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Before you read this, it should be duly noted the author's parents are both ESU alumni and could not bring himself to cover his face with a newspaper during team intros. Someone made a mistake. The game hadn't started and Emporia was up by 30. Ok, so it was a scoreboard error and the operators fixed it before the start of the game, but Emporia could have used the lead. Everyone in the Field House knew the result ahead of time. The Hornets were going to lose, and lose big, 120 to 51 to be precise. But there was a big reason why this game was played out despite the obvious. Roy has always shown a great deal of respect to the Division two schools in Kansas. He realizes their predicament in funding and creating a competitive team. The disparity was obvious from the start. Emporia warmed up in their uniforms with only short sleeve shirts over their jerseys. The Jayhawks had their triple layer warm-up shirts and rip-away pants. Both ran the same drills, but you could tell the outcome was already decided. Going into this game, KU still had questions needing answers. Was there anyone capable of filling the important defensive three position. Was Chenowith back? What the heck was the deal with all the walk-ons? Against the EA All-Stars, Kirk Hinrich and Jeff Boschee prove themselves adept at sharing the point guard duties, combining for 17 assists and one turnover. Drew Gooden and Nick Collison both started where they left off from last year, even a little better. Each was a force in points and rebounds. One big scene during warm-ups was the consistency with which Boschee, Hinrich, Luke Axtell, and even Kenny Gregory were hitting from beyond the arc. In fact, every player seemed to have an improved shooting stroke. The ball and the game was controlled by Kansas from the start. Emporia seemed to realize they could only hope to contain players, like Eric Chenowith who towered over Hornet center Brad Emme by four inches. Unfortunately for Emporia, the only way to accomplish the feat was by fouling. In the first two minutes Emme had two personals, three more players were whistled, and the Emporia bench was slapped with a technical. By then it was all over but the shouting. Boschee found his three point stroke and the picks did an excellent job of making his line of sight clear. Boschee finished five for five from behind the arc, and seems to enjoy allowing Hinrich to run the offense the majority of the time. Luke Axtell was also strong from behind the lin--four of seven. The truth is, Boschee is more patient than Axtell. The North Dakotan will wait for the shot to be set while the Texan will fire it when he feels like. Gregory and freshman Mario Kinsey were also in on the three point barrage each hitting two of three and two of two. Adding Lewis Harrison's one three, the team finished a strong 16 of 20. Emporia also had several shots from behind the arc, finishing 17 of 25. The difference between the two teams was obvious: Kansas shot as another facet of the offense, Emporia shot in desperation. Since a blow-by-blow description would be long and kind of ugly, allow me to give a quick view of each player that saw time. Drew Gooden: Sixteen points were part of a big night for Gooden. He also snagged 11 total rebounds and recorded two fouls. He totaled 23 minutes on the floor, a sign Coach Williams considers him more polished this year. Kenny Gregory: Seven of twelve from the field with 17 points, Gregory showed a jumper that has been missing from his repertoire since he came to KU. Of course, managing a fifteen footer against a Division two school is a lot different than UCLA. Eric Chenowith: The question mark still remains, though not as big. There were a couple of instances where Chenowith should have drove hard for a slam, but was knocked off course by a much smaller Emporia front court. He was on the floor for 22 minutes and showed the ability to be a consistent 15-15 center, but it will have to come soon, before he is benched in favor of Gooden and Collison. Kirk Hinrich: Another night of being floor commander, and another game where he proved his ability to run the offense. Only two points for the game, but when the ball gets to the big producers, it hardly matters. Jeff Boschee: A big night as pointed out earlier from behind the arc. He found his rhythm and kept it through his 25 minutes of time. Mario Kinsey: Kinsey proved he can control a basketball offense, but the question will be in the spring can he control a football offense? He quickened the pace when he was point, obviously more comfortable with the offense. Kinsey also showed no signs of ill-effect from the surgery to cure his compartment syndrome. Nick Collison : The jumper is still there, and even sweeter. The floor covering ability is still there, and even quicker. He didn't see much time, only 19 minutes, but was 100 percent from the field and 100 percent from the charity stripe. Bryant Nash: Maligned as a last ditch effort by Williams to bring in some from of recruit last year, Nash did show off his ball sense. It wasn't great, but he could be a defensive pick for the three spot if necessary. Two for five from the field doesn't make a great argument for the ability to play both ends, but you have to start somewhere. Luke Axtell: No fear at the arc. Four out of seven for threes and four out of five for free throws gave Axtell the team lead in points with 19 in only 21 minutes of playing time. Chris Zerbe, Todd Kappelmann, Lewis Harrison, Jeff Carey: Solid playing time from all of these guys. To answer the walk-on question, the first three are pretty solid warm bodies to run the oppositions' plays. I would not be surprised to see only Zerbe stick around next year, if the recruits Keith Langford and Aaron Miles fall into place. John Crider: He did not play tonight, leaving many including the student section, wondering why. I did notice during the last minute of the game, Coach Williams having a "whisper" conference with Crider. What was said I have no idea, and it was difficult to get a read on Crider and his reaction to the student support. I don't know what will happen to the Horton, Kansas native, and refuse to speculate. Overall the team looked solid. They shot over 60 percent from the field and took full advantage from the charity stripe shooting 80 percent in both halves. The prognosis: hard to tell at this point. The team dominated in a game they were supposed too, and will have fresh legs going into the start of the season against UCLA on November 9.

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