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Exhibition. Clinic. Tutorial. Domination. Those are a few words that come to mind after watching the Jayhawks coast to their second exhibition win in the last 4 days. FINAL SCORE: KU 120, EMPORIA STATE 51 I’ll let you take a look at the official box score to get the final statistics on the game. However, here are a few morsels to wet your appetite: 63% field goal percentage 70% 3-point field goal percentage (Are you kidding me?) 80% from the free throw line 31 assists, 12 turnovers 47-28 rebounding margin 7 players in double figures Axtell 19 points (13 points in the second half ; 4-7 on threes) Boschee 17 (5-5 on threes) Gregory 16 points Gooden 16 points, 11 rebounds Kinsey 14 points Collison 12 points, 5 rebounds (4-4 from line, 4-4 from field) Chenowith 10 points THE FIRST TEN MINUTES The same five players that started the game against the EA Sports All-Stars took the court tonight: Hinrich, Boschee, Gregory, Gooden and Chenowith. Coach Williams has repeatedly said that who starts the game doesn’t matter and that those five along with Axtell and Collison will be getting similar minutes. However, after watching the game tonight, don’t be surprised if Mario Kinsey (14 pts, solid defense) works his way into the mix as well. Emporia State came into this game as overmatched as an opponent could be. Give them credit for coming out and playing hard in front of the Allen Fieldhouse faithful. The Hornets committed six fouls in the first 3 minutes of the game, including a technical foul on ESU coach Marc Comstock. After the early game jitters settled down, there was a fair amount of action on the court. Jeff Boschee nailed two 3 pointers early and the fans could see that he was in for a good night. Eric Chenowith was impressive in the early going with some strong rebounds, a soft turnaround jumper from about 5 feet, a lay in off of a feed from Kenny Gregory, and a couple of free throws. Luke Axtell continued to show us that he is more than just a 3 point shooter. He had three or four extremely strong rebounds in the early going. Other highlights of the first ten minutes included a sweet jump hook and several strong rebounds from Drew Gooden, a soft turnaround jumper from Nick Collison, and a five-second call forced by freshman Mario Kinsey. The Jayhawks led 30-11 after ten minutes and it was clear that the route was on. I am very impressed by how unselfish this team plays and how well they are working together in such a short period of time. THE NEXT TEN MINUTES More of the same in the next ten minutes of action. Boschee missed a short jumper in the lane, hit his third 3-pointer, took a charge and executed a sweet reverse lay-up of a backdoor pass from Chenowith. Chenowith continued to rebound well and threw down an emphatic dunk that got the crowd going. Luke was extremely active during this section of the game. He continued to rebound the ball, swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key, made an excellent pass to Kenny for two, and then passed up a wide open three and instead dished inside to Collison for the dunk. (NOTE: That play right there shows you the difference between the "old" Luke and the "new" Luke. Last year, hands down , he would have taken the shot.) Kenny Gregory hit a short jumper in the lane, threw up an airball from three point land, but then redeemed himself with a 17-foot jumper and a swooping one hand lay in off the glass. He was fouled on the play and missed the free throw. Regardless, he gave the crowd at Allen Fieldhouse and the fans watching on television the unquestionable "play of the game". Drew Gooden came up big again with two excellent steals that led to breakaway dunks, a tip in, and a turnaround jumper. Finally, freshman Bryant Nash was much more active, forcing a turnover, fighting hard through a pick (though they whistled him for a foul), and a tremendous "hustle" play where he saved the ball and set up Boschee for a three. The Jayhawks were on cruise control at this point in the game. They went into half-time with a 62-31 lead, only 7 turnovers, 4 players in double figures, a 64% field goal percentage, a 24-13 rebounding edge, and a 34-10 edge in "points in the paint". THE FIRST TEN MINUTES OF THE SECOND HALF Boschee continued his three point barrage, hitting his fourth and fifth three pointers in as many tries. Luke took four more 3-pointers and hit two of them. Kenny actually missed a dunk in transition, but hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. ("See, Coach, I can hit the jumper!"). Nick and Drew put on a "give and go" clinic on two different occasions for easy buckets. Drew also got his third steal which led to his third transition dunk. Finally, Mario Kinsey nailed a three and scored two more points off another backdoor pass from Eric Chenowith. THE HOME STRETCH Leading 92-41 going into the last ten minutes of the game, the Jayhawks continued to execute and put more points on the board. Luke hit a jumper for two, another 3-pointer, and then an 8 foot jumper, giving him 13 points in the half. The 100th point came off of a Kenny Gregory 3-pointer from the corner that skimmed the top of the backboard. Even Kenny had to laugh at that one as his visions of being a "shooter" drifted farther and farther from reality. And once again, there was more from "Super" Mario Kinsey, who added a 3-pointer and an excellent pass in transition to Chris Zerbe for two. This game was exactly what it was supposed to be. It was a game to fine-tune a team that already seems to be hitting on all cylinders. Even though this was an exhibition game, the Jayhawks are showing maturity and unity that usually doesn’t come until about the midpoint of the season. The true test will be this week at the Coaches vs. Cancer classic in New York. Based on what I have seen so far, I have a lot of confidence in this team and in Coach Williams. There is a determination and focus in the air that hasn’t been around in recent years. There is a quiet confidence and an understanding of what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. Other tidbits: KU outscored Emporia State 58-20 in the second half. Coach Williams called a time-out after four consecutive three point attempts in the second half. He will not allow his team to get off track on what they are trying to accomplish……even in an exhibition game. Ryan Robertson did the "color" on the radio tonight, as Bob and Max were on their way back from broadcasting the KU-NU football game. I must say it was great to hear Ryan and get his perspective. He made a few comments that I thought were interesting, including: Jeff Boschee looked like he had put on some weight and that his arms look bigger; Coach Williams believes that Drew Gooden could end up being the best rebounder he has ever coached, and; Coach Williams expects the walk-ons to play with the same intensity and execution that the starters play with. In my opinion, it’s always a plus when you get to hear from someone who has had first-hand experience on what it is like to play for Coach Williams. I hope we hear more from Ryan this season. In these first two exhibition games, the one thing that has really stuck out is how excellent the spacing has been. This team seems very confident in their understanding of their offensive and defensive assignments and of where they are supposed to be on the court. In addition, this team has shown excellent passing, solid free throw shooting and almost total unselfishness on offense. Mario Kinsey is exciting to watch and he can play. 14 points (10 in the second half), 4 of 5 from the field, a few nice passes, solid defense, and leadership skills. I’m really hoping that Coach Williams finds minutes for this freshman, because he’s got the game and the confidence to make positive things happen. Kirk Hinrich was mysteriously silent in this game. I know that he had some foul trouble, but he didn’t even attempt a 3-pointer, which is surprising when you consider the team attempted 20. He had two points and never seemed to be in the flow of the game. Perhaps the team was running so smoothly that he was content to let others take over the game? Who knows….it was just interesting to get to the end of the game not having heard his name mentioned several times. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Luke is showing us his all-around game. His defense is definitely his weakness, but he can light it up in a hurry, has been rebounding like a madman, is passing up shots to get other players involved, etc, etc. Most importantly, it looks like he is having fun and enjoying his senior year. After all he went through last season, it’s just good to see him enjoying himself and playing up to his abilities. Coach Williams instituted the "point zone" defense for a few minutes tonight. The more practice the players can get with an alternative defensive look, the better. John Crider did not play tonight. When asked why, Coach Williams said, "I chose to not put him in". Not a very ringing endorsement from the coach. From what I understand, John was seen smiling and laughing on the bench. We know it wouldn’t be because John didn’t work hard in practice. The kid is a workaholic. Whatever the reason, it certainly is intriguing, isn’t it?

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Keep Rockin’ and Chalkin’... MJ