Is it time for Kansas’ basketball players to remove their leashes, check in their flea collars? Can the Jayhawks finally depart coach Larry Brown’s doghouse?
“I don’t think we’re out yet, but we’ve taken a step in the right direction,” Kansas forward Archie Marshall said after the Jayhawks’ 63-54 win over St. John’s on Saturday night at raucous Allen Fieldhouse.
“We definitely played better, or at least more intense tonight,” added the senior, who scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and snatched one of Kansas’ 11 steals.
The doghouse may still be occupied, but one thing’s for sure. Another defensive effort or two like Saturday’s…and KU eats biscuits at training table no more.
“I wouldn’t say we played great defense. I want it to be great at the end of the year. I’d call it good defense,” said guard Kevin Pritchard, who scored 17 points and, along with teammate Otis Livingston, helped hold Michael Porter – one of the two standout Redmen guards – to just eight points on four of eight shooting.
Guard Greg “Boo” Harvey, like Porter a San Jacinto (Texas) Juco transfer, was held to six points on three of 14 shooting. KU’s Lincoln Minor, who, like Livingston, snatched two steals, clamped hard on Harvey.
“We played better on defense,” Minor said. “If we played like this in Hawaii, I think wee’d have one more than one game.”
As it was, the Jayhawks dropped two of three games in last weekend’s season-opening Maui Classic. Since then, the Jayhawks have failed to impress Brown in wins over Pomona-Pitzer and Western Carolina.
“I think we played real good defense,” said forward Danny Manning, who scored a game-high 21 points. “Coach has been on us at practice, trying to make us become a better defensive team. We’re always out there trying, but tonight we were really intense.”
Manning didn’t score until 9:20 remained in the first half. However, he had a good excuse. He was busy guarding smooth St. John’s forward Shelton Jones.
The 6-9 senior, who averaged 20.1 points in the Redmen’s three previous games – all wins – scored three points the first half on one of four shooting. Jones Heated up and finished with 17 on seven of 14 shooting.
“Yeah, I was trying to hound him,” said Manning, benched for a short spell in the first half for forcing shots. “My teammates did a great job of getting in his face. We tried to deny him the pass. They didn’t go to him as much the first half. Shelton did much better, put some good moves on me and scored the second half.”
Manning didn’t mind receiving an earful or two from Brown.
“Coach Brown wants me to be more of a leader. I’m trying to lead by example,” said Manning. “I started very slow, took some shots out of my range. Coach Brown told me to slow it down and gradually get into the game. He told me to slow down.”
On offense, not defense. KU’s frenetic defenders held the Redmen to 42.9 percent shooting. The Jayhawks hit 58.3 percent from the field.
Good shooting and stingy defense helped the Jayhawks snatch a game high lead of 16 (50-34) with 10:56 left. But the Redmen rallied, outscored Kansas, 14-4, and cut the gap to 54-48 at 5:21.
Still up by six, Kansas responded after a TV timeout at 3:02. Manning and Minor cashed baskets and KU regained a comfy 10 point lead at 1:40.
“In the past, we’ve let teams come back on us,” Livingston said.
