Recap: Tennessee State at Kansas

November 22, 2006

Kansas 89 - Tennessee State 54

My Observations

What an incredible first-half run ... halftime, 50-19 good guys.  This was the kind of performance we all knew the Jayhawks had in them, full of killer instinct, inside and outside weapons, and unselfish play.  Many KU fans probably felt the "real" Jayhawks finally showed up.  That, and the fact that Tennessee State was pretty much letting things happen.  But 50-19 is pretty darn good against anyone.  Problem is, the entire second act was virtually a tie.  KU outscored TSU by only 5 points, a margin of which most was gained after the regular players had sat down.  Post-game comments from Coach Self indicated that the team was just "bored."  Guess that's understandable to see a team lose its sense of urgency when it's leading by over 30.  But shouldn't a "bored" KU team at home do better against TSU?  Maybe I'm being too picky, but we did just suffer a tough loss ... I figured that would fuel them for some time.

Player Performance Analysis

Two players really stood out for KU in this game ... Wright and Collins.  The overall numbers argue for Wright as the player of the game.  If you watched the game, though, you know that Collins' "Dazzling Display from Deep" (or "3D" - it'll catch on) really broke the game open.  Julian's contributions were steady and strong all game long.  Except for 4 TO's, JW really did no wrong.  He and Kaun really operate well together inside.  SC, meanwhile, had his breakout game with 19 points, mostly off 4-6 shooting from deep.  It's becoming clear that Collins has the capability of providing instant offense.  As I had postulated preseason, his defense will really dictate whether he gets about the same minutes as Chalmers.  For now, it's clear that Robinson and Chalmers are the primary 1 and 2, with Collins a solid backup to both.

Anyone else relieved to see Brandon near the top finally?  He was looking for his shot more aggressively last night, and he showed his usual feathery touch.  His 10 rebounds probably give him a bit too much credit though, as he admitted himself.  Nearly all were defensive, so not nearly as valuable as offensive rebounds since TSU scored very inefficiently.  Rush finally kept his TO's to a manageable number (2) and did quite a bit in only 23 minutes, scoring 14 points and even blocking a shot.

Some would probably be surprised that Darnell Jackson rated ahead of Robinson.  And to be honest, my personal feeling is that Robinson was much more important in this game than DJ.  There are two key issues involved.  First, how much credit for a basket should go to the person who gave an assist?  As we all know, some assisted baskets are all about the pass, while others clearly depend upon the person who made the shot.  On a night where the passer made great passes, he will probably be underrated, because my ratings just can't determine the quality of the assists.  The second issue is that of intangibles.  It's obvious that KU operates better with Russell in the game as a steadying influence and strong defender.  Not all that he does is captured.  I write this a lot, but it bears repeating.  One of the values of these player ratings is to shine light on some things that seem out of place, so we don't overlook them.  In this case, Russell's ratings aren't amazing but certainly not bad either.  So, if you feel he had a great game (I do), then it's probably true.  If, however, you feel that way when his ratings are quite low, I'd ask you to look closer and think carefully.

DJ shot very efficiently and grabbed some rebounds, all while making few mistakes.  His sore spot was making only 3-7 freethrows.  Robinson, on the other hand, did pretty much a great job at everything but shooting (and thus, scoring).  His rating isn't really bad, just not as high as the other stars of the game.

Darrell Arthur finally came back down to Earth a bit.  Or did he?  Three seconds into the game, he slammed home an alley-oop as if to say, "I am the real deal!"  Although a quick succession of fouls kept him on the bench, the man-child came through with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks ... in just 12 minutes.  I don't feel like he came down to Earth.  He's just below the orbit of the International Space Station for now.  Let's see what happens against Florida.  I'm sure he can't wait for that opportunity.

Finally, a word about King Kaun.  Much to the pleasant shock of KU fans everywhere, Sasha Kaun played in a game after returning to practice only one day before.  The result?  Made all his FG's, all his FT's (yep), but committed 3 fouls and 2 TO's in just 12 minutes.  If that's how he plays when he's rusty and completely out of shape, there is hope that he can be the inside force KU needs to compete for the Final Four.  Welcome back, Sasha, you are going to have a stellar season.

On TSU's side, not much to note.  As expected, they were carried by Clarence Matthews, who actually had a pretty decent game all things considered.  He shot poorly from the field but made up for it with FT's, O-Reb, and other contributions.  Weaver was the only other scorer in double figures, but his negative rating shows you that he didn't do it very efficiently.  Oh, and who guarded Ivy?  Wow, he really struggled with 0-7 shooting and 3 TO's.

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