news recently, which, for him, is a good thing. Bet on him to live up to his athletic potential this year.
The sophomore wonder-boys, guard Elijah Johnson and center Thomas Robinson, can go buck-wild in their respective positions. Johnson has those hand-is-quicker-than the eye ball-handling skills and Robinson has Dwight Howard shoulders. As far as the yet-to-be-proven players go, they have the highest ceiling.
Seniors Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar are the guys responsible for the intangibles, getting the team out of pickles with intellect rather than raw ability.
Sophomore Travis Releford and senior Mario Little redshirted last year so this will be a re-introduction for the veterans. They both appear to be integral parts to the rotation this season.
There is a lot here to suggest that this team will have a great season. Self agrees. In front of his own team during a fan question and answer, he said a championship was a realistic goal, given the pieces he has.
"Some of the best teams we've ever had were teams where we didn't really know who our best player was," he said.
The 2010-11 Jayhawks are a bunch made up of untapped potential and a whole lot to prove after last year. It's not unfair to anticipate greatness this season.
Table of contents
Marcus Morris profile...3
Column...3
What do you think?...3
Men's Big 12...4
Men's preview...6
Women's preview...6
Women's Big 12...8
Women's forwards...9
Tyrel Reed profile...10
Fall 2010 Kansan staff
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Alex Garrison
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Erin Brown
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et cetera
Kansan newsroom
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