TCU coach lauds Kansas and its ‘six pros’

By Tom Keegan     Jan 25, 2014

Kansas 91, TCU 69

Nick Krug
TCU head coach Trent Johnson watches in the final minutes against the Jayhawks on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Box score

? TCU coach Trent Johnson was impressed with Kansas University’s basketball team long before Saturday night’s center jump took place at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

“Boy, they’re good,” Johnson said after KU defeated his team, 91-69, in front of 7,494, the largest crowd to watch a basketball game in the building. “They’re really good. Watching tape, it’s hard to find a weakness.”

On a night when Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points, Joel Embiid 14 and Wayne Selden 12, a night that Perry Ellis had 14 rebounds, Johnson cited another player as the key to KU’s improvement throughout the season, a player who didn’t score a point Saturday.

“I’ve seen Andrew play before,” Johnson said. “He’s special. He can play. Joel can play. Wayne can play. You can go right down the line. The bottom line why I think they’re so much better nobody talks about, (Naadir) Tharpe. I like the way he runs the team, the way he competes.”

Johnson was referring to the body of Tharpe’s work this season, not Saturday night’s game, in which the junior point guard didn’t attempt a field goal or a free throw, didn’t commit a turnover and dished four assists.

Kansas didn’t need a big scoring night from Tharpe the way Wiggins played.

TCU’s Amric Fields summed up Wiggins in one word, and then expanded his thoughts.

“Talent,” Fields said. “Just a talented guy. To be a freshman and be as efficient as he is, that’s pretty great.”

He wasn’t alone in playing well.

“In my shallow opinion, they probably have six pros,” Johnson said.

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