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KU vs. Washburn

Quintrell Thomas couldn't help but be anxious about his first game in Allen Fieldhouse.

"I was actually nervous all day," he said, "because I thought I was going to come out and airball a layup or something like that."

Thomas sure didn't look the part of a frightened freshman Tuesday night, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in 14 minutes in KU's 98-79 exhibition victory over Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse.

Despite his jitters before the game, Thomas actually looked most comfortable of all of the freshmen.

He finished a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor and also made six of his eight free throws.

"He understands who he is," KU coach Bill Self said. "He's a guy that goes after the ball and runs and sets good screens. You do those things, and the next thing you know, you score 10 points in your first game as a collegian."

Thomas might have benefited from keeping things simple. While other players might put pressure on themselves to score points, Thomas admitted that it was his job to be a bruiser inside.

"I'm assuming that's why I was recruited - go get rebounds," Thomas said. "Obviously, I'm not going to be a scorer on the team right now because we've got Sherron (Collins) and Cole (Aldrich), but pretty much wherever I fit in, I'm going to play my role. My role right now is to chase down every loose ball and rebound."

Perhaps Thomas' greatest asset Tuesday was his assertiveness. A few times, he was able to outmuscle Washburn players to pull down rebounds inside.

"Tonight, he was our best big guy. There's no doubt about it," Self said. "He was aggressive and went after the ball. Our other players have to realize it's a physical game - it's not totally a finesse game."

Thomas still wasn't about to call his performance perfect. He said conditioning was one area where he needed improvement, as he lost his first wind about 30 seconds after entering the game.

"Today I learned the court gets kind of long when you go out there for a little while," he said with a laugh.

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound forward also said he and his teammates could play better defense. In fact, he said was expecting the worst when Self called three timeouts in the first 61â2 minutes of the second half.

"I'm surprised he didn't blow up on us or whatever," Thomas said. "I think defense is something that comes with time."