KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010 / SPORTS /
7B
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
On the surface, it looks like UCLA is in the midst of another down year. Don't let the 3-2 record fool you, though. In truth, the Bruins are well on the way back to Pac-10 contention and have a shot at stealing the title as soon as this year. The Bruins have already put up a fight against one top-10 opponent (losing 82-70 to Villanova) and the same should be expected Thursday, Tyler Honeycutt, who debuted against the Jayhawks last year, has blossomed into a dangerous wing with NBA size, and Reeves Nelson is one of the Pac-10's best.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Scouts in Las Vegas were talking about Releford's defensive and transition skills. At 6-foot-5,
Travis Releford
Releford
Releford has the length to lock down on most college wings and the athleticism to stick with the guards. He's also shooting the ball
better than anyone, including the coaches, expected. He does have to be careful not to fall in love with his jumper. He's too good at driving to the basket to settle for outside shots.
QUESTION MARK
Can the Morris twins stay out of foul trouble?
When either Marcus or Markieff goes down with foul trouble, the Jayhawks can manage. Thomas Robinson can almost seamlessly fill the gap. When both go down, though, trouble begins to brew for Kansas, like it did against Arizona. The Wildcats built a four-point lead after being down by as many as 15 with the twins largely confined to the bench. Mario Little doesn't have the size to play against most power forwards, and Jeff Withey lacks the athleticism to hang with hybrid forwards like Arizona's Derrick Williams and UCLA's Reeves Nelson.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
"It's a good or bad shot when it leaves your hand. That's what we tell our players. As coaches, if it counts for two points it doesn't bother us as much, but you can't tell a player it's a bad shot if he misses it and then tell him it's a good shot if it goes in. You're sending him mixed messages. Against Ohio, Marcus, as soon as he checked back in, made a threepointer. I said it was an awful shot. You should never shoot the ball when you first come down the court."
A HINT OF HOLLYWOOD
KANSAS VS. UCLA 8 p.m., ALLEN FIELDHOUSE, Lawrence, ESPN2
The storied UCLA Bruins come to the Phog
Taylor
KANSAS
6-0 (0-0)
STARTERS
Reed
Tyshawn Taylor, guard
Taylor hasn't shot the ball nearly as much as was expected early in the season, especially after he tallied 17 points in the opener. His improved passing, decision making and defense have scouts raving, though. Kansas would love to have Taylor score 10 points per game, but his 43 assists are fifth in the nation, and that's good enough for the Jayhawks to be 6-0.
Morningstar
Tvrel Reed. guard
Morris
Reed is shooting just 28.6 percent from outside this season, but he's finally putting his otherworldly athleticism to other use in the Jayhawks offense. Reed had 13 points and two assists in the Jayhawks '87-79 victory over Arizona, despite going 0-for-4 from three-point land.
Brady Morningstar, guard
Morningstar has to start contributing offensively. Plain and simple. Morningstar's passing and ball-handling and defense are nice, no question, but Bill Self's starting guards are all averaging less than 10 points per game, and Morningstar's 5.5 are bringing up the rear by a wide margin. The scoring load cannot be put exclusively on the front-court, especially when foul trouble remains an issue.
Morris
Marcus Morris, forward
Against Arizona, for the first time this season, Morris wasn't the best player on the floor. Arizona's Derrick Williams plays a similar game to Morris, but was more aggressive with the ball in his hands. If Morris develops Williams' assertiveness, he has the footwork to become the best post in college basketball.
Markieff Morris. forward
Bill Self
Morris was the best player in the game the last time Kansas and UCLA played, with 19 points and six boards. His own teammates aside, Morris will have a greater challenge waiting for him for that title this year. Reeves Nelson is putting up all-conference numbers for the Bruins, and the two will spend time guarding each other Thursday.
Robinson
SIXTH MAN
Thomas Robinson, forward
Johnson was solid Friday night in his first game back from a season-opening suspension. He'll primarily serve as the backup to Tyshawn Taylor at the point, and Taylor's foul trouble thrust Johnson into a larger role against the Mean Green. He responded with 11 points and zero turnovers, but dished out only one assist.
Tim Dwyer
UCLA
3-2 (0-0)
STARTERS
Malcom Lee, guard
Lee doesn't really stand out. He's a very similar player to Tyrel Reed or Brady Morningstar, in that he can shoot from deep. He is shooting 41.7 percent from the field and from three and is averaging 11.5 points per game. He doesn't get into the paint too often on the defensive end. He is only averaging 3.3 rebounds per game.
Lee
Lazeric Jones. guard
Jones leads the team in assists with five per game. He is a quick guard that has decent ball control, but he is averaging 2.8 turnovers a game. Jones will provide a good match-up to the Kansas guards. He is averaging 12.6 points per game and plays almost 30 minutes. Getting to the free-throw line isn't a strength, but he is 8-8 from the line on the season.
★★★☆☆
Tyler Honeycutt, forward
Honeycutt is averaging the most minutes per game for the Bruins, 34.2. He is another big body on the low block that can post his man up or spread it out on the wings, similar to the Morris twins. He is averaging 14.5 points per game, good for second, and is shooting 40 percent from three. He has also taken the most three's with 20. He doesn't draw that many fouls, but he is 7-10 from the line this season.
Jones
Nelson has a similar body to Arizona's Derrick Williams, who torched the Jayhawks for 27 points before fouling out. Nelson is leading UCLA in points, 17.6 per game, and rebounds, 10.4 per game. He is only averaging two fouls per game, but he hasn't seen matchups like the Morris twins or Thomas Robinson.
Honeycutt
Joshua Smith, center
Smith is the only starter not averaging double-digit points per game (7.4). Smith is the tallest player along with David and Travis Wear, who are sitting out this season after transferring from North Carolina. Smith, who is averaging four fouls per game, will need to stay out of foul trouble to give the Bruins length on the interior. At 305 pounds, he has enough body to post up the Morris twins, Thomas Robinson and especially Withey, but he doesn't have the athleticism those four have, averaging just 16 minutes per game.
Nelson
SIXTH MAN
Brendan Lane, forward
Lane adds another big body down low. He is averaging five rebounds per game. He has been the most efficient three-point shooter at 75 percent, but he has only attempted four. He's averaging 5.6 points per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the field. He leads UCLA with two blocks per game.
Smith
UCLA TIPOFF
ATAGLANCI
Mike Lavieri
UCLA is currently on a two-game losing streak, losing both away from Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins would love to get things turned around, especially on the road in Allen Fieldhouse, after Kansas knocked off UCLA in Los Angeles last season. The program had a down year last season, but that doesn't mean it isn't an elite program. The Bruins are a very young team. They don't have any seniors, but they don't have one specific class that is heavy either. UCLA has seven juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen, which will allow them to be potent for next season.
PLAYERTOWATCH
Reeves Nelson
Nelson is going to provide fits for the Jayhawks tonight. If he watched any of the game tape of
Kansas against Arizona, he realizes will need to take it straight at the Morris twins. In order for UCLA to have a chance at winning, he will need to
Nelson
stay out of foul trouble, but will need to get the Morris twins in foul trouble. Bill Self said after the Arizona game that Kansas is better with the Morris twins on the floor. Nelson has a great ability to get to the basket, leading the Bruins with 10 dunks.
QUESTION MARK
Can UCLA limit Kansas's scoring?
UCLA is holding opponents to 66.8 points per game, but it gave up 89 points out last game to a potent VCU offense. The Jayhawks are averaging 92 points per game. The Bruins only allow 9.6 assists per game while forcing 14.4 turnovers. Kansas is averaging 22 assists per game, which leads the nation. Kansas is very good at distributing the ball and can get out in transition. UCLA has only given up four dunks on the season and that number should go up tonight. Kansas has nine players that are scoring more than five points per game. UCLA will have a difficult time defending all five players on the floor.
HEARYE, HEARYF
"We got off to a poor start fueled by some really bad shots. We were fighting uphill the whole way. We had it with a chance to take the lead the beginning of the second half and missed two foul shots. We did a better job in the second half of rebounding the ball. They shot extremely well from the 3, but most of those 3s were open."
UCLA coach Ben Howland after the Bruins
89-85 loss to Vus Novi on 26.
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 2 Time (CT) TV Channel
Baylor vs. Arizona State 6 p.m. ESPN2
Texas A&M vs. Stephen F. Austin 7 p.m. FSSW
Oregon vs. Missouri 10 p.m. FSN
Friday, Dec. 3
Washington State vs. Kansas State 10 p.m. FSN
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF ...
The Bruins show up. The Kansas faithful have been desperate for a challenge to come into Allen Fieldhouse. A little more than 4,000 Jayhawks made the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas a Jayhawk homecourt in a battle with Arizona. Imagine what 16,000 could do.
JAMES NAISMITH WILL ROLL IN HIS GRAVE IF ...
Tyler Honeycutt plays through the defense of Brady Morningstar. Kansas lacks the offensive wing threat to counter the 6-foot-8 Honeycutt, who is averaging over 14 points per game for UCLA. If Honeycutt stars, UCLA could pull off the upset.
SCHEDULE
Prediction:
Kansas 84, UCLA 68
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Dec. 7 Memphis ESPN 6 p.m.
Dec. 11 Colorado State ESPN2 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 18 USC ESPN 11 a.m.