Late for practice Friday, Julian Wright knew there’d be a penalty to pay Saturday night in Allen Fieldhouse.
“Coach tells us you’ve got to be on time,” said Wright, Kansas University’s sophomore forward, banished to the bench at the start of a game for the first time this season as punishment for being late for a Friday workout.
“It was not real late. Sometimes coach is early. Sometimes he’s a little late. It was my fault. I should have been there on time.”
Informed at a morning shootaround that Rodrick Stewart would be taking his place in Saturday’s starting lineup against Rhode Island, Wright didn’t brood.
Instead he erupted for a career-high 23 points in 31 minutes in an 80-69 victory over the Rams, surpassing his old career high of 21 points against Florida.
“On our team, it’s not who starts,” Wright said. “It’s producing when your number is called.”
Some might have accused Wright of showing up late for Saturday’s game. He scored four points with three rebounds in 13 minutes during the first half as KU led, 30-22, at the break.
But he erupted for 19 points off 8-of-10 shooting the second 20 minutes, including 12 points in the first six minutes of the half.
Wright had two length-of-the-floor layups to go with an assortment of shots inside and out.
“I was trying to run the floor. I got a lot of baskets in transition,” said Wright, who along with Brandon Rush (19 points) tallied 42 of KU’s 80 points. “They shot a lot of threes, and the floor was spread out. It was an open court. My teammates found me with some good passes.”
Freshman Sherron Collins, who started the second half in place of the flu-ridden Russell Robinson, had 11 points and five assists in his 16-minute second-half stint. He had two dishes to Wright for hoops in Wright’s early second-half surge. KU (12-2) finished the second half with 50 points.
“Julian was terrific. He did a great job of making shots and getting rebounds,” coach Bill Self said of Wright, who had eight rebounds on a night the Rams (7-7) outrebounded Kansas, 43-42, including a 32-20 advantage the first half.
“Sherron was great outside of one or two plays. I thought it was his best game.”
Of the sitting of Wright to start the game, Self indicated, “We had a time-management issue with three athletes the last couple of days: Julian, Darnell (Jackson) and Shady (Darrell Arthur),” Self said, indicating Jackson and Wright were late Friday and Arthur was tardy Saturday.
“They were all separate issues. It’s one thing we’ve tried to do, emphasize being responsible. Nothing major, just guys late.”
As far as assessing KU’s game, Self had to lament the Jayhawks once again not putting away a team that was wobbling on various occasions.
KU used a 13-0 run in a nine-minute stretch of the first half to grab a 30-14 lead. However, Rhode Island closed the half, 8-0, to cut it to eight by halftime.
Also, KU led by 17 (60-43) with 9:09 to play, but Rhode Island immediately cutting the gap to 11, at 60-49, at 8:14. It was still just a 10-point game with a minute left.
“It’s what I spent 15 minutes after the game talking to the team about. That was a 30-point game,” Self said. “We had chances to crack it open. Our guys are competitive. We’re not doing a good job of suffocating folks when we have the opportunity. We had the opportunity tonight and Thursday (in 63-43 win over Detroit). You let teams hang around, they can beat you.
“If you take away their free throws, offensive rebounds and our lack of killer instinct, that was as good as we have played in a long time,” Self concluded.
The Jayhawks will not play again until a week from today at South Carolina. Tipoff is 3:30 p.m. Central Time in Columbia, S.C.
Nick KrugHis back has bothered him.
His foot has been sore.
And his stomach has churned wildly because of a flu bug.
Julian Wright certainly has had some bad days since enrolling at Kansas University last summer. He just never has let anybody know about them.
“I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s always happy – nonstop,” KU freshman Brandon Rush said with a grin. “I really like Julian. He’s a cool guy.”
He’s KU’s biggest chemistry guy – somebody who boosts the team’s spirits after strenuous practice sessions and/or deflating losses.
“He’s a young-minded kid who has fun with everything,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He’s as good a kid as we have in our program.”
The McDonald’s All-American out of Homewood-Flossmoor High in Chicago says it’s simply his nature to be upbeat.
“Yes, I’m always happy. I try to keep everyone’s spirits high,” Wright said. “The coaching staff gets on me if I make a mistake and am down.
“I always try to clap after somebody makes a good pass, clap after somebody makes a mistake. Clap all the time.”
The 6-foot-8, 218-pounder has been a delight off the court, and he has been improving steadily on the court as well.
“He creates mismatches. He blows by the other team’s 4-man (power forward) and creates openings for the rest of us,” Rush said of Wright, who scored 12 points off 6-of-8 shooting with six rebounds and three assists in KU’s 96-54 rout of Nebraska at Allen Fieldhouse.
Wright actually may be at his best creating for others.
“There’s not a big man in America who passes the ball better than Julian,” Self said of Wright, who promises to play more on the perimeter as his career progresses. “There’s not many big men with a 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio like he has (28 assists, 27 turnovers). It’s a pretty good assist-to-turnover ratio for number of minutes played.”
Wright has logged an average of 16.2 minutes per game in 17 appearances for the Jayhawks, who take an 11-6 record into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. contest at Texas A&M.
“His ceiling is high, high, high,” Self said of Wright, who averages 7.2 points off 52.9 percent shooting. “If not for some quirky things, he’d have been playing 22, 23 minutes a game since Day One. Whether sickness, his foot, back spasms : those are things that kept him from playing a prominent role.
“You have to trust he’ll not be perfect every time, but over time he’ll be a guy who can deliver for you. He will impact this program in ways very few have if he stays the course, keeps doing what he’s doing.”
Wright, who has felt fine physically of late, said he could tell his coach has gained trust in him.
“There was one possession against Nebraska I thought I’d get subbed for (after committing a turnover),” Wright said. “Coach Self didn’t sub me. I think coach may have more faith in me than earlier. I’ll try to keep up the faith, the trust.”
He can do that by eliminating unforced errors.
“If I am going to make an aggressive pass I have to really concentrate,” Wright said. “Coach stresses really taking care of the ball. It makes me value the ball more.
“You’ve got to know when and where and pick your spots,” Wright added of attempting the sensational pass. “A lot of guys now know where I pass the ball, and I’m learning to get the ball to them where they can score. The guards are all learning where everybody wants the ball.”
Wright said it had been a sometimes-difficult transition from high school to college ball. He averages 4.1 rebounds and has blocked 21 shots.
“The difference is defense,” Wright said. “Opposing defenders watch film and see where you like to get the ball and score. They try to take it away from you. After a while, you get used to it.”
Self said it’s encouraging to see the progress Wright had made.
“Julian cares a lot,” the coach said. “All the freshmen are getting to the point where they care a lot. I think our competitive spirit is a lot better than a month ago. I think this is a pretty competitive team.”
His back has bothered him.
His foot has been sore.
And his stomach has churned wildly because of a flu bug.
Julian Wright certainly has had some bad days since enrolling at Kansas University last summer. He just never has let anybody know about them.
“I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s always happy — nonstop,” KU freshman Brandon Rush said with a grin. “I really like Julian. He’s a cool guy.”
He’s KU’s biggest chemistry guy — somebody who boosts the team’s spirits after strenuous practice sessions and/or deflating losses.
“He’s a young-minded kid who has fun with everything,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He’s as good a kid as we have in our program.”
The McDonald’s All-American out of Homewood-Flossmoor High in Chicago says it’s simply his nature to be upbeat.
“Yes, I’m always happy. I try to keep everyone’s spirits high,” Wright said. “The coaching staff gets on me if I make a mistake and am down.
“I always try to clap after somebody makes a good pass, clap after somebody makes a mistake. Clap all the time.”
The 6-foot-8, 218-pounder has been a delight off the court, and he has been improving steadily on the court as well.
“He creates mismatches. He blows by the other team’s 4-man (power forward) and creates openings for the rest of us,” Rush said of Wright, who scored 12 points off 6-of-8 shooting with six rebounds and three assists in KU’s 96-54 rout of Nebraska at Allen Fieldhouse.
Wright actually may be at his best creating for others.
“There’s not a big man in America who passes the ball better than Julian,” Self said of Wright, who promises to play more on the perimeter as his career progresses. “There’s not many big men with a 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio like he has (28 assists, 27 turnovers). It’s a pretty good assist-to-turnover ratio for number of minutes played.”
  6Sports video: KU men’s basketball prepares for Texas A&M Machine inspires Kansas (01-23-06) Keegan: Wright puts on a show (01-22-06) |
Wright has logged an average of 16.2 minutes per game in 17 appearances for the Jayhawks, who take an 11-6 record into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. contest at Texas A&M.
“His ceiling is high, high, high,” Self said of Wright, who averages 7.2 points off 52.9 percent shooting. “If not for some quirky things, he’d have been playing 22, 23 minutes a game since Day One. Whether sickness, his foot, back spasms … those are things that kept him from playing a prominent role.
“You have to trust he’ll not be perfect every time, but over time he’ll be a guy who can deliver for you. He will impact this program in ways very few have if he stays the course, keeps doing what he’s doing.”
Wright, who has felt fine physically of late, said he could tell his coach has gained trust in him.
“There was one possession against Nebraska I thought I’d get subbed for (after committing a turnover),” Wright said. “Coach Self didn’t sub me. I think coach may have more faith in me than earlier. I’ll try to keep up the faith, the trust.”
He can do that by eliminating unforced errors.
“If I am going to make an aggressive pass I have to really concentrate,” Wright said. “Coach stresses really taking care of the ball. It makes me value the ball more.
“You’ve got to know when and where and pick your spots,” Wright added of attempting the sensational pass. “A lot of guys now know where I pass the ball, and I’m learning to get the ball to them where they can score. The guards are all learning where everybody wants the ball.”
Wright said it had been a sometimes-difficult transition from high school to college ball. He averages 4.1 rebounds and has blocked 21 shots.
“The difference is defense,” Wright said. “Opposing defenders watch film and see where you like to get the ball and score. They try to take it away from you. After a while, you get used to it.”
Self said it’s encouraging to see the progress Wright had made.
“Julian cares a lot,” the coach said. “All the freshmen are getting to the point where they care a lot. I think our competitive spirit is a lot better than a month ago. I think this is a pretty competitive team.”
