Monday, December 1, 2008
KU GAMEDAY
Kansas appears to be entering its easiest swing of the season as its next five opponents come from non-BCS conferences. Don’t think Kent State is a write-in victory, though. The Jayhawks’ best chance to trip up in that span might be tonight against the Golden Flashes. Kent State won the Mid-American Conference last year and was a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They return the MAC Preseason Player of the Year, senior guard Al Fisher, and a crew full of competent guards to support him.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar
How does Morningstar follow his career-night on Friday when he made six three-pointers and recorded career-highs with 21 points and seven rebounds? He won’t need to do that much for the Kent State game to be considered a personal success.
With a set of talented guards for the Golden Flashes, Morningstar’s role might revert to being a defensive stopper again. If Morningstar plays steady defense and hits a couple three-pointers, Self will once again have positive things to say about him.
QUESTION MARK
Will Tyshawn Taylor be able to play at full speed?
After the 85-53 victory against Coppin State, everyone downplayed Taylor’s ankle injury that forced him to leave the game. Self said if it was practice, Taylor would have played again. Taylor said he was fine. He admitted, however, that his left ankle was still a little sore from when he came down awkwardly on it after contesting a three-point shot. The Jayhawks need Taylor. He’s their third leading scorer at just less than 10 points per game and has proven to be one of the most explosive players on the roster.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
“We lose focus. I’d say that’s the thing I’d like to see us do is to play an entire 40 minutes. We’re not going to. We’re not prepared to do that yet, but we’ve got to keep after it.”
— Kansas coach Bill Self
Kansas starters (4-1)
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 junior guard
Collins has only made seven of his last 33 shots. Collins can’t be expected to be invincible from slumps, but he needs to break it tonight.
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Tyshawn Taylor, 6-foot-2 freshman guard
It’s all coming together for Taylor. He recorded six assists as opposed to one turnover against Coppin State, went on a personal 9-0 run against Syracuse and made the biggest highlight of the year against Washington with a game-changing blocked shot.
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Brady Morningstar, 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
While Self praised Morningstar for solid defense at the CBE Classic, fans groaned at the sophomore’s lack of offensive impact. Morningstar answered with 21 points and six three-pointers against Coppin State.
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Marcus Morris, 6-foot-8 freshman forward
Marcus ranks second on the team with seven rebounds per game. But he hasn’t exploded for a breakout game. Could it be looming in his fourth career start?
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Cole Aldrich, 6-foot-11 sophomore center
Aldrich turned heads with his performance in the CBE Classic and national broadcasters such as Bobby Knight and Dick Vitale hailed him as one of the most improved players in the nation. Makes sense – Aldrich is averaging 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks per game.
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SIXTH MAN
Markieff Morris, 6-foot-9 freshman forward
Markieff had his worst game against Coppin State with only one rebound, three fouls and two turnovers in 17 minutes of play. He needs to get back to rebounding tonight.
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KENT STATE GAMEDAY
Kent State challenged itself with an early season tournament against big conference teams, and it should help the Golden Flashes in the long run.
In the South Padre Island Invitational, Kent State played Illinois and Texas A&M in South Padre on back-to-back days. The Golden Flashes lost both games by six points each.
Against Illinois, Kent State surrendered a lead and played poorly in overtime. The experience of matching wits with big time teams should pay dividends against Kansas and further down the road.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior guard Al Fisher
Kent State must score in bunches to hang with Kansas, and the only way for it to do that is by feeding the ball to Fisher. He’s efficient off the dribble and could cause foul troubles for the Morris twins or Cole Aldrich if they get too aggressive with help defense.
If Fisher is off, then the Jayhawks will blow the Golden Flashes out of Allen Fieldhouse. If he’s on, then first-year coach Gino Ford’s squad will have a chance at the upset.
QUESTION MARK
Can Brandon Parks prevent Cole Aldrich from dominating the game?
Parks is the only Kent State player that can match-up with Aldrich in the size department, so he must be effective defensively.
Not only can he not get into foul trouble, but also Parks must actually figure out a way to contain Aldrich down on the block. Now that’s a tall task.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
“I feel like our team got better playing these two games. Even though we came away with tough losses against two good teams, it’s better for us than playing sloppy against two bad teams and winning.
Hopefully it shows us how good we can be so that we find a way to get to the next level and win a game like this down the stretch.”
— Kent State coach Gino Ford
Kent State starters (3-2)
Chris Singletary, 6-foot-4 junior guard
A human movement studies major, Singletary practices his practicum on the court with quick moves to the basket. He’s a big guard who can post up smaller players but also has the versatility to hang with speedsters defensively.
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Al Fisher, 6-foot-1 senior guard
Now at his third college, Fisher has carved a niche as the go-to scorer for the Golden Flashes. He’s averaging 21.8 points on 53 percent shooting this season. Last year he was named an AP honorable mention All-American.
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Jordan Mincy, 5-foot-10 senior guard
Mincy’s job is floor general, and it’s one he’s had since high school. As a senior at Ridgeway high school in Memphis, Tenn., Mincy dished out 12 assists in the Class AAA title game to help his team win. This year he has a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
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Julian Sullinger, 6-foot-5 senior forward
An undersized forward, Julian is the black sheep of his family. His older brother, J.J., played at Ohio State and his younger brother, Jared, has already committed there as the No. 7 recruit of the 2010 class. Julian was 1-for-6 in Saturday’s loss to Texas A&M.
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Brandon Parks, 6-foot-10 junior center
Parks is by far the biggest player, in both height and weight, on Kent State’s roster. He owns all of the weight lifting records and he’s also a reputable jumper. Park leads the team in rebounds but doesn’t get to the free throw line nearly enough for a big man.
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SIXTH MAN
Anthony Simpson, 6-foot-8 junior forward
Simpson plays the minutes of a starter and may supplant Sullinger in the line-up at some point. For now he’s a spark off the bench who hits shots and doesn’t get into foul trouble.
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