Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Bill Self can be a creative coach.
He isn’t afraid to tell his team to play faster if the situation calls for it. He’ll play with a smaller lineup if his team is struggling. And when he’s facing the problem of deciding who to start in an exhibition game, he solves it in an unconventional fashion.
At the end of last week, Self realized junior guard Sherron Collins and sophomore center Cole Aldrich were the only players who deserved to start in tonight’s game against Washburn.
“We’ve got two starters right now,” Self said Friday. “They tell me you’ve got to actually start five.”
Instead of toying with the traditional number of players on the court to start a game, Self decided to reward his veterans. On his “Hawk Talk” radio show Monday night, Self announced that senior center Matt Kleinmann and sophomore guards Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar would join Collins and Aldrich as the starters.
Sophomore guard Conner Teahan will come off of the bench to join them early in the game. For Self, it’s a strategy that makes sense. The move will deflect attention away from the starting lineup. Self didn’t think the scrutiny was necessary in the first place.
“To me, that’s not really important,” Self said. “That hasn’t been our goal at all to determine who the starters will be for the exhibition games. We’re just trying to get better and look at different combinations.”
Now, Self will be able to analyze those combinations with the regular season in mind. What does his decision to start the veterans mean beyond a reward? Not much.
Stash it away and mark it as inconclusive evidence. Self has offered other hints, however, about the content of his starting lineup for the regular season.
“We’ll probably end up starting three newcomers and two of them will be freshmen,” Self said at Big 12 Media Day in Oklahoma City. “Maybe three.”
The situation isn’t quite as murky in the frontcourt as it is in the backcourt. Kansas has four big men on scholarship – Aldrich, the Morris twins and freshman Quintrell Thomas — who will likely rotate in and out of the game.
The logjam occurs with the guard rotation. The Jayhawks have seven guards on scholarship — Collins, Taylor, Reed, Little, Morningstar, Releford and junior Tyrone Appleton — and Self insists sophomore walk-on Conner Teahan is in the mix for playing time as well.
But Self isn’t going to play eight different guards during the regular season. He said five players would contribute most of the minutes. A sixth might get in for a couple minutes every game.
“You can make a strong case that there are four guys fighting for two spots for playing time,” Self said at Big 12 Media Day. “I do think the competition is very good. They don’t want to have bad days — that’s for sure.”
Of course, Self did not specify which four players he had in mind. Collins said the competition for rotation spots had made practices intense.
Collins said he would try to keep guys who aren’t playing as much from getting frustrated. Morningstar doesn’t think that will happen anyway.
“I think a lot of these guys know if they come in and work hard, the rest will all do itself,” Morningstar said. “Regardless if you’re playing or not, it’s still a team.”
And it’s still a team with a lot of uncertainty surrounding who will play beyond tonight’s game against Washburn.
— — Edited by Mary Sorrick
Native Kansans Reed and Morningstar will start ...
The two sophomore guards earned their spots in the rotation after strong ...
KU Basketball Game Day: Nov. 4, 2008
How Self chooses his starting lineup
This year’s KU men’s basketball starting lineup has changed frequently
Redshirt situations become clearer
Teahan will play this season, Releford, Little will not.
At a glance: Jayhawks and Hornets
Jayhawks hope to avoid Hornets' stings.
‘Super sophomore’ shines in first start
Morningstar takes advantage of redshirt season to gain valuable experience
Morningstar's offense pushes Kansas to victory
Brady Morningstar set career-highs in six categories as the Jayhawks beat the ...
Game Day: Kent State strikes
The Golden Flashes are the first of five non-BCS games for KU, ...
Goble: In a versatile team, many lineups
Here are a few lineup possibilities in the case of in-game challenges.
Jayhawks use dramatic runs to pull away ...
Getting the best effort from its opponents, No. 1 Kansas has embarked ...
Self predicts foul trouble, Marcus proves him ...
Coach Self plans to work on the teams’ foul problems before the ...
FINAL: No. 7 Kansas routs Washburn, 92-62
Marcus Morris paced the Jayhawks' dominating effort with 28 points and seven ...
Thibodeaux: Morningstar will play a key role
The senior guard had 10 assists in Friday’s victory, showing that he ...
The efficient five
Comparing Self’s lineups show point differentials during Saturday’s game.
Jayhawks drive to victory after slow start
Tyrel Reed knocks down five three-pointers to kick-start the Kansas attack
Jayhawks face Hofstra in home opener
Kansas looks forward to stretching its skills.
Kansas will rely on strong guard play
The Jayhawks remain confident despite weak three-point shooting and the initial lack ...
Aldrich shines with help from Collins, team
Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins form an unbeatable offensive duo
Freshmen to make Kansas debut in Canada
Young Jayhawk team travels north to play three exhibition games this weekend
Taylor to start against Colorado
Self shuffles starting line-up by trading Morningstar for Taylor in hopes of ...
Taylor's return to starting lineup triumphant
Rejuvenated by Self's decision to start him, Taylor scored 17 points on ...
Rains: The two who can’t let the ...
Performances of basketball players Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich will determine this ...
Game Day: Nov. 24, 2008
Get ready for the game against Washington.
Self: No regrets about team’s season
The men’s basketball team reflects on how far it progressed this year.
Coaches begin to solve roster jigsaw
Self uses red-shirting, exhibition games to organize basketball team positions.
Slight drop off in talent doesn't affect ...
Three bench players trigger run that helps put away the Cyclones.
Live Blog: No. 1 Kansas routs Colorado
Sherron Collins ties three others as the winningest player in Kansas history.
Final: Kansas rolls in 107-68 victory against ...
Kansas set to face Fort Hays State in exhibition.
Collins' milestone overshadows success of Taylor
Taylor relishes the return of starting position, scores 17 points
Washburn game day notes
A preview of the game against Washburn tonight
Collins reasserts himself in Kansas lineup
Sophomore guard Sherron Collins, now averaging 14.7 points per game, has made ...
This year’s Big 12 championship is different
After losing all of his starters, Self wins another championship with young ...
Vosburgh: Xavier Henry needs to step up
Team leaders propel Kansas to victory despite freshman forward's poor performance.
Jayhawks’ stars share the spotlight
Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich’s numbers have decreased as younger players take ...
Balance against Emporia State similar to title ...
Marcus Morris will likely lead the team in scoring, but he won't ...
Aldrich, Reed learn the ropes
Kansas coach Bill Self said freshmen Cole Adrich and Tyrel Reed were ...
Kansas starts season without starters
The Jayhawks open the season with Pittsburg State tonight, but they'll do ...
Morningstar, team move forward
Support from other players helping, guard says.
Kansas matches fundamentals with Oakland
Players will find equals in opposing team.
Disaster in the Desert
Arizona dismantled Kansas in the second half in Tucson. The Wildcats beat ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID