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Kansas teammates Travis Releford, left, Thomas Robinson and Justin Wesley strike a similar pose as the three wait to check into the game against Fort Hays State during the first half on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.
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KU vs. Fort Hays State
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KU vs. Fort Hays State
Kansas defeated Fort Hays State, 101-52 on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.
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Press Conferences & Post-Game Interviews
KU coach Bill Self
Kansas coach Bill Self talks to reporters following the Jayhawks' 101-52 exhibition victory over Fort Hays State.
Thomas Robinson’s season debut — which was delayed a week — definitely was worth the wait.
Kansas University’s 6-foot-10, 237-pound junior power forward, who missed the exhibition opener against Pittsburg State because of a hyperextended left knee, exploded for 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished five assists and blocked four shots while logging 28 minutes in KU’s 101-52 dismantling of Fort Hays State on Tuesday in Allen Fieldhouse.
“I was quite more nervous than I thought I would be before the game,” Robinson said. “As soon as I got out there, I felt like I was home again.”
Robinson, who hit nine of 19 shots and four of seven free throws, said being nervous was only natural.
“I don’t think it’s ever going to go away — just being anxious,” he said. “I’ve been waiting six months to play against some other faces. We’ve been beating up against each other all summer. I was anxious to get out there and play against somebody else.”
Robinson opened the scoring off an inbounds pass under the goal from former Brewster Academy teammate Naadir Tharpe (19 points, seven assists, two turnovers, five steals 29 minutes). Much later — with 8:11 to play — he finished a vicious one-handed slam off a throw-ahead pass, again from Tharpe.
Robinson’s dunk — as well as freshman Merv Lindsay’s jam to give KU its 100th point — probably ranked as the two fan-favorite plays of the game.
“It was sloppy,” Robinson said of his dunk. “I wanted to make it better than that. It was cool. I just wanted to test the knee out.”
His knee passed that test, just as Robinson drew an A for effort his first time out.
“I thought he played pretty well,” KU coach Bill Self said. Robinson’s only blemish was going 0-for-2 from three-point range. “He was a little tight early. He got the first basket of the game, then made a little 14-footer after that. He was in good rhythm. I think he was under control and did some nice things.”
Self mentioned Robinson’s five assists. As a team, KU had 20 assists against 10 turnovers. Fort Hays State finished with 22 turnovers, nine assists. One notable assist was Robinson’s dish to Jeff Withey (nine points, five rebounds) for a slam which took place on the KU possession immediately after Robinson’s one-handed jam.
“He still needs to get down in his stance on defense and guard his man before he catches the ball, but I thought he was pretty good,” Self said of Robinson.
Conner Teahan scored 14 points off 5-of-5 shooting (2-for-2 from three), while Justin Wesley (6-of-6 from the line) had 12 points and Travis Releford 11. The Jayhawks hit 59.3 percent of their shots to Fort Hays State’s 32.7 percent.
“Conner has really been good shooting the ball,” Self said. “He goes 5-for-5 in the first half, and all of them are deep except one. We were pretty efficient. We took care of the ball and guarded a little bit better. We can’t get excited. We have to do better, but this was a better team effort than what we had last week (in 84-55 victory over Pittsburg State).
KU will meet Towson at 7 p.m. Friday in Allen in the season-opener for both teams.
KU coach Bill Self talks about signing of Andrew Wiggins May 14, 2013
Ben McLemore interview March 28, 2013
360 QTR of Cowboy Stadium March 28, 2013
Jayhawks arrive in Dallas March 27, 2013
Jeff Withey talks about the team staying loose March 23, 2013
Comments
dmc8142 1 year, 6 months ago
and so the season begins!
jayhawker_97 1 year, 6 months ago
admiral Robinson is back & he is 100% ready!!! let's roll, Jayhawks!!
KGphoto 1 year, 6 months ago
I'm pretty sure David Robinson burned any college eligibility after he played 14 years in the NBA.
Mr. Zero looked good though.
LAJayhawk 1 year, 6 months ago
I could be mistaken, but I'm fairly certain that the Admiral wasn't David Robinson's nickname, but his ACTUAL military ranking...
phogphan2000 1 year, 6 months ago
Sorry LAJhawk, Naval Academy grads go into the Navy as an Ensign and it takes usually 20-25 on active duty to achieve the rank of Admiral Ensign, Lt JG, Lt, Lt Commander, Commander, CAPTAIN (all caps are important) then you get to the Admiral ranks.
But it's a classic nickname we shouldn't be putting on TRob Mr Robinson's neighborhood on the other hand can be thrown out willy nilly for anyone that blocks shots like either of the two
pgittemeier09 1 year, 6 months ago
i think he was just making a joke
Alohahawk 1 year, 6 months ago
TRob played 28 minutes. That's a little more than I would have expected, but if his knee is fine, no problem. As the article mentioned, he needed to get some game experience back to get the rust off and settle the nerves. An important stat: TRob only had one foul. Plus, he had four blocks. However, that could easily change in more competitive game situations. And with whomever the ref's are who are calling the games.
Still like to see our rebounding edge improve: Plus ten against Division II isn't that great. Young with 9 is a nice benefit, when added to TRob's 12.
Freethrow percentage (74%) was much better, but could still use some improvement.
The Hawks are looking pretty solid at the point guard position, with Taylor, Johnson and Tharpe. Tharpe is definitely earning his future playing time. This being only his second game, his passing/assist to turnovers improved almost overnight. And his shooting accuracy has been unbelievable. Taylor and Johnson sitting out these two exposition games may be a huge benefit for the Hawks in the future. As Self had indicated, Tharpe is much better than his ranking. Makes losing Josh Turner (considered one of the best point guards in the 2011 class) to Arizona that much easier to except. So far, Turner has had two less than exemplary exposition games. Can't wait to see Tharpe and Johnson hook up with some lobs all season.
KU's shooting percentages for both games have been much better than I had expected, but has to be taken with a grain of salt, considering the competition.
Overall, a nice game, especially since KU still hasn't played with a full deck yet.
Three days and counting till season blastoff. Then, Self can lay all his cards on the table.
jhwksrock 1 year, 6 months ago
Part of the problem with the stats (rebounds) is that Jeff was sort of in foul trouble in the first half. Also, there a little too much "same place at the same time" under the basket. With experience playing together we should be able to block out a larger percentage of space under the basket and our rebounds will go up.
Redlandsjhawk 1 year, 6 months ago
Also in a blowout the other team starts throwing up wild shots from beyond the arc which makes for some long rebounds. Those are always 50-50 balls and will skew the stats.
Ichabodhawk 1 year, 6 months ago
EXHIBITION...not EXPOSITION!!!!!
Alohahawk 1 year, 6 months ago
Mahalo for the "exposition/exhibition" correction. My mind must have been into the stats, or in limbo. Definitely wasn't in my dictionary.
fisher3000 1 year, 6 months ago
Had it not been an exhibition game it would have been there.
texashawk10 1 year, 6 months ago
Justin Wesley and Kevin Young were both in the SC top 10 last week after the Pitt St. game.
kushaw 1 year, 6 months ago
Great story! Thanks for providing the link!
kushaw 1 year, 6 months ago
Let me rephrase.......terrible story, but glad I took the time to read it.
OakvilleJHawk 1 year, 6 months ago
"EVERYBODY"...please stop, clink on this link and read this story.
If your eyes don't tear up with sorrow and pride, I will pay off your mortgages!!
FLJHK 1 year, 6 months ago
Damn! Just blew my chance to have my mortgage paid off.
Kubie 1 year, 6 months ago
Glad I'm in the office alone today, you definitely don't need to worry about my mortgage.
nuleafjhawk 1 year, 6 months ago
Sigh..........I really would have liked to have had that mortgage paid off.
Brak 1 year, 6 months ago
Darn you for you posting that story, now I have to explain to all my coworkers why I am balling like a little baby at work. Maybe this article deserves a "NSFW" designation.
Kubie 1 year, 6 months ago
Not Safe For Work
konkeyDong 1 year, 6 months ago
+1
JayHawkFanToo 1 year, 6 months ago
After reading the article, not a dry eye in this household.
Alohahawk 1 year, 6 months ago
Mo norgate pahmet for md ejtyre.* Sorry. I had to stop and dry my eyes, because I couldn't see the keyboard. (I've always been a two finger hunt and pick typist.)
The story tells it all, from different points of view and with honorable intentions to all involved.
Thomas is a true Jayhawk, both at heart and in soul. He will always be one of my favorites to root for.
*No mortgage payment for me, either.
rwhawk 1 year, 6 months ago
Great picture the three in the same pose! Well done.
REHawk 1 year, 6 months ago
That is a terrific picture. Nick Krug is off and running for another fine photograpic season!
justinryman 1 year, 6 months ago
exploded for 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished five assists and blocked four shots while logging 28 minutes
Those are some really nice numbers for just over a half of playing time.
Can't wait to see more.
cobweb 1 year, 6 months ago
TRob is great but we were playing a high school team. Please.
phi4life940 1 year, 6 months ago
Kentucky....get ready.
konkeyDong 1 year, 6 months ago
I think the thing that's way more exciting than the great game that TRob put up is that he was clearly holding back. Like he said to the press, he wanted to test out his knee, but he wasn't pushing it. If you noticed, he didn't do a lot of pushing or backing down when he was posted up and didn't try to jam over anyone, saving his dunks for when he had a completely clear path to the bucket. If he can do this in 28 minutes playing 75% speed, just wait until the beast is unleashed for a full 40 minutes. That's not to mention that he didn't have TT and EJ feeding him in the post. Tharpe played really well and all, but he doesn't have his passing angles figured out 100% just yet.
There were a few disappointments with TRobs game, though. He missed an easy look here and there. He also had a dunk get rim-rejected. I don't know if he just over dunked it, cause it looked like he might have been bumped from behind on a no call, so that may not have been his fault. Still, this performance just makes me all the more excited for Friday. Hope we can hang 100+ on Towson. RCJH.
JayHawkFanToo 1 year, 6 months ago
What a pleasant surprise Tharpe has been so far. He is definitely what coaches call a "coach-able"player; his nine-to two turnover turnaround speaks volumes about his willingness to listen to his coaches. His scoring is an added bonus. He might end up being the steal of the recruiting class. It would not surprise me to see a three guard lineup from time to time.
REHawk 1 year, 6 months ago
Never blink. Man O Man, that was one powerful ESPN article! Another touch of class from Bill Self, hoping that Thomas can grab the brass ring this spring and fulfill his dreams, even though the Jayhawks would miss him tremendously his senior season. T-Robs's saga springs forth as legendary Jayhawk history. If this squad bonds and blends with his sense of purpose, Jayhawk Nation is certainly in for another exciting ride.
plotku 1 year, 6 months ago
Perry Ellis signed his LOI this morning, making it official.
lighthawk 1 year, 6 months ago
I don't favor the owners or the players yet want it to end so Twins can get $$without having to borrow more from agents, wonder if it is at payday loan rates, funny. Glad TRob didn't explore NBA last year, with lock out and stay healthy and cash in this year. Wasn't our last #1 pick Danny? None after him right? Sullinger or TRob time will tell.
Read it yesterday and haven't stopped balling..thank you Angel and Hinson and everyone. Seems as if Jayla has an army of fans will do anything for her. BTW can't read it today again, just can't face the emotions.
RCJHGKU.
Mighty proud to have TRob play for us.
FEARTHEPHOGKJ 1 year, 6 months ago
I want to see how he does against uk.
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