Aldrich turns game around

By Tim Dwyer

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

It took Kansas more than 11 minutes to get the ball inside to Cole Aldrich with any frequency. When they finally did, it made all the difference.

Aldrich made one of his trademark ugly-but-effective hook shots and it opened up the offense for the previously struggling Jayhawks.

During the next possession, Aldrich got the ball and kicked it out for a Tyshawn Taylor three. The deficit, which stood at 14, was cut to nine. Taylor hit another three and the Jayhawks were instantly back in the game. Aldrich got a block, one of four on the night, and threw down a dunk on the ensuing possession. Four-point game. Turnover, Taylor layup. Two-point game. All of a sudden, what looked like a blowout was a ballgame.

And Aldrich made all the difference, opening up the floor for Taylor’s surprise offensive explosion.

That sequence was the start of a 28-7 run to close the half and give the Jayhawks a seven-point lead at halftime. Aldrich had 11 rebounds for the Jayhawks in the second half in what ended up being, arguably, the sophomore center’s most impressive outing of the season.

Those 11 boards combined with nine in the first half meant Aldrich finally reached the 20-rebound milestone, a golden standard of post play that only Sooners sophomore Blake Griffin had reached in Big 12 play in this year. While guards Taylor and Sherron Collins will steal hearts and headlines with their twin 26-point, three-assist performances, it was Aldrich’s workhorse effort that perhaps played the biggest role in the Kansas victory.

Oklahoma’s rotation of posts consisted of Taylor Griffin, Ryan Wright and Juan Patillo. Those three combined for 19 rebounds. That fact is staggering. Aldrich outrebounded the entire Oklahoma frontcourt.

Granted, Oklahoma was missing the consensus national player of the year in the younger Griffin brother, but that is nothing to take away from Aldrich’s performance. There is no question that Griffin would have gone out and gotten his, likely posting a double-double had he been at full health. But Aldrich’s performance was a tour de force of the abilities that have NBA scouts drooling at his potential, one that likely would have been slowed but not stopped had his counterpart come into the game.

To complement his glass-cleaning capabilities, Aldrich finished with 15 points for his third straight double-double and his 16th of the season.

After pulling down a then-career high 18 rebounds against Oklahoma State, Aldrich said it wore him out to grab that many boards. Imagine how tired he must be after 20.

Get some rest, Cole. You’ve earned it.

— — Edited by Susan Melgren

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