Punch-out: Jayhawks play role of Mike Tyson vs. Crusaders

By Matt Tait     Dec 9, 2015

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr. (1) and Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) break up a pass from Holy Cross guard Matt Zignorski (31) during the second half, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Hands on his head, smile on his face, Holy Cross coach Bill Carmody conjured up a quote from legendary boxer Mike Tyson — minus the high-pitched voice — to explain his team’s 92-59 loss to No. 2 Kansas University at Allen Fieldhouse.

“What was that Mike Tyson (said)?” asked Carmody while trying to rehash his team’s strategy Wednesday night. “‘Everyone’s got a plan till I punch ’em in the mouth.’ We had a plan, yeah, but it wasn’t quite successful.”

Far from it, in fact. And a huge portion of Holy Cross’s plan was to close out on KU’s shooters and get back on defense. Yet, there the Crusaders were, on the first possession of the game, getting caught with their hands down and distance between them as KU’s Wayne Selden Jr. rose up and drained a game-opening three-pointer.

The triple by Selden was merely a sign of things to come. KU shot 63 percent for the game, 70 percent in the first half and finished 12-of-20 (60 percent) from three-point range.

“We knew who the shooters were,” said Carmody, whose team fell to 3-6. “But even on the first play, my guy goes out, and he’s, like, three feet from (Selden), and he just banged it. That’s in the scouting report.”

Carmody marveled at several elements of this KU squad. Ball movement, making the extra pass, shooting and depth all were a part of Carmody’s dissection of Bill Self’s team, but none of the specifics carried as much weight as a single generality.

“They just seem like a veteran team,” Carmody said.

During KU’s first eight games of the 2015-16 season, opponents have tried a variety of strategies to slow down the Jayhawks (7-1). Some teams have packed the paint and dared Kansas to beat them from the outside. Others have played the perimeter and done their best to try to handle KU’s size inside.

Carmody’s focus was on slowing the game down, taking time on offense and forcing Kansas to do the same.

“I actually told the team, ‘Do not go near an offensive rebound,'” Carmody said. “‘A shot goes up, just get back.’ And they still beat us down the court a lot.”

KU outscored Holy Cross 40-14 in the paint and outrebounded the Crusaders 31-17. But the 17-2 edge in transition, where Carmody said it felt like Kansas scored 40 of its 92 points, was the part that was most disheartening for the visitors.

“Their length and speed,” freshman forward Karl Charles said when asked the toughest part about facing Kansas. “They were always swarming to the ball, and they were a lot bigger and stronger. (They) have big guys like (Brannen) Greene and (Perry) Ellis, who are moving like guards, and it’s something we aren’t used to.”

— See what people were saying about the game during KUsports.com’s live coverage


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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.