The Jayhawks snapped a
two-game losing streak Saturday afternoon with an easy 87-62 home win
over Texas Tech. The Jayhawks looked nothing like the team that
had lost three of the last four games. The screens were being
set, the passes were crisp, the defense was smothering, and the shots
were falling.
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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