But it was more than the Jayhawks' play that had a new look. All but three Jayhawks shaved their heads (Gooden, Hinrich and London didn't) and Gregory and Bradford wore gleaming white headbands over their bald pates. Even Williams, who seems to alter his starting lineups about as often as McDonalds changes the look of the golden arches, got into the change-is-good mood and debuted a new starting lineup, benching Eric Chenowith and Jeff Boschee in favor of freshmen Drew Gooden and Kirk Hinrich.

Toss in brand new banners in the Fieldhouse rafters honoring KU's All-Americans and conference championships and one almost felt that the Jayhawks had been time-warped into a new season.

After one of the worst two-week stretches in recent KU basketball history, a whole new season seemed to be just what the fans were looking for. They greeted the team and Coach Williams with load and passionate cheering from the first moment they stepped out of the tunnel.

All of the outward changes would have been quickly forgotten if the team's play had been more of the same, but the team seemed determined to do something different on the court, too. From the opening tip, the Jayhawks seemed to be in a higher and better gear than the one they had been idling in the last month. The ball was whizzing from player to player, keeping the defense off balance and creating easy shots in a way that KU fans like to think is typical of Kansas Basketball, but has been sorely lacking for much of the last two seasons. All of the players seemed intent on doing fundamental things well. Players seemed to be seeking out screens to set and crisp cuts to make. They showed more devotion to the concept of team basketball than in quite some time.

And it paid off in phenomenal fashion. Tech played the Jayhawks even for the first seven minutes, but over the last 13 minutes of the first half the Jayhawks just drilled the visitors, out-scoring them 40-14 to put the game in the bag by halftime, 54-29. In the first half, the Jayhawks shot 61% from the floor, hit four of seven three-pointers, committed only 6 turnovers and had out-rebounded Tech 25-16. Three Jayhawk players--Kenny Gregory, Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee--hit double-figures in scoring before the break.

The second half was largely a draw. The Jayhawks played with a bit less focus and Tech started to hit some three-pointers, which kept KU from extending the lead. The Jayhawks shooting cooled down considerably, as well, and the Jayhawks managed to hit only 48% for the game. But it didn't matter. The game had been won in the first half and the point had been made--this team can play precise, smart, aggressive, team basketball when it decides it wants to.

Thoughts:

The new lineup. Before the game I was prepared to complain if the starting lineup stayed the same. I get tired of fans second-guessing who should start, figuring the coach knows best who is doing what he's asking. But, when a team is stuck in second-gear the way the Jayhawks have been, something different--anything different--can't be bad. The flip side to the tired expression, "if it ain't broke don't fix it," is that if it is broken, do something, anything.

Moving Drew Gooden into the starting lineup over Chenowith was an obvious change. Gooden has been an offensive spark with the ability to create shots and is a great rebounder. Chenowith has been at best inconsistent and has averaged fewer points and rebounds than Gooden while playing five more minutes a game. After failing to grab a single defensive rebound against Iowa on Thursday and scoring only 4 points, this was an obvious change if Williams was going to make a change.

Starting Hinrich over Boschee was a bit of a surprise. Boschee has been in a shooting slump since the start of conference play, but Hinrich hadn't been shredding the nets himself, having hit only 7 of 40 three-pointers entering the game. He had played well overall for a freshman point guard, but not obviously, or even arguably, better than Boschee. Still, there are two reasons to change a starting lineup. One is to put the better player on the floor and one is to energize the benched starter. Gooden-for-Chenowith seems to fall into the first category, while Hinrich-for-Boschee seems to fall into the second.

The changes in the starting lineup seemed to accomplish their apparent objectives in both cases. Gooden played a very good game. He wracked up 14 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes and didn't commit a turnovers. The benching didn't seem to fire up Chenowith. He responded to the benching with 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 22 minutes. But if the change was made simply to get the more productive player more minutes, it has to be considered a success. I suspect that this change will be more or less permanent. Gooden may not sit for an opening tip-off again as a Jayhawk.

The Hinrich for Boschee switch was even more successful. Jeff responded to his benching with one of his best games in conference play. He scored 13 points on 3-of-8 three-point shooting and played a team leading 27 minutes. He hit three-of-four three-pointers in the first half and was one of the keys to the Jayhawks' game-breaking run. Hinrich responded as well, scoring 9 points and, more significantly, hitting 2-of-3 three-pointers. He dished four assists against one turnover, grabbed three steals and ran the team very, very well in the 21 minutes he was on the floor.

I would expect, though, that Boschee will reclaim his starting job, probably as soon as Monday. Boschee, after all, led the team in minutes even coming off the bench and is clearly one of the five best Jayhawks, especially on offense, where he provides the Jayhawks' only consistent outside threat with Luke sidelined. This presumably temporary lineup change probably does signal, though, an expanded role for Hinrich. In some ways Hinrich is a more natural point guard than Boschee. He's a very instinctive passer and is better able to penetrate the lane to break down the defense. Getting him more minutes at the point can only help the team.

That likely won't come at the expense of Boschee, though. Today there were more than a few occasions when they were on the court together. Luke's unfortunate indefinite absence from the team opens up more minutes on the perimeter. Gregory and/or London are likely to take up the slack backing-up Bradford at small forward, allowing either Jeff or Kirk to play the off guard while the other runs the point.

Gregory: It was no coincidence that KU looked vastly improved on offense on the same afternoon that Kenny Gregory snapped out of a mini-slump. Gregory hadn't disappeared from the offense really, but in the last month had seemed to become much more peripheral and much more one-dimensional, scoring only in transition or around the hoop. His average has gradually fallen from 17 points to 14 points, and in the three games heading into the one today he had averaged only 8 points.

Today he broke loose with 19 points and 6 rebounds on 8-of-8 shooting without committing a turnover. It wasn't just that he was scoring, but how he was scoring that was such good news to the offense. He took and hit open 12- and 15-foot shoots that he had been turning down in recent games. If Kenny can consistently hit those shots it will make him more dangerous, harder to defend and will open up the offense. I liked the way he shot the ball, too. Kenny has a tendency to shoot on the way down. As high as he jumps he has plenty of time to get the shot off on the way down, but its much harder to hit a jump shot if you don't stroke the ball at the top of your jump.

Perspective: Despite all the good things that came out of the game--winning again, better execution, more energy--it is well to keep in mind that Tech is the league doormat. KU's improved execution and attitude wasn't simply due to a poor opponent, but a better team would have forced the Jayhawks to play well for 40 minutes rather than the 20 the team managed today. Beyond that, teams often play better after the coach makes a change in the lineup, kind of the way pro teams often go on a win streak after a coaching change. The key question--whether the team can continue to execute with the crispness, energy and aggressiveness they showed today over the course of the rest of the season--remains to be answered.

The first test, and an important test if the Jayhawks are going to vie for the conference championship, comes Monday when the Jayhawks travel to Oklahoma State for a Big Monday contest. Stillwater is never a friendly environment, and the Jayhawks have yet to win a game against a quality team on the road. Another ugly loss could do serious damage to the team's confidence.

Ah, but a win against a conference rival on the road could jump start this squad and propel them to a strong end-of-the-season finish. The game Monday could well be the biggest game of the season so far.

Notes:

Marlon London is playing through a strained left shoulder. He scored 3 points in 20 minutes, but dished a team-leading 5 assists.

The last time KU started three freshman was under former KU coach Ted Owens when Calvin Thompson, Kerri Boagni and Jeff Guiot formed a triple freshman threat.

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