KU Basketball: That’s more like it!

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After the Memphis game, I complained that KU didn’t shoot the trey often enough and that they didn’t press. Believe it or not, I actually saw a full court press against Central Arkansas. Ok, it was only once or twice, but that’s still infinitely more than normal. Maybe… just maybe… Self will employ it in the future. And, instead of only five three-pointers against Memphis, the Hawks shot 19 Thursday night, hitting 11. Obviously, my opinion had nothing to do with it, but it’s always good when I don’t have to complain.

KU was overwhelmingly dominant. They led at one point 37-15 including a 23-0 run in the first half. At another point, they led 53-17. And, the final margin was 50. For the most part, the game was an exhibition in KU’s depth – which included CJ Henry getting his first minutes and making the most of them (3-4, 8 points, including 2-3 from threes). But, of course, with that comes the problem of the 10th man. Self’s nine-man rotation didn’t last long and it is only going to get worse in few weeks when Withey and Morningstart to demand time.

Obviously, anyone who watched the contest realizes that Cole Aldrich didn’t have a particularly good game. An EFF of 9 would have to be considered horrible for him. His first two games were 20 and 31. And, he had a 23 average last season. Still, I think it was obvious the emphasis against Central Arkansas was going to be perimeter play. That kept CA out of the mix most of the night with only seven shots and two FTAs.

BTW: I loved the nickname given to him by “Big Al in the truck” - Swat King Cole. Clever, even if it doesn’t roll off the tongue.

Robinson was back to previous form with 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes. He’s a machine. Johnson was very solid in his time in the game. And, Reed was the old Reed we knew we had (4-5 from threes). Collins looked good, but I’m starting to get nervous seeing him (horizontally) on the floor so often.

KIEFF AND CUS

I really hammered these two guys last year and IMO justifiably so. However, now it is time to really start singing their praises. Here are their main stats in the three games this season.

Twin	FG%	FT%	RPG	PPG	EFF/G
Kieff	87.5%	100%	5.7	6.0	11.0
Cus	64.7%	69.2%	2.7	9.0	13.0
Combined	72.0%	76.4%	8.4	15.0	24.0

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They have combined to play just under 3 full games between them. That means the bolded numbers above represent the PF position per game – and that’s pretty outstanding for two sophomores especially considering they were highly suspect last season. In fact here is the comparison between the first three games in 2009-10 to 2008-09.

	FG%	FT%	RPG	PPG	EFF/G
09-10	72.0%	76.4%	8.4	15.0	24.0
08-09	47.5%	62.0%	9.2	12.0	16.2

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Their joint rebounding per game is lower, but overall, they are playing at a much higher level.

BY GROUP

I mentioned before that I see KU’s groups as Leaders (Collins, Aldrich, Reed), Sophomores (Twins, Taylor) and Freshmen (X, Johnson, Robinson). That’s three in each group. However, now that CJ is playing, he’s got to be included in the freshman group. When Withey is eligible, he will have to be in the sophomore group and, of course, Morningstar will be in the leadership group. That will make four per category – a super nice mix. I’m keeping stats for each game based on EFF.

	Gm 1	Gm 2	Gm 3	Avg
Leadership	44	46	41	43.7
Sophomores	38	15	34	29.0
Freshmen	42	5	51	32.7

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UGLY POINTS

After the Memphis game, I indicated that KU had 106 UGLY points. The formula is (100 minus points scored) + missed FG + missed FT + turnovers + fouls. Against Central Arkansas, KU had a 66 rating. That’s on par with the other four games (including exhibitions). KU had a 61 vs Pittsburg State, 67 vs Fort Hays State and 69 vs Hofstra.

GAME FLOW

KU didn’t have a single 4 minute segment in double figures against Memphis. Of course, the competition level is a little different, but vs C-Ark, they had five double digit segments – including the last four. KU scored 57 points in the second half.

Minutes	Half 1	Half 2
1-4	8	7
5-8	10	14
9-12	7	10
13-16	6	12
17-20	6	14
TOTAL	37	57

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PLAYER PRODUCTION

Here are the player’s points and EFF. Cus and Robinson tied for the best game (19).

Player	Points	EFF
McMorris	12	19
Robinson	8	19
Reed	12	17
Collins	12	15
MfMorris	8	14
XHenry	12	13
Johnson	7	11
Aldrich	7	9
CJHenry	8	8
Buford	4	3
Taylor	4	1
Teahan	0	-1
Juenemann	0	-1
TOTALS	94	127

EFF = (Pts + Reb + Ast + Blk + Stl – Missed FG – Missed FT – TO)

NOT IN THE BOXSCORE

PTS	InThe	Off	Second	Fast	From
SCORED	Paint	TOs	Chance	Break	Bench
C-Ark	24	10	12	2	14
Kansas	32	28	16	9	47

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	Actual	Effective	Ast/	Ast	Hustle
	FG%	FG%	TO	FGM	Pts
C-Ark	25.5%	26.4%	0.42	.571	22
Kansas	56.9%	66.4%	2.71	.576	29

Hustle = Blocks + Steals + Off Rebound

After the Memphis game, I complained that KU didn’t shoot the trey often enough and that they didn’t press. Believe it or not, I actually saw a full court press against Central Arkansas. Ok, it was only once or twice, but that’s still infinitely more than normal. Maybe… just maybe… Self will employ it in the future. And, instead of only five three-pointers against Memphis, the Hawks shot 19 Thursday night, hitting 11. Obviously, my opinion had nothing to do with it, but it’s always good when I don’t have to complain.KU was overwhelmingly dominant. They led at one point 37-15 including a 23-0 run in the first half. At another point, they led 53-17. And, the final margin was 50. For the most part, the game was an exhibition in KU’s depth – which included CJ Henry getting his first minutes and making the most of them (3-4, 8 points, including 2-3 from threes). But, of course, with that comes the problem of the 10th man. Self’s nine-man rotation didn’t last long and it is only going to get worse in few weeks when Withey and Morningstart to demand time.

Obviously, anyone who watched the contest realizes that Cole Aldrich didn’t have a particularly good game. An EFF of 9 would have to be considered horrible for him. His first two games were 20 and 31. And, he had a 23 average last season. Still, I think it was obvious the emphasis against Central Arkansas was going to be perimeter play. That kept CA out of the mix most of the night with only seven shots and two FTAs.

BTW: I loved the nickname given to him by “Big Al in the truck”  – Swat King Cole. Clever, even if it doesn’t roll off the tongue.

Robinson was back to previous form with 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes. He’s a machine. Johnson was very solid in his time in the game. And, Reed was the old Reed we knew we had (4-5 from threes). Collins looked good, but I’m starting to get nervous seeing him (horizontally) on the floor so often.

KIEFF AND CUS

I really hammered these two guys last year and IMO justifiably so. However, now it is time to really start singing their praises. Here are their main stats in the three games this season.

Twin	FG%	FT%	RPG	PPG	EFF/G
Kieff	87.5%	100%	5.7	6.0	11.0
Cus	64.7%	69.2%	2.7	9.0	13.0
Combined	72.0%	76.4%	8.4	15.0	24.0

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They have combined to play just under 3 full games between them. That means the bolded numbers above represent the PF position per game – and that’s pretty outstanding for two sophomores especially considering they were highly suspect last season. In fact here is the comparison between the first three games in 2009-10 to 2008-09.

	FG%	FT%	RPG	PPG	EFF/G
09-10	72.0%	76.4%	8.4	15.0	24.0
08-09	47.5%	62.0%	9.2	12.0	16.2

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Their joint rebounding per game is lower, but overall, they are playing at a much higher level.

BY GROUP

I mentioned before that I see KU’s groups as Leaders (Collins, Aldrich, Reed), Sophomores (Twins, Taylor) and Freshmen (X, Johnson, Robinson). That’s three in each group. However, now that CJ is playing, he’s got to be included in the freshman group. When Withey is eligible, he will have to be in the sophomore group and, of course, Morningstar will be in the leadership group. That will make four per category – a super nice mix. I’m keeping stats for each game based on EFF.

	Gm 1	Gm 2	Gm 3	Avg
Leadership	44	46	41	43.7
Sophomores	38	15	34	29.0
Freshmen	42	5	51	32.7

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UGLY POINTS

After the Memphis game, I indicated that KU had 106 UGLY points. The formula is (100 minus points scored) + missed FG + missed FT + turnovers + fouls. Against Central Arkansas, KU had a 66 rating. That’s on par with the other four games (including exhibitions). KU had a 61 vs Pittsburg State, 67 vs Fort Hays State and 69 vs Hofstra.

GAME FLOW

KU didn’t have a single 4 minute segment in double figures against Memphis. Of course, the competition level is a little different, but vs C-Ark, they had five double digit segments – including the last four. KU scored 57 points in the second half.

Minutes	Half 1	Half 2
1-4	8	7
5-8	10	14
9-12	7	10
13-16	6	12
17-20	6	14
TOTAL	37	57

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PLAYER PRODUCTION

Here are the player’s points and EFF. Cus and Robinson tied for the best game (19).

Player	Points	EFF
McMorris	12	19
Robinson	8	19
Reed	12	17
Collins	12	15
MfMorris	8	14
XHenry	12	13
Johnson	7	11
Aldrich	7	9
CJHenry	8	8
Buford	4	3
Taylor	4	1
Teahan	0	-1
Juenemann	0	-1
TOTALS	94	127

EFF = (Pts + Reb + Ast + Blk + Stl – Missed FG – Missed FT – TO)

NOT IN THE BOXSCORE

PTS	InThe	Off	Second	Fast	From
SCORED	Paint	TOs	Chance	Break	Bench
C-Ark	24	10	12	2	14
Kansas	32	28	16	9	47

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	Actual	Effective	Ast/	Ast	Hustle
	FG%	FG%	TO	FGM	Pts
C-Ark	25.5%	26.4%	0.42	.571	22
Kansas	56.9%	66.4%	2.71	.576	29

Hustle = Blocks + Steals + Off Rebounds

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