Nick Krug/Journal-World PhotoThe sandy beaches of Maui and warm waters of the Pacific Ocean temptingly await Kansas University’s basketball players, who will be flying Saturday to the Hawaiian Islands.
Whoa.
First things first.
Maui this week has been treated like a bad word at KU’s basketball practices. The Jayhawks instead are focusing on their season opener against Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference.
Tip is 7 tonight, with a live telecast on channels 13 and 38 (Sunflower Broadband Channel 15). The game will be replayed at 10:30 p.m. on Sunflower Channel 6.
“I have not been thinking about Maui,” sophomore guard Russell Robinson said emphatically. “I have been thinking about our first game to start the season, playing in Allen Fieldhouse for the first time in a long time. We’re going to be excited.”
The Jayhawks, who will meet Arizona on Monday night in Maui, tonight play a real game for the first time since last year’s season-ending loss to Bucknell.
The players may be seeing red after viewing Idaho State’s orange-and-black uniforms — the same color as the Bison, who stunned the Jayhawks in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
“This is the most fun time of the year other than March, usually,” said KU coach Bill Self, anxious to see his young Jayhawks take the court.
“Going to Hawaii to start the season after playing Idaho State … I don’t see how it could be much better for a college student-athlete right now. We’re excited about this game.”
So focused on playing the Bengals, who went 9-18 a year ago, Self has limited his discussion of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. He only has discussed the topic with reporters.
To the team … it’s been all Idaho State of the Big Sky.
“That’s who we should be talking about,” Self said. We have not talked to our players about going to Maui. We will talk about it Friday night after the game: ‘Guys, be packed and ready at 8 a.m.’
“We’ll do most of the packing for them. They have very few responsibilities except trying to prepare for the season.”
The Jayhawks will be wary of a team that won exhibition games against Fresno Pacific (82-56) and Montana Tech (88-64).
“They’ll switch defenses, will play a lot of zone, play man, will guard ball screens,” said Self. “Their record was not I’m sure what they hoped it’d be last year, but they have seven newcomers (including) juco kids and red shirts. From watching tape I know they are capable.”
The Jayhawks can look at recent happenings to realize Idaho State could potentially wreck Saturday’s flight to Maui.
Missouri fell in its season opener to unheralded Sam Houston State, 80-77.
“I think in this game you always learn from your own mistakes and learn looking around the country too,” Self said. “There’s more upsets that occur early. There’s a lot of dangerous games early in the season.
“People don’t know each other. They know you maybe more than you know them. Sometimes people throw stuff at you you’ve not had a chance to practice.”
A key to topping the Bengals might be pure intensity. Will the Jayhawks show up, or will their minds be in sunny Maui?
“For me, not really. For the freshmen, it may be hard to concentrate,” said sophomore C.J. Giles, ticketed to start tonight with Robinson, Sasha Kaun, Brandon Rush and Jeff Hawkins. “I take every game of season like the last. I’m excited. This game Friday will be just as important as Maui.”
“I’m definitely excited,” Self said. “It’s been one of those falls. We had a lot of stuff hanging over our head we had no control over, like (Darnell Jackson’s) situation.”
Jackson is ineligible the first nine games after accepting $5,000 worth of benefits from booster Don Davis, a 1980 KU engineering graduate who works for Enron Oil and Gas Resources in Oklahoma City.
“I’m excited to get all that done with, excited to move forward. I love our guys. I don’t always love how we play. They are trying hard. I need to be patient with ’em. If we do that over time, we’ll like the end result,” Self said.
6Sports video: KU’s Wright exceeding expectations (11-18-05)
Idaho State, not Maui, on KU’s mind (11-18-05)
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