LAHAINA, Maui – Danny Manning being whistled for a technical foul? That’s almost as rare as, well, snow in Hawaii.
“I had one as a freshman,” the Kansas All-American said after Saturday’s 100-81 loss to Iowa in the semifinals of the Maui Classic, “but I think it was for hanging on the rim.”
Let the record show that with 12:40 remaining in Saturday’s game, Manning was tooted for the T after being called for charging.
It was for what he threatened to do, not what he did.
“I started to slam the ball down,” said Manning, who finished with a team-high 23 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 4:31 left. “I might as well have thrown it because I got the Ti anyway.”
Manning’s abject show of emotion came not from his own despair but because of his team’s. The Jayhawks trailed 71-52 at that stage, yet were still hopeful of staging a comeback.
“I was really frustrated,” Manning confessed. “I mean, I know we got beat, but they’re not 20 points better than us.”
Iowa’s quick and physical game – a fullcourt press combined with rugged rebounding – wore out the Jayhawks.
“They’re physical, all right,” Manning said, “but not any more than the Italians, but the Italians didn’t have as many players as they did.”
Coincidentally, both Kansas and Iowa met the Italian National Team earlier and each won by near identical scores – Kansas 88-82, Iowa 89-82 in overtime.
Just goes to show what comparative scores mean because Kansas was never in Saturday’s game after being outscored 43-21 in the last 13 minutes of the first half.
“We’d shoot quick, a bad shot, to lead to their fast break,” Manning reflected. “We just didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”
Without a doubt, it was a great day for the Hawkeyes.
“I was very surprised (by the score),” Iowa forward Kent Hill said, “but that was because everything worked our way.”
Hill, a 6-6 senior from Wichita who was recruited by Kansas, had 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds against the Jayhawks.
“It gave me more incentive to do my best,” Hill smiled. “I was recruited by Kansas, but I thought Iowa offered more for me.”
Until this, his last season, Hill had never been a starter for the Hawkeyes.
Kansas’ Archie Marshall, who potted 16 points, didn’t need anyone to tell him what went wrong Saturday.
“We stopped executing,” he said. “We stopped playing as a team. Hopefully, this loss today will help us in the long run.”
Maybe it’ll help them in the short run, too, because the Jayhawks had to come right back and play the third place game tonight at 6:30 p.m., Lawrence time.
“It could be we learned something,” Manning said. “I think we have the character to bounce back tomorrow.”