Team debuts in Great White North
The Jayhawks showed Canada how Kansas basketball is played, winning all three of its games against McGill, Carleton and the University of Ottawa. Coach Bill Self said his team showed gradual improvement.
By Case Keefer (Contact)
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Tyshawn Taylor wouldn’t have minded staying in Canada for an extra day to play another exhibition game.
Sherron Collins Collins was as good as he could be for not playing basketball in four months. He only appeared in the game against Carleton, but played 22 minutes, scored 10 points and made a key steal late in the game.
Cole Aldrich Aldrich dominated the smaller Canadian teams. He averaged more than 10 rebounds per game and recorded nine blocks. He still needs to work on his offensive consistency and make better outlet passes, as he threw the ball away numerous times.
Tyshawn Taylor Taylor had a game to forget against Carleton Saturday night with only three points and four fouls. Other than that, he was outstanding. He scored 38 points combined in the other two games and is clearly quicker and faster than everyone on the court.
Travis Releford Like Taylor, Releford had one poor game. He was 2-for-6 from the field with seven points and didn’t play well against Ottawa. But the night before, Releford led Kansas with 25 points against Carleton – the primary reason the Jayhawks won.
Mario Little Little dominated the final game of the trip with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. In the first two games, he didn’t play good defense and threw up poor shots. He said he was still recovering from a stress facture in his leg.
Tyrone Appleton Yikes. That’s the only appropriate way to sum up Appleton’s three games. He played more than 50 minutes but only scored four points and didn’t get involved at all offensively. Self said Appleton was going through personal issues and would improve.
Quintrell Thomas Thomas made noticeable improvement offensively as the trip went on. In the first game, he went 0-for-4 from the field. He went 4-for-7 in the final game and scored 12 points. Rebounding was never a problem as Thomas pulled down 17 in the three games.
Tyrel Reed Reed hit one of the biggest shots of the trip when he tied the game against Carleton with a three-pointer from the corner. He shot well for the most part, going 8-for-16 overall. Reed still needs to improve defensively.
Brady Morningstar Morningstar made a three-pointer at the end of the first half against Carleton to give Kansas the lead. He also turned his ankle on the play and didn’t play again on the trip. He wasn’t shooting well overall, however, as he was 3-for-10 in the two games he played in.
Conner Teahan Don’t worry; Teahan didn’t lose his shot over the summer. He made three three-pointers throughout the trip, including two crucial ones that jumpstarted a stagnant Jayhawk offense in the McGill game.
Brennan Bechard Bechard may have played better than all of the walk-ons during the trip. He scored five points, recorded four rebounds and did a decent job running the offense in the final game. He barely played in the first game and didn’t appear in the second.
Matt Kleinmann Kleinmann began to play well at the end of the last game. He scored six points and had four rebounds. But that might be misleading. Kleinmann wasn’t physical enough in the first two games and was ineffective in his nine minutes of play.
Chase Buford Buford buried a near three-pointer as the buzzer sounded at Kansas’ last game to score his only points. He missed the two other shots he attempted the trip and committed a turnover. He didn’t play against Carleton.
The freshman guard enjoyed the first three Kansas played in, especially the way the team improved in each one. If the Jayhawks played one last game, Taylor thinks they could have really dismantled an opponent.
“We’d blow them out,” Taylor said, “by like 100.”
Kansas’ trip to the Great White North built confidence for Taylor and his teammates. The Jayhawks arrived in Canada primarily as an amalgamation of highly touted recruits and previously inexperienced reserves. The team left a little closer to being ready for the season, which begins in two months.
Just ask coach Bill Self. He smiled a lot this weekend because of the way his team grew. He watched as the Jayhawks struggled to beat McGill, a mediocre Canadian team, 72-67 in their first game Saturday. He saw progress when Kansas outlasted Carleton, which had won five of the last six Canadian national championships, 84-83, later that night.
He high-fived players after the 95-60 victory against the University of Ottawa on Sunday night where it all came together.
“This was a perfect time for us to come,” Self said.
Self could only think of one way the trip could have been better — if freshmen Marcus and Markieff Morris could have joined the team. Self had to leave the Morris twins at home because the NCAA has yet to deem them academically eligible.
But Self said most of the five newcomers who were in Ottawa pleased him.
Freshman shooting guard Travis Releford surprised him when he scored a team-high 25 points against Carleton. Self used the word ‘fabulous’ when describing Taylor’s potential. He called junior-college transfer Mario Little a key to what Kansas would try to do this season.
Self said as long as the young team was open to his direction, they would be very good this season.
“This is Basketball 101,” Self said. “We’ve got some guys that, as soon as they realize they don’t know, they’ll have a chance to learn.”
The exhibition games revealed that the rookies will have a couple of veterans to look up to in addition to Self. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich served as a leader on the court with his play as he averaged 12 points, ten rebounds and three blocks per game.
Junior guard Sherron Collins, whom Self said he was disappointed with a week ago for being out of shape, acted as another coach on the bench and often helped point out things to Taylor.
Collins appeared in the Carleton game, but rested during the other two games. He played 22 minutes against the Ravens and scored 10 points. Self said he thought Collins played well and did a good job tutoring the youngsters.
“Sherron’s attitude has been absolutely stellar since he’s been back in school,” Self said. “I wish his attitude was good and he was in shape.”
Collins was as enthusiastic as his coach was about the new set of Jayhawk players. He even drew a similarity to last season’s national championship team.
“I think it’s going to be not as good as the team last year, but something like that where we have a bunch of different people who can lead us in scoring,” Collins said.
That was the case in Canada. Taylor led the team with 18 points in the first game against McGill. Releford compiled 25 points against Carleton and Little was the high-scorer with 21 points against Ottawa.
This year’s team reminded Self of a different squad than Collins — the 2005-2006 Jayhawks. They struggled at the beginning of the year before surging to a Big 12 Championship. Self thinks the Jayhawks will peak at the end of the year this season like that team did.
And he’ll remember it all started with a Labor Day trip to Canada.
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