Dent: Baby Jayhawks are a blast to watch

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Snapshot: Tyshawn Taylor races past everyone down the floor and rolls the ball off his fingertips into the hoop a split second before the first-half buzzer sounds.

Yeah, youth movements are a blast. The kids can make you forget all about those Rush and Chalmers guys.

Snapshot: Taylor bulldozes into the lane and smacks into Darnell Gant early in the first half. Charge. Marcus Morris does the exact same on the next possession.

Yeah, youth movements have their dark spots. The kids can make you want to throw a shoe at the TV.

And that’s really what this team showed in Monday night’s 73-54 victory against Washington. At times, the Jayhawks are going to frustrate. They’re going to give Bill Self migraines. They’re going to hit lower points than Citigroup stocks.

But they’re also going to take fans on adventures most nights, and they’re going to win their fair share of the big games.

They already won one. This was the first test of the season for the baby Jayhawks. They’d fallen asleep for a half against UMKC before winning, and they’d hung up a banner and slapped around Florida Gulf Coast, but they hadn’t really played anybody. Not until Monday night.

The Huskies were a real team from a major conference. They have Jon Brockman. He led the nation in rebounding last year. They have Justin Dentmon. In his career, he had started 55 more games than the entire Kansas roster.

They’re both seniors. When they combined for 19 points in the Sweet 16 against Connecticut in 2006, Quintrell Thomas and Travis Releford weren’t old enough to attend a junior-senior prom. Taylor didn’t have a driver’s license.

Now they were on the same court, playing the same game. And for the most part, the inexperience didn’t show.

Marcus got open for a quick layup in the early minutes. Markieff Morris made one in traffic a while later. They combined for 17 points and eight rebounds. Taylor snuck up on Washington guard Isaiah Thomas for a huge block. He sparked Kansas’ game-changing run with that play.

“We knew it was a big game,” Taylor said.

Youthful reminders did pop up. Kansas failed to put the game away in the first half. On one possession, Washington picked up five offensive rebounds. Several players charged even when the defenders had been set for a few seconds.

“We were out of control,” Self said. “It was like a runaway train.”

But the train never derailed. Not even close. Other young teams haven’t been nearly as fortunate in the early season.

On the Monday night before Thanksgiving three years ago, a young Kansas team also faced its first test of the season, Arizona. The Wildcats had most of their nucleus back from a team that made the Elite Eight the previous year.

And that night, the Jayhawks did what an inexperienced team does. They crumbled.

Then-freshman Mario Chalmers threw the ball away seven times. Then-freshman Brandon Rush did so four times.

The Jayhawks scored fewer points than they had in 12 years. They turned the ball over more times than they had in eight years. It was ugly. The performance was nearly the opposite of this Kansas team.

On Monday, the Jayhawks played with a youthful glow, a composure that allowed them to not worry that they were on the national stage for the first time since Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and a bunch of players who are now scattered across the world in different jerseys cut down the nets in April.

Who knows whether they can keep it up? Kansas has a tougher test tonight against Syracuse. Some of the foolish mistakes that didn’t matter against Washington could cost the Jayhawks.

Taylor could play like Releford, who got only mop-up minutes. The Morris twins could play like Thomas, who got into early foul trouble and never recovered.

You can never tell with young players. With a core of freshmen and sophomores, unpredictability reigns.

But so does excitement. Youth movements really are a blast.

— — Edited by Jennifer Torline

Morning Brew: the unpredictable NFL

Fans find Monday Night Football more alluring because of the equality of ...

/news/2010/sep/22/unpredictable-nfl/

Withey steps up to help Jayhawks against ...

The junior center contributes in both scoring and blocking, along with aiding ...

/news/2012/feb/14/withey-steps-help-jayhawks-against-tough-teams/

Baseball holds the element of surprise

The young team is well on its way to another unpredicted conference ...

/news/2009/apr/17/breckunitch/

Kansas can take its time to find ...

The Jayhawks have an easy Big 12 schedule in January.

/news/2009/jan/14/kansas_can_take_its_time_find_identity/

Game Day: Nov. 24, 2008

Get ready for the game against Washington.

/news/2008/nov/24/KUgameday/

Vernon: Jayhawks ready to compete for national ...

Despite the hype, Jayhawks prepare for the final game of the season

/news/2012/apr/01/jayhawks-ready-compete-national-title/

Soccer team’s weekend brings mixed results

Jayhawks gain first on-the-road conference victory against Oklahoma before falling to Baylor.

/news/2009/oct/19/soccer/

Kansas defeats Washington

Live from the Sprint Center at the CBE Classic, the Jayhawks beat ...

/news/2008/nov/24/kansas_vs_washington/

Syracuse defeats Kansas 89-81 in overtime

Jayhawks lose first game of the season in the final of the ...

/news/2008/nov/25/live_updates_kansas_vs_syracuse/

Collins returns in DePaul victory & Basketball ...

Sherron Collins wasn't scheduled to come back from a foot injury until ...

/news/2007/dec/08/collins_returns_depaul_victory_basketball_notes/

Youth gets opportunity to shine against St. ...

The Jayhawk baseball team caught a glimpse of several young players in ...

/news/2011/apr/19/Youth-gets-opportunity-to-shine/

Game Day: Kansas at Baylor

The Kansas Jayhawks take on the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas at ...

/news/2012/feb/08/baylor-game-day/

Three garner career highs in victory

Collins, Taylor score 26, Aldrich grabs 20 boards as Kansas wins 87-78.

/news/2009/feb/24/career_highs/

Kansas hosts three-game series against Texas Tech

The Jayhawks hope to end their four-game losing streak this weekend.

/news/2012/mar/29/kansas-texas-tech/

KU Basketball Game Day: Nov. 4, 2008

/news/2008/nov/04/game_day/

KU plays Washington with Tyshawn Taylor playing ...

Freshman Taylor is trying to fill the shoes of Mario Chalmers as ...

/news/2008/nov/24/basketballpreview/

Self not surprised by team’s performance

Coach and players find areas for improvement despite perfect Big 12 record.

/news/2009/feb/05/basketball_freshmen/

Kansas baseball beats No. 2 Texas A&M

Kansas breaks eight-game losing streak

/news/2012/apr/15/kansas-baseball-texas/

Kansas defeats New Mexico State, 100-79

Kansas takes down the Aggies, notch third straight victory.

/news/2008/dec/03/kansas_defeats_new_mexico_state_10079/

Jayhawks’ defense keys narrow victory

Kansas holds Tigers to 35 percent shooting.

/news/2009/nov/20/jayhawksdefense-keys-narrow-victory/

Taylor's Time

Kansas heads to Kansas City for the CBE Classic with Tyshawn Taylor ...

/news/2008/nov/24/taylors_time/

Colorado coach struggles to define team

Buffaloes’ football suffers an identity crisis five games into the season.

/news/2008/oct/07/colorado/

Montemayor: Jayhawk freethrow proficiency key in wins

Freethrows a major component of Kansas’ 2008 National Championship and Wednesday’s win ...

/news/2008/dec/04/montemayor_jayhawk_freethrow_proficiency_key_wins/

Robinson, Taylor share many similarities

Freshman Jayhawk will be called on to score lots of points as ...

/news/2008/oct/20/Morningbrew/

Big 12 Football Wrap-Up

This week brought debate over the new, shorter play clock, and the ...

/news/2008/sep/25/big_12_football_wrap/

Kansas, Kentucky set to clash in New ...

Led by Thomas Robinson, the Jayhawks will have their hands full with ...

/news/2011/nov/14/kansas-kentucky-set-clash-new-york/

Jayhawks must recover quickly

Kansas will play Central Arkansas for the first time ever tonight.

/news/2009/nov/19/jayhawks-must-recover/

Jayhawks work on a new game plan

They may be beatable, but it won’t be easy.

/news/2011/feb/17/jayhawks-work-new-game-plan/

Volleyball embarks on first road trip of ...

/news/2005/sep/01/sp_volleyball_preview/

Beecher: Taylor breaking through freshman wall

Tyshawn Taylor is defying conventional wisdom about freshmen with his scoring and ...

/news/2009/jan/21/beecher_taylor_breaking_through_freshman_wall/

Taylor and Self recall Robinson's tragedy

Junior forward Thomas Robinson lost his mother to a heart attack nearly ...

/news/2012/jan/19/taylor-and-self-recall-robinsons-tragedy/

Baseball team will rely on top pitchers ...

Kansas' hitters have started to improve, but Thomas Taylor and the rest ...

/news/2012/mar/01/baseball-team-relies-top-pitchers-san-antonio/

Kansas baseball debuts new starting rotation

New prospective freshmen are playing their first game in Nashville this weekend

/news/2012/feb/16/baseball-debuts/

Kansas not worried about being underdogs again

The Jayhawks are not apologizing for the way they made it to ...

/news/2012/apr/01/bball-preview/

KU Women to take on defending national ...

/news/2006/jan/26/kansas_womens_preview/

Vernon: Early season woes help Kansas to ...

A look at the team’s ups and downs throughout the first part ...

/news/2012/jan/17/season-woes/

Raising Tennessee

Tennessee is the most athletic team in the country, but Taylor Bern ...

/news/2009/jan/03/bern_athletic_volunteers_must_grow/

Kansas prepare to up the ante in ...

The men’s basketball team plays Washington on Nov. 24.

/news/2008/nov/21/cbe_classic/

Carpenter: Robinson, Taylor should produce this season

Transfer Kevin Young also has a chance at starting.

/news/2011/oct/19/carpenter-robinson-taylor-should-produce-season/

The clash of the All-Americans

Saturday’s game will bring All-Americans Robinson and Sullinger together for the first ...