KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2010 / SPORTS
9B
NO.1 KANSAS 94, COLORADO 74
MEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND
Weston White/KANSAN
Junior center Cole Aldrich swats away an attempted dunk along the baseline during the second half Saturday against Colorado. Aldrich finished with five blocks in Kansas' 94-74 victory.
Prime plays
FIRST HALF (SCORE AFTER PLAY)
19:05 Sherron Collins had a look, but passed up the open three to Xavier Henry who knocked one down. It looked like Collins was trying to give the freshman some confidence. (5-2)
14:53 It looked like Kansas was playing La Salle again. Xavier Henry hit his third three of the game in just more than five minutes. (16-7)
2:33 Chalk up block number 100 for Cole Aldrich. That block led to a breakaway layup by Sherron Collins. (44-28)
his way to the rim and met a defender so he put up a crazy floater. It went in and he drew the foul. (34-14)
18:38 Alec Burks' dunk attempt took Cole Aldrich to the atmosphere and Aldrich got all ball, sending Burks back to Earth hard. (50-34)
11:21 Xavier Henry broke the 20-point barrier for the first time since Dec. 12 against La Salle. His three put the Jayhawks up by their largest lead so far at 22. (73-51)
SECOND HALF
7:40 Sherron Collins missed a three-pointer, but Cole Aldrich continued his dominance in the paint, putting it back with a two-handed dunk. (81-57)
7:46 Tyshawn Taylor was making his presence felt. He slashed
Taylor's speed effective in start
BYTIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDKBasketball
1:07 Jordan Juenemann saw his first action since Jan. 2. It's the second Big 12 game he has ever played in. (92-70)
Even though he became the winningest player in Kansas basketball history Saturday (or tied for it, at least), Sherron Collins wasn't the star of the show against Colorado.
Tyshawn Taylor reminded him of that as he and Xavier Henry waited for the senior guard to begin postgame interviews.
Saturday, it was Act V, Scene I of the Tyshawn show, as the team's most dangerous slasher found his way back to the starting lineup after an eight-game hiatus. It was the third time this year Taylor had to win his starting spot, with two stretches of coming off the bench in between.
"This ain't the Sherron show"
Taylor cracked.
"I did feel pressure at first, because it felt new to me again." Taylor said, "but I just came out and was trying to be aggressive and find my teammates. When I was doing that my shots started to come and they started to find me."
Colorado's defense for 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
"I think Tyshawn's game aligns well with all our guys on our team." Self said. "If he plays like he can play, I think he aligns with everybody X. Is a spot up shooter, but so are Brady and Tyrel. When he's playing well, he makes everybody better."
Saturday, Taylor made everybody
better to the tune of six assists. His ability to drive the lane and open up the floor for everyone else was important in the team's offensive success. The layhawks had five players in double figures and put up 94 points, their most in 18 games.
“That’s what Tyshawn is — speedy and crafty and he can get in the lane and hit all those off-balance shots,” Collins said. “Then coach always gets mad, and then it goes in and he claps. I think he handled it well, responded well. I think he plays better when he starts.”
Taylor's up-and-down season has been well documented. He began the season in the starting lineup,
briefly lost his job to freshman Elijah Johnson, won it back for five games and then lost it again on the merit of Brady Morningstar's play.
"I think he handled it well,he responded well. I think he plays better when he starts."
Though Morningstar has been a fine, heady player for Kansas, he certainly doesn't bring the athleticism of Taylor, who is one of the quickest guards in the conference.
SHERRON COLLINS Senior guard
"This is not a reflection of Brady
playing poorly," Self said Thursday when he announced Taylor would be back to starting. "I just think that we have to get more out of Tyshawn moving forward to give us a chance to do what we want to do. He's got to become one of the premier players on our team."
Against Colorado, that's exactly what Taylor was. He was a premier player last year against Oklahoma as well.
"I think I scored 25 or 26 points," Taylor said about last year's Oklahoma game. "I remember feeling the same way that I felt tonight."
— Edited by Drew Anderson
Game to remember
Freshman guard Xavier Henry
Henry
Henry has been on the verge of breaking out of his recent slump for a while now, and Saturday he did it in grand fashion. After posting double figures in the three previous games, Henry went for 24 points, his most since a 31-point outburst against La Salle in late November. He hit 9-of-16 shots, including 4-of-7 threes, and pulled down six rebounds.
Game to forget
Stat of the night
Junior guard Brady Morningstar
123
Sherron Collins won his 123rd game as a Kansas
Morningstar lost his starting job, didn't score and played just 17 minutes after averaging almost 32 in the eight games leading up to Saturday, all of which he started. Morningstar recorded a pair of steals, a pair of assists, a rebound and a turnover. The Jayhawks don't need him to be a scorer, especially in a game like this where five of his teammates post double figures, but they do need more from him than that.
Jayhawk, which ties him with Raef LaFrentz, Billy Thomas and C.B. McGrath as the winningest player in Kansas basketball history. Collins was quick to acknowledge his coaches and teammates, but after thanking them, admitted that it was a special moment for him.
Morningstar
Quote of the night
"I envision a lot of things, most to none of them come true. I think I have a great chance to win the Powerball. I envision that."
— Coach Bill Self on whether he ever envisioned his team 12 to the big 12.
Self
18
Key stats
Coincidentally or not, Xavier Henry and the Jayhawks as a team both reached their highest scoring mark in the last 18 games
103
Cole Aldrich had five blocks, making him the first Jayhawk to surpass 100 in a season. He has 103.
1-for-10
Coming off a 1-for-10 game beyond the arc, Kansas made nine three-pointers which were its most in the last seven games. Also, Kansas' 18 turnovers were the most in the past seven games.
— Tim Dwyer and Corey Thibodeaux
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