Career night for LeGerald Vick

An extraordinary 8-8 from 3 and 32 points. I thought he played poorly against MSU and wondered how long it might be until he lost his starting role - then this amazing performance! Congratulations Mr. Vick. It appears it may be someone else every night complimenting Dok in the middle.

I wonder what's up with Dedrick? He doesn't seem to have much verticle jumping ability and couldn't make a layup. He's a proven scorer and will be back but it was a tough night for our All American candidate. Q and Dotson weren't as impressive as against MSU but I thought both looked solid in the second half.

I'm really happy for LeGerald. He's always seemed to be a player that can't stand success, once 2 or 3 shots went in, he seemed to force it and miss the next one.

Not tonight! Fun to watch him...

Vick didn't neglect the rest of his game either. Nice hustle to get back and make a block. On one sequence he brought the ball down and had a shot but instead passed it and after several other touches it came back to him and then he took the open shot. And there wasn't too much histrionics, just a little bit, which he deserved.

Uh, but I'm starting to wonder how D. Lawson scored all those points at Memphis. He is slow and can't jump. He made a few good passes but also threw it away now and then. He had a path to the basket and laid it up (and missed) instead of dunking. Didn't look like he could jump high enough to dunk. A 6' 6" guy blocked his shot a couple of times. Perhaps his strong suit is mid-range jumpers, but the KU offense looks like it's designed for close shots or 3's. Was disappointed that McCormack didn't get a few chances. If he and Doke had been on the court at the same time, they would have trouble doubling both of them. Maybe Self built Derick up too much and he is pressing. We will need to keep our eye on this.

Vick was unconscious. Once he got to 7 I wanted him to stop shooting so he'd finish perfect. Fun to watch.

Nevertheless, my favorite play was his dunk. At times (early last year for example) guards have gotten lazy and just started hoisting 3's. If you don't drive now and then to keep the defense honest, you're easier to defend. Last night wasn't an issue, but I do hope that it doesn't allow him to regress into playing "I'll just stand back here and chuck it rather than risking getting dirty in the paint".

But overall, he had the green light, he was clearly on fire, and it's really hard to find any holes to poke in his game. He also seemed to be kind of "vocal" out there....that's a good thing. Show some fire in the belly and whip the other guys up.