Thursday, February 5, 2009
It was an innocent question.
After Kansas’ 75-65 victory against Baylor Monday, a reporter asked Kansas coach Bill Self in the postgame press conference whether his “relatively” young team’s success surprised him.
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor is one of six freshmen playing for the Jayhawk basketball team this season. The Jayhawks are making significant use of their freshmen in terms of minutes on the court, especially unusual in a team that is currently 7-0 in conference play.
“Relatively?” Self quipped.
It’s easy to forget that five of the eight players who appeared for at least a minute in the victory at the Ferrell Center didn’t play for the Jayhawks at all last season. It’s hard to remember that only one of them — junior guard Sherron Collins — averaged more than 10 minutes per game on the national championship team.
Those facts tend to be overlooked lately because the Jayhawks are 7-0 in the Big 12 Conference and tied with Oklahoma for first place. Their hot start to the conference season — last year’s team only won their first five conference games before losing — has everyone surprised. Even the players consider themselves ahead of schedule.
“I’m impressed, but I can’t be too impressed,” Collins said. “This is what we expect.”
The victory against Baylor helped legitimize Kansas as a contender for the Big 12 Conference championship. Coming into the game, the Jayhawks’ schedule allowed reason for doubt.
Although the Jayhawks had won their first six games, they had not beaten any teams in the top half of the Big 12 standings and were only 4-4 away from Allen Fieldhouse.
“I think our 6-0 record in the league going into this, some people probably viewed it as ‘Well, they had a favorable schedule,’ or whatever,” Self said. “Which, before the season, you don’t know it’s going to be favorable.”
But before the season, the road trip to Baylor certainly looked like one of the most daunting assignments. The Bears are among the most talented and experienced teams in the Big 12.
Self said it wasn’t the double-digit victory that proved Kansas was here to stay, but the way it got there. Self used his preferred eight-man rotation — Collins, freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor, sophomore guards Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed, junior guard Mario Little, freshmen forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris and sophomore center Cole Aldrich — and received the desirable result.
Each of them scored at least three points and played sufficient defense. Call it coach-speak, but Self described it as a “team effort.”
“Those guys played great,” Self said. “Everyone contributed.”
But Self is cautious and quick to point out that February will be a tough month. After playing Oklahoma State Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas takes on both Missouri and Kansas State on the road next week.
The Jayhawks then play Nebraska and Iowa State at home leading up to a Big Monday showdown on Feb. 23 at Oklahoma, which is ranked second in the nation. Self won’t say the Jayhawks are ready for the three-week stretch, but they’re getting closer.
“We’ve had some things happen to us that we didn’t like going through, but we probably knew we had to go through it,” Self said. “We’re still not as tough and hard as we need to be.”
Throw out the relatively. Is Self surprised by his young team’s flawless Big 12 record?
“I’m happy that we’re 7-0,” Self said. “But not really. No.”
— Edited by Chris Horn
Men's Basketball: The season in review
Beginning with Boot Camp and ending at the Elite Eight in San ...
Race for the Big 12 title
The Big 12 Conference regular season has reached its halfway point. The ...
Bears shoot 52 percent, end KU streak
Self says he wishes Kansas could have held Baylor to a better ...
Collins raises Big 12 trophy in win ...
The Jayhawks led the Sooners 81-68 to win their 53rd Big 12 ...
Good run still possible for Jayhawks
Big 12 Championship and high seeds in the NCAA tournament should be ...
Rush earns All Big 12 First Team ...
Collins wins Sixth Man of the Year; Chalmers, Robinson named to Big ...
No surprises in Big 12 standings
Men's Big 12 teams in Review
Big 12 title within reach for Jayhawks
Beating Nebraska and first place Oklahoma could net Kansas another conference championship.
One and done
No. 9 seed Baylor upsets top-seeded Kansas, winning 71-64 in quarterfinal round.
Collins outshined in Ames
Despite an outstanding performance, Iowa State’s Brackins outdoes Collins.
The road to Kansas City starts with ...
Jayhawks begin Big 12 tournament hoping to prove they deserve to stay ...
Young seven achieve their own ring
The young team stepped up and claimed the fifth straight Big 12 ...
Basketball team has struggled from outside
Most of the team’s points have come from inside and at the ...
Twins contribute to Kansas victory
Marcus and Markieff post breakout games against Baylor.
Collins ready to take up the challenge
Self has shown he knows how to motivate the junior guard.
Conference Control
How would the Jayhawks respond to playing their conference opener on the ...
This year’s Big 12 championship is different
After losing all of his starters, Self wins another championship with young ...
The high/low
Moving through the second week of Big 12 Conference play, things have ...
Kansas close to clinching conference title
Kansas can ensure at least a share of the Big 12 conference ...
A cross-conference uplift
Coaches at Big 12 Media Day say that Kansas’ championship victory put ...
Self says this tournament will be tough
Conference’s depth of talent will make the road difficult for the Jayhawks.
Jayhawks ready for tough tilt with Aggies
Texas A&M is tied with Kansas State for second place in the ...
KU-MU matchup biggest of the season
The Jayhawks look to build on their Big 12 lead following the ...
Men's basketball wrap-up
A wrap-up of the men's basketball victory over Colorado.
Football schedule filled with pushovers
Along with a weak non-conference schedule, the Jayhawks don’t play some of ...
Kansas stunned by Texas Tech
Jayhawks lose 84-65 in Lubbock but still clinch share of Big 12 ...
The week ahead
Check out what games and players to watch for this coming week ...
Three garner career highs in victory
Collins, Taylor score 26, Aldrich grabs 20 boards as Kansas wins 87-78.
Robinett: Don’t blow off Baylor
Usually the butt of Big 12 jokes, Baylor men’s basketball is experiencing ...
Self: No regrets about team’s season
The men’s basketball team reflects on how far it progressed this year.
Jayhawks stay perfect through nonconference slate
Kansas went undefeated in nonconference play for the first time since winning ...
Jayhawks feel at home on road
With success on the road and half of the Big 12 games ...
Historic rally seals conference title
After falling behind by 22 points, the Jayhawks came back to win ...
Kansas earns No. 1 seed in NCAA ...
For the second straight year, the Jayhawks are a one seed in ...
Collins secures his legacy
Collins earns his place in Kansas basketball lore with his historic 124th ...
Kansas sets its sights on Oklahoma
Tonight’s Big Monday matchup pits together the Big 12 Conference’s top two ...
Game Day: Kansas at Baylor
The Kansas Jayhawks take on the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas at ...
Self not worried about early miscues
The team struggled in portions of Tuesday's 90-59 victory, but coach Bill ...
Jayhawk’s toughness temporarily slips against Texas
Kansas is still number 1 in The Big 12
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