Thursday, December 4, 2008
Photo Gallery
Men's Basketball vs. New Mexico State
Photo gallery of Kansas game vs. New Mexico State Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Outside Allen Field House Wednesday night, gusts of wind delivered the biting cold like a slap to the face. Inside, 8:12 remained in the first half when freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor sank his team’s first free throw of the night.
The ball momentarily kissed the glass before caressing the net, representing just one of the 26 points Kansas had scored up to that moment in its 100-79 victory against New Mexico State. Afterward Taylor slapped hands with a few teammates — as players usually do after sinking a few freebies — and quickly headed up court to defend. Simple enough.
Sure, Kansas entered the game leading the Big 12 in free throw proficiency and it collectively hit 15 of 17 attempts (88.2 percent). Taylor went berserk against the Aggies, racking up a season-high 23 points. But him sinking seven of eight free throws, and his team’s continued success in that area? Pretty routine stuff. As elementary as it gets. Kansas’ 32-of-36 free throw shooting Monday night? A product of an exceptionally rough game. Sidebar material at best.
That is until you consider that one of the most fundamental procedures in basketball — one taught in the earliest levels of P.E. class — is largely the reason one more championship banner hangs in the Phog this season and was a factor in the only loss this year’s team has experienced so far.
Consider first the one loss, a Nov. 25 89-81 overtime loss to No. 16 Syracuse in the CBE Classic final. It was no coincidence that the game was Kansas’ worst night collectively in terms of free throw percentage. That night, Kansas enjoyed a 41-30 halftime lead having cashed in all five of its free throw attempts. The second half numbers virtually flipped in favor of Syracuse — 42-31 — as Kansas hit just four of 11 free throw attempts before the Orange forced overtime and eventually left Kansas City victorious.
The game was the first meeting between the two teams since the 2003 National Championship game — pure heartbreak to anyone around these parts. Kansas missed 18 freethrows that night. In a game decided by three points, no one with any hopes of sanity can claim that the Jayhawks’ piss poor free throw shooting that night was not a deciding factor.
This brings us to April 7 of this year. That same, terrifying feeling of witnessing a championship slip away crippled all parts of Memphis and those decked out in blue and white in the Alamodome in San Antonio. On this night, Kansas hit 14 of 15 free throw attempts — four of which to seal it in overtime and bring home a title.
That penchant for making good on shots from the line has carried over to this team, and this year’s Syracuse loss drove home its importance to Taylor and his teammates.
“They’re free throws. You’re supposed to make them,” Taylor said. “Now we know they can win games for us. We learned a hard lesson against Syracuse, but now we know we have to just focus at the line. I know I am.”
There are few virtues as uncommon to a raw, young team seeking an identity in December as precise free throw shooting. This team has that.
There’s plenty for this team to improve upon this year: clamping down on defense, playing tough yet smart and establishing all around depth and consistency. The list goes on as it does with any talented yet green team. But the fact that a Kansas player at the line this season has become synonymous with points shows that there is much to like about these guys too.
It is undoubtedly a strength Coach Bill Self isn’t likely to take for granted any time soon.
— — Edited by Becka Cremer
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