KUAD Box Score, Recap, Quotes, Notes, Video
LJW Video and Audio pressers and post-game interviews
ESPN Recap, Video
ESPN Photos
UDK Photos
KC Star Photos
LJW Photos Game
KUAD Photos
TCJ Photos
3/2/13, 2:50 PM
Ben going crazy! #kubball
https://twitter.com/next718star
3/2/13, 4:12 PM
I think they learned today that this might be a misprint..... lol pic.twitter.com/7jYFioXkwJ
https://twitter.com/landenlucas33
3/2/13, 11:00 PM
Congrats to my boy @elijahjohnson15 for the number one play on top ten!!
https://twitter.com/t_self11
Exactly 28 years to the day that Manning dropped 35 points on Oklahoma State and a senior guard named Bill Self, McLemore dropped Manning from the record books.
“He’s a great player, and one of the best players to play at the University of Kansas,” McLemore said. “And just breaking that record, knowing that I did something great for the University is just great. I’m just happy.”
The Jayhawks (25-4 and 13-3 in the Big 12) won their sixth straight game — further removing themselves from a three-game February blip — and they are now just two victories away from clinching their ninth straight Big 12 title.
But here’s the question underlining McLemore’s brilliance on Saturday afternoon: On Monday night, the Jayhawks will take the court against Texas Tech on senior day. And McLemore, a potential top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, may be playing his final game in the Fieldhouse as well.
“We’re not gonna talk about this until the season’s over,” KU coach Bill Self said. “But he could be obviously running out there the last time, too.”
In that context, McLemore’s performance on Saturday was one for history. No Kansas freshman had ever scored like this. (We’ll pause to note that rules prohibited Wilt Chamberlain from playing his first year on campus.) And no freshman had ever been this dominant — yet so selective at the same time. For his 30 minutes, before he came out to a standing ovation, McLemore conducted a master class on efficient scoring. He was five of six from the three-point line, 12 of 15 overall, and seven of nine from the free-throw line.
“As efficient as I’ve seen a guard be,” Self said.
…“I love this kid, man,” Johnson said. “I never tell him. I think he knows, though. But I learned a lot from him. I can honestly say I learned a lot from him. He’s a hard worker. You would think that he’s the worst player in the gym the way he approach it every day.”
“We just gotta focus on what’s in front of us right now,” McLemore said. “And my focus is just, go out there and play ball — and have these seniors happy and leave out with a great year.”
KC Star
“I just want to thank my teammates, especially Elijah, creating for me,’’ McLemore said. “They’ve seen me get on a roll. Elijah sees me get on that roll and he keeps it coming to me.’’
Freshmen became eligible to play in varsity games in 1972-73. The best output any of them managed for KU, until Saturday, was a 35-point performance by Danny Manning. It happened 28 years ago to the day, on March 2, 1985.
Ever the historian, Bill Self added some perspective on that game. He was defending on the back line of Oklahoma State’s 2-3 zone as Manning erupted for 35.
Self was a senior that year for the Pokes.
“I think he got 20 on me,’’ Self said of Manning, who served as an assistant on Self’s KU staff before taking over at Tulsa this season.
McLemore knows a little something about the significance of the freshman mark he broke. He was on the KU roster last season, forced to sit out because the NCAA declared him academically ineligible. So he got to know Manning as a coach and hear the stories about him as the star who led KU to the 1988 national title.
“He’s a great player, one of the best to ever play at the University of Kansas,’’ McLemore said. “To break that record and knowing that I did something great for the university is great. I’m just happy I did it.’’
News of the record was broken by Johnson when he subbed in for McLemore with 5:24 left.
“I figured I’d just send him to the bench in even better spirits,’’ Johnson said.
McLemore never re-entered, which was a subtle move by Self. The KU coach allowed McLemore to set the KU freshman record, but he didn’t let him top the 39 Johnson scored at Iowa State.
TCJ
LJW image
A bad pass by Ben McLemore earned Kansas University’s freshman sensation a spot on the bench — and an earful from his coach — four minutes into the Jayhawks’ 91-65 rout of West Virginia on Saturday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse.
“He knows he can’t feed the post that way,” Bill Self said of a dish into forward Kevin Young that turned into a turnover. “I took him out. I didn’t leave him out long, though. I think it had something to do with, ‘Hey wake up and play,’ more than anything.”
McLemore, who had two points at the time of his early exit, returned 2 1/2 minutes later. The 6-foot-5 guard from St. Louis erupted for 19 first-half points in staking KU to a 45-31 lead. He finished with a KU-freshman record 36 points off 12-of-15 shooting and 7-of-9 free throwing in just 30 minutes.
McLemore — he hit five of six threes — broke the old freshman scoring record of 35 points set by Danny Manning against Oklahoma State on March 2, 1985 — exactly 28 years to the day in Stillwater, Okla.
“I made a bad pass to Kevin. I messed up,” McLemore said of the early gaffe, which so upset his coach and may have signaled a lack of focus against the (13-16, 6-10) Mountaineers.
“I went back out there and had the opportunity to make up for it, which I did.”
LJW
Kansas senior center Jeff Withey tried to take a politically correct stance after Saturday’s 91-65 victory over West Virginia. Withey may have gotten more than the nine blocks he was credited with, but he said he was happy with nine.
“I probably had 10,” said Withey, who also had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s all right. Nine is a lot, and I did a lot of work for that. And as long as I get the win, I’m usually pretty happy.”
KU coach Bill Self also believed that Withey had more blocks than the official total.
“Our stat crew, I know does a great job,” Self said. “But I think that one may be worth revisiting.”
Still, Withey got at least nine blocks for the third time this season — and the first time in conference play. He had a career-high 12 blocks against San Jose State, and finished with nine blocks against Temple. After Saturday’s performance, his Big 12-record career total increased to 281 blocked shots.
“He makes it hard for everybody to score inside,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He is the best shot-blocker in the country.”
KC Star
Withey is no one-trick show, either. The Jayhawks’ offense seems to flow better when he’s drawing the defense’s attention, and, as usual, he did just that.
He shot 7-for-8 from the field, including three jumpers outside of the paint.
“He makes a big difference when he can stretch it out,” Self said of the jump shots. “We need to play to that more often.”
Tharpe was willing to take it even further.
“Even though he went 7 for 8, he definitely needs more touches,” Tharpe said. “It’s going to help us because once we start bringing it to him, it opens up the floor for everybody else.”
While McLemore was the star of Saturday’s game, Withey may have been the solar system keeping the Jayhawks in together — much like he’s done for KU the entire season.
“It’s like the Lil’ Wayne song, ‘No Worries,’” Tharpe said. “Jeff is going to be there for you if your man beats you. He’s been consistent the whole year.”
TCJ
“He knows he can’t feed the post that way,” Bill Self said of a dish into forward Kevin Young that turned into a turnover. “I took him out. I didn’t leave him out long, though. I think it had something to do with, ‘Hey wake up and play,’ more than anything.”
McLemore, who had two points at the time of his early exit, returned 2 1/2 minutes later. The 6-foot-5 guard from St. Louis erupted for 19 first-half points in staking KU to a 45-31 lead. He finished with a KU-freshman record 36 points off 12-of-15 shooting and 7-of-9 free throwing in just 30 minutes.
McLemore — he hit five of six threes — broke the old freshman scoring record of 35 points set by Danny Manning against Oklahoma State on March 2, 1985 — exactly 28 years to the day in Stillwater, Okla.
“I made a bad pass to Kevin. I messed up,” McLemore said of the early gaffe, which so upset his coach and may have signaled a lack of focus against the (13-16, 6-10) Mountaineers.
“I went back out there and had the opportunity to make up for it, which I did.”
LJW
Kansas senior center Jeff Withey tried to take a politically correct stance after Saturday’s 91-65 victory over West Virginia. Withey may have gotten more than the nine blocks he was credited with, but he said he was happy with nine.
“I probably had 10,” said Withey, who also had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s all right. Nine is a lot, and I did a lot of work for that. And as long as I get the win, I’m usually pretty happy.”
KU coach Bill Self also believed that Withey had more blocks than the official total.
“Our stat crew, I know does a great job,” Self said. “But I think that one may be worth revisiting.”
Still, Withey got at least nine blocks for the third time this season — and the first time in conference play. He had a career-high 12 blocks against San Jose State, and finished with nine blocks against Temple. After Saturday’s performance, his Big 12-record career total increased to 281 blocked shots.
“He makes it hard for everybody to score inside,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He is the best shot-blocker in the country.”
KC Star
Withey is no one-trick show, either. The Jayhawks’ offense seems to flow better when he’s drawing the defense’s attention, and, as usual, he did just that.
He shot 7-for-8 from the field, including three jumpers outside of the paint.
“He makes a big difference when he can stretch it out,” Self said of the jump shots. “We need to play to that more often.”
Tharpe was willing to take it even further.
“Even though he went 7 for 8, he definitely needs more touches,” Tharpe said. “It’s going to help us because once we start bringing it to him, it opens up the floor for everybody else.”
While McLemore was the star of Saturday’s game, Withey may have been the solar system keeping the Jayhawks in together — much like he’s done for KU the entire season.
“It’s like the Lil’ Wayne song, ‘No Worries,’” Tharpe said. “Jeff is going to be there for you if your man beats you. He’s been consistent the whole year.”
TCJ
Getty image
All afternoon, Kansas University senior guard Elijah Johnson delivered lob passes with pinpoint precision and watched teammates throw them down to trigger loud celebrations in Allen Fieldhouse.
Now it was his turn. Naadir Tharpe put one up there for him, and Johnson soared to heights normally reserved for teammate Ben McLemore. Fouled on the play, Johnson still cashed it in and when he landed, he reacted like one of those power lifters after the weights crash. Johnson struck a flexing pose, triggering hundreds in the seats to mime it in the wake of the jaw-dropping play.
“I didn’t even realize I did it,” Johnson said. “That’s just how I felt at the time. It dawned on me like, ‘That was just too strong.’”
He flashed a grin inspired by the memory of the play and his explanation for the flex.
Johnson earned the right to pose by playing a terrific game to end a week that started with a 39-point effort in Monday’s overtime victory at Iowa State.
Johnson contributed more than 12 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, a huge blocked shot and a big steal to KU’s 91-65 victory Saturday against West Virginia. He made everybody on the court with him play better and was largely responsible for Kansas getting so many open shots.
The Jayhawks’ transformation from too shallow to two-deep at point guard took another loud step forward in the fieldhouse, where the usual 16,300 paying customers were treated to some beautiful basketball played by the home team.
Fastbreaks without the ball touching the floor, eight dunks, most set up by lobs, and long jumpers that settled softly into the net abounded. That sort of relentlessly pretty basketball doesn’t happen without the primary ball distributors performing their tasks with high-speed precision.
On an afternoon everything freshman Ben McLemore touched turned to gold, Johnson and Tharpe, in that order, made sure to deliver the leather into those Midas hands whether McLemore stood behind the three-point semi-circle or soared well above the rim on the way to 36 points.
LJW Keegan
The Mountaineers had a seven-point lead and the crowd out of the game midway through the first half, then things went south.
Kansas’ (25-4, 13-3) Elijah Johnson blocked away a West Virginia (13-16, 6-10) layup attempt and shifted the momentum, propelling the Jayhawks to a 91-65 blowout win and handed the Mountaineers their first four-game losing streak since 2005 in front of the 196th-consecutive sellout crowd in Lawrence, Kan.
“It was huge. They came down and blocked a shot and it brought the whole crowd together,” said West Virginia freshman guard Terry Henderson. “It brought their bench on their feet. It energized the players to play harder.”
The Jayhawks’ Ben McLemore led the way with 36 points – his third 30-point game of the season – on 12-of-15 shooting.
“He didn’t do anything really one-on-one,” said West Virginia freshman guard Eron Harris. “He hit wide-open jump shots.”
Harris guarded McLemore for most of the first meeting between the two schools, holding him to just 13 points.
But Harris admits team defense was lacking during the matchup Saturday.
“We can’t always get through a screen. You’ve got to help out a little bit,” Harris said. “We always have to play team defense. One person can’t guard him. More than one person is going to have to help at a certain point.”
Daily Athenaeum
Elijah Johnson is laughing, because that's what you do at a party. You laugh. You smile. You put your arm around Tyler Self because the coach's kid got in the game and passed up an open look with the crowd pleading for him to shoot. Then you run off the floor, high-five a few fans and bask.
This is Kansas basketball, you know, where they measure success in bushels and banners, and sometimes that perspective is hard to see in the haze. The Jayhawks are No. 6 and rising after a 91-65 blowout win over West Virginia on Saturday. And the remarkable part isn't as much what they're doing now as it is the absurd pile of consistent accomplishment that has come to define the program under Bill Self.
Two more wins and the Jayhawks will have a ninth consecutive Big 12 championship, something no program has pulled off in a major league since John Wooden was at UCLA. Nobody on this team knows anything but winning the league. Heck, nobody who was around when the current players came on recruiting trips ever knew anything but winning the league.
…It is a constant string of success, breeding either pride or contempt depending on your rooting interests, updated with fresher faces.
The pregame video now includes Johnson, who until a few weeks ago was among the most maligned Jayhawks in recent memory, drilling jumpers against Iowa State. For senior night, they might include Ben McLemore's twisting, sideways tomahawk dunk against West Virginia. Or any of what seemed like a million alley-oops.
Whatever. The show always ends the same.
…Florida won back-to-back national championships, then missed the NCAA Tournament two years in a row. North Carolina won the 2009 title with one of the best teams in recent history and then lost 17 games the next year. UConn has won one title and been to another Final Four during KU's league streak, just like the Jayhawks, but the Huskies have also finished 12th in the Big East. Twice. John Calipari is Kentucky's third coach since KU's streak began.
We live in the midst of it, so it's easy to forget sometimes that what the Jayhawks are doing simply does not happen. Two more wins in games they'll be favored in, and they'll have nine conference titles in nine years . You have to go back to 1998 to count nine conference titles for Kentucky, and 1994 for Duke. Florida has won seven conference titles in its history.
KC Star Mellinger
LJW image
LJW Rankings: McLemore easy pick for No. 1
Jeff Withey and three of his closest friends will play the final home game of their Kansas University basketball careers on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse.
“We’re excited. It’s going to be an emotional game and one that we are going to remember for a long time,” the 7-foot senior Withey said after scoring 14 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking nine shots in Saturday’s 91-65 home victory over West Virginia.
“We’re ready for it,” he added of himself, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Kevin Young, “but at the same time we don’t want it to come because it is our last home game. We know that we have to win every game from here on out in order to win the conference (title) and get into our groove for the (NCAA) tournament.”
…Asked about the possibility of it being his last game, McLemore, who has been projected to be the No. 1 or 2 pick in the June NBA Draft, said: “We just have to focus on what is in front of us right now. Our focus is just to go out there and play ball. We want to make our seniors happy and have them leave with a great year — their time here at the University of Kansas.”
…Self was presented a ball signifying his 500th coaching victory (against Iowa State) before the game. The fans responded with a standing ovation. Self waved the ball to the crowd.
LJW
LJW image
The @KU_BBallCamping groups that are appropriate for Twitter this week: Kevin's Fro of Fury, Rio Adams Family, Meerkat Mafia. #kubball
https://twitter.com/UDK_bball
Kansas Jayhawks (24-4, 12-3 Big 12)
Question mark: transition defense
According to KenPom.com, Kansas is the ninth-tallest team in the country, with an average height of 78.2 inches (6-foot-6). With the help of a tall roster, the Jayhawks rank fifth nationally in blocked shots (184) and have limited opponents to 0.72 points per play in half-court sets this season (ninth in D-I). They have struggled, however, when opponents have gotten out on the break. Kansas has allowed 1.08 points per play in transition, eighth-most in the Big 12 and 279th in D-I.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/77624/picking-apart-the-projected-no-1-seeds
So awesome! @elijahjohnson15 came and read to Mrs. Otter's class at Sunset Hill today! #kubball #KUCMB pic.twitter.com/2ZSvJfxwf8
https://twitter.com/djsoap
https://twitter.com/djsoap
I was raised a fan of the University of Kansas. Danny Manning, Larry Brown, my parents met there. You can imagine.
When I left for Iowa State, to study and play basketball, I began to see Kansas fans in a new light.
Then again, now I was on the other side. Maybe my new viewpoint could be attributed to my status as a participant. Or maybe not.
I live in Los Angeles. Last week, after the Cyclones’ loss to Kansas, I strolled into my local gym, which is owned by a Kansas alumnus, ready for my thrice-weekly attempt to stave off the ravages of post-basketball decrepitude. The owner was flanked at the desk by a new employee: another Kansas fan. (Packs, like hyenas.)
The owner and his lieutenant asked me if I’d seen the game. Feeling charitable, I recited the platitudes I’d prepared: about how when you watch basketball, you’ve implicitly agreed to terms — that human error might determine the outcome of the game. It was very Japanese, I thought; I was allowing them to save face.
The owner agreed that there had been bad calls throughout the game. “It’s just disappointing when people only remember the last one,” he said. I stopped the eye-roll in its tracks and started toward the stretching area.
But they weren’t finished. The kid took up the baton: “I’m just glad we could win when we weren’t playing well. We played our worst game and they played their best and we still came out on top.”
I started to say, “But that makes no sense! There is no evidence to support your hypothesis … I mean, you needed to bank in a three to win at HOM-”
But I didn’t say it. Because I’d remembered something:
No matter where you go, no matter where you live, a Kansas fan is a Kansas fan: implacable, insufferable and perfectly happy to stay that way.
Paul Shirley via the Indy Star
This looks oddly familiar :-) Right down to pushing someone in a Santa hat in the laundry basket!
Add the Miami Heat to the "Harlem Shake" craze.
With LeBron James in a king's costume, Mario Chalmers dressed as Super Mario, and Chris "Birdman" Andersen mimicking — what else? — a bird, the Heat version of the dance craze was released Thursday.
It was filmed in Miami's locker room, with James saying it was a "King James and DwyaneWade" production.
"In life u gotta figure out how to have fun and enjoy it. Hope y'all enjoy," Chalmers wrote on Twitter.
Watch it here.
Like everyone’s favorite comic duo, the Wonder Twins, the Morris twins are okay alone but a force when united.
“It’s been like night and day for Markieef,” Suns head coach Lindsey Hunter said. “He has a whole new level of intensity.”
Hunter also said the Morris twins has been a huge factor in the Suns’ current three-game winningstreak because the level of play of both of them has been greatly elevated.
Marcus and Markieff Morris, born and raised in Philadelphia, played together in middle school, high school and even in Kansas. But their dreams of playing in the NBA came at a price. They were separated from each other when the Houston Rockets drafted Marcus and the Phoenix Suns drafted Markieff.
Marcus said that early on in his career, it was hard to play without his twin brother and thus, took an affect on his comfort level. Which is understandable considering how hard it must be to for either Morris brother play with their twin for their entire amateur basketball career only to be separated in the NBA.
Of course nobody wearing a jersey wants to hear that.
“I still had to be a man and still had to compete and play basketball,” Morris said.
Suns coach Lindsey Hunter sees how important it has been to have both Morris twins. The Morris twins have combined for 60 points off the bench during the Suns three-game winstreak. He’s very pleased with the impact and performance of his new player and eluded that it’s only a matter of time before the Morris brothers take over Phoenix.
“He’s my guy,” Hunter said of Marcus Morris. “He’s the type of player that I love. He has a really good edge about him and great leadership qualities and it’s rubbing off.”
Tucson Citizen
The Kansas women's basketball endured a scoring drought of over seven minutes in length to end the first half and start the second period, as Oklahoma used a 15-0 run during that span and went on to claim an 85-77 Big 12 Conference victory Saturday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Kansas (16-12 and 7-10) looked to be putting itself in position for a potential road victory with a 35-29 lead at the 5:11 mark in the first half, but the Jayhawks went 7:27 on the clock without a point and Oklahoma (20-9 and 10-7) scored 15-straight points for 44-35 advantage.
"We just aren't fundamentally sound or assignment correct right now. We are just breaking down (defensively)," said head coach Bonnie Henrickson. "It's our defense right now and it is just nauseating for me and we also have got to get more out of our bench. We have to have players who are going to come in and make a difference when they are on the floor like Hawk (Markisha Hawkins) did tonight."
KUAD
Big 12/College News
3/2/13, 8:38 PM
Our guys never quit “@TUMBasketball: 22-point comeback in 2nd half vs. Tulane the largest deficit overcome to win in recorded Tulsa history"
https://twitter.com/coachdmanning
Sometimes it pays to be lucky, sometimes it pays to be good.
Kansas State experienced both ends of that equation Saturday to pull out a 64-61 victory over Baylor.
Baylor inbounded the ball under the K-State basket with one second left in a tie game and a full-court pass sailed all the way through the other end without being touched. That gave the Wildcats the ball in the same spot with that second still on the clock, and Rodney McGruder nailed a game-winning 3-point shot.
“Good fortune went our way,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “The ball doesn’t hit anything, and we get it with one second left. Sometimes things go your way.”
TCJ
The play that got everyone — the Cowboys and their fans — going Saturday was Markel Brown's two-handed, windmill dunk, a highlight jam that gave Oklahoma State its first lead in an eventual 78-65 win over Texas.
But Brown was hardly finished.
He scored a game-high 18 points on a variety of shots, including another eye-opener on an attempt straight out of a game of H-O-R-S-E.
Driving hard along the baseline, Brown was fouled, but lofted a high rainbow shot that sailed over the backboard and through the net. He added the free throw for a three-point play that gave the Cowboys their biggest lead, 65-46.
And yes, like the dunk, Brown said he's been working on that shot.
“I actually have,” he said. “I've been practicing that shot. Me and Marcus (Smart), after practice, we practice half-court shots and stuff like that. We just do all kind of weird shots.
“When I shot it, I didn't think it was going to go in. But I gave it a chance and it fell. I was kind of surprised when it went in.”
The Oklahoman
Perhaps all the heartbreaking losses finally took a toll on the Iowa State men’s basketball team. Instead of using the tough loss against Kansas to fuel another winning streak, the Cyclones come out flat and the Oklahoma Sooners dominate at home.
Oklahoma (19-9, 10-6) crushed their old record of most consecutive free-throws made in a single game and tied the NCAA Division I record. Originally with 21 straight made, the Sooners made all 34 free throw attempts, had 17 assists, and committed just five turnovers in a near-flawless game offensively. Romero Osby looked much better when compared to his effort in Hilton Coliseum, leading the team with 22 points, nine rebounds, and made 10 free throws.
In just his fourth start of the year, senior guard Sam Grooms had 19 points and six assists for Oklahoma. He won a starting job after better performance in the past few weeks.
The same can’t be said about the performance of Iowa State (19-10, 9-7). All the starters lacked effort with the exception of a couple 3-pointers nailed by Georges Niang in the second half. He led the starters with 10 points and five rebounds, Melvin Ejim has the same offensive production with four rebounds.
Will Clyburn, Korie Lucious, and Chris Babb were nearly non-existent. Clyburn went 1-5 from the field, Luious had an even assist-to-turnover ratio, and Babb missed all four of his shots. If it wasn’t for the effort from the bench, this game could have been much worse.
Tyrus McGee led the team with 22 points and made 6-9 shots from the perimeter.
Link
“Wow, what a game,” Krzyzewski said. “Both teams were spectacular and then we were all privileged to see one of the performances of the ages, I think, by Ryan Kelly.
“One for the ages. Probably as good of a performance as any Duke player has had in Cameron, especially based on the fact that he hasn’t played for two months.”
NYT
UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad played his last game in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night in a 74-69 victory against No. 11 Arizona, Bruins coach Ben Howland said after the game.
Muhammad is a projected NBA lottery pick and it long has been assumed he'd leave college after one season, but Howland confirmed the obvious after his team moved back into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bruins finish the season with road games next week at Washington State and Washington, meaning Saturday was the last home game for UCLA.
"That was his last game in Pauley, no doubt about it," Howland said.
"I knew going into this deal that this was a one-year deal, and it should be. He's a lottery pick. He's a top-five pick. When you have that going for you, it is absolutely the right thing."
ESPN
NYT: Nothing 'Mid' about Gonzaga
ESPN: What the NCAA penalties mean for Saint Mary's
Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results
RPI and SOS Team Comparison Calculator
Recruiting
3/2/13, 7:29 PM
PCA repeats as TAPPS 5A state champs with a 71-66 win over Nolan. Julius Randle (@J30_RANDLE) dropped 35 pts, 20 rebs. #BEASTMODE
https://twitter.com/jayjayusatoday
Randle, ranked as the nation’s No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.com, scored 10 of his game-high 34 points in overtime as Prestonwood claimed a second straight state championship by beating Fort Worth Nolan, 71-66.
Randle made four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the game and finished with 22 rebounds.
It came a day after the 6-9 senior forward had 40 points and 15 rebounds in a semifinal win over Plano John Paul II.
Prestonwood (15-19) appeared to be in control with a 44-32 lead after three quarters, but it was outscored 25-13 by Nolan in the fourth quarter. Then Randle took over.
Dallas News
North’s Zach Beard could not find his confidence at a more opportune time than Friday’s sub-state championship game against Hutchinson. Beard finished with 16 points, helping North to its 43-30 win over the Salthawks and a trip to the Class 6A tournament.
“(Beard) stepped up for us and made some shots,” North coach Gary Squires said. “That’s what we work on in practice, and we told him that, ‘step up, shoot with confidence,’ and he did.”
Hutchinson’s defense held Conner Frankamp to two field goals, putting two or three defenders on him at a time. That put the pressure on Beard and his teammates to score points for North.
“They were throwing three people at me sometimes, but my teammates stepped up and did what they needed to do to win, so I give the credit to them,” Frankamp said.
Wichita Eagle
Andrew Wiggins arrived at the Teays Valley Christian gym just in time for Thursday night's game.
Coming straight from his official visit to Kentucky, Wiggins strolled onto the court for the last few minutes of Huntington Prep's warm-ups. He spent as much time on the floor then as he did during the game that followed.
Wiggins was hit in the face less than a minute into the first quarter and ended up scoring six points in about six minutes of action in Huntington Prep's 121-50 victory over Teays Valley.
The bleachers included fans wearing UK, Florida State, North Carolina and Kansas gear — those are Wiggins' four finalists — but the No. 1 player in high school basketball didn't want to talk about his recruitment after the game.
Wiggins said he would not discuss his college plans until he has completed all of his official visits.
Even then, information will be hard to come by.
"He's not going to give up much," Huntington Prep Coach Rob Fulford told the Herald-Leader. "You guys know him well enough."
Always tight-lipped regarding his recruitment, Wiggins has now gone into full-on lockdown mode.
The 6-foot-8 forward arrived on UK's campus Wednesday morning, attended that night's game against Mississippi State in Rupp Arena, had breakfast with John Calipari the next morning and then watched the Cats practice before heading back to West Virginia.
Wiggins' parents, who are both former standout athletes at Florida State, accompanied him on his trip to Lexington. Mitchell and Marita Payne-Wiggins — who were on their son's official visit to FSU earlier this season — are also planning to travel with him to Kansas and North Carolina next week.
…"Who knows how he's even going to announce where he's going?" Fulford said. "It'll be interesting. Obviously, McDonald's wants him to do it there. Jordan wants him to do it there. And I doubt he's going to do that."
Lex HL
3/2/13, 2:46 PM
Final: Huntington Prep wins 131-64. Andrew Wiggins finishes with 40 points on senior night.
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Wiggins’s parents, Mitchell and Marita Payne, will trip with him to Kansas as they did to Kentucky, which is critical in the recruiting process.
“The [Kentucky] visit was cool,” Wiggins told CatsIllustrated.com. “My parents loved the whole experience, I did as well.
“The game, in particular, was really fun. I appreciate how the fans showed me so much love.”
Wiggins told the site that he already enjoys a close relationship with Kentucky coach John Calipari, and that his parents are getting to know him as well.
“We’ve been close for a while, but it’s getting even better,” he said. “I’m starting to get closer with their current players as well.”
Huntington coach Rob Fulford has said it’s critical that Wiggins’ parents are coming on the trips since their only basis of comparison is Florida State, the school they both attended and the school that Wiggins’ teammate and friend, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, will attend.
“It’s significant for any parent to take a visit,” Fulford told SNY.tv. “They know FSU. The fact they are visiting other places is important because they now get a chance to know the other three.”
As for Kansas, they are widely perceived to be behind Kentucky, Florida State and even North Carolina in the Wiggins Sweepstakes.
Yet now Wiggins and his family will see historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse during a dramatic game in which seniors Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Kevin Young will play their final home game.
Zags Blog
Most of you know that I took an unofficial to Kansas last weekend. I had a really good time there. A lot of people talk about how great the Kansas visit is and I can see why. It definitely lived up to the hype for me.
Me and my boy Justise Winslow visited together. We planned that because we want to play together in college. A lot of you guys know that me and my boy Jahlil (Okafor) are going to play together in college, but Justise is one of the guys that we want to bring with us. That’s why it was good to get that visit in with him. We had a good talk about all of us teaming up together in college and he said that he’s down. At the same time, of course we know that everyone has to do what’s right for them at the end of the day.
The first thing we did on the Kansas visit was go watch their walkthrough.
We got a tour of the arena and met with their strength coach Andrea Hudy. She’s very, very good at her job to say the least. You can definitely see why everyone talks about her for sure.
After that we checked into the hotel then came back to see the game. That was fun. The fans were definitely crazy and loud. We went and hung out with the players in the locker room afterward and that was cool just to get that time to talk with the guys and get a feel for them. We met with the coaches for dinner that night and that was fun.
Sunday we met with all of the academic advisors and they showed us the housing and things like that.
After that I got a chance to meet with Coach (Bill) Self and we had a really good talk. He said that he sees me stepping in and playing for him. He talked about how well I’d do with their motion offense and how well I use and read ball screens. He felt like I would be really effective in his system. That was appealing because the way they play is definitely the way I want to play in college.
The visit was great. I liked everything about it.
Now I’ve visited all of the schools on my list unofficially so I’m just focused on winning states. I don’t have any other visits set up now. I’ll just keep watching the teams play and talking with my friends about what we like about the different teams.
Me and Jahlil definitely text and talk during the games. We just talk about how it would be if we were there and things like that.
Like for example we were both watching the Michigan State-Indiana game and we were talking about how Coach (Tom) Izzo always has the team playing tough even though they’re banged up a little. Then after I got back from Kansas, Jahlil was asking me about how things went there because he hasn’t made it there yet.
I’m not planning to cut my list anymore or anything like that. I’m just planning to enjoy my recruitment process and not get stressed out about where I’m gonna go.
USA Today Tyus Jones Blog
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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