Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoOKLAHOMA CITY ? There were no aftershocks in the Kansas University men’s basketball locker room the day after KU’s scary 64-61 victory over Utah State at Ford Center.
The No. 2-seeded Jayhawks did not appear to be shaken by the first-round NCAA Tournament contest and exuded confidence heading into today’s 7 p.m. second-round battle against No. 10-seed Arizona State.
“We won the game,” sophomore guard Aaron Miles said. “In the NCAA Tournament, you can start on top and maintain or go down, or you can start low and build into it. I’d rather build into it.”
Remember, just a year ago KU struggled in its first-round 70-59 victory over Holy Cross, then punished Stanford, 86-63, in Round Two en route to a Final Four appearance.
“It’s the NCAA Tournament. Teams will be pumped at all times,” Miles said. “We have to be pumped and prepared for a fight every game. We know we belong here.”
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Blue Chips grads: The Texas Blue Chips AAU program has produced legions of college players, including two who will square off today at Ford Center: Kansas’ Bryant Nash and Arizona State’s Ike Diogu.
“We played together one year. I was one of the go-to guys. He was a good rebounder, a good jumper,” recalled Nash, KU’s 6-foot-6, 205-pound junior from Carrollton, Texas.
Diogu, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound freshman from Garland, Texas, returned the compliment.
“He’s an explosive leaper,” Diogu said. “It will be weird playing against one of my former teammates.”
Nash was asked who was the better player.
“You’d have to decide,” he said.
KU coach Roy Williams tried to recruit Diogu, who played in the Jayhawk Invitational AAU Tournament at Allen Fieldhouse after his junior year of high school.
“We had a tough time getting started in the recruiting process,” Williams said. “His summer-league coach told us we couldn’t get involved. We tried to see if we could. We had one date open for an official visit and couldn’t get him in. I thought he’d be a big-time player.”
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Graves ready: KU junior Jeff Graves says he’s inspired to improve on his seven-point, seven-board, 29-minute effort against Utah State.
“I was nervous for my first (tournament) game,” Graves said. “I have a feeling we’ll come out and play a lot better. I have to play better because they have a big guy who likes to bang. I like to bang, too, so it should be fun.”
