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- "I don't know what it is. Every time I come off the bench I get a career high or score 20," said Drew Gooden. "I think coming off the bench is an obstacle for me to overcome. I sit down after warming up and know it's going to be tougher to come in so maybe I'm concentrating on that more."
Yes, folks, there’s a quote from the hands-down MVP of this game. Drew came up huge with his third straight double double, notching a career-high 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in 27 minutes of play. I’m not sure what else one can say about Drew. He is challenging Nick Collison for the most consistent performer on the team. I find myself expecting Drew to have a solid game night in and night out because he is so active on the court. Even more impressive is that he appears to be making better decisions with his passes (only 2 turnovers tonight).
Drew definitely earns the STUD stamp of approval for his performance tonight. Does this mean he will continue to come off the bench? I’ve said all along that I think Drew should be coming off the bench because he seems most equipped to handle the task. He provides an instant spark that just isn’t there with Collison or Chenowith.
Coach Williams did his best to diffuse the "Who’s going to start" talk, saying:
"His (Drew’s) numbers are actually better when he doesn't start but that's not going to affect what we're going to do. Like I said I'll probably rotate them and not be married to one lineup. I thought all three big men played well."
I think Coach Williams wants to keep the big men guessing to ensure that they continue to work hard in practice. If he comes out and says Nick and Eric are the starters and Drew is off the bench, then the guys may start to relax in the security of having their roles defined. "Keeping them guessing" keeps them from becoming complacent.
- Nick Collison (12 pts on 6 of 10 shooting, 6 rebs, in 25 minutes of play) started the game and got 2 quick fouls, sitting down after only 1:50 had ticked off the clock. Foul trouble is a constant battle for Nick, but I think he has done a good job adjusting and making sure he doesn’t foul out. He ended the night with 4 fouls. Again, Nick shot a nice percentage from the field (60%) and continues to take good shots. Nick has such a pretty touch when shooting the jumper and does an excellent job of establishing low post position. Finally, isn’t it fun to watch he and Drew on the court together? They have a great understanding of each other’s games and compliment each other so well on the court.
- Mario Kinsey: What has happened to Super Mario lately? He came in for two minutes and got beat off the dribble three times, committing a foul each time. Take a seat on the bench, Mario. Not sure what is going on in Mario’s head lately. Maybe he got a little too comfortable/complacent after playing well early in the season?
- Nice job, Bret Ballard! Ballard came in after Coach Williams was disgusted with Boschee and Gregory, both of whom failed to hustle after a loose ball. Ballard hit a nice three to extend the lead to 16 points and also did a nice job defensively. Bret only played 6 minutes, but his play was one of the things that stuck out in this game. I wonder if we’ll see more of him as the season goes along. If I were a betting man and Ballard and Boschee were to have a 3pt shooting contest, I’d put my money on Ballard and let it ride.
- Speaking of Boschee……Jeff played 30 minutes tonight and scored 9 points on 4 of 9 shooting. He also had 6 assists, 3 rebounds and played his usual solid defense. The bad news is that his 3-pt shooting woes continue, as he was 1 of 6 from 3pt range. Jeff’s consistently poor 3pt shooting is very disturbing. I find myself expecting him to miss every time he pulls up to take a three. It didn’t used to be that way. Jeff, where has your shot gone? Please find it soon.
- With 4:50 to go in the first half, both teams were shooting 50% from the field. We’ve come to expect high shooting percentages from the Jayhawks, but I was definitely impressed by Texas Tech’s play up to that point as well.
- Rumor has it that the Jayhawk players shot about 1,000 free throw each last week. Glad to see that Coach Williams and the guys are focusing on this critical part of the game. It appears the hard work and concentration paid off as the fellas canned 14 of 18.
- Luke Axtell (9 pts on 3 of 5 shooting, 4 rebs, in 18 minutes) tied a career high with three 3 pointers tonight. It seems like I write the same thing about Luke every game. I’m becoming used to Luke hitting three 3’s every game and not doing a whole lot else. I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing. I know fans are happy with Luke right now because his shots are falling and that is the direct opposite of Boschee from 3 pt land. I can’t help but wonder what people would be saying if Luke wasn’t hitting his threes? What else does he bring to the game? It appears there are set plays for Luke to can threes and he is becoming more and more one-dimensional. The weird thing for me is that I know Luke has more to his offensive game. Perhaps he is sacrificing his offensive repertoire for the good of the team. In other words, he is playing within the system and taking good shots. I guess it’s kind of hard to argue with that, now isn’t it? I just thought Luke would have a bigger role in the rotation at this point in the season than he has.
- Kenny Gregory (17 pts on 7 of 14 shooting, 6 rebs, in 28 minutes) continues to put up solid numbers. The interesting thing is he seems to be doing it so quietly (other than that monster alley-oop dunk he threw down). Every game it seems Kenny puts up 15-20 points and has 6-8 rebounds. He can do it quietly or he can be loud about it……..all I care is he keeps doing it! Nice game AGAIN, Kenny!
- Kirk Hinrich (13 points on 3 of 4 shooting, 7 of 7 from the free throw line, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebs, 3 turnovers, in a whopping 36 minutes) had another solid game at the point. Did Kirk even score in the first half? If he did, I didn’t remember it. If he didn’t, that makes his numbers that much more impressive. Kirk is the consummate floor leader and always seems to be in control. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I really enjoy watching him run the offense.
- I kept asking myself tonight: "What’s up with all of the zone defense?" I am assuming that Coach Williams wanted to challenge Texas Tech to beat us from the perimeter. Based on the score, it worked. However, Tech did hit 9 three pointers, though a few of them were from way downtown. Overall, the defensive effort was solid. That being said, I can’t help but wonder what a better outside shooting team (like Missouri, for example) would do to the point zone defense. My guess is that Coach Williams will stick with man to man as the bread and butter defense of this team and use games like this one to work on the point zone. Basically, we played more zone because we could and it gave the team more practice with it. Ideally, the Hawks will be equally proficient in zone and man-to-man and will be able to mix up what "looks" they give the opponent.
- Eric Chenowith (8 pts on 4 of 9 shooting, 6 rebs, in 21 minutes) had the kind of game I’ll take from him. It is looking more and more like Eric will not be an offensive focal point of this team and I think that is the right thing to do. He is the third best big man on the team behind Nick and Drew. Personally, I think that role fits him best. Eric will undoubtedly have some big games this year, but will more likely have games like he did tonight. Again, I think this is a good thing because it is better to have Nick and Drew getting more touches (and more minutes) as they are more consistent on the offensive end. If Eric can keep his averages around 8-10 points and 6-10 rebounds per game, along with continuing to play solid defense, then Jayhawk fans should be happy. Most fans wanted Eric to dominate in the paint. It is time to realize this is not likely to happen and that is ok. Don’t get mad at Eric for what you think he should be doing. Just give him credit for what he does and don’t expect any more than that.
The Oklahoma Sooners are up next for the Jayhawks. (Saturday, Jan. 13th, noon central time, on ABC). Afer the whuppin’ the Sooners took at the hands of the Cyclones, I expect them to be ready to play on national television against the Hawks. This game should be a good one and will be a tough test for KU.
P.S.—I will not have an article for the KU-OU game, as I will be in Miami frantically searching for a place to watch the game.
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