Advertisement

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

‘Hounds laud KU

Coach compares team to '02 squad

By Ryan Wood

Advertisement

KU rounds out non-con, smashes Loyola

Bill Self's squad reached a perfect non-conference record after defeating Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday night.

Photo Gallery

KU vs. Loyola (Md.)

Audio clips

2007-08 Jan. 8 KU-Loyola Hoops

KU Basketball

Six years ago, Loyola (Md.) basketball coach Jimmy Patsos was an assistant at Maryland, helping coach his Terrapins against Kansas University in the 2002 Final Four.

That's the last time he saw the Jayhawks play in person. Truthfully, he doesn't think a whole lot has changed.

"They look as good as that team," Patsos said after KU's 90-60 victory over Loyola on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

That's quite a compliment, considering the Jayhawks' 2002 team finished 33-4 and was one of the finest KU had assembled in recent years.

So it was worth asking a basketball guy like Patsos, who has a historical and objective perspective: What's to like about this KU team's chances at making a national-title run?

"Everything," Patsos replied. "If their big men can shoot it, they're unstoppable."

Particularly against a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team like the Greyhounds missing their biggest big guy, 6-foot-10 Hassan Fofana, who was out because of an injury.

The Greyhounds (6-9) played against bigger guys all night, and the combined 37 points by KU's Sasha Kaun, Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson provided proof of Loyola's troubles inside.

Regardless, the Greyhounds kept it close in the first half. With the help of poor shooting early by Kansas, Loyola cut the deficit to 26-22 with 5:08 to go before halftime when Gerald Brown drilled his fourth three-pointer in a five-minute stretch.

Brown then went cold, and Kansas put the hurtin' on. The Jayhawks closed the half on a 15-2 run.

"We got a little overexcited," said Brown, who finished with a team-high 13 points. "Staying with the No. 3 team in the country, anyone would get excited. We came out and made a few mistakes, and they just converted on it."

Patsos stayed animated by the Loyola bench, calling Tuesday's game "an experience" and considering it much more valuable than any practice back home in Baltimore.

Besides, making a serious run in the MAAC could benefit from playing one of the best in the country, and Patsos is convinced his team did Tuesday.

He even went as far as comparing 2008 Jayhawks with the '02 Final Four team, saying that Jeff Boschee "might have shot it better, but I think (Russell) Robinson defends it better, so you trade that off.

"They've got that look," Patsos added.

Loyola, meanwhile, returns to MAAC play, where it already is 2-2. The schedule here on out is conference matchups, save a Feb. 23 made-for-television Bracket Busters game.

It's doubtful that they'll run into an atmosphere like Allen Fieldhouse, even on an average night like Tuesday's. That's what will stick with the Greyhounds more than anything from a 30-point loss.

"It's a real honor," Patsos said. "Twenty years from now they're never going to forget being here. I would like to thank Bill Self for having us."

More like this

Comments

husbus (anonymous) says...

why would their coach compare russ rob and boschee. russ rob is a complete player, defensive mastermind. boschee could do nothing but shoot the 3.

russell-mania!!!

January 9, 2008 at 7:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

nicka (anonymous) says...

why didn't he just compare darnell jackson to jeff carey??

January 9, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

I think he was looking at what he noticed as the biggest difference between the two teams there... at least the starting units.

Now he's talking about the Hinrich-Collison senior team, right? The biggest difference I see is that this team does not have an all-around as talented a post player as Collison, but they have more depth. And they don't have as all-around as talented a guard as Hinrich, but.... they have more depth.

There's pros and cons of relying on depth as your strength vs having those all-american lottery picks on your team.

All-Americans - PROs - You know what you get, they know their role, that they're going to be relied on. They're really good, everyone wants them on their team. CONs- If they get hurt, get in foul trouble, then what? You have to rely on them to play less aggressive D, or worse, you have to rely on someone else who hasn't played a whole lot of minutes.

Depth - PROs - You can play defense the way coach wants you to. Someone sits down, you have another able-bodied, experience athlete to take their place and play it the same way. If someone is having an off night, you have others capable of taking their place. Opposing teams don't know where your scoring is going to come from. CONs - Rotating people in and out sometimes hinders guys from getting in the flow of the game. Sometimes YOU don't know where the scoring is going to come from... meaning sometimes players get a little too unselfish and wait for others to make something happen because everyone is capable.

Usually, using a lot of depth concerns me. But I believe this is a team that is figuring out how to play that way consistently.

January 9, 2008 at 9:09 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawk_4237 (anonymous) says...

this is not the collison/hinrich senior team. that team lost to syracuse in the championship game. he is comparing their junior team w/ gooden & boschee that lost to maryland in the final four. and he is making a comparison without chalmers in the lineup and he has been our best guard through the first 14 games of the season

January 9, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

oldalum (anonymous) says...

I didn't think he was comparing Boschee and Robinson. He just said this team doesn't have a shooter as good as Boschee, but that team didn't have a guard as good as Robinson. He figured it balanced out.

January 9, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

APDJayhawk (anonymous) says...

You are correct Oldalum, but you have to consider the caliber of person messaging on this board. It didn't take an English Lit degree to realize what Patsos comment was referring to

January 9, 2008 at 2:40 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

What's the freaking mystery? Bosh and RR are both short guards who split time between 1 and 2 positions. Why wouldn't you compare them? They probably are the definitive difference between the two teams in the back court.

January 10, 2008 at 12:30 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

Who was the greatest point guard at KU from the following:

Jacque Vaughn
Mark Turgeon
Kirk Hinrich

thoughts please...

January 10, 2008 at 1:47 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Why would you pick those 3 when referring to the "greatest PG" at KU?

January 10, 2008 at 3:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JJHawq (anonymous) says...

KH - not even close. Expand the list and you can start to have some debates.

January 10, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

Dagger.. dude.. READ. Saying "from the following" to me means... who is the best PG of these three.

JRoss..

For me, the problem with saying KH was he wasn't what I really think of as a PG when he was at KU.. especially his SR year when Miles got even more minutes and Boschee was gone.

KH > Best player
JV > Best point guard AT KU. Easily give the nod to KH when you talk about the next level where his role changed a bit.
MT > Best coach :)

January 10, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralsterKUMed95 (anonymous) says...

Just a question--why isnt RussRob in the list for best point guards. Criteria really cannot include scoring once you put J.Vaughn in the list. Im not saying outright Russ is the best point ever at KU, but he ought to be in the list? Or is it because he isnt a pure point (a combo guard) that he cannot be on the PG list? How "pure" should that definition be?

January 12, 2008 at 12:37 a.m. ( | suggest removal )