Those of you who worried how Roy Williams could possibly replace both Kenny Gregory and Eric Chenowith must be wondering today how you could have been so foolish.
Gregory was a spectacular player at times and Chenowith stood 7 feet tall, and all 7-footers are terrific basketball players, aren’t they? Still, neither Gregory nor Chenowith managed more than a cup of coffee and a doughnut in NBA tryouts so you know both had limitations.
After two Kansas University men’s basketball exhibition games, you have to ask yourself two questions.
One, can freshman Wayne Simien fills Chenowith’s shoes? Answer: An emphatic yes if Simien can avoid injuries.
Simien is three or four inches shorter than Chenowith, but much more athletic. Simien seems to have a variety of shots while Chenowith relied on the dunk and the short stand-still jumper. One of Chenowith’s strengths was free-throw shooting, yet Simien hit 9-of-9 charities in the exhibition opener against EA Sports.
Simien missed the last few weeks of his high school career with a shoulder injury. Now he’s on the shelf for at least a couple of weeks with a knee problem. Chenowith was remarkably durable. Simien has had a history of injuries.
Question No. 2: How large a gulf exists between freshman Keith Langford and Gregory? Answer: It’s more of a trickle than a gulf. So far Langford has shown he can shoot the three and make garbage baskets which, more or less, were the extent of Gregory’s offensive skills. Defensively, Gregory was average and the jury is still out on Langford in that category. Moreover, all Langford has to do is hit 50 percent of his free throws to be a better charity shooter than Gregory.
Even if you rank the Simien-Chenowith and Langford-Gregory comparisons as a wash, you have to believe the Jayhawks are better than last year because they now have a pure point guard in freshman Aaron Miles.
Two years ago, Jeff Boschee was the Jayhawks’ point guard. Last year, Kirk Hinrich was KU’s man on the point. This year it will clearly be Miles which means Boschee and Hinrich can concentrate on camping on the wings and drilling three-pointers.
Never underestimate the value of the three-point goal. Williams’ best KU teams have all been deep in dangerous three-point shooters. You can’t have too many of them and the truth is Williams hasn’t had enough long-range shooters over the last couple of years.
Williams has at least three players who can come off the bench and hit the three Langford, Brett Ballard and Michael Lee. That’s plenty of reserve firepower, particularly with a three-man up-front rotation of Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Simien, if at least two are healthy at one time.
Williams’ 14th team on Mount Oread shouldn’t have difficulty scoring, but will it be able to neutralize its opponents? I guess that’s Question No. 3 and it’s really too early to say. Statistically, Kansas had the best defense in the nation last year, topping the NCAA Division One chart by allowing opponents to shoot only 37.8 percent.
Nevertheless, look at KU’s roster and you’ll see the Jayhawks don’t have anyone who matches up with Missouri’s Kareem Rush, the Big 12 Conference’s best offensive player. Bryant Nash probably comes the closest, but Nash is still more of an athlete than a basketball player. Still, if its any consolation, you can probably count the teams who boast someone who can guard Rush on the fingers of one hand.
Kansas ranked No. 11 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring margin last season. Sounds good, but it’s safe to say Williams would prefer to rank in the top five in both those categories. Who’s to say the Jayhawks won’t?
Every team has weaknesses except Duke, of course and last year the Jayhawks were shy on athleticism and in backcourt depth. On the morning line, however, KU appears improved in both areas.
Three games in three days in the hot, humid Lahaina Civic Center will tell us more, yet it won’t tell us everything because the Jayhawks will be sans Simien.
Those of you who worried how Roy Williams could possibly replace both Kenny Gregory and Eric Chenowith must be wondering today how you could have been so foolish.
Gregory was a spectacular player at times and Chenowith stood 7 feet tall, and all 7-footers are terrific basketball players, aren’t they? Still, neither Gregory nor Chenowith managed more than a cup of coffee and a doughnut in NBA tryouts so you know both had limitations.
After two Kansas University men’s basketball exhibition games, you have to ask yourself two questions.
One, can freshman Wayne Simien fills Chenowith’s shoes? Answer: An emphatic yes if Simien can avoid injuries.
Simien is three or four inches shorter than Chenowith, but much more athletic. Simien seems to have a variety of shots while Chenowith relied on the dunk and the short stand-still jumper. One of Chenowith’s strengths was free-throw shooting, yet Simien hit 9-of-9 charities in the exhibition opener against EA Sports.
Simien missed the last few weeks of his high school career with a shoulder injury. Now he’s on the shelf for at least a couple of weeks with a knee problem. Chenowith was remarkably durable. Simien has had a history of injuries.
Question No. 2: How large a gulf exists between freshman Keith Langford and Gregory? Answer: It’s more of a trickle than a gulf. So far Langford has shown he can shoot the three and make garbage baskets which, more or less, were the extent of Gregory’s offensive skills. Defensively, Gregory was average and the jury is still out on Langford in that category. Moreover, all Langford has to do is hit 50 percent of his free throws to be a better charity shooter than Gregory.
Even if you rank the Simien-Chenowith and Langford-Gregory comparisons as a wash, you have to believe the Jayhawks are better than last year because they now have a pure point guard in freshman Aaron Miles.
Two years ago, Jeff Boschee was the Jayhawks’ point guard. Last year, Kirk Hinrich was KU’s man on the point. This year it will clearly be Miles which means Boschee and Hinrich can concentrate on camping on the wings and drilling three-pointers.
Never underestimate the value of the three-point goal. Williams’ best KU teams have all been deep in dangerous three-point shooters. You can’t have too many of them and the truth is Williams hasn’t had enough long-range shooters over the last couple of years.
Williams has at least three players who can come off the bench and hit the three Langford, Brett Ballard and Michael Lee. That’s plenty of reserve firepower, particularly with a three-man up-front rotation of Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Simien, if at least two are healthy at one time.
Williams’ 14th team on Mount Oread shouldn’t have difficulty scoring, but will it be able to neutralize its opponents? I guess that’s Question No. 3 and it’s really too early to say. Statistically, Kansas had the best defense in the nation last year, topping the NCAA Division One chart by allowing opponents to shoot only 37.8 percent.
Nevertheless, look at KU’s roster and you’ll see the Jayhawks don’t have anyone who matches up with Missouri’s Kareem Rush, the Big 12 Conference’s best offensive player. Bryant Nash probably comes the closest, but Nash is still more of an athlete than a basketball player. Still, if its any consolation, you can probably count the teams who boast someone who can guard Rush on the fingers of one hand.
Kansas ranked No. 11 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring margin last season. Sounds good, but it’s safe to say Williams would prefer to rank in the top five in both those categories. Who’s to say the Jayhawks won’t?
Every team has weaknesses except Duke, of course and last year the Jayhawks were shy on athleticism and in backcourt depth. On the morning line, however, KU appears improved in both areas.
Three games in three days in the hot, humid Lahaina Civic Center will tell us more, yet it won’t tell us everything because the Jayhawks will be sans Simien.
Those of you who worried how Roy Williams could possibly replace both Kenny Gregory and Eric Chenowith must be wondering today how you could have been so foolish.
Gregory was a spectacular player at times and Chenowith stood 7 feet tall, and all 7-footers are terrific basketball players, aren’t they? Still, neither Gregory nor Chenowith managed more than a cup of coffee and a doughnut in NBA tryouts so you know both had limitations.
After two Kansas University men’s basketball exhibition games, you have to ask yourself two questions.
One, can freshman Wayne Simien fills Chenowith’s shoes? Answer: An emphatic yes if Simien can avoid injuries.
Simien is three or four inches shorter than Chenowith, but much more athletic. Simien seems to have a variety of shots while Chenowith relied on the dunk and the short stand-still jumper. One of Chenowith’s strengths was free-throw shooting, yet Simien hit 9-of-9 charities in the exhibition opener against EA Sports.
Simien missed the last few weeks of his high school career with a shoulder injury. Now he’s on the shelf for at least a couple of weeks with a knee problem. Chenowith was remarkably durable. Simien has had a history of injuries.
Question No. 2: How large a gulf exists between freshman Keith Langford and Gregory? Answer: It’s more of a trickle than a gulf. So far Langford has shown he can shoot the three and make garbage baskets which, more or less, were the extent of Gregory’s offensive skills. Defensively, Gregory was average and the jury is still out on Langford in that category. Moreover, all Langford has to do is hit 50 percent of his free throws to be a better charity shooter than Gregory.
Even if you rank the Simien-Chenowith and Langford-Gregory comparisons as a wash, you have to believe the Jayhawks are better than last year because they now have a pure point guard in freshman Aaron Miles.
Two years ago, Jeff Boschee was the Jayhawks’ point guard. Last year, Kirk Hinrich was KU’s man on the point. This year it will clearly be Miles which means Boschee and Hinrich can concentrate on camping on the wings and drilling three-pointers.
Never underestimate the value of the three-point goal. Williams’ best KU teams have all been deep in dangerous three-point shooters. You can’t have too many of them and the truth is Williams hasn’t had enough long-range shooters over the last couple of years.
Williams has at least three players who can come off the bench and hit the three Langford, Brett Ballard and Michael Lee. That’s plenty of reserve firepower, particularly with a three-man up-front rotation of Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Simien, if at least two are healthy at one time.
Williams’ 14th team on Mount Oread shouldn’t have difficulty scoring, but will it be able to neutralize its opponents? I guess that’s Question No. 3 and it’s really too early to say. Statistically, Kansas had the best defense in the nation last year, topping the NCAA Division One chart by allowing opponents to shoot only 37.8 percent.
Nevertheless, look at KU’s roster and you’ll see the Jayhawks don’t have anyone who matches up with Missouri’s Kareem Rush, the Big 12 Conference’s best offensive player. Bryant Nash probably comes the closest, but Nash is still more of an athlete than a basketball player. Still, if its any consolation, you can probably count the teams who boast someone who can guard Rush on the fingers of one hand.
Kansas ranked No. 11 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring margin last season. Sounds good, but it’s safe to say Williams would prefer to rank in the top five in both those categories. Who’s to say the Jayhawks won’t?
Every team has weaknesses except Duke, of course and last year the Jayhawks were shy on athleticism and in backcourt depth. On the morning line, however, KU appears improved in both areas.
Three games in three days in the hot, humid Lahaina Civic Center will tell us more, yet it won’t tell us everything because the Jayhawks will be sans Simien.
Those of you who worried how Roy Williams could possibly replace both Kenny Gregory and Eric Chenowith must be wondering today how you could have been so foolish.
Gregory was a spectacular player at times and Chenowith stood 7 feet tall, and all 7-footers are terrific basketball players, aren’t they? Still, neither Gregory nor Chenowith managed more than a cup of coffee and a doughnut in NBA tryouts so you know both had limitations.
After two Kansas University men’s basketball exhibition games, you have to ask yourself two questions.
One, can freshman Wayne Simien fills Chenowith’s shoes? Answer: An emphatic yes if Simien can avoid injuries.
Simien is three or four inches shorter than Chenowith, but much more athletic. Simien seems to have a variety of shots while Chenowith relied on the dunk and the short stand-still jumper. One of Chenowith’s strengths was free-throw shooting, yet Simien hit 9-of-9 charities in the exhibition opener against EA Sports.
Simien missed the last few weeks of his high school career with a shoulder injury. Now he’s on the shelf for at least a couple of weeks with a knee problem. Chenowith was remarkably durable. Simien has had a history of injuries.
Question No. 2: How large a gulf exists between freshman Keith Langford and Gregory? Answer: It’s more of a trickle than a gulf. So far Langford has shown he can shoot the three and make garbage baskets which, more or less, were the extent of Gregory’s offensive skills. Defensively, Gregory was average and the jury is still out on Langford in that category. Moreover, all Langford has to do is hit 50 percent of his free throws to be a better charity shooter than Gregory.
Even if you rank the Simien-Chenowith and Langford-Gregory comparisons as a wash, you have to believe the Jayhawks are better than last year because they now have a pure point guard in freshman Aaron Miles.
Two years ago, Jeff Boschee was the Jayhawks’ point guard. Last year, Kirk Hinrich was KU’s man on the point. This year it will clearly be Miles which means Boschee and Hinrich can concentrate on camping on the wings and drilling three-pointers.
Never underestimate the value of the three-point goal. Williams’ best KU teams have all been deep in dangerous three-point shooters. You can’t have too many of them and the truth is Williams hasn’t had enough long-range shooters over the last couple of years.
Williams has at least three players who can come off the bench and hit the three Langford, Brett Ballard and Michael Lee. That’s plenty of reserve firepower, particularly with a three-man up-front rotation of Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Simien, if at least two are healthy at one time.
Williams’ 14th team on Mount Oread shouldn’t have difficulty scoring, but will it be able to neutralize its opponents? I guess that’s Question No. 3 and it’s really too early to say. Statistically, Kansas had the best defense in the nation last year, topping the NCAA Division One chart by allowing opponents to shoot only 37.8 percent.
Nevertheless, look at KU’s roster and you’ll see the Jayhawks don’t have anyone who matches up with Missouri’s Kareem Rush, the Big 12 Conference’s best offensive player. Bryant Nash probably comes the closest, but Nash is still more of an athlete than a basketball player. Still, if its any consolation, you can probably count the teams who boast someone who can guard Rush on the fingers of one hand.
Kansas ranked No. 11 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring margin last season. Sounds good, but it’s safe to say Williams would prefer to rank in the top five in both those categories. Who’s to say the Jayhawks won’t?
Every team has weaknesses except Duke, of course and last year the Jayhawks were shy on athleticism and in backcourt depth. On the morning line, however, KU appears improved in both areas.
Three games in three days in the hot, humid Lahaina Civic Center will tell us more, yet it won’t tell us everything because the Jayhawks will be sans Simien.
