KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / SPORTS
7B
MORRIS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor drives to the basket against Missouri. Taylor scored seven points but turned the ball over five times against the Tigers. Kansas won 84-65.
was one of the most impressive players at the camp. Givony cited Morris's versatile game — his ability to score inside and outside, ball handle and defend — as what separated him from the group.
"That's a pretty complete game for a guy that's played two seasons of college basketball." Givony said.
Kansas sent five players — Marcus and Markieff Morris, Tyshawn Taylor, Thomas Robinson and incoming freshman Josh Selby — to the Adidas camp last week and for Marcus, it was the first game action he's had with his teammates since Kansas' crushing loss to Northern Iowa.
Givony said Markieff didn't have the "overwhelming" production of his brother, but has more upside in the long run, with an inch more height and more explosiveness.
"He's not as polished as Marcus, but he he's got a lot of talent," Givony said. "The light switch hasn't come on as much as it has for Marcus, but he still young, so obviously there's plenty of time for that to happen."
Markieff and Robinson will be entrenched in a battle for the starting center position. Morris is the early favorite, but Robinson wowed Givony, as he did fans last season, with his raw athleticism.
"The guy's a great athlete," Givony said about Robinson. "He's got an amazing body and he plays very hard. He's obviously a useful guy to have on your roster."
Marcus also was impressed with the development of his brother and Robinson and said that the front-court, with himself and 7-footer Jeff Withey in addition to those two, could be a strong unit for Kansas.
"We're better than a lot of people think we are," Marcus said. "That's going to be one of the strongest parts of our team is that front-court."
— Edited by Dana Meredith
NFL
Saints facing uphill battle this season
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A new season, a different result, a lot of improvement left for the Super Bowl champions to make.
The New Orleans Saints gave up big plays and a decisive 28-yard field goal in the final minute as the New England Patriots opened their exhibition season with a 27-24 win Thursday night.
Last season's title won't help the Saints repeat.
For the Patriots, it was a successful return to the field where their last game was a rout, a 33-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the playoffs.
"That's been our mindset from the start," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "We've got to prove ourselves all over again. We've got to keep working and improve on the little things."
That shouldn't affect the coming season, either.
"It's a new year. We've had 20 practices," coach Bill Belichick said. "Whatever happened last year was last year."
The Saints lost more than a game during their visit to New England, which began Tuesday with two days of joint practices.
On Wednesday, No. 3 running
back Lynell Hamilton tore his right anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that likely will sideline him for the season. On the Saints first possession Thursday, punter Thomas Morstead hurt his left shoulder knocking Julian Edelman out of bounds after a 40-yard return and placekicker Garrett Hartley punted the rest of the night.
After the game, Morstead was walking with his arm in a sling.
Coach Sean Payton said X-rays were negative, and Morstead was due for an MRI in New Orleans on Friday.
The Saints punted four times on their five first-half possessions and managed just a
young players."
On his first series since being voted Super Bowl MVP, Drew Brees threw an incompletion and was sacked for a 10-yard loss. But on his third and final possession, he led a 20-play, 86-yard march that lasted 10:01 and ended with a 2-yard scoring run by Reggie Bush that cut New England's lead to 10-7.
field goal on their last four of the game. Their final series ended with an interception. And there were plenty of missed tackles.
"Too many sloppy things we've got to get corrected," Payton said. "I know it's the first week of preseason; still, a lot of things are disturbing. ... I think we'll put the tape in and we'll see it wasn't just
"We pretty much put the Super Bowl behind us. We were rusty and have to execute better in all aspects of the game."
Brees completed 9 of 13 passes
for 55 yards.
Tracy Porter
Saints cornerback
Tom Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, played New England's first two series and went 5-for-8 for 67 yards. In last year's exhibition opener, he played for the first time since the 2008 reu-
"This is all about establishing an attitude any time we step on the field," New England tight end Alge Crumpler said. "Regardless of who we play or what the circumstances are, if we play together as a team good things will happen."
lar-season opener, when a knee injury ended his season.
Gostkowski kicked the win
ning 28-yard field goal with 53 seconds left after Darnell Jenkins caught a short pass from seventh-round draft pick Zac Robinson and turned it into a 52-yard gain. The Saints also allowed kickoff returns of 52 and 50 yards by first-round draft pick Devin McCourty.
The Patriots held out wide receiver Wes Welker despite his strong comeback from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered in the last regular-season game. He is expected to be ready for the opener Sept. 12 at home against Cincinnati.
"The players who didn't dress we didn't think were ready to play," Belichk said.
New Orleans beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in the Super Bowl, overcoming a 17-16 fourth-quarter deficit and scoring the final touchdown on a big play. Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return.
"We pretty much put the Super Bowl behind us", Porter said. "We were rusty and have to execute better in all aspects of the game."
New England played much better than in New Orleans last year, a 38-17 loss in which Brees threw five touchdown passes and gave the Saints an 11-0 record.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Starting lineup not set in stone
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
It's hardly a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks — they've been ranked as high as fourth in some preseason polls. But only two positions on the floor have a starter locked in, with veteran standouts Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris all but guaranteed their starting roles. The Jayhawks' early high rankings speak to the depth of Bill Self's roster and the competition that will go into earning those last three spots. Here's the Kansan's early projection of what the Jayhawks' lineup could look like come November.
JOSH SELBY
If Selby is cleared for play by the NCAA, he'll have a pretty solid
hold on the point guard spot for the Jayhawks. The nation's toprated recruit is under investigation for a relationship with Robert Frazier, the
Selbu
manager for the NBA's Carmelo Anthony. Selby, Anthony and Frazier are all from the Baltimore area. If he's not cleared - at this point still a big if - the job may go to Elijah Johnson, who showed flashes of inhuman athletic ability in his freshman year.
TYSHAWNTAYLOR
Taylor has been wracked with inconsistency throughout his
career, following brilliant performances with sub-par, turnover-heavy games. If he can rein in his considerable potential he'll be one of the
Taylor
most dangerous players in the Big 12. Taylor's greatest asset is his speed, which gets him from end to end as quick as any player in the conference. Keeping it under control, though, has been an issue for Taylor.
MARIO LITTLE
fellow 2009-2010 redshirt Travis
Releford and maybe even Tyrell
Little is the early favorite to win the starting job on the wing, but he'll face competition from
Little
Reed, who has improved his defense to the level that he's no longer just a sniper for the Jayhawks. If the job is Little's, though, he'll
MARCUS MORRIS
bring a dangerous mid-range game to the lineup. The 6-foot-5 Little played primarily power forward in the Jayhawks' 2008-2009 Sweet Sixteen season, but he has said he's much more comfortable on the outside.
After emerging as the top returning option for the Jayhawks throughout a stellar sophomore
Camping Morris has earned rave reviews for his performances at various camps over the summer. He spent some time training
Marcus Morris
with the national team in Las Vegas, where Kansas will return for the Las Vegas Invitational Thanksgiving weekend. Morris is a serious candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year in what could be his last year in a Kansas uniform.
MARKIEFF MORRIS
Markieff doesn't get praise to match his brother, but he has
an inch and 10 pounds on Marcus. He's not a traditional center – the Jayhawks will look to Thomas Robinson for a back-to-the-
Markieff Morris
basket guy on offense - but he brings plenty of offensive ability and rebounds like an absolute maniac on both sides of the floor. Markieff's performance at the Adidas Nations camp turned some heads, and he'll likely be the Jayhawks top center over Robinson and 7-footer Jeff Withey.
Edited by Sarah Kelly
FIBA
Team USA defeats China in scrimmage
NEW YORK — Danny Granger scored 22 points and the United States sprinted past China, 98-51 in a scrimmage Saturday.
Eric Gordon strengthened his case for a spot on the team with 15 points, while Kevin Durant added 14 and Derrick Rose had 12.
The teams played four 10-minute quarters, with the
NFL
Coach Mike Krzyzewski likely showed who two of his cuts will be, not using Jeff Green or JaVale McGee.
score reset at the beginning of each period. The Americans outscored the Chinese 35-8 in the third quarter, then lost the fourth 17-16.
YI Jianian of the Washington Wizards scored 13 for China.
Associated Press
Redskins, Bills adjusting to new coaches in first preseason games
McNabb went 5 for 8 for 58 yards in two series Friday night and hit first-year player Anthony Armstrong for a 4-yard touchdown in the Redskins 42-17 win over the mistake-ridden Bills. It was a first-glimpse preseason game that shows Washington's new coach Mike Shanahan is quite a bit further along than Buffalo's new coach Chan Gaiey.
LANDOVER, Md. — Donovan McNabb threw a touchdown pass in his Washington Redskins debut, Albert Haynesworth looked suitably motivated in his debut as a $100 million backup, and the newlook Buffalo Bills looked like the same old Buffalo Bills.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It's been a little over four months since the Easter Sunday trade that brought McNabb to the Redskins, and it's still a jarring sight to see No. 5 in something other than a Philadelphia Eagles uniform. After a few wayward throws on his first series, he went 4 for 5 for 47 yards on his second drive and showed he still has some speed in his 33-year-old legs by scrambling to convert a third-and-1.
"When you play your first game, obviously, with a new ballclub, it takes you back to the first game you played," McNabb said. "Your adrenaline is high, and you have to settle down a little bit. The second time we went out, after our first drive, it led to us putting up some points. Then good things happen."
Clinton Portis, got more than his usual work for a first preseason game, carrying six times for 22 yards. Brandon Banks, an undrafted rookie receiver from Kansas State listed at 5-foot-7, made some noise with a 77-yard punt return down the right sideline for a touchdown in the third quarter.
There are a lot of things we have to work on, but I thought offensively we were able to progress."
McNabb's favorite target was tight end Chris Cooley, who caught three passes for 33 yards McNabb's last throw was the TD to Armstrong, who has made a surprisingly strong case for a roster spot.
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