Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Starting with the first possession of Monday night’s match-up, the Golden Flashes showed they weren’t intimidated by Allen Fieldhouse, or the team that calls it home.
Photo Gallery
Kansas Basketball vs. Kent State
Photo gallery of Kansas men's basketball game against Kent State Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kent State center Brandon Parks immediately put his body into Cole Aldrich and started chipping at the lumbering big man. Less than four minutes later Parks was on the bench with two fouls, but his team picked up the physical play in his absence and into the second half.
Coach Bill Self told his players they needed to be more physical, sooner rather than later. Against Kent State, Kansas played its most physical game of the season against a team that wouldn’t allow it to get into a flow.
“It was a great game for us, because they muddied the game up,” Self said. “Those are the games that you have to win come conference play on the road and tournament play — games when there’s not a lot of rhythm.”
The Golden Flashes hounded the Jayhawks and slowed the game to a halt in the second half. They also brought the fire out of Markieff Morris, who was ejected from the game after throwing a punch.
Morris retaliated with a swing after he took an elbow to the face midway through the second half. He was the only one sent to the sidelines.
Guard Sherron Collins, who led the game with 19 points, said Kansas needed to play with more attitude, but also needed to keep its emotions in check.
“He showed toughness and wasn’t backing down, but he’s got to be a little smarter than that,” Collins said. “When somebody hits you, you’ve got to take it and roll with it sometimes.”
While Markieff watched the rest of the game from the bench, brother Marcus Morris took full advantage of the chippy play with several trips to the free throw line. A 41 percent free-throw shooter entering the game, Morris hit 8-of-12. As a team, Kansas made several trips to the charity stripe and connected on 32-of-36.
“That shows coach making us stay that extra 30 minutes after practice every day,” Collins said. “That shows our concentration and getting to the gym.”
As the only player to miss a freebie, Morris said he felt a little shamed.
“Everybody else made theirs, so I know I need to get in and shoot some more,” Morris said.
The free throw shooting and Collins’ highlight reel plays put the game away for Kansas. But the scratches and bruises from a hard fought battle are what the Jayhawks will carry into the next game.
“We’ve got to get tougher, point blank,” Collins said. “Sometimes we need to be the aggressors instead of making a reaction to someone who’s bringing aggression to us.”
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