Kansas City, Mo. ? It should come as no surprise that a freshman point guard set the Big 12 tournament record for assists on Saturday afternoon.
The shocker might be the fact that it was Kansas University’s Aaron Miles and not acclaimed T.J. Ford of Texas who set the standard.
“It really hasn’t hit me,” Miles said after dishing 15 assists in the top-ranked Jayhawks’ 90-50 semifinal victory over Texas Tech at Kemper Arena. “Probably in the future it will hit me more, but I just want to win. Whether I have one assist and we win or I have 15, it really doesn’t matter.”
Miles certainly mattered to KU.
When the Red Raiders decided to double-down on KU junior forwards Drew Gooden and Nick Collison early in the game, Miles made them pay, scoring five of the Jayhawks’ first seven points.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosIn addition to his career-high 15 assists, Miles fell one point shy of his career-best output with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“I feel that’s disrespectful, but some teams are going to have to do that,” Miles said. “We’ve got four great players in Kirk (Hinrich), Jeff (Boschee), Nick and Drew. They have to stop them some way, and if they believe the best way to stop them is to sag off me I’ve been in the gym working on my jumper a lot and I’m going to get a lot more confident with it.”
Texas Tech implemented the same tactic when KU freshman Keith Langford came off the bench with the same results. Langford, who finished with 10 points, teamed with Miles to score 21 of the Jayhawks’ 51 first-half points.
“It was just like last time when they were dropping down on Drew and Nick,” Langford said. “But me and Aaron are confident in our shot. We’ve been working on it a lot in practice. We have the confidence that we can hit them.”
He did admit he understood what Tech coach Bob Knight was thinking.
“I respect their team and I expect the same respect back,” Langford said. “I understand coach Knight’s strategy. When you have true freshmen, you don’t want to play up on them. I just wanted to keep them honest and that’s what I did in the first half.”
After Langford and Miles contributed by scoring in the first half, Miles made an impact passing after intermission. He accounted for 10 second-half assists before being pulled with eight minutes remaining.
His teammates certainly appreciate Miles’ effort.
“I think Aaron’s coming along,” Gooden said. “He started off kinda slow because it’s hard to run the point guard position at Kansas. You’ve got to learn the system. He knows now that our focus is to push the ball every time and today he did.”
He did have one critique of the freshman, though.
“He could have had 18,” Gooden said with a smile, “if he threw the ball to me right.”
Three-point goals: 6-21 (Cassidy 2-3, Chavis 2-4, Valdez 1-1, Storozynski 1-2, Ellis 0-1, Arenas 0-1, Shropshire 0-2, Marshall 0-3, Doudney 0-4). Assists: 11 (Shropshire 3, Storozynski 2, Powell, Emmett, Chavis, Marshall, Ross, Arenas). Turnovers: 16 (Doudney 3, Ellis 2, Emmett 2, Valdez 2, Storozynski 2, Ross 2, Powell, Marshall, Michalec). Blocked shots: 6 (Marshall 2, Michalec 2, Ellis, Cassidy). Steals: 13 (Storozynski 3, Cassidy 3, Powell 2, Shropshire 2, Doudney, Marshall, Michalec). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 3-3, Langford 2-2, Lee 1-1, Miles 1-2, Boschee 1-3, Harrison 0-1, Nash 0-1). Assists: 31 (Miles 15, Gooden 5, Hinrich 3, Boschee 3, Collison, Harrison, Ballard, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 21 (Gooden 4, Hinrich 3, Miles 3, Ballard 3, Simien 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Boschee). Blocked shots: 10 (Collison 5, Simien 3, Hinrich, Miles). Steals: 13 (Gooden 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2, Collison, Boschee, Ballard, Langford, Nash, Zerbe). |
| Texas Tech | 22 | 28 | 50 |
| Kansas | 51 | 39 | 90 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Mark Whitehead, Eddie Jackson. Attendance: 18,848.
Kansas City, Mo. ? It should come as no surprise that a freshman point guard set the Big 12 tournament record for assists on Saturday afternoon.
The shocker might be the fact that it was Kansas University’s Aaron Miles and not acclaimed T.J. Ford of Texas who set the standard.
“It really hasn’t hit me,” Miles said after dishing 15 assists in the top-ranked Jayhawks’ 90-50 semifinal victory over Texas Tech at Kemper Arena. “Probably in the future it will hit me more, but I just want to win. Whether I have one assist and we win or I have 15, it really doesn’t matter.”
Miles certainly mattered to KU.
When the Red Raiders decided to double-down on KU junior forwards Drew Gooden and Nick Collison early in the game, Miles made them pay, scoring five of the Jayhawks’ first seven points.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosIn addition to his career-high 15 assists, Miles fell one point shy of his career-best output with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“I feel that’s disrespectful, but some teams are going to have to do that,” Miles said. “We’ve got four great players in Kirk (Hinrich), Jeff (Boschee), Nick and Drew. They have to stop them some way, and if they believe the best way to stop them is to sag off me I’ve been in the gym working on my jumper a lot and I’m going to get a lot more confident with it.”
Texas Tech implemented the same tactic when KU freshman Keith Langford came off the bench with the same results. Langford, who finished with 10 points, teamed with Miles to score 21 of the Jayhawks’ 51 first-half points.
“It was just like last time when they were dropping down on Drew and Nick,” Langford said. “But me and Aaron are confident in our shot. We’ve been working on it a lot in practice. We have the confidence that we can hit them.”
He did admit he understood what Tech coach Bob Knight was thinking.
“I respect their team and I expect the same respect back,” Langford said. “I understand coach Knight’s strategy. When you have true freshmen, you don’t want to play up on them. I just wanted to keep them honest and that’s what I did in the first half.”
After Langford and Miles contributed by scoring in the first half, Miles made an impact passing after intermission. He accounted for 10 second-half assists before being pulled with eight minutes remaining.
His teammates certainly appreciate Miles’ effort.
“I think Aaron’s coming along,” Gooden said. “He started off kinda slow because it’s hard to run the point guard position at Kansas. You’ve got to learn the system. He knows now that our focus is to push the ball every time and today he did.”
He did have one critique of the freshman, though.
“He could have had 18,” Gooden said with a smile, “if he threw the ball to me right.”
Three-point goals: 6-21 (Cassidy 2-3, Chavis 2-4, Valdez 1-1, Storozynski 1-2, Ellis 0-1, Arenas 0-1, Shropshire 0-2, Marshall 0-3, Doudney 0-4). Assists: 11 (Shropshire 3, Storozynski 2, Powell, Emmett, Chavis, Marshall, Ross, Arenas). Turnovers: 16 (Doudney 3, Ellis 2, Emmett 2, Valdez 2, Storozynski 2, Ross 2, Powell, Marshall, Michalec). Blocked shots: 6 (Marshall 2, Michalec 2, Ellis, Cassidy). Steals: 13 (Storozynski 3, Cassidy 3, Powell 2, Shropshire 2, Doudney, Marshall, Michalec). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 3-3, Langford 2-2, Lee 1-1, Miles 1-2, Boschee 1-3, Harrison 0-1, Nash 0-1). Assists: 31 (Miles 15, Gooden 5, Hinrich 3, Boschee 3, Collison, Harrison, Ballard, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 21 (Gooden 4, Hinrich 3, Miles 3, Ballard 3, Simien 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Boschee). Blocked shots: 10 (Collison 5, Simien 3, Hinrich, Miles). Steals: 13 (Gooden 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2, Collison, Boschee, Ballard, Langford, Nash, Zerbe). |
| Texas Tech | 22 | 28 | 50 |
| Kansas | 51 | 39 | 90 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Mark Whitehead, Eddie Jackson. Attendance: 18,848.
Kansas City, Mo. ? It should come as no surprise that a freshman point guard set the Big 12 tournament record for assists on Saturday afternoon.
The shocker might be the fact that it was Kansas University’s Aaron Miles and not acclaimed T.J. Ford of Texas who set the standard.
“It really hasn’t hit me,” Miles said after dishing 15 assists in the top-ranked Jayhawks’ 90-50 semifinal victory over Texas Tech at Kemper Arena. “Probably in the future it will hit me more, but I just want to win. Whether I have one assist and we win or I have 15, it really doesn’t matter.”
Miles certainly mattered to KU.
When the Red Raiders decided to double-down on KU junior forwards Drew Gooden and Nick Collison early in the game, Miles made them pay, scoring five of the Jayhawks’ first seven points.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosIn addition to his career-high 15 assists, Miles fell one point shy of his career-best output with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“I feel that’s disrespectful, but some teams are going to have to do that,” Miles said. “We’ve got four great players in Kirk (Hinrich), Jeff (Boschee), Nick and Drew. They have to stop them some way, and if they believe the best way to stop them is to sag off me I’ve been in the gym working on my jumper a lot and I’m going to get a lot more confident with it.”
Texas Tech implemented the same tactic when KU freshman Keith Langford came off the bench with the same results. Langford, who finished with 10 points, teamed with Miles to score 21 of the Jayhawks’ 51 first-half points.
“It was just like last time when they were dropping down on Drew and Nick,” Langford said. “But me and Aaron are confident in our shot. We’ve been working on it a lot in practice. We have the confidence that we can hit them.”
He did admit he understood what Tech coach Bob Knight was thinking.
“I respect their team and I expect the same respect back,” Langford said. “I understand coach Knight’s strategy. When you have true freshmen, you don’t want to play up on them. I just wanted to keep them honest and that’s what I did in the first half.”
After Langford and Miles contributed by scoring in the first half, Miles made an impact passing after intermission. He accounted for 10 second-half assists before being pulled with eight minutes remaining.
His teammates certainly appreciate Miles’ effort.
“I think Aaron’s coming along,” Gooden said. “He started off kinda slow because it’s hard to run the point guard position at Kansas. You’ve got to learn the system. He knows now that our focus is to push the ball every time and today he did.”
He did have one critique of the freshman, though.
“He could have had 18,” Gooden said with a smile, “if he threw the ball to me right.”
Three-point goals: 6-21 (Cassidy 2-3, Chavis 2-4, Valdez 1-1, Storozynski 1-2, Ellis 0-1, Arenas 0-1, Shropshire 0-2, Marshall 0-3, Doudney 0-4). Assists: 11 (Shropshire 3, Storozynski 2, Powell, Emmett, Chavis, Marshall, Ross, Arenas). Turnovers: 16 (Doudney 3, Ellis 2, Emmett 2, Valdez 2, Storozynski 2, Ross 2, Powell, Marshall, Michalec). Blocked shots: 6 (Marshall 2, Michalec 2, Ellis, Cassidy). Steals: 13 (Storozynski 3, Cassidy 3, Powell 2, Shropshire 2, Doudney, Marshall, Michalec). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 3-3, Langford 2-2, Lee 1-1, Miles 1-2, Boschee 1-3, Harrison 0-1, Nash 0-1). Assists: 31 (Miles 15, Gooden 5, Hinrich 3, Boschee 3, Collison, Harrison, Ballard, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 21 (Gooden 4, Hinrich 3, Miles 3, Ballard 3, Simien 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Boschee). Blocked shots: 10 (Collison 5, Simien 3, Hinrich, Miles). Steals: 13 (Gooden 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2, Collison, Boschee, Ballard, Langford, Nash, Zerbe). |
| Texas Tech | 22 | 28 | 50 |
| Kansas | 51 | 39 | 90 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Mark Whitehead, Eddie Jackson. Attendance: 18,848.
Kansas City, Mo. ? It should come as no surprise that a freshman point guard set the Big 12 tournament record for assists on Saturday afternoon.
The shocker might be the fact that it was Kansas University’s Aaron Miles and not acclaimed T.J. Ford of Texas who set the standard.
“It really hasn’t hit me,” Miles said after dishing 15 assists in the top-ranked Jayhawks’ 90-50 semifinal victory over Texas Tech at Kemper Arena. “Probably in the future it will hit me more, but I just want to win. Whether I have one assist and we win or I have 15, it really doesn’t matter.”
Miles certainly mattered to KU.
When the Red Raiders decided to double-down on KU junior forwards Drew Gooden and Nick Collison early in the game, Miles made them pay, scoring five of the Jayhawks’ first seven points.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosIn addition to his career-high 15 assists, Miles fell one point shy of his career-best output with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“I feel that’s disrespectful, but some teams are going to have to do that,” Miles said. “We’ve got four great players in Kirk (Hinrich), Jeff (Boschee), Nick and Drew. They have to stop them some way, and if they believe the best way to stop them is to sag off me I’ve been in the gym working on my jumper a lot and I’m going to get a lot more confident with it.”
Texas Tech implemented the same tactic when KU freshman Keith Langford came off the bench with the same results. Langford, who finished with 10 points, teamed with Miles to score 21 of the Jayhawks’ 51 first-half points.
“It was just like last time when they were dropping down on Drew and Nick,” Langford said. “But me and Aaron are confident in our shot. We’ve been working on it a lot in practice. We have the confidence that we can hit them.”
He did admit he understood what Tech coach Bob Knight was thinking.
“I respect their team and I expect the same respect back,” Langford said. “I understand coach Knight’s strategy. When you have true freshmen, you don’t want to play up on them. I just wanted to keep them honest and that’s what I did in the first half.”
After Langford and Miles contributed by scoring in the first half, Miles made an impact passing after intermission. He accounted for 10 second-half assists before being pulled with eight minutes remaining.
His teammates certainly appreciate Miles’ effort.
“I think Aaron’s coming along,” Gooden said. “He started off kinda slow because it’s hard to run the point guard position at Kansas. You’ve got to learn the system. He knows now that our focus is to push the ball every time and today he did.”
He did have one critique of the freshman, though.
“He could have had 18,” Gooden said with a smile, “if he threw the ball to me right.”
Three-point goals: 6-21 (Cassidy 2-3, Chavis 2-4, Valdez 1-1, Storozynski 1-2, Ellis 0-1, Arenas 0-1, Shropshire 0-2, Marshall 0-3, Doudney 0-4). Assists: 11 (Shropshire 3, Storozynski 2, Powell, Emmett, Chavis, Marshall, Ross, Arenas). Turnovers: 16 (Doudney 3, Ellis 2, Emmett 2, Valdez 2, Storozynski 2, Ross 2, Powell, Marshall, Michalec). Blocked shots: 6 (Marshall 2, Michalec 2, Ellis, Cassidy). Steals: 13 (Storozynski 3, Cassidy 3, Powell 2, Shropshire 2, Doudney, Marshall, Michalec). |
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Three-point goals: 8-13 (Hinrich 3-3, Langford 2-2, Lee 1-1, Miles 1-2, Boschee 1-3, Harrison 0-1, Nash 0-1). Assists: 31 (Miles 15, Gooden 5, Hinrich 3, Boschee 3, Collison, Harrison, Ballard, Simien, Lee). Turnovers: 21 (Gooden 4, Hinrich 3, Miles 3, Ballard 3, Simien 3, Collison 2, Lee 2, Boschee). Blocked shots: 10 (Collison 5, Simien 3, Hinrich, Miles). Steals: 13 (Gooden 3, Hinrich 2, Miles 2, Collison, Boschee, Ballard, Langford, Nash, Zerbe). |
| Texas Tech | 22 | 28 | 50 |
| Kansas | 51 | 39 | 90 |
Officials: Scott Thornley, Mark Whitehead, Eddie Jackson. Attendance: 18,848.
