All too Familiar (KU vs MU I)

The stage was set for a classic upset; #2 vs. Unranked, bitter rivals, and national television. The only problem: someone forgot to inform the visitors of Allen Fieldhouse that they had a game to win.

The game started fast for Mizzou, jumping to an early lead, and leaving the Jayhawk faithful gasping for air. Keith Ramsey hit two open 3′s to give the Tigers the edge. Kansas slowly started to pull away half way through the first half lead by two juniors, Brady Morningstar and Cole Aldrich. Aldrich had arguably his best game of the season, finishing just shy of a triple-double, with 12 pts, 16 rebs, and 7 blocks. The inside presence of the Minnesota native definitely hindered MU’s attempts at anything inside the paint. The highlight of the night belonged to Morningstar, who hit a miracle 3 at the end of the half to give KU a 50-30 advantage headed to the locker room.

In the second half, it was much the same. A lot of missed MU jumpers as the Tigers finished 19-68, (28%) their worst shooting performance of the year by far. The Jayhawks dominated the glass, finishing the game with a distinct advantage, 53-28. The Tigers were able to force KU into turning the ball over, but only 9 of KU’s 23 turnovers were steals. In a game where Sherron Collins didn’t play his best basketball, 2-11 from the field and 4 turnovers, Marcus Morris was able to pick up the slack and lead the Jayhawks in scoring, finishing with 17 pts and 9 rebs. Markieff Morris contributed a HUGE 19 minutes, finishing the game with 9 pts and 11 rebs. Tyrel Reed continued to stroke it from deep, connecting on all 4 of his 3-point attempts.

The Jayhawks showed a lot of poise, but still turned the ball over WAY too many times. I’m sure Bill Self addressed this after the game. It is just unacceptable to turn the ball over 23 times, even though they were playing against a pressure defense team in Mizzou.

Xavier Henry is still playing like a young man that could use another year in school. He shows flashes of brilliance, but more often times than not, he looks lost on the court. I know he’s a good basketball player, and I know his basketball IQ is high, but come on, finishing the game with only 8 shot attempts and 7 of them coming from distance? That isn’t going to help anyone win the national championship, or get drafted in the lottery for that matter. X is still probably a late lottery selection at this point, but if he continues to play the way he has the past couple of weeks, his draft stock will slip. He needs to attack the basket and make plays for himself and his teammates. This will open up the outside where he’s proved he can hit wide open shots.

I'm not smiling about the way you played last night...trust me.

What is Al Jazeera English?

My buddy had a very unique experience interning in DC for Al Jazeera English.  Below is a like to his website that quickly explains the platform and who they are trying to reach, in a short YouTube video.  Please take the time to watch the video, Andy spent a lot of time working on it and it is just brilliant. Andy can be reached directly through his site, or email, andy.greenhaw@gmail.com.

Andy’s Site.

FEAR THE BEARD (EERRR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.)

First off, what a game. Got to give it to K-State, the crowd was fired up and players in purple came out with a lot of emotion and energy early. Feeding off the crowd’s energy and strong interior defense the Cats jumped out to an early lead. Uncharacteristically, KSU was lead by their young big men as their experienced wings played subpar. Jamar Samuels, a 6-7 sophomore from DC, played out of his mind, pacing the Wildcats with 20 points on 8-13 (62%) shooting and 12 rebounds. Curtis Kelly, a 6-8 junior transfer per way of UConn, also had his best performance of the year scoring 17 points and pulling down 8 rebounds in 32 minutes of work. The usual suspects, Clemente and Pullen, really pressed and tried to do too much against Texas’s inexperienced backcourt, combining for 17 points on 4-24 (17%) shooting, including 0-8 from distance.

On the Texas side, All-American candidate Damion James had a performance he’ll soon want to forget. Connecting on just 3 of 12 shots, James was a non-factor on the offensive end. Missing shots within 6 feet of the basket was his specialty on this night, and his lack of composure really showed finishing the game with 4 turnovers versus 0 assists. Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, and J’Covan Brown all played like…well, freshmen, because that’s what they are, especially in a hostile environment. They got rattled early, and were never able to get in any sort of rhythm, finishing the game with a combined 21 points. When their All-World forward James and blue-chip freshmen aren’t playing to form who would the ‘Horns turn to? Their experienced point guard, Balbay, couldn’t answer the bell, finishing with an unexcusable 6 turnovers, and their best big, Pittman, played an ineffective game, or 16 minutes, on both the offensive and defensive end.

Texas was able to keep the game close, eventually grabbing the lead back halfway through the second half, but was unable to contain the bigs of K-State. Every win on the road in the Big XII will be an absolute slugfest, and the conference will produce some memorable games this season. For the first Big Monday, this matchup lived up to the billing. It crucial for the likes of Samuels and Kelly to continue to play with passion the way they did last night. It will also be telling to see how the young Texas players handle defeat, their first of the season, and prove they have the poise necessary to compete for a conference championship. Only time will tell.

Kiss the baby!!

Pick up Dwight Howard.  He’s pretty good, watch out!