LAHAINA, Maui – Hawaii sure is a nice place to visit. Everybody knows that. But a nice place to play basketball…?
Kansas certainly had a forgettable Aloha Classic tale last year. So far, though, the Maui Classic is coming up mimosas for the Jayhawks.
“Last year was kind of a downer,” remarked KU All-American Danny Manning, “and we didn’t want that to happen again.”
Manning scored 24 points and four teammates were in double figures as the Jayhawks crushed host Chaminade, 89-62, in the Maui Classic opener Friday.
“Last year I didn’t think we were ready to play,” said Archie Marshall, another senior. “This year we came in with our heads on straight.”
So the bad memories of teh Aloha Classic – KU lost two close games to Pittsburgh and Ohio State and barely beat host Hawaii last year – were erased, at least for one day, after the Jayhawks surfed past the Silverswords.
Manning credited the atmosphere on Maui. Not only is the tournament on another island, it’s light years away from frenetic Waikiki Beach where Kansas was billeted last December.
“There were so many things to do last year,” Manning pointed out. “You’d go out the door of the hotel and there was always something. Here it’s more of a resort atmosphere. It’s more relaxed. It’s really nice.”
Friday’s game wasn’t all that nice in the early going. The Silverswords lagged by just a point, 20-19, with about nine minutes left in the first half.
In fact, Chaminade, an NAIA school, trailed by only 11 at intermission despite shooting a miserable 28.9 percent.
“I looked at the halftime stats,” Manning reflected, “and tehy were shooting 28 percent and I asked myself, ‘How can it be this close?'”
Easy. Chaminade, with no starter standing over 6-6, had retrieved and astonishing 15 offensive rebounds.
“We knew they went to the boards,” guard Kevin Pritchard said, “but not THAT hard.”
Echoed Marshall: “I was amazed how well they anticipated missed shots.”
What the ‘Swords couldn’t anticipate, however, was how Kansas’ depth would wear them down in the second half.
In truth, it was a blowout after Kansas outscored Chaminade, 20-7, to start the second half.
“That’s a big-time team,” Chaminade coach Merv Lopes said about the Jayhawks. “That’s a Final Four team. Depth was a big factor, a BIG factor. We just don’t have the bench, and they’ve got the size, the speed, they’re well-coached and have experience.”
Kansas does indeed have a bench, if Friday’s game is any indication. Coach Larry Brown used 10 players and all of ’em scored except guard Scooter Barry.
Without a doubt, the best performer off the bench was juco point guard Otis Livingston who made every shot he attempted – five from the field, two from the foul line – for 12 points.
Livingston, the only true point guard Brown recruited to replace departed Cedric Hunter and Mark Turgeon, moved up a couple of notches in Brown’s estimation.
However, Livingston still has plenty of notches to go because Brown hasn’t been pleased with him. In fact, the 6-0 Californian has learned all about Brown’s tendency to scream at players who make mistakes.
“Today I just tried to execute and not worry about him yelling at me,” Livingston said. “I’m supposed to listen, but I was letting it affect me. It was making me play worreid.”
Said Brown: “I’m just asking him to do the things he’s capable of doing, and he did.”
Meanwhile, juco transfer Lincoln Minor, who started ahead of Livingston, turned in a bittersweet performance. Minor had five assists, but also five turnovers. Both figures were team highs.
Today would, of course, provide a truer gauge of teh Jayhawks’ early season progress because they would be meeting an NCAA Division I team, not an NAIA school.
“They don’t have the best program in the world,” Pritchard said of the ‘Swords, “but they played their hearts out. They played with a lot of emotion and if you do that, you’re gonna be in the game for awhile.”
Today’s semifinal against Iowa, 78-75 winners over Stanford, would be sort of a Late Morning with Larry Brown. Tipoff time here is 11 a.m. (3 p.m., Lawrence time on channels 13 and 41).
If the Jayhawks win, they’ll play for the championship at midnight, Lawrence time, on Sunday. If they lost today, they’d play at 6:30 p.m., Lawrence time, on Sunday.
KU-Chaminade Box
Kansas: Archie Marshall 5-9 0-0 10, Danny Manning 10-18 4-5 24, Marvin Branch 3-6 5-6 11, Kevin Pritchard 3-5 6-6 12, Lincoln Minor 2-4 0-0 4, Scooter Barry 0-1 0-1 0, Otis Livingston 5-5 2-2 12, Mike Maddox 1-2 0-0 3, Jeff Gueldner 1-2 3-4 5, Mike Masucci 1-2 3-4 5, Team 34-58 20-24 89.
Three-point goals: 1-2 (Maddox 1-1, Pritchard 0-1). Assists: 20 (Minor 5, Livingston 4, Pritchard 3, Manning 3, Barry 2, Marshall 2, Gueldner). Turnovers: 15 (Minor 5, Pritchard 3, Barry 2, Marshall, Manning, Gueldner, Masucci, Branch). Blocked shots: 4 (Manning 2, Masucci, Branch). Steals: 9 (Minor 2, Livingston 2, Pritchard 2, Barry, Manning, Masucci).
Chaminade: Sam Trusty 4-11 0-3 8, Peter Schomers 0-8 2-2 2, John Wyatt 4-9 2-4 10, Rod McCray 6-20 4-6 18, Walt Carpenter 0-5 0-1 0, Arthur King 9-12 3-4 21, Anthony Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Bruce Mann 0-1 3-3 3, Team 23-67 14-23 62.
Three-point goals: 2-15 (McCray 2-10, Carpenter 0-3, Schomers 0-2). Assists: 10 (McCray 4, Mann 3, Carpenter, Schomers, Trusty). Turnovers: 18 (McCray 5, King 3, Schomers 3, Carpenter 2, Wyatt 2, Trusty 2, Hall). Blocked shots: 1 (King). Steals: 2 (McCray, Carpenter).
Technical fouls: Pritchard (hanging on rim).
Officials: Jim Burch, Wayne Samford, Donovan Lewis
Attendance: 1,2000.
