Drew who? Sophomore Wayne Simien filled the void left by Drew Gooden, and filled it (almost) perfectly by missing only one shot all night. He hit nine of 10 field goals and all eight free throws for 26 points on the night.
With more than a 20-point lead, Coach Roy Williams let his bench see some action. Moulaye Niang, Jeff Graves, Jeff Hawkins, Bryant Nash and Michael Lee all logged some minutes – and all scored – showing what the season holds for the Big 12 defending champions.
After a rusty start, the Jayhawks found their groove near the end of the first half. However, long-distance shots by EASports kept the game close. The visitors hit six three-pointers to close within three points by the 3:35 mark, but would only hit one two-pointer for the rest of the half.
Aaron Miles stole the ball and ran the length of the court, laying the ball in the net just as the first half expired, showing that the super-sophomore is picking up just where he left off last year. His late basket gave KU its biggest lead of the night – by that point.
Kansas added to their halftime lead with two quick baskets in the second half’s first minute. Nick Collison did some major damage, running off 10 points in a row to pace KU during that stretch.
Kansas and EASports traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half, but the Jayhawks safely pulled away. Led by Wayne Simien’s performance, KU opened up a 23-point lead with under 13 minutes to play.
With just over 90 seconds left in the game, KU walk-ons Stephen Vinson and Christian Moody took the floor – as did KU junior Efe Ekpere, but for the EASportsters. Ekpere won a drawing to compete for the evening with the visiting squad. He took one shot from behind the arc, but it did not fall.
In addition to Simien’s 26 points, Kirk Hinrich added 20 more. Nick Collison contributed a double-double, with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Keith Langford had nine points, Jeff Hawkins and Jeff Graves each scored eight, Aaron Miles and Moulaye Niang each added seven, Bryant Nash chipped in six and Michael Lee scored two points.
As a team, Kansas shot 63% from the floor, including 55% from long distance. EASports shot just 42%, but hit 12-of-23 of their three-pointers.
Former Kansas standout – and one of Roy Williams’ first recruits – Adonis Jordan scored nine points in the loss for EASports.
Also on the visiting exhibition squad was former Colorado Buffalo D.J. Harrison, who never once defeated Kansas in his very vocal career as a college player. This EASports team took Missouri to overtime over the weekend before finally falling by just one point.
In an announcement made at halftime, Kansas City Businesswoman Cheryl Womack has pledged $2 million to build a new KU softball stadium.
