Kansas freshmen bond at Global Games

Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Roommates at Kansas University this summer, freshmen basketball players Cole Aldrich and Tyrel Reed also bunked in the same quarters July 1-7 at Dallas’ Radisson Hotel.

“I wouldn’t say we’re getting sick of each other,” said Aldrich, a 6-foot-11 center from Bloomington, Minn.

He and 6-foot-3 Burlington native Reed helped the Global Games All-America team to a runner-up finish at the six-day tournament in SMU’s Moody Coliseum.

“That’s what is great about Kansas’ program. There are no cliques on this team. Everybody gets along. It’s a big family unit,” added the 250-pound Aldrich.

KU’s bosom buddies, who started all four games, exhibited some Jayhawk pride in two victories, two losses and three practice sessions.

They couldn’t help but needle Global Games teammates B.J. Holmes and Nathan Walkup of Texas A&M.

“I told them, ‘It’ll be four years straight of us winning the Big 12 and the tournament,” Aldrich said.

“They hit us back with, ‘We won last year,’’’ Reed said of the Aggies topping KU in Lawrence.

The Global Games squad — which also included Big 12 players in Texas Tech’s John Roberson, Mike Singletary and D’Walyn Roberts, as well as SMU’s Robert Nyakundi and Alex Malone, Houston’s Brockeith Payne and Mississippi State’s Elgin Bailey — bonded in a short period of time.

The AA team beat Senegal, 97-70, in an exhibition, then stopped CJT Junior College All-Stars, 110-82, before falling to Argentina, 94-89. In the finals, Global Games AA dropped an 86-72 decision to USA Basketball’s undefeated Under 19 Select Team.

“We were upset we lost, but fortunate enough to play in the championship game. Our goal was to play in that game, and we made it that far,” said Reed, who averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four games.

“We’d have been disappointed if we didn’t make it to that game. Since we got that far, we didn’t want to lay an egg,” noted Aldrich, who contributed 5.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.

“They are a really skilled team. You could throw every one of them on any college program in the country and they would be starting. From DeAndre Jordan (A&M), to Beasley (Michael, Kansas State) to Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga). Every one is one of the main contributors rebounding or scoring on their team.”

Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas University freshmen Tyrel Reed, left, and Cole Aldrich pose for a photo inside Allen Fieldhouse. The two just returned from the Global Games July 1-7 in Dallas.

Aldrich had 11 rebounds and four points in the title contest, while Reed contributed five points, two assists and two rebounds.

Each was more than willing to assess the other’s play.

“Tyrel really ran the offense well. It’ll really help him this year,” Aldrich said of Reed, whose top outing was a 14-point, three-steal, three-rebound effort versus Argentina.

“If Sherron (Collins) is in foul trouble, they can throw Tyrel in there and say, ‘Tyrel, run the offense for us.’ It’s a real good thing he got this experience behind him.”

Of Aldrich, who had 12 points versus the junior college team, Reed noted: “Cole got in foul trouble the first couple of games, which was unfortunate for him. We knew some calls were not going the way they should.

“Defensively, he was always a presence in the lane with good timing. He had a lot of blocked shots, whether they were accounted for (on stat sheet) or not. Offensively, sometimes it’s tough to get in the flow. He did in some games. Being his (KU) teammate, I’d try to get him the ball. Some guys haven’t played with big guys and don’t know how to get them the ball yet.”

Aldrich was in foul trouble in two of the four games. He said the international officiating was tough to comprehend. He resisted the temptation to explode like the fireworks the players watched after a Texas Rangers game on the Fourth of July.

“It was a good experience playing a different style of basketball. Some guys might call it basketball,” Aldrich cracked.

“Here, you can body people up. Here, if you meet your guy at the three-point line and try to make him work, it’ll be to your advantage. I gave a guy from Argentina a pretty good hit. The ref came by and he went, ‘Ooh’ and flailed his arms. He acted like he got shot. For us here, it’s not noble to do that. You get hit, you keep going. It’s a whole different style of play.”

Aldrich made it clear he’s not afraid to bang.

“I had a few fouls,” he said. “Against Argentina, I got a rebound, turned to outlet. One kid was standing there. I hit him hard in the face. He hit the ground hard. They called me for a foul. I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It wasn’t a cheap shot. I got the board, looked to Tyrel to outlet, and he happened to be there and I hit him in the face. A lot of international players like to show their acting skills.”

The wiser for playing in the Games, the two are finishing summer school, in which they are on track to pass seven hours worth of classes. Both will head to their hometowns from July 26 to Aug. 13 before start of the 2007-08 school year.

Aldrich, who had body fat of 15 percent last year, said he hopes to “get it down to 10, 11 percent” by the start of school. Reed, meanwhile, has put on four pounds and weighs 184.

“I feel bigger, stronger. We’ll all be ready for the season,” Reed said.

They’re ready to fill any roles.

“If coach needs me to cheer my butt off on the bench, I’ll do it,” Aldrich said. “At Kansas, every year is the year. Every year the goal is the national title. But this year we’ve got really good guys, extraordinary guys, athletes, and they are all great people, too.”

Comments

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Posted by doubleJ25 (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 5:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good to see they're getting along already. Hopefully they can be a good combo ala Hinrich and Collison.

Posted by Colgrove (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 7:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I hope sometime in the near future basketball (both in the USA and internationally) adopts a rule that penalizes (be it foul, free throws, etc.) players that act like they are victims of a mob hit whenever they get touched. It's gotten to the point that I get confused if I am watching an NBA game or a soccer match whenever international players take the court.

Posted by quigley (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 8:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Looks like Cole might be the next Ke-Freeze or Brandon Rush with all the talking. I hope he really backs it up like those other guys can.

Posted by JayhawkPhil (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I have been wrong so many times before so I hate to jinx anyone but I really think Reed is going to be much better than what he was rated. I have seen him in a couple of AAU tournaments and he just looks like he can be a major contributor at the Div I level.

Posted by wiltstilt (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 9:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Reed does look a little like Kirk Hinrich in the picture they used for this article.

So... he's got that going for him.

Which is nice.

Posted by CaramelMacchMan (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Cant wait till i see them play with our team!!?
is it Nov. yet?

Posted by jross1972 (Johann Ross) on July 11, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You guys are right: there is something in Reed that favors Hinrich a little. But while my sensibilities are on your side, my sense tells me the sequel (Reed-Aldrich) is not going to be anywhere near the order of the original (Hinrich-Collison, unless of course Reed and Aldrich turn out to both become lottery picks...*laughs*). Still, I understand what you guys are getting at. These are a couple of handsome-looking young guys, full of talent, who will certainly represent the crimson and blue well.

I wish them both the best of luck.

These two guys may be the nucleus around which the '08-'09 team builds if expected departures are accompanied by some surprise ones (Collins, Chalmers?). Could be a mass exodus after the upcoming year with RussRob, Sasha Kaun, Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush leaving. Again, Coach Self has a great interest in bringing these two guys along quickly.

Posted by kcmostwanted (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 1:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

when cole mentioned the international acting all i could think about was Manu Jinobili (spelling)...haha..pretty soon the NBA is going to start handing out "best actor" awards during the NBA allstar games..

But i guess it's bad/good to hear that cole was in foul trouble..

Bad: We'll have to relive what Shady went through last year w/ all his foul trouble

Good: he's physical and also that explains his lack of points production

Don't let these games fool you though because all the players are trying to steal the show and if you have team players such as Reed and Aldrich they won't shine as bright... Besides i doubt there's any chemistry on the court since they've only had a few days to practice..Just as Reed said, some people have never played with a big guy before and don't know how to use him..

Posted by okjhok (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ok, good article, just one thing caught my attention. Aldrich said if Collins got in foul trouble, Reed could fill in for him. Are we forgetting that RussRob was a Cousy Award finalist last year? He is still our point guard, right? Or maybe I missed something. I'm really interested to see how things are going to unfold this year, having four guards that deserve to start. What does everyone else think the lineup will look like? Think of the quickness of this group: Robinson, Collins, Chalmers, Rush, Arthur. I don't know if it's possible, but man, that group could get up and down.

Posted by soapboxstew (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 6:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

STARTING LINEUP
(to start the 2007-08 season)
PG-RussRob
SG-Sherron Collins
SF-Mario Chalmers
PF-Darell Arthur
C-Sasha Khan
(After Rush gets back)
1.RussRob
2.Mario Chalmers
3.BRush
4.DA
5.SKhan
We need Khan (sp.?) to be a monster this year. If he has his best season, he will be in the NBA, and we will be the National Champion.
okjhok- I agree with you, that is not only our most talented lineup, but tennis balls get up and down the court slower. They would be a blur.

Posted by choffman (Chris Hoffman) on July 11, 2007 at 6:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

yeah you guys are right, that group could run all over the floor. and if you needed a BIT more size, you could take out one of the guards and put in Darnell Jackson...he isnt the fastest in the world, but he is faster than Kaun.

We have a MEAN looking team for this season...make no mistake...we will be a force in the NCAA.

Posted by JNgohawks (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

With Sasha, Arthur, Jackson and Aldrich, I think we are as talented in the "big" area as when we had Pollard, Lafrenz, and Ostertag

Posted by kcmostwanted (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 11:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i think the 3 guard line up will be nice but you can't say that Russ is PG, Sherron SG, and Mario SF... it would be more of: All are guards... and we would have to play like how Nova did a few years back

That being said, all three of them average about 6 foot and with that line up it's going to be hard to gaurd true small forwards and taller Shooting guards..

For example when we play USC.. one of those guys will have to guard O.J Mayo.. and he'll have a 3-5 inch advantage over them.. And Mayo is just an SG.. he's not even a SF.. With that line up we would be quick but bigger teams will give us to much trouble..

don't believe me?.. just rewatch the Elite 8 game last year when Josh Shipp gave Mario a hard time because he had 4-5 inches on him

Posted by JJHawq (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 11:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe Ryan Robertson is a better comparison than KH.

I saw Tyrel two weeks ago at the KC pro am - and left very impressed with his effort - ball skill - iq - shot - scrappiness - all of which i expected. I was actually impressed with his athleticism. He has hops. He is skinny, but not scared of contact. He's not fast or quick like KH, but he had the toughness that night.

Granted, you can't tell much from pick up ball. Jeremy Case has two Late Night MVP's under his belt : ) (Case was TR's teammate that night and was shut down by the athleticism of the competition)

I don't know that we'll see him much this year due to depth at the 1/2, but I look for good things eventually.

Posted by KURUSH1530 (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 12:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Bill Self likes to run a high-low offense, I don't think we'll be seeing the 3 guard set. Especially with 3 big men coming back that have experience in the offense. Sherron will be coming off the bench again, unless Rush isn't available at the start of the season. Then, there may be a chance Self goes with three guards. But if Rush isn't available, I'm somewhat expecting Stewart to get some starts.

Posted by jross1972 (Johann Ross) on July 12, 2007 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Stew needs to improve his game A LOT before he's considered for a starting role. If Rush can't go, you put in Collins, Chalmers, and Robinson and sub with Reed and Stewart.