SAN 006
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KAANSAN
11
KU 68 - TOLEDO 58
MONDAY DECEMBER 11,2006
**wn** a dunk against Toledo San
shot attempts in the first half
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Amanda Sellers KASANI
Saturday. Rush emerged from a three-game rut by scoring 19 points,
and Kansas 68-58 victory.
Kaun's defense helps Jayhawks
KANSAN SPORTS EDITOR
MPHILILPS@KANSAN.COM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sasha Kaun is back.
BACK.
Sure, he's been playing for the last three weeks as he continues to recover from a preseason injury. But Saturday was the first time we saw Kaua play like he did last year when he dominated opponents.
he boltman.
He wint the best player in an ugly 68-58 win against Toledo — that was Brandon Rush — but he did step it when it counted. At the end of the second half, Toledo went five minutes without making a shot — and Kaun was under the hoop for all five.
"Behind Brandon. Sasha was probably the best player in the game for us," coach Bill Self said.
His presence inside is exactly what the layhawks need to be competitive in Big 12 Conference play. He can move people around, block shots from several angles and handle a double team with ease.
It wasn't hard to see him do those things Saturday. No Toleo player was taller than 6 foot-7, which led to Kansas getting a school record 15 blocks.
captain of.
He'll also be a nice complement to Darrrel Arthur, who is playing well but has often found himself in foul trouble
Kaun will become crucial to the team because he plays Self's brand of basketball. He can handle two players inside, allowing Italian Wright to play closer to the perimeter and make longer jump shots, which he is capable of.
"Darrell is doing great," Kaun said. "It's good for us because we can get better in practice and learn from each other."
The final obstacle for Kauan is to fully recover from the injury to his patellar tendon that had sidelined him for so long. Since returning to the court, he has played in seven
games and has seen his playing time increase by about two minutes in each of them.
Saturday he logged 22 minutes and a sea son-high 10 points.
Afterward, he was sporting a large block of ice on his knee, something he's grown accustomed to.
"I still ice it two or three times a day" he said. "Before and after practice."
Selt said that Kauu was a couple weeks away from getting back to full strength. When he is healthy, it appears that he won't be hesitant to attack double and triple teams that are thrown on him.
One of the things Seis praised mm for on his return was that he provided a presence down low that Arthur and Jackson couldn't duplicate. If the rest of the season continues the pattern of low-scoring games, that presence will be even more critical to Kansas' success.
Phillips is a Wichita senior in journalism.
- Edited by Catherine Odson
Arthur stays on court longer after starting game on bench
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
KANAS CITY. Mo — Darrell Arthur finally had enough.
Tired of watching the first half from the bench because of constant toul trouble, the freshman forward went to coach Bill Selt to find a way out of the starting line.
A few weeks ago, Self refused.
But before Saturday's game against Toledo,
Self finally obliged.
Arthur started in Kansas last seven games, but quickly found his way back to the bench. Two quick reach-in fouls usually had Arthur back on the bench for the rest of the first half.
The foul trouble coupled with a chance to watch the opposing teams defense match up against teammates made Arthur more comfortable coming off the bench.
"When I start off, I just get a lot of the silly faulns" Arthur said. "Coming off I can just see what everybody does, slot well and play defense better. And now the rotation's better."
The move didn't exactly go as planned, though. Arthur picked up two fouls in just six minutes of play in the first half.
But the move wasn't all negative.
*Not having two fouls at the first TV time
out". Self quipped. "Id say that would be the biggest thing."
Arthur, who came into the game averaging a team high 14 points a game, scored nine points in 22 minutes. He also started the second half in place of junior forward Darnell Jackson.
Jackson.
Although he had an impressive start to the season, Arthur's minutes began to decline. In the last five games, Arthur has played more than 20 minutes just twice and averaged nearly three fouls a game. Even though he came off the bench against Toledo, Arthur still had three fouls.
Arthur said one of the reason Self decided to let Arthur come off the bench was the team's scoring. The Jayhawks certainly didn't benefit from having its leading scorer sitting on the bench for most of the first half.
Arthur said after the game that he expected to come off the bench for the foreseeable future.
Kansan senior sportswriter Ryan Schneider can be contacted at rschneider@kansan.com.
Edited by Catherine Odson
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Kansas junior forward Darnell Jackson takes the ball up against toledo Saturday. Jackson started the game in place of forward Daniel Arthur.