Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor pressures a Fort Hays State guard during the first half in a 107-68 win. Taylor had four steals Tuesday night in the Jayhawks first win of the 2009-2010 season.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
For sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor to be the leader the Jayhawks envisioned, he needs to keep last week’s momentum going into tonight’s game against Pittsburg State.
Taylor was not in the starting lineup during the 107-68 victory against Fort Hays State because he spent much of practice in Kansas coach Bill Self’s doghouse.
“I’ve been going through a little bit on the court with Coach,” Taylor said. “I haven’t been doing what I’m supposed to be doing.”
In the first preseason game, Taylor played 21 minutes, scored 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting and added four steals and a couple of dazzling assists.
Redshirt Decisions
Kansas coach Bill Self said Monday that he had not made a decision on the team’s redshirts and said he would reveal his decision either before or after tonight’s game against Pittsburg State. Those considering redshirts are sophomore guard Travis Releford, junior guard Conner Teahan and senior guard Mario Little. To remain eligible to take a redshirt, those players are forced to sit out the exhibition games.
— Corey Thibodeaux
Taylor started in 33 out of 35 games his freshman year and, after his showing in the Under-19 Tournament this summer, was expected to play a major role for the Jayhawks. Instead, he came off the bench in the first game of his sophomore season.
“I just keep making the same mistakes,” Taylor said. “I don’t purposefully do it; it’s just how I play. I’ll be all right.”
Self said Taylor would most likely start Tuesday when the Jayhawks play host to Pittsburg State for the second and final exhibition game. Overall, Self said he was not worried about his young star’s troubles.
“Tyshawn will be fine,” Self said. “He just goes through periods with me where he’s careless. I’d rather him get it out of his system now.”
Self said he hadn’t studied the schedule that closely, but said he learned enough in the first exhibition game to know what to work on for the team’s next game.
“We didn’t trap in the post,” he said. “We need to work on more in-game situations.”
Self said one of the main goals this season was to get junior center Cole Aldrich more touches. Last year, Aldrich averaged 9.5 shot attempts per game, and Self wants to get that number up to double digits. Easier said than done on a team where points can come from any player.
“When things are going good and other guys are making shots, a lot of times we can forget about the big fella and we don’t need to do that,” Self said.
Aldrich said he was all for getting the ball when his team needed it but said he was not requesting more touches. When he gets the ball, it may not be his to shoot. Aldrich said he was working on making better decisions, especially when he draws double teams.
“You shoot a bad shot when somebody else is wide open,” Aldrich said. “We’re all unselfish and we all want to win, so whoever’s open, shoot the ball.”
Self said he still had no idea how minutes were going to pan out. He only has a small sample by which to judge the ability of the freshmen, so he will be on the lookout for consistency.
“I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you exactly what guys’ roles will be in certain situations because I don’t know how these young kids are going to react,” Self said.
The Jayhawks will try to extend a 34-game exhibition winning-streak tonight when they meet the Gorillas for the first time since a 94-57 Kansas victory in 2007. Kansas has won all seven games it has ever played against Pittsburg State, including three exhibition games. The Gorillas played their first exhibition game of the season Sunday, an 89-53 loss to Kansas State.
— Edited by Nick Gerik
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