Advertisement

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Robinson picked KU over Tech

By Gary Bedore

Advertisement

Even scoreless, Robinson rocks

Every great team possesses a player that doesn't always light up the scoreboard, but makes sure others always do. For the Kansas men's basketball team, that player is Russell Robinson.

10-and-0 never looked so easy

On Saturday the Kansas men's basketball team crushed another opponent: this time Ohio at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

Atlanta — Mark Price, Stephon Marbury, Jarrett Jack, Travis Best, Kenny Anderson ... and Russell Robinson?

If Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt had his way, Robinson, Kansas University's senior point guard out of New York's Rice High School, would have joined those above mentioned greats who starred at Tech - a school known in basketball circles as "Point Guard U."

"We recruited Russell hard," Hewitt said. "I've watched his career closely. I like the way he's grown to be a defensive leader."

"They were one of the first teams to get in my recruitment my sophomore year - Georgia Tech and St. John's," Robinson said Monday, a day before tonight's 6 p.m. tip against Georgia Tech in Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

"I almost went there. It all came down to the visit. I said, 'Hey, whichever is the best visit.' Of course, KU beat Missouri here (in football). It was a crazy atmosphere.

"My visit there (to Atlanta) was good, too. It was Black College Weekend, where they brought in bands (from smaller colleges) who battled off. I just liked it at KU the best."

KU coach Bill Self reflected on Robinson's recruitment before Monday morning's practice in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks headed to Atlanta after the workout.

"I said to the guys yesterday, 'Isn't recruiting amazing?' We recruited three youngsters - A.J. Price, Quentin Thomas and Russell Robinson. We desperately needed a backup point guard because Aaron (Miles) was going to be a senior. Our whole deal was getting one of them. We were fortunate Russell picked us. He's had an outstanding career."

Price later signed with UConn and Thomas with North Carolina.

Today, Georgia Tech's fans will see Robinson up close and personal in their own arena for the first time.

"Coach Hewitt is a good coach. He'll get them motivated. A win against us could turn things around," Robinson said, realizing Tech is off to a so-so 4-4 start as it rebuilds following the early NBA departures of Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young.

Normally, Georgia Tech would be ranked in the top 15. Not this year. KU has played just one ranked team in Southern California.

Robinson was asked Monday if he wished a top-10 team was on the nonconference schedule.

"Yeah, just because you see them getting played a lot, especially on Thursday nights," Robinson said of marquee games. "You like playing those games, especially early."

¢

Preparation: Tech has had 13 days to prepare for tonight's nonconference clash. The Yellow Jackets, who dropped consecutive games at Indiana and Vanderbilt, have been concentrating on final exams as well as basketball since a 72-67 victory over Georgia State on Dec. 5.

"We've been worried about ourselves, not Kansas as much," Hewitt said. "School can be a little challenging. We gave them some time off since we've been involved in finals."

As far as practice time, "We've been searching to find the right combinations. I don't think over our first eight games we played to our potential. I don't want to use 'disappointed,' but we can get better. We have to get better with some of these games coming up," Hewitt said.

Georgia Tech, which believe it or not has played just one home game - an 83-74 season-opening loss to UNC Greensboro - will host KU, Centenary, Tennessee Tech, Florida State and Presbyterian before venturing to rival Georgia before the start of the meat of ACC play.

¢

Dickey not back yet: KU coach Self said Monday he figured today would be the return game for Ra'Sean Dickey, a 6-9 senior from Clio, S.C., who was academically ineligible first semester. Dickey, who started 23 games last year, was Tech's fourth-leading scorer (8.1 points per game) and second leading rebounder (5.3 per game), while tying for the team lead in field-goal percentage (59.6 pct.).

However, a Georgia Tech official on Monday afternoon said there was no update on Dickey's academic status, and the player would miss the game because of knee problems that have kept him from practicing much.

"They are very athletic and have big wings. They press the whole time. It'll be different than anybody we've played so far," Self said.

¢

Big game: No-3 rated KU is the first Top-10 non-ACC team to visit the Coliseum since January 1989, when No. 9 Louisville beat the Jackets, 67-65. The Jayhawks are the highest ranked non-conference opponent to visit Tech since Jan. 26, 1976, when, as a member of the Metro Conference, the Yellow Jackets lost to No. 3 Marquette, 55-44.

"This will be a big game, for our fans especially. One of the things I did hear coming to Georgia Tech was we don't have enough quality nonconference opponents coming into the Coliseum," seventh-year Tech coach Hewitt said.

"Bringing Kansas in here ranked in the top two, three is a significant game for our fans. Our players look at it as an opportunity to play more consistent basketball."

More like this

Comments

ohjayhawk (anonymous) says...

"Normally, Georgia Tech would be ranked in the top 15. Not this year. KU has played just one ranked team in Southern California."

Arizona is ranked, too. Southern Cal is barely ranked again, climbing back in at 25. Both were ranked when we played them, though.

December 18, 2007 at 7:10 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dsmith84 (anonymous) says...

also, forget being ranked... beating ANY major conference opponent on the road is a "quality" win.
people will surely discount this win as well, saying we beat a name team in a down year... but let them talk. this team is going to show people come march (and early april...)

December 18, 2007 at 7:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

Our schedule will be judged in March based on how those teams do. It looks pretty good right now, but if USC falls apart for instance, that win won't look as good. Right now, I think our wins look pretty good. Hopefully those wins won't lose their luster as the season continues.

December 18, 2007 at 7:52 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

I don't care how the non-con wins look now or in March. I just hope we're still dancing on the final weekend.

December 18, 2007 at 8:49 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhwkfan162515 (anonymous) says...

I wonder how GT fans feel about Stephon Marbury these days...

December 18, 2007 at 9:29 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

NH_JHawk (anonymous) says...

I'm confident we will handle our business tonight. GaTech + fans should be fired up given it's their 2nd home game and a big one at that. I think one of the keys is how well we contain Anthony Morrow. I'm guessing Rush will draw that defensive assignment.

December 18, 2007 at 10:06 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

we need more zona's, usc's, and ga tech's early in the season. i think we play too few of them -- we end up 30-3 going into the tourney or something ridiculous like that -- and we choke. we need more tough opponents early.

December 18, 2007 at 10:46 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmkjayhawk (anonymous) says...

I agree that more marquee non-conference games would be nice and they would make the season much more interesting early on. However, speaking specifically of this season, KU will get some tests in their Big XII south opponents, namely on the road (ut, a&m, osu), in addition to decent teams in KSU and potentially MU and NU. I know it's early and those last three aren't really entirely proven yet, but they could all be tough.

Does anyone know if KU is going to Michigan State sometime (to fulfill the home-and-home from the 2004 game in AFH)?

December 18, 2007 at 1:36 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ChicagoJHawk (anonymous) says...

Yeah, I definitely agree JayViking. Since the rest of the big 12 north isn't that good we need to play tougher non-conference opponents to help us get ready for the tournament. This years schedule is pretty good & should help us out for the post season.

December 18, 2007 at 1:36 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

I think the Big XII north will be a lot stronger this year than it was last year. With the exception of Colorado, the rest of the teams appear to be much improved. NU, ISU and MU all have a year under their belts with their new coaches, and their players actually know the systems now. K-State has upgraded their talent significantly. None of them are on the level of KU, but KSU could be an NCAA team and NU, ISU and MU are all bubble/NIT type teams.

December 18, 2007 at 2:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

Yep, I've always felt that way, I'd give up a game or two right now in exchange for a little adversity. And it need to be in the form of opponents challenging us... not that self-inflicted adversity (getting injured or not playing with any intensity).

For the same reason I felt KU was going to blow out Ohio and look good doing it, I think Ga Tech is going to challenge us a little more than we might think. They've finished their finals and have their minds free and clear and are going to come out hungry. Removing other stressors from your life is very underrated, imo. If we blow Tech out, I believe that means something significant about this team.

December 18, 2007 at 2:26 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kufan1975 (anonymous) says...

ku plays at michigan st. next year.

December 18, 2007 at 3:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhwkfan162515 (anonymous) says...

Be careful what you wish for. Michigan State played a murderer's row schedule against big name opponents in 2003-04, including us, and lost a lot of them, and they flamed out in the first round of the 2004 NCAAs. Is that the kind of schedule you would want?

December 18, 2007 at 3:26 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...

ohjayhawk, Arizona wasn't ranked when we played them. They are 19th in the AP now though. USC was 24th when we were in Pasadena. The RPI will factor how all these teams play as the year progresses, though. Regardless, if we blow through the Big 12 and win it with only a loss or two, we will be in strong position for a number 1 seed. It shouldn't matter what our opponents are ranked.

Any road game is tough in college basketball, especially one versus a "BCS" type conference. If we come out fired up like we did Saturday (what I would say was the best I've seen us this year), we should be able to handle the Tech guys just fine.

December 18, 2007 at 3:29 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...

Also, you can't control if your opponents have an up or a down year. Just ask the football team: you simply go out and try to win the games on your schedule.

December 18, 2007 at 3:32 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

jhwkfan1626,

I don't attribute Michigan flaming out to playing too tough a schedule. I attribute it to them being overrated because they're a sorry-ass big 10 school! Playing tough games and losing them doesn't help by itself... playing tough games, and learning how to win those tough games over the course of the season and your players careers is how you do it. The 88 KU team had a tough schedule... what... 4 or 5 games against elite 8 teams in their conference alone! Lost a bunch, barely got in. You know what, they learned a lot and we all know what happened.

It's not what you do in the games in December that counts in the long run, it's what you take away from them. You just hope your players have learned both confidence and humility, and know what they're strengths and weaknesses are. Some of KU's failures in the past had a lot to do with the fact they didn't really get challenged enough over the season to understand what their weaknesses are. (Specifically 97, and some of Roy's other great teams) March is a bad time to learn those.

December 18, 2007 at 4:25 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...

Don't know why I said "when we were in Pasadena..." USC plays in downtown LA, the arena is in their campus (actually just across the street). You would think I knew that since I was not only at that game, but I also live by Pasadena. Sorry 'bout that.

Guess I was thinking about the Rose Bowl which I will be at... decked out in KU gear.

December 18, 2007 at 6:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )