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Kansas sophomore center Cole Aldrich is interviewed during a news conference on March 24 outside the locker rooms at Allen Fieldhouse.
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With tournament loss, focus turns to future of Aldrich and Collins
Now that the tournament is over for the Jayhawks, the focus has turned to the possibility of Aldrich and Collins announcing their draft eligibility.
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2009 Bracket Challenge
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Kansas University sophomore center Cole Aldrich on Sunday was named to the NCAA Tournament All-Midwest Regional team.
Michigan State’s Goran Suton, Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton and Louisville’s Earl Clark also were voted to the squad by media members covering the tournament.
Suton, who scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Sunday’s 64-52 Elite Eight victory over Louisville, was the regional’s most outstanding player.
Aldrich, a 6-foot-11, 245-pounder from Bloomington, Minn., averaged 17.7 points, 15.7 rebounds, and 5.3 blocks in Midwest Regional victories over North Dakota State and Dayton and a loss to Michigan State.
He had 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in Kansas' 60-43 second-round victory over Dayton. His was the sixth triple-double in NCAA Tournament history and the first official triple-double in KU history.
Aldrich had 23 points and 13 rebounds in KU’s 84-74 first-round victory over North Dakota State and 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in the Jayhawks’ 67-62 season-ending loss to MSU in the Sweet 16.
Aldrich finished the 2008-09 season with 94 blocked shots, three shy of the school record of 97 set by Greg Ostertag in 1993-94.
Aldrich became the first Jayhawk since Wayne Simien in 2004-05 to average a double-double.
Simien averaged 20.3 points and 11 rebounds his senior season, while Aldrich averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds in 2008-09.
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Comments
crooner (anonymous) says...
Go Cole!
March 30, 2009 at 5:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
funkitect (anonymous) says...
i think you mean "stay, cole!"
March 30, 2009 at 6:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
actorman (anonymous) says...
Good one, funkitect.
March 30, 2009 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KEITHMILES05 (anonymous) says...
Why no Sherron? Too bad.
March 30, 2009 at 7:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
supermario15 (anonymous) says...
I think they'd prefer not to honor two guys from the same team especially if that team did'nt make it to the regional finals
March 30, 2009 at 8:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jhwkfan162515 (anonymous) says...
Maybe because the NCAA saw Sherron as more of a "me" guy rather than a "we" guy? It's a theory, anyway...
March 30, 2009 at 8:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...
Way to go Cole! You were a monster in the first two games. Now we just need to get you tough enough to handle a guy like Suton, and you'll be bad---.
Defense. Sherron ain't on the list cause he got burned over and over. Ben Woodside tore him up. Everyone on Dayton drove on him. How do you think Cole got 10 blocks? Lucus and Walton ate Sherron alive on the offensive and defensive end. They smothered him with traps on defense, and drove right around him on offense. The Regional people saw that.
March 30, 2009 at 9:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tbird_KU (anonymous) says...
Sherron is still the man!
March 30, 2009 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
NebraskaJayhawk (anonymous) says...
Why? Because he scores more?
March 30, 2009 at 9:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
loudog (anonymous) says...
One more year, one more year, one more year, one more year!!!!
March 30, 2009 at 9:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jhawkclassof02 (anonymous) says...
Man I love this team, just as much as last years'. Cole is a beast. And to the Sherron haters - get a grip. Is he a perfect defender? Nope, but this team would have gone nowhere without him. Its pretty easy to be an internet message board critic, but don't think for a minute that Sherron isn't one of the most well-rounded players in the Big12, if not the country. If he's got some things to work on then I'd love to see him back for another year. If both Cole and Sherron come back I think there'd be a pretty good shot at another Final Four, maybe even another title. If anybody think Collins is too much of a liability then they ought to have their heads checked.
March 30, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...
Cole and Sherron both need to enter their names in the draft pool, but niether of them ought to be hiring an agent any time soon.
March 30, 2009 at 10:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AzHawk97 (anonymous) says...
A little bit of happy news from Nap-town over the weekend - B. Rush:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090...
March 30, 2009 at 11:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lighthawk (anonymous) says...
For anyone helping with Recruiting videos get the clip from this morning Mike & Mike ESPN where Greenie (sp) and Gotlieb were discussing if Calipari should go to Kentucky. Greenie thought not. Gottlieb (sp) reported that there were ONLY 5 or 6 big time college basketball programs in the country.
NC, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas and maybe Indiana... a good clip to show recruits if they don't already KNOW.
March 30, 2009 at 11:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
NebraskaJayhawk (anonymous) says...
jhawkclassof02,
If you are referring to me as a Sherron hater, you are wrong in your assumption. I think Collins is an excellent basketball player and I agree completely with you in that this team would not have gotten far without his leadership & ability. My brief question was one of curiousity only. Obviously we all want the same end result from the teams that the University of Kansas puts on the floor.
Collins has been an outstanding offensive player for three years. I've been trying to tell how good his skills are though. Robinson & Chalmers complimented each other so well it is hard to tell where he rates defensively.
Anyway, congrats Aldrich.
March 30, 2009 at 12:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Strikewso (anonymous) says...
Congrats Cole, well deserved!
March 30, 2009 at 2:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MistaJRock (anonymous) says...
i love how you watch a video on this site and the commercial plays without a hitch but then the video i want to watch buffers like a mother. grrr
March 30, 2009 at 3:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...
Memphis Tiger and Jayhawk Nation fans:
Coach Cal to U of K looks pretty set.....rumors abound including:
1] Wall will decommit and go to Kentucky
2] Cousins will back out of his oral and follow Cal
3] Henry will see the writing on the wall, ask out of his schollie and recommit to KU.
{ He can still play one on one wuth CJ in Carl's backyard.]
4] Stephenson will commit to Kansas....HCBS will need to find three schollies for X, Born Ready and Mr. Robinson.
5] Dooley heads to VCU and Billy joins Bill as an assistant coach...unless Memphis grabs him.
6] Cole and Sherron stay with X, Lance and the crew, KU will the preseason #1 for 2010 and Jay Bilas will declare KU would finish in the middle of the pack if the Hawks were in the ACC!!!
Some of this is real and some of this is due to my medication. {The Calipari thing does look like it's going to happen!!!}
March 30, 2009 at 4:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kufankam (anonymous) says...
rumor #1 is strange???? wall hasnt committed anywhere?
March 30, 2009 at 5:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...
Wall hasn't committed to anyone yet. He's just leaning toward Memphis.
March 30, 2009 at 5:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jhawkdan42 (anonymous) says...
Memphis fans, hope you enjoyed your 2or3 years in the spotlight and now its back into the darkness,lol!
March 30, 2009 at 7:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
100 (anonymous) says...
Didn't UK make this mistake 2 years ago???
Why not hire somebody with a "real" connection to your program (if it's as "great" as they seem to think it is, chasing fired coach down hallway, etc)
Did Calipari just make the easiest 35 million ever?
At our "sub par program" (according to UK), at least all of our coaches have been connected (at worst with three links between) to our original coach, also (by the way UK), the inventor of basketball...
Even Self is connected to Larry (and KU assistant originally), who was deeply connected to Dean Smith, who was deeply connected to Phog, whose best friend for 40 years was...
Dr. James Naismith...
Our first coach.
The faulty reasoning I see with UK is...
Calipari has absolutely no connections to UK...
A UK faker (car sales personality) can only live as "king" in that crazy city so long until he's discovered...
There is NO WAY Calipari stays there 8 years...
He's laughing all the way to the bank...
March 30, 2009 at 7:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )