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I watched Kansas beat Oregon State, and all I could think of was if the Jayhawks ever reach their ceiling, this is a team that could win the national title.
ESPN Andy Katz
“We didn’t guard the ball,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.
And that’s what he’ll take from this one. Let the fans chirp about Ben McLemore’s flying slam that brought down the house in the first half. And as was the case last week when he was chosen MVP of the CBE Classic, Travis Releford returned home to Kansas City with another big scoring game.
But the Jayhawks couldn’t come away with stops Friday, which allowed the Beavers to nearly sneak out with a victory.
“It’s early,” Releford said. “We’re still trying to figure out some things as a team.”
KC Star
“It all comes down to this. They guard the guy with the ball better than we guard their guy with the ball. We couldn’t guard No. 3 period,” KU coach Bill Self said of guard Ahmad Starks, who scored 25 points off 9-of-20 shooting, 7-of-13 from three.
“That’s something that obviously has to improve, or we’ll have to change how we play. We’ll have to start playing some zone or whatnot,” added Self.
Zone? Yes ... you read right. He said zone.
KU’s 10th-year coach, who is a disciple of man-to-man defense, was left to ponder putting his Jayhawks in a 2-3 zone after a game in which KU hit 60 percent of its shots, yet only won by six points.
“We didn’t guard the ball,” Self said. “They didn’t score off their actions. They scored off us not being able to guard the ball, which is pretty important. We can’t blame it on our offense. We got the ball where we wanted it to go, we just didn’t do any good at stopping them.”
LJW
Kansas University freshman skywalker Ben McLemore stole a pass near midcourt, dribbled through the middle of the lane and slammed the basketball through the goal.
The 6-foot-6 St. Louis native’s remarkable dunk gave the Jayhawks a 29-18 lead over Oregon State with 8:21 left in the first half of Friday’s 84-78 victory in Sprint Center.
“It looked good from where I was standing,” KU coach Bill Self said of the high-flying jam. “Ben was on a roll the first half. The second half he never really got in the flow.”
McLemore scored 21 points off 8-of-14 shooting in 27 minutes. He had 15 points off 6-of-8 shooting the first half alone.
His dunk proved to be the individual highlight of the entire game if not the season.
LJW
Oregon State senior Joe Burton, who hails from Soboba, Calif., has seen quite a change in Kansas University men’s basketball center and San Diego native Jeff Withey since they played against each other in high school.
“It’s really amazing how he grew as a player,” Burton said following KU’s 84-78 victory over OSU on Friday at Sprint Center. “He was tall back then and not very skilled, but now he’s more versatile, more skilled.”
Burton was able to chat it up with Withey on the floor a couple of times, including once in the second half when the two chuckled together in the lane following a timeout.
“It’s always good to play against a good center,” Burton said, “and see what we’re made of.”
LJW
Kansas University senior Jeff Withey, who set an NCAA Tournament record by blocking 31 shots in the 2012 postseason, continues to protect the basket at an astonishing rate.
The 7-footer from San Diego leads the country with 40 blocks in seven games — five more blocks than both Arizona State’s Jordan Bachynski (seven games) and St. John’s Chris Obekpa (eight games).
…He has 205 career blocks, which ranks sixth on KU’s all-time list. He’s 54 blocks from passing Greg Ostertag, who had 258 from 1992-95. Cole Aldrich had 253 blocks, Nick Collison 243, Eric Chenowith 242 and Scot Pollard 218.
“It would be awesome, especially at KU. It’s a historic program,” Withey said of the career blocks mark. “To have my name in the record books would be a huge honor, something I’d cherish forever.”
…In perhaps his most remarkable stat of all, Withey has committed just six fouls all season. A year ago, he had 14 blocks and 25 fouls through seven games.
…“The hardest thing to guard in our game is a skilled 4-man (power forward),” Self said. “That’s the position that screws everybody up ... having a 4-man that can stretch it or put it down. There’s no question there’s a place for a 5, and there’s not as many it seems like now, because the majority of ones aren’t in school (instead in NBA).
“Jeff ... I don’t even know if the next level he’s a center. He may be somewhat of a 41⁄2 offensively and a 5 defensively. He has evolved as a pretty good basketball player, there is no question about that.”
LJW
Johnson has had a sore knee since the CBE Classic last week, Self said, which may be contributing to his lack of explosion.
“I just don’t think he has the explosiveness that he had last year, in large part because his knee just got nicked up,” Self said. “I think he’s doing OK, but we’ve got to do a lot better.”
Johnson underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the offseason, and Self allowed for the possibility that the rehab process has slowed Johnson early in the season.
Even if that’s the case, KU expects more production from its point guard.
“I learned a long time ago, if you’re out there, you’ve got to perform,” Self said earlier this week. “There’s nothing structurally wrong. If he doesn’t quite have the same pop that he had before, then he shouldn’t be out there, because if you’re out there, we expect it.”
TCJ
NCAA All-Time Wins (thanks DCJHAWK www.jayhawkslant.com)
UK: 2094 (next game against Samford on Tues, Dec 4)
KU: 2076 (next game against Colorado on Sat, Dec 8)
UNC: 2071 (next game against East Tennessee St on Sat, Dec 8)
KUAD: WBB defeats Minnesota box score, notes, photos
When Bonnie Henrickson sends a sub to the scorer's table, Henrickson, Kansas University women's basketball coach, wants the back-up thinking about how she can impact the game the moment she steps foot on the floor.
"What happens in the game when I sub in?" Henrickson said of a bench player's proper mind-set. "It doesn't always have to be (points). It's, 'Can I drive and kick it to somebody who can make a shot?'"
The Jayhawks' substitutes provided all of the above and more Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse as KU beat a pesky Minnesota team, 65-53.
Foul trouble plagued the Jayhawks' top two players — seniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich — but Chelsea Gardner, CeCe Harper and Asia Boyd scored 16 of their 21 bench points in the second half.
With Goodrich (four fouls) limited to 21 minutes and Davis picking up her third foul less than two minutes into the second half, No. 20 KU (7-0) not only survived without its stars but found a way to thrive with sophomore forward Gardner scoring 12 of her 14 points in the final 20 minutes.
LJW
Kansas 2012-13 MBB Schedule
Kansas 2012-13 WBB Schedule
Big 12/College News
Baylor guard Pierre Jackson led the way for the Bears on Saturday afternoon, as the Bears went on the road to Lexington and upset Kentucky.
In the process, Baylor brought an end to the Wildcats’ 55-game home winning streak, a mark that had been the longest such stretch in the nation. That title now belongs to Long Island, who has won 28 games in a row at home.
The struggles for Kentucky have been longstanding over the course of the first few weeks of the season, but pressure is mounting following a week in which the Wildcats have now suffered back-to-back losses.
Link
As the final seconds melted away in San Diego State's 78-69 victory over UCLA on Saturday night, the Aztecs' irreverent student section delighted in taking one final parting shot at their neighbors to the north.
"We run Cali," the students chanted over and over again.
A statement that would've seemed ludicrous when Steve Fisher took over a program coming off 13 losing seasons in 14 years now is nearly undeniable. The Aztecs have earned the right to call themselves the best college basketball team in California after 26 consecutive wins over in-state foes including a pair of victories apiece over Cal, USC and Long Beach State.
That it was no surprise San Diego State added UCLA to its list of in-state victims is a testament to the trajectory of both programs these days.
…It was especially meaningful for San Diego State to beat UCLA because the Bruins have never been willing to agree to a series against the Aztecs during Fisher's 15-year tenure. The only reason San Diego State got a shot at UCLA this season was because Honda Center officials were tired of the Wooden Classic being played in front of a half-empty arena and they knew Aztecs fans would eagerly make the 90-minute drive to see their team in a marquee game.
San Diego State fans did not disappoint, much to the delight of Fisher and the dismay of Howland.
About 70 percent of the 17,204 fans at the Wooden Classic wore red and black and rooted against the program the event's namesake coached, an embarrassing scene unlikely to help Howland's case to keep his job. San Diego State's students twisted the knife every chance they got, noting the empty section on the opposite baseline with a "Where's your students?" chant before the game and serenading UCLA players with a "You should transfer" chant during the second half.
Said Fisher, "I was very, very proud of our crowd. They have allowed us to grow our program, and they displayed that tonight."
Said Howland, "They had great crowd support. It was like playing a road game wearing a white jersey, which you don't do too often."
Yahoo
Is there a college basketball team more capable of either springing stunning upsets or falling victim to them than Florida State? The Seminoles managed just five points in the final six minutes at home against Mercer on Sunday and fell 61-56. They've now lost home games against South Alabama, Minnesota and Mercer this season, which means given their Jekyll-and-Hyde history, they're obviously due to upset undefeated Florida on Wednesday night.
…Twice Cal State Fullerton sank the game-tying shot in the final 32 seconds Sunday night at Washington. Twice the Titans committed ill-advised fouls in the frontcourt on the ensuing possession to enable the Huskies to regain the lead. Cal State Fullerton's holiday generosity allowed Washington to eke out a 74-72 home win in a game the Huskies trailed by 14 at halftime. It wasn't exactly a confidence-inspiring result against a 3-4 Big West opponent, but it was better than the alternative.
Yahoo
They say Rick Majerus died of heart failure. They're wrong.
The Rick Majerus I knew was all heart. His life, all 64 years of it, was a breadcrumb trail of random acts of kindness. I'm not sure I can recall a conversation with him that didn't begin or end with, "How can I help?"
OK, maybe there was one: about a week or so ago, when we did the speakerphone thing. Me in Wheaton, Ill., him in his Los Angeles hospital room.
He wasn't able to speak much above a whisper, which meant I could remind him about one of the worst purchases he ever made: a two-seater Thunderbird convertible that groaned when he sat in it. Majerus and tiny sports cars were meant for each other like Majerus and broccoli smoothies.
ESPN Wojciechowski
And for all of Georgetown’s achievements — Thompson’s 1984 NCAA championship chief among them — Hoya basketball is no doubt diminished when the caliber of its Big East peer group is diminished.
Consider the basketball credentials of the outgoing Big East members.
Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia have won three NCAA championships and appeared in 18 NCAA Final Fours. Five of those Final Four appearances have come in the past 20 years.
Compare that with the credentials of the schools taking their place — Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, Southern Methodist, Temple and Tulane. They have won zero NCAA championships and appeared in 11 NCAA Final Fours. Only one of those Final Four appearances has come in the past 20 years (Memphis, 2008), and that was vacated because of NCAA violations.
“There is no way that league is going to be viewed as having the same strength,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. “Losing Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt — some of the top-earning brands — and replacing them with Tulane, East Carolina [which will compete in football only] and Temple? That doesn’t pass the straight-face test.”
So what should Georgetown do?
Former Seton Hall coach Bill Raftery, now an analyst for CBS and ESPN, believes Georgetown should stand pat and make the best of the new Big East.
Washington Post
Hofstra coach Mo Cassara said Sunday he was still “heartbroken” and was finding it “really hard,” to deal with the aftermath of four players being arrested for thefts on campus. The Pride then went out and got smoked by SMU. Hofstra has had a tough season already, being displaced for weeks by the Presidential debate, and then dealing with Hurricane Sandy and the after effects of a power outage, and now a devastating legal mess with the team gutted by four arrests.
ESPN
The University of Missouri released records on their secondary violations over the last year. Highlights included:
A basketball coach evaluated prospects in July 2012 at an event not certified by the NCAA. The program also ran an elite camp with different sleeping and eating arrangements. That resulted in a loss of four recruiting-person days and the loss of an elite camp this summer.
First, it is surprising that Missouri head basketball coach Frank Haith was not suspended for the camp violation. This is from the Board of Directors Basketball Focus Group plan:
Endorse and strongly encourage the use of suspensions of a head men’s basketball and/or assistant men’s basketball coach by the enforcement staff, in the case of secondary infractions, or the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, in the case of secondary or major infractions, from coaching in NCAA tournament games or regular season games for violations of the following:
The operation of men’s basketball camps in violation of NCAA legislation. [Tier I-2-c and/or Tier III-3]
Haith’s program violated one of the specific recommendations of the Board of Directors and those recommendations include a “strongly encouraged” penalty of suspension for the head coach. Tom Izzo must be fuming.
Link
2012-13 Early Season Events List
Big 12 Composite Schedule
Recruiting
KU signee Conner Frankamp scored 46 points in Wichita North’s 76-43 season-opening victory over Wichita Northwest on Friday.
The 6-foot combo guard hit 14 of 25 shots, including seven of 12 three-pointers. He was 11-of-11 from the free-throw line and had 10 rebounds with three assists and two steals against one turnover. Frankamp passed Ricky Ross (South) for fourth place on the Wichita City League’s career scoring list. According to the Wichita Eagle, he has 1,687 points, 52 behind Heights’ Aubrey Sherrod for third.
LJW
11/30/12, 9:30 PM
Kansas signee Wayne Selden went for a triple-double tonight as he had 19 points, 18 rebounds & 10 assists for Tilton (NH).
Alex Kline (@TheRecruitScoop)
Andrew Wiggins will visit Florida State from Dec. 4-5, Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford confirmed.
“He’s going to Florida State, I think Tuesday morning,” Fulford said after Wiggins scored 29 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, blocked five shots and recorded five assists in a 76-59 win over Memphis East on Friday. “He’s going down for the Florida game [Wednesday].”
Both of Wiggins' parents -- former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and former Canadian Olympic track star Marita Payne-Wiggins -- attended Florida State.
“I like to see everything that happened there with my parents,” Wiggins said of FSU. “It would be a joy to go there, I mean great weather. Great people, great education. Great coaching staff. they make players better. They don’t always get the best players in the nation, or top five or top ten, but they develop four-year players to get ready for the NBA.”
Fulford said Wiggins would also like to visit Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina.
“He’s said he wants to go to Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina,” he said. “Those are the ones he said he wants to visit. Timeframe, we don’t know. I mean obviously we just don’t have a ton of weekends available for visits. I know he’s going to take this one because his parents can come, but yeah, he said he wants to take at least those four.”
Link
Wiggins dominates at Marshall County Hoopfest
My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube
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