0
Votes

Kansas matches fundamentals with Oakland

By Corey Thibodeaux

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Starters

Sherron Collins­­ — Collins has a lighter load this season with some of his other teammates making plays. Fewer double teams should open him up and make life easier for him and the Jayhawks if the game gets close for any reason.

Tyshawn Taylor — He is playing solid defense, but offensively Taylor is not where the team thought he would be at this point in the season. He didn’t turn the ball over against Central Arkansas after turning it over seven times against Memphis. Still, it would be nice to see more production.

Xavier Henry — Freshman phenom Henry leads the team in scoring 16.7 points per game. He did not perform well when Memphis put the pressure on. Oakland is closer to him in talent than any of the Jayhawks’ recent opponents.

Marcus Morris — Morris had his first start this season against Central Arkansas replacing brother Markieff. Kansas coach Bill Self said it was just a matter of using his perimeter defense to play around with the lineup and give more minutes to Thomas Robinson.

Cole Aldrich — Rebounding is an early weakness to this team and it all starts with Aldrich. He had five rebounds in 24 minutes against Central Arkansas after having 11 against Memphis.

Markieff Morris — Averaging six points and 5.7 rebounds per game, the Morris twins have shown vast improvement more on their athletic ability than stat sheet. The twins own most of the highlights of the season. Surprisingly, most of those highlights include what they disliked doing last season ­— dunking.

KU Tipoff At a Glance

This is the Jayhawks’ third game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase and the second on their four-game homestand. This is the third straight season where Kansas started 3-0. Kansas wants to extend its nation-leading 43 home game winning streak. On the season, Kansas has a plus-29.3 margin of victory, scoring 84 points per game and allowing 54.7 a game.

Player to watch: Cole Aldrich

Aldrich said he was excited for the matchup because he has the chance to compete against a bigger team in the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. With only five rebounds against a smaller Central Arkansas, look for Aldrich to be more aggressive on the boards and possibly in scoring, too.

Question Mark: Can the ball movement become fluid?

Kansas coach Bill Self said the ball was sticking too much. In other words, the ball is not moving as it should be. Teams continually pass the ball to make the defense work and eventually, they are caught off guard and somebody is left with an open shot. Self said the team wasn’t passing the ball well enough, and gave the defense enough time to reset. The absence of Brady Morningstar is evident in the ball sticking.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye — “I would say that it’s one of those games that you really look forward to because they have a lot of guys coming back from last year. A good challenge is always fun.” ­— Cole Aldrich, junior center.

Oakland Tipoff

Starters

Keith Benson — The 6-11 center leads the Golden Grizzlies with 16 points and 10.3 rebounds a game to go with 3.7 blocks. He will give Aldrich all he can handle.

Johnathon Jones — Jones is second on the team with 13.7 points per game, but has cooled off lately. His scoring has gone down each of his first three games this season. Starting from game one, he went 23, 15 and three.

Derick Nelson — Nelson is third on the team with 13 points per game and second with 7.3 rebounds. He shoots a lot of outside shots and will give Xavier Henry and Marcus Morris a good test on the perimeter.

Larry Wright — Wright transferred from St. John’s to Oakland last season and had to sit out because of NCAA transfer rules. He had his biggest scoring output against Rochester with 16 points.

Will Hudson — “Will the Thrill” is one of the team’s better defenders and rebounders at 6.3 a game.

Blake Cushingberry — He averages 18 minutes per game and has yet to score in double figures. “Cush” doesn’t shoot a high percentage and doesn’t fill the stat sheet in any other area.

At a Glance

Oakland is the favorite to win the Summit League this season, but the team is off to a 2-2 start. All five starters from a year ago return. This year, the Golden Gorillas have to be hungry after losing to Bradley from a 75-foot buzzer beater in the quarterfinals in the D-I CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. They have scored 97 points twice this season — both victories. Offensively, the Golden Gorillas average 72 points while allowing 67.3 points per game.

Player to Watch: Keith Benson — Center

Benson is a 6-11 junior and holds the all time season for blocks at Oakland. He’s averaging a double double this year and that is more than can be said about Cole Aldrich. He was one of 15 players, including Aldrich, to attend the Amar’e Stoudemire Skills Academy this summer. He’s also projected to be a first round pick in the NBA. Benson is definitely the best individual Kansas has faced all year.

Question Mark: Can Oakland pressure Kansas as well as Memphis?

The Kansas coaches and players said Oakland was their biggest challenge in the early part of the season besides Memphis. That said, the only way Memphis had success against Kansas is with its defensive pressure. Kansas turned the ball over 21 times as a result and was held to 57 points. Oakland may not be as athletic as Memphis, but Oakland has a dominant big man in Keith Benson. That dimension is going to test Cole Aldrich, Thomas Robinson, Marcus and Markieff Morris.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

“It’s a disappointing way to start the season. I think that there was a lot of talk and speculation about how good we are, and all that kind of stuff. I think a good Eastern Michigan team showed us today that we’re not that good and we have a lot of work to do.”

— Oakland Coach Greg Kampe on the Golden Gorilla’s 2-2 start.

— Edited by Megan Morriss

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Advertisement