Bahama Bound!

KUAD: Kansas vs Wake Forest preview (Video, transcript)


KUAD: Kansas vs Wake Forest pregame notes (Seth Davis, Kenny Rice announcers)


AXS TV #Battle4Atlantis Social Media page


2015 Maui Invitational: Indiana, Kansas, St. John's, UCLA, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Chaminade.
KUAD Press Release


In 1987, Chaminade picked out Lahaina Civic Center as its venue -- and hosted Danny Manning and his Miracles from Kansas -- and it has remained in Lahaina since.

In 1990, Chaminade president Dr. Kent Keith approached Chicago-based public relations firm KemperLesnik -- which already had operated the Women's Kemper Open, the first live sporting event ever televised in Hawaii -- and proposed the firm take over the operations for the tournament. In 2001, EA Sports became the title sponsor.

There have been other, more recent, changes: In 2011, the tournament expanded to 12 teams, adding opening and regional round games. Odom spearheaded the transition, which kept the original holiday tournament from falling prey to a glut of early-season events that offered less travel and more attractive financial propositions, in the form of hosted "preliminary" round games.

Lahaina has changed too: The event brings roughly 4,500 people, and an estimated $8 million a year to the island. The Civic Center has seen at least $1 million in renovations, from a new floor to new scoreboards to, in 2003, good, old-fashioned air conditioning.

Meanwhile, plenty of other tournaments have copied the Maui formula, and are getting better at it all the time. In recent years, even as the Maui field has remained loaded, events such as the Battle 4 Atlantis have put together excellent fields on the promise of similar benefits -- Thanksgiving in paradise -- without all 5,000 miles of travel to go along with it.

"People seem to wonder all the time ... are you going to be able to keep this thing going?" Odom said. "The way I see it, there are enough teams for everybody."

Meanwhile, 30 years on, a few things have stayed the same. The venue still seats 2,400 fans for each game. Thanks to that size, the atmosphere -- which is probably best described as "high school gym on steroids" -- stands in stark contrast to many of the events that have followed in its wake, where cavernous gyms are quiet no matter how good the basketball is on the floor.
ESPN: Maui turns 30


He still loves the Mario Chalmers story. More than any other story from his first 10 seasons at Kansas, you’re most likely to hear Bill Self talk about that day in Maui eight years ago, when Chalmers couldn’t get the ball across half court.

Chalmers was a freshman. Kansas was playing Arizona. And a young KU team turned the ball over 27 times — Chalmers had seven — in a 61-49 loss to Arizona.

Three years later, Chalmers and the Jayhawks won the NCAA Championship. But if Self suspects that somebody is forgetting about the growing pains, he’ll pull out the Chalmers story:

Hey, remember when Mario couldn’t get the ball across half court?

Self has another reason to use the story this week, as he prepares to take another freshman-dominated team to a tourney in paradise. The second-ranked Jayhawks, 4-0, will open the Battle 4 Atlantis against Wake Forest at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Sometimes you take a young team to a tropical island and it does not go so well.

“It can be a bit of a distraction,” sophomore forward and Wichita native Perry Ellis said. “But I feel like we all know we’re going out there to try to handle business. That’s the mind-set we want to have.”

The games at the Atlantis tourney are played in Imperial Arena, a large ballroom in Nassau, Bahamas, that is transformed into a 3,900-seat basketball court. KU will play three games in three days — beginning on Thanksgiving. If the Jayhawks beat Wake Forest on Thursday, they’ll play the winner of Villanova-Southern California on Friday.)
KC Star

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KU’s players and three charters full of fans who are Williams Fund members will depart for the Bahamas this afternoon. KU will meet Wake Forest in a first-round Battle 4 Atlantis game at 2:30 p.m., Central time, Thursday in Paradise Island, Bahamas. About 1,500 KU fans are expected to be in the stands for the opener in the 3,900-seat Imperial Arena, which is actually a ballroom/convention center.

This classifies as a business trip with a bit of time for fun.

“We had a parent email us and ask, hey, let us know when the kids’ free time is so we can get with our kids, and I emailed them back, and I said, ‘This is a business trip, there’s no free time,’” Self said. ‘“You have the free time, not us.’ We’ll give them some time on Wednesday, and we’ll give them some time on Sunday, but other than that and Tuesday night when we get there they can hang out and stuff, but we’re not concerned about anything other than trying to win games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and eat good Thursday night.”

…Kansas University’s basketball big men — Tarik Black, Perry Ellis, Joel Embiid, Landen Lucas, Hunter Mickelson, Jamari Traylor and Justin Wesley — engage in some spirited battles at practice.

“It’s pretty crazy,” said Lucas, KU’s 6-foot-10, 240-pound red-shirt freshman power forward from Portland, Ore. “Last year it was pretty much Jeff (Withey) and I guarding each other, and that’s about it. This year you’ll get matched up on so many different bigs. Everybody has their own skill set. I think it’s good for all of us. We all get better.”

Through four games, Lucas ranks as KU’s fifth big in terms of playing time, ahead of Wesley. Mickelson can practice but not play in games this season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules.

“I’ve talked to coach a lot about it. We stay in constant communication about it,” Lucas said of discussion about his role. “If there’s one program where you are going to be patient, it’s a program like this. I’m enjoying the ride and trying to get better. Once it is my turn, I think I’ll be ready to go.”

…Self, whose team is loaded with depth in the frontcourt as well as the backcourt, said Lucas is definitely ready to contribute at this level.

“He’s good. He’s just a freshman. He has a bright future. I’m excited about his future,” Self said. “It doesn’t mean he can’t play this year. He has to play better than some of the other guys in front of him. He doesn’t need to get discouraged at all. There’s a lot of guys who would love to be able to start a couple years at Kansas. He’s one of those guys, no question.”

For now, Lucas is trying to earn his own minutes and help players such as freshman Embiid progress at a rapid rate.

“It’s unbelievable how quick he’s developed. His potential is through the roof,” Lucas said. “If he could get Jeff’s timing, it’d be unbelievable (in terms of shot blocking). He (Embiid) is more athletic and quicker off the floor. Jeff was so patient, he wouldn’t go for ball fakes. That’s hard to find in somebody who likes to block shots.”

…Lucas, who was born in Tokyo and learned the Japanese language during his sixth- and seventh-grade years while living with his mom in the city of Fukui, is studying Japanese at KU.

“I’ll probably do some kind of double-major in Japanese. I want to do something in business or communications, which is my focus,” Lucas said. “I took two (classes) last year. I’ll probably try to finish it up the next couple years. I learned it straight from (being in) Japan. Learning it here is a little bit different.”
LJW


The 11th-year coach often cites defensive field-goal percentage as his favorite statistic to look at. There’s good reason: KU ranks near the top in the statistic every year.

If one looks at effective field-goal percentage — a stat that adjusts to take into account that 3-pointers are worth more than twos — KU’s defense has ranked in the top 10 of the category in nine of the past 10 seasons. In Self’s worst year (2010-11), KU ranked 14th in the stat.

So far in a tiny sample size of four games, the Jayhawks rank 134th.

“We've had a lot of really good defensive teams here,” Self said. “I think there's some things that we do good, but I would say (we’re a) jack‑of‑all‑trades, master of none, so to speak. I don't know if there's anything we can really hang our hat on yet.”

Not surprisingly, Self wants this team to eventually look like all the others he’s coached at KU.
The goal, for Self, is to limit opposing teams to one shot or fewer while also not allowing extra possessions.

“All the teams that win big in the end, they all hang their hat on that,” Self said.

KU certainly has succeeded in holding teams to one shot.

The Jayhawks rank third nationally in defensive rebounding percentage, as they’ve grabbed 81.3 percent of available defensive rebounds.

“I watch us in practice and in games, and it's not like we're the most disciplined block‑out team we've ever had,” Self said, “but either the ball is falling right so far, or we've done a good job of going after it.”

This is one instance where KU’s offense might also be helping its defense. Because the Jayhawks have the talent to run, many teams could adjust by sending fewer men to the offensive glass to guard against the Jayhawks’ transition game.
TCJ


The overriding impression you get after watching Andrew Wiggins play for Kansas is:

Man, that Selden kid is really good.

Wayne Selden is Wiggins' classmate, teammate and, possibly, lottery-mate come June's NBA draft.

But if the Sixers hold one of the top picks, unless they trade down or subscribe to some analytic that negates perfect size and otherworldly talent, Selden won't be bound for Philly or Orlando or any of the other self-sabotaged franchises eager for the No. 1 overall pick.

Whether Wiggins flourishes or flops at Kansas this season, the anointment is done. With a 7-foot wingspan, a 44-inch vertical leap and hands the size of flippers, Wiggins, if healthy, will be looking down on the rest of the draftees. He'll be a one-and-done wonder, despite the cautionary tales being lived out by fellow Canadian Anthony Bennett and volume-shooter John Wall, both one-and-done No. 1s.

…Wiggins isn't The Next anyone. At 6-8 and a mechanical shooter, he won't score like Durant. Wiggins' first step is quick, but . . . Kobe? No. And the only thing Wiggins shares with Le-Bron is height and hype; Wiggins is 40 to 50 pounds lighter and lacks point-guard skills. He won't Magically transform a franchise from irrelevancy to contention.

But he will be asked to do so. No worries; he craves the attention, such as the notice he got when his Jayhawks beat Duke and Jabari Parker on Nov. 12 in Chicago at the Champions Classic.

"I love moments like that," Wiggins said Friday night. "Big crowds. Big-name people in the gym."

Friday lacked either; a 30-point walk over visiting Towson, Kansas' coming-of-age game for a roster rebuilt. Selden and Wiggins likely will be NBA starters this time next year, but 7-foot freshman backup center Joel Embiid, a Cameroon native who abandoned volleyball for basketball at 16, might be the most impactful future pro in Lawrence today.

Wiggins' deference to his talented teammates is a blessing - selflessness seldom is inherent in a star - and a curse, if Kansas hopes to make an NCAA title run. He scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first half against Towson, at which point Kansas led, 49-16.

Wiggins took only one shot (and missed) in the second half. He finished with 16 points, just shy of his season average.

"Andrew can score three baskets in a row and not run as hard the fourth time because he's thinking, 'I just scored three in a row. Let somebody else score,' " Kansas coach Bill Self said. "That's the kind of stuff we need to try and break."

…If a comparison must be made, the player Wiggins recalls most is willowy Pacers swingman Paul George. That is no slight.

George, the best player on the most complete team in the Eastern Conference, spent two seasons at Fresno State before being taken 10th in the 2010 draft, long after Wall and, of course, Sixers guard Evan Turner, the second pick that year.

Still, it took George - 6-8 and 210 pounds - 2 years before, at 22, he became an All-Star, which should be a perennial engagement. That should be enough in Philadelphia, or Orlando, or anywhere, really.

Wiggins can throw down dunks, sure, but he is years away from having the strength to do so in NBA traffic.

He can defend when he wants (George is a splendid defender), but Wiggins currently lacks the focus to play that hard all game.

…Selden, at 6-5 and 230 pounds, dominates. He probably will be a more impactful pro than Wiggins for two NBA seasons or so.

That's fine. It took that many seasons for George to consistently assert himself, too. George arrived last season. Now, he can rip a team's heart out, as he did to the Knicks in Madison Square Garden last week.

George excels with help. Roy Hibbert is a game-changing center. George Hill is a fine, young point guard. Those are exactly the conditions that will exist in Philadelphia next season and beyond, when Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams begin to blossom.

They can grow together. Selden might be a man among boys now, but Wiggins can be a beast.
Philly.com


Looking at some numbers from last year, convinced anew that KU losing to TCU had to be an Internet hoax. Did anyone actually see that game?
@JohnGasaway

Where’s the most expensive ticket in college basketball?

It’s at Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, according to one secondary ticket marketplace.

The median price for Kansas basketball tickets on the secondary market is $265, according to a report by Vivid Seats, which tracks such numbers. The secondary market includes tickets sold through brokers and other online marketplaces — not official season tickets from Kansas.

The average Kansas ticket sold on the secondary market is more expensive than second-place Kentucky ($200) and Duke ($179). KU’s Allen Fieldhouse seats 16,300 for home games, while Kentucky plays its home games at Rupp Arena, which holds 23,500 for basketball. Duke plays its games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, which has an official capacity of 9,314.

According to Vivid, Kansas will play host to seven of the 25 most expensive college basketball games of this season — at least in the secondary market. Oklahoma State’s visit to Lawrence on January 18th is the most expensive KU game and seventh-most expensive matchup overall, with a median ticket price of $420. For now, North Carolina’s trip to rival Duke on March 8th projects as the most expensive ticket of year, with a current median price of $1,459.

The average Kansas ticket on the secondary market, according to Vivid, is $305. Official season tickets to Kansas games, of course, can be considerably cheaper on a per-game average. But those numbers wouldn’t include the contributions fans must make to KU’s Williams Education Fund to secure a prime seat location at Allen Fieldhouse.
Link

Thanks to all the Jayhawk fans that were at the game today.. Really Thankful for the support! Rock chalk and happy holidays
@MookMorris2

@MikePradaSBN: I imagine Beasley saying “WHOA YOU GUYS ARE TWINS??” here

VOTE HERE for Pierce, Chalmers, Markieff Morris 2014 NBB All-Stars


Kansas continues its four-game road trip by heading south to the EZ Global Payments Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Nov. 28-30. The Jayhawks are set to play three games in three days against Central Michigan, Xavier and No. 2 Duke over the Thanksgiving holiday tournament. KU opens the tournament with Central Michigan on Nov. 28 at 2:30 p.m.

All three games will be on the Jayhawk Radio Network with Nate Bukaty calling the plays. Additionally, Jayhawk fans can watch the games through Paradise Jam on YouTube Live or follow live stats. A link to stats and live streaming for all three games can be found at paradisejam.com.
KUAD: KUWBBall preview

Big 12/College News

Andrew Harrison’s three-point play broke a 57-all tie before twin brother Aaron followed with a 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining, helping No. 3 Kentucky escape stubborn Cleveland State 68-61 on Monday night.
AP


The frustration of a few unfavorable late second-half calls apparently had not yet subsided when Cleveland State assistant Jermaine Kimbrough signed onto Twitter a few hours after Monday night's game at Kentucky ended.

As a result, Kimbrough sent out a flurry of angry tweets blaming referees for helping the Wildcats erase a 10-point deficit in the game's final seven minutes and escape with a 68-61 victory.

Kimbrough deleted the tweets within an hour of publishing them but not before screen shots of them spread via social media.
Yahoo (Pics at the link)


Iowa State has already shown it can beat good teams like Michigan and BYU. The Cyclones have also proven they can dominate overmatched opponents.

DeAndre Kane had 20 points and eight rebounds, and 17th-ranked Iowa State trounced Missouri-Kansas City, 110-51, Monday night for its fifth straight win.

Sherron Dorsey-Walker added 17 points for the Cyclones (5-0), who used a 27-0 run midway through the first half to put away the Kangaroos.

Iowa State, which was hosting a game as a ranked team for the first time in eight years, posted its third win of at least 30 points this season.

"We've got a lot of guys that can do a lot of things," Kane said. "We play unselfish basketball. We share the ball. We've got a lot of guys that can score, a lot of guys that can rebound. But it all starts with defense."
AP


The Texas Longhorns led the majority of the second half, but BYU found a way to lead when it mattered most. With 1:45 remaining, the Cougars took the lead on a Tyler Haws jumper and held on via the free-throw line to seal it.

Haws scored 19 of the last 21 points for BYU after enduring one of the least impressive stretches of his college career — scoring just two points and doing little else in the first 25 minutes of the game. The last 15 minutes, however, he redeemed himself and then some.

On one hand, BYU was lucky just to be in the game at the end. It took a combination of other-worldly 3-point shooting (10-of-12), Texas missing 11 free throws and 18 3-pointers, and the officiating suddenly turning in BYU's favor the last 10 minutes for the Cougars to come away on the plus side in this one.

BYU survived despite being severely outmuscled in the paint by a much bigger Texas team that was more than happy to throw its weight around. Featuring three young highly recruited big men, all at least 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, the Longhorns pushed the Cougars around inside, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds and blocking nine shots.

Fortunate as it may have been Monday evening, BYU will take the win and move on to play No. 12 Wichita State on Tuesday night for the CBE Hall of Fame Classic championship.
Deseret News


Andrew Wiggins in the house @CBHOFwknd #CBEHalloFameClassic to watch brother Mitch play for WSU. #kubball
@rmgoff


After watching Chaminade guard Christophe Varidel score 31 first-half points, No. 18 Baylor discovered that it did bring its defense to Hawaii in the second half.

The Bears used their superior height and athleticism to lock down Varidel and pulled away for a 93-77 win Monday night in the Maui Invitational.

Following their fifth straight win to open the season, the Bears advanced to the semifinals against the winner of Monday’s late game between No. 11 Gonzaga and Dayton. Baylor will play at 8:30 p.m. Central time Tuesday night on ESPN.

Varidel finished with 42 points which was only one short of the Maui Invitational record of 43 points scored by Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison in 2005. The sharp-shooting guard hit a tournament record 10 of 16 3-pointers and 14 of 29 overall.

Varidel helped Florida Gulf Coast reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last season before transferring to Chaminade (2-1) for his senior year.

“We didn’t guard anybody in the first half and Varidel was on fire,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said in his postgame radio interview. “But we made adjustments at the half and Royce O’Neale did a terrific job on him.”
Link


The Red Raiders knew they were in for a challenge when they were automatically selected to play Pittsburgh in the first round of the major Progressive Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Texas Tech was tested and fell to a top 25 caliber Panthers team on Monday, 76-53.

Senior forward Jaye Crockett had a very strong performance. He recorded a team-best 19 points for the Red Raiders (4-2) as well as six rebounds, but the Red Raiders’ undoing was 17 turnovers to 10 assists in addition to shooting 38.8 percent from the floor compared to Pittsburgh’s 47.2 shooting percentage.

The Brooklyn tournament features the Red Raiders, Pittsburgh (5-0), Stanford (5-1) and Houston (5-1).

Stanford defeated Houston later in the evening, 86-76, which relegated the Cougars to the consolation game along with Texas Tech. That means the Red Raiders will square off with Houston head coach James Dickey, who coached in Lubbock from 1991 to 2001, today at 6 p.m. Central time.
DMN


Maui gets a great one with Dayton over Gonzaga.

A boneheaded foul by Kevin Pangos in the final minute, when Pangos had 27 points, gave the Zags guard his fifth and took him off the court. That meant Gonzaga didn't have its most reliable scorer on the floor as it tried to scratch back and steal the game away from the Flyers. No dice. An 84-79 final in favor of Archie Miller's team, which is now 5-0.

This was a great Maui game, one of those well-after-midnight affairs that is worth the watch and the type of gripping game we get every other year at Maui. Gonzaga blew a 16-point lead, and give credit to Dayton for hitting big foul shout after big foul shot down the stretch. Plus, Jordan Sibert -- or should I say, Jordan Sib3rt -- hit five 3s to give Dayton the edge in the second half.

Really fun game. You gotta love Maui.

This also damages Gonzaga in the sense that it loses this game, now it'll play D-II Chaminade on Tuesday, and D-II results don't go toward a team's NCAA tournament resume. If it wins there, it'll play either Minnesota or Arkansas on Wednesday, and neither of those teams are likely to be NCAA touranment-caliber. So the Zags' non-con schedule takes a significant hit with this loss.
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Recruiting

@CoachAJohnson:
Findlay Prep (Kelly Oubre) vs Planet Athlete
Wed, Nov 27th @7pm
@HendersonIntl
Streamed on http://thebasketballchannel.net


I can't wait for College basketball next year🏀 #RockChalk #LetsGetThisMoney
@K_Ctmd22


JaQuan Lyle, a 6-5 senior shooting guard from Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, plans to visit KU for the Kansas State game on Jan. 11, he told Rivals.com. Lyle is ranked No. 22 in the recruiting Class of 2014 by Rivals.com and is a good friend of KU signee Cliff Alexander.
LJW


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My Late Night in the Phog videos, KU Alumni games videos, 2011-12 Border War videos, Legends of the Phog videos, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/kcjcjhawk