Kansas University’s last men’s basketball season may have ended in disappointment at the Final Four, but coach Roy Williams liked at least one thing he saw at the end of his team’s Final Four run the defense of freshman guard Aaron Miles.
“Aaron set the tone with his defense,” Williams said about the season-ending loss to Maryland. “I’m hopeful he’ll be able to bother people defensively and make it difficult for other teams, make other teams’ point guard uncomfortable.”
Though KU fans might want to purge the Maryland game from their memories, here’s what happened:
Maryland overcame an early 13-2 deficit and led 44-37 at halftime. The Terps, who went on to defeat Indiana in the finals, stretched their lead to 83-63 with 6:11 remaining.
KU’s defense bothered the Terps down the stretch, and Miles and forward Drew Gooden scored six points each in a 19-4 run that cut the lead to 87-82 with 2:04 to play.
That was as close as KU got.
Miles finished with 12 points, 10 assists and two steals. His 60 steals ranked second on the team and was the second-highest total ever by a KU freshman.
“I’d like him to become even more dominant defensively,” Williams said.
Miles, a member of the Big 12 all-freshman team, said he’s stronger physically and mentally after summer workouts.
“Confidence is the biggest thing about doing anything,” he said. “You have to believe in yourself. Last year I believed in myself, but every now and then I kind of doubted myself. I wanted to make sure I have no doubts about my game this year.”
Coaches like to say college players make their biggest improvement between their freshman and sophomore years. Williams expects that to hold true for his point guard.
“Aaron knows so much more about the physicalness, the intensity and having to keep such a calmness about himself on the court,” he said. “I think he understands now how successful he can be at this level.”
