With godfather watching, Elijah Johnson leads KU against UCLA

Posted by Tom Keegan November 23, 2011 at 12:34 a.m.

1. Elijah Johnson: With godfather LaTroy Hawkins, Milwaukee Brewers reliever, looking on with pride, Johnson torched UCLA for 23 points and made half of his eight three-point shots. Loves taking the big shot. With Tyrel Reed gone, it's nice to know someone is ready to take on that responsibility.

2. Tyshawn Taylor: A little wild at times, a little inattentive defensively at other times, Taylor still did a nice job of creating scoring opportunities for others by getting to the paint.

3. Thomas Robinson: When he realizes the best way for him to impress the court-side scouts is by dominating the interior and taking shots he has a good chance of making, including jumpers from the wide post, he'll be ready to dominate. He tried to do way too much but did get it going in time to finish with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Had five turnovers, way too many for a big man, even one as aggressive as he is.

4. Travis Releford: Nailed 2 of 3 three-pointers and contributed a pair of assists and a pair of steals.

5. Jeff Withey: Will always be one of those big men who brings the ball down when he catches it, killing scoring opportunities.

6. Justin Wesley: His blend of explosiveness and fearlessness makes him a defensive contributor and a guy who embraces facing the best competition college basketball has to offer.

7. Kevin Young: In eight minutes of action, snagged two offensive rebounds and turned one of them into a bucket.

8. Conner Teahan: Chipped in four points, all from the line, and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

9. Naadir Tharpe: Still a little shaky against prime-time competition, getting action in these games will help his growth.

The Keegan Ratings: Season Standings
1. Thomas Robinson (36 points)
2. Tyshawn Taylor (35 points)
3. Elijah Johnson (32 points)
4. Travis Releford (25 points)
5. Jeff Withey (23 points)
T6. Kevin Young (18 points)
T6. Justin Wesley (18 points)
8. Conner Teahan (16 points)
9. Naadir Tharpe (13 points)
10. Merv Lindsay (1 points)

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Eride 1 year, 6 months ago

You are right about Withey, if he were going to be coached out of that it would have happened already. Too bad because with his hands he could have been a really great player...

EverRisingHawk 1 year, 6 months ago

"COULD have been a great player...?" This was game four of the first season that he's gotten any real minutes at all, and he's got D Manning waiting in the wings - dude has some room for growth and some time to make it happen...

RockCaCO3 1 year, 5 months ago

He brings the ball down, but he doesnt try to dribble it when he does, like Ostertag did.

Jayhawk1958 1 year, 5 months ago

You need to realize that most of are players have only had experience as role players. They are having to learn how to be better players and become comfortable being starters and having to contribute more. That takes time.

Eride 1 year, 5 months ago

Bringing the ball down is something you would have learned by this point. Getting playing time isn't going to make you magically fundamentally sound. Withey had this issue in high school and he has continued to have it through multiple years in college. It isn't going to go away at this point and it seriously impacts his value.

You need to actually know something about basketball.

hawk_of_ages 1 year, 5 months ago

Ha ha. Way to make an arguable point AND be a jerk about it.

LAJayhawk 1 year, 6 months ago

EJ's godfather is LaTroy Hawkins?? I shall refrain from stating one of the many nicknames Cubs fans gave him as our closer in '04. As is often the case, Cubs fans can be quite... uh... let's say... harsh. Hope you are doing well, LaTroy... sorry our fans can sometimes be quite the d**ks.

EJ was simply fantastic. That was his game. Watching him tell everyone to clear out before hitting that jumper at the top of the key... I won't speak for others, but it was clear to me before he ever made a move that he was going to score....

Nice win, Hawks. Bring on the Dook.

RockCaCO3 1 year, 5 months ago

I think I'm finally coming around as a TT fan, but damn, those lazy side arm passes have to drive coach nuts.

mikendal 1 year, 5 months ago

Amen, RockCaCO3---I was thinking the same thing. What I said after his first lazy side arm pass one could not print in a newspaper.

Alohahawk 1 year, 5 months ago

+1 Surprised HCBS hasn't put a stop to that. It's like telegraphing before you telegraph. TT was off and on good and so-so against UCLA. Hate to say it, but he won't get away with it against better defending guards. (ie. Duke's and Mizzery's.)

KGphoto 1 year, 5 months ago

Have to agree with EJ. Last night he was The Prophet, foretelling of a Duke matchup for the ages.

Still, I have to go with Robinson 2nd. Tyshawn was much improved and certainly deserving of the 3 spot, but Robinson has the more impressive stat line, minus the 5 turnovers (Taylor had 4). Z also had 3 nice assists and was facing automatic and rapid double teams every time he touched the ball. Which, by the way, goes a long way for creating space for both EJ and TT to operate.

More important than the stat line though, was that he righted the ship by himself, right before it sank into Maui waters and killed the captain and crew. He recognized the situation and went into beast mode, scoring two buckets to plug the leak and then continued fighting off Bruins and ripping down rebounds until all the Jayhawks were safe back on the beach.

He had guys draped on him as usual, but kept himself out of foul trouble, allowing him to be aggressive down the stretch and ultimately save the day.

Alohahawk 1 year, 5 months ago

Another +1 Very pleased that TRob has been able to control his fouls, because without him on the court....

Lulufulu85 1 year, 5 months ago

Id like to note that KU has by far the hardest non conference schedule this year...in our conference. No other team in the top 5 of the Big 12 this year has or will play anyone worth mentioning until the conference begins in December. Way to go Coaching staff for getting our guys ready to win an 8th straight conference title! RCJH

mandomax 1 year, 5 months ago

our non-con schedule is amazing this year, and I'm sure Self is glad to get the primetime experience for this team. However, KU is not alone in playing what seems to be an extraordinarily ambitious non-con schedule this season: UNC play(ed)(s) Mich St., Wisconsin, UK, USC/UNLV, UT. Hopefully the NCAA is encouraging teams to set up more exciting non-con matchups to keep ratings high and people interested in the season from the get go (see State Farm Champions Classic at MSG over the next few seasons)

Alohahawk 1 year, 5 months ago

Agree, it's nice to see some competitive games. And I don't really miss the NBA games, but do miss rooting for former Jayhawks in the league, not that I've ever watched that many NBA games till the playoffs

jhawkrulz 1 year, 5 months ago

I thought TRob had a bad game...he was making poor shot selections which isn't always measured on the stat line that people look at, but 0-1 from 3 point line with 25-30 seconds on the shot clock, made me cringe...I can't imagine what HCBS was saying. He put the ball on the paint way too often, and took the 15 foot jumper from the side too often as well (although I was glad to see him hit a couple of them). His best scoring is within 5 feet of the rim and he wasn't there much at all. He had 5 turnovers, but a couple of them were saved. He would have had 1-2 more if they called him for all the traveling he did. Let's be honest, if TRob plays like that today, it could be rough. He needs to get inside and power it down.

Releford had solid defense and shot well yesterday. He should have been second or third, but Keegan only measures offensive numbers, when the defense usually wins the game. Look at the transition points we had.

Tharpe is better than the bottom on this list. When he was in they still increased the lead, that is the PG's responsibility, it isn't always about points.

rwhawk 1 year, 5 months ago

I agree, especially with the TRob take. I believe he'll calm down and settle into his game and be that much better as the season progresses (he may have spent too much time watching McMorris last year and hasn't figured out that he has a different skill-set at this point in his career and he would be better off playing accordingly).

ralster 1 year, 5 months ago

Another learning game about foul-mgmt, learning how to be the "man" when needed (for TRob, EJ, Withey, Releford)...Other than a couple of dubious decisions by TRob, a fairly decent decision-making outing by the Hawks. The "Xmas gift" by Tyshawn was laughably retarded--pure comedy at this point. I love Tyshawn for what positives he brings, but what else can Self say. The lazy passes killed us against KY, and that game should have gone to the wire if we played smart bball like we have since...

Duke is a big, balanced team, with great depth, and will absolutely be well-versed in what each players roles are. They defend well too. As Self said, "if we play well", we will have a chance to win.

I really wonder occasionally what the Twins thoughts are about their KU teammates these days...

I am happy to see EJ + Releford + Withey + Teahan + Wesley actually get major mpg...need more verticality (rebounds and at the rim) out of Travis Releford. Now is your time, Travis!

mikendal 1 year, 5 months ago

Raster--

I really wonder what it would be like to have the Twins on this year's roster. I wonder if they regret their decision to go pro.

icthawkfan316 1 year, 5 months ago

Already there's some talk about EJ as a possible first-round pick (see the Pat Forde article on espn.com). While I hope his game is elevated all year to where scouts continue to think that, if he leaves that is going to make us even thinner next year. In the front court we'll be set with Withey, Ellis, Peters, Traylor, & possibly Lucas, what is our perimeter situation looking like? Tharpe, Releford, McLemore, & possibly Adams (both Lucas & Adams with eligibility concerns). Not particularly wanting to revisit the recruiting topic, but in light of reading about EJ's potential it is apparent Self needs to work on a contingency plan bringing in another guard, probably one with PG skills.

icthawkfan316 1 year, 5 months ago

Correction: the article/blog isn't by Pat Forde, but rather Chad Ford.

REHawk 1 year, 5 months ago

In my humble opinion, Withey will prove Keegan to be a false prophet. Over time, Manning's influence will prevail. Ostertag did not have the privelege of spending his college years under Danny's tutelage. I see Jeff's game heating up, every contest. By the time he departs our program, we are going to see some blazing performances. Is comforting to know that Withey, Wesley and Young will bring lots of experience to accompany newcomers Traylor, Peters and Ellis in next season's lineup of bigs.

mikendal 1 year, 5 months ago

I am overall pleased to see Jeff Withey doing well (so far). Still, has more room to improve. Danny Manning will have a hand in his continued improvement. Poor Withey was so over matched at times last year but it seems to me he has put on some more muscle, probably thanks to Andrea Hudy. BTW, did you see Andrea sitting on the KU bench last night with the game VS UCLA? Wow! Unbelievable!

drgnslayr 1 year, 5 months ago

Pretty good call on the game, Keeg. Good job!

Especially liked your call on Withey. I think Bilas made the same comment last night. It also helps Withey pile up fouls and last night he got one for bringing the ball down into the defender.

Tall players pulling the ball down is a natural reaction. There are coaching devices that crack that habit very quickly. You have to make sure you don't trade one bad habit for another. Another bad habit is for bigs to throw their elbows out. Our twins did that on occasion and it is a great way to spend the rest of the game watching it from the bench (or in the locker room).

A very simple technique is to practice feeding bigs the ball while having an assistant on the buzzer. Only give them a second to get the shot off before the buzzer goes off. We ran that one several times and it helped our bigs not bring the ball down because there wasn't time. Plus... most of the time their best scoring opportunity is that first second or two they get the ball... before the defense collapses around them. I like this technique best because they destroy a bad habit while learning a good habit all in one go!

oldalum 1 year, 5 months ago

Jeff does bring the ball down, but in his defense, many times the guards pass it in to him at his waist or below so he has to start with the ball low. It would help him keep it high if they get it to him by throwing it over the top or at least at his chest.

johnsont1 1 year, 5 months ago

Tharpe has the best bball IQ on this team. Hopefully Self will give him more opportunities at the point as the season progresses.

REHawk 1 year, 5 months ago

I really want to see Tharpe develop quickly as our point guard. Taylor has some magnificent moments, but is not a dependable player to run the point when crunch time arrives.

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