What this means…from press row
Gary Bedore, Journal-World KU men’s basketball beat writer
“Exhibition openers are for the newcomers. Darrell Arthur, Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar each did something positive in the game, which is important. It’s vital to not have a stinker in one’s debut at KU. Fans start whispering and writing negative comments when guys don’t live up to their press clilppings early.
Shouldn’t be a problem here. Brady hit a nice three; Arthur was great and Collins played very very well the second half.
It was also nice to see Darnell Jackson step up big time with 18 points. It’ll help his confidence too. And it was good to see the veterans playing well.”
The opponent was a division lower than KU which must always be taken into consideration. But Washburn did play hard. The Jayhawks just had way too much talent for the Ichabods.
Tom Keegan, Journal-World sports editor
“Until Sasha Kaun returns from his knee injury, the three most important players on the roster will be Julian Wright, Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur. Ideally, they will account for all 80 post minutes.
After the game against an overmatched and undersized Washburn University, the three players on the podium were Wright, Jackson and Arthur. Washburn’s a million stratospheres from Florida. Still, so far, so good.”
Ryan Greene, KUSports.com editor
“A lot of people will talk about Darrell Arthur’s phenomenal performance tonight, and of course it is more than worth the recognition. But it was another freshman who caught my attention, especially in the second half – Sherron Collins.
There was no question that Collins was pressing a little to hard to squeeze into the scoring column in the first half, and he wound up scoreless at the break on 0-for-3 shooting. But Collins showed a soft shooting touch in the second half, hitting two threes, and finished the game with five assists, including a sweat touch dish to Julian Wright for a fastbreak slam. Down the road, he could have the same mid-season boost Mario Chalmers showed a year ago…as long as he plays like he did in the game’s final 20 minutes.”
Inside the numbers
17-2: That was the advantage KU had in fastbreak points over the Ichabods. The Jayhawks were able to net most of those in the game’s first few minutes and then during a nice stretch during the middle of the second half.
6: That’s not only the number of rebounds that freshman Darrell Arthur pulled down, but also his steals total, which doubled the next highest individual mark on the team (Mario Chalmers had 3). Arthur also had a pair of blocks, including one from behind in the second half against the backboard, which Bill Self called Arthur’s most impressive play of the night.
7: That’s how many fouls Julian Wright, Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur combined to record. Except for Wright, who picked up his fourth in the second half, none of the KU bigs got into foul trouble, which is a trend the Jayhawks need to continue until Sasha Kaun returns from his knee injury.
Just in case you missed it…
-Junior reserve guard Jeremy Case did not dress for the game, as he suffered a pulled groin muscle in practice earlier this week. Self said it came on the heels of Case having a fantastic performance in preseason training camp. Self also added that he expects Case back in action in 7-10 days, which means he could be ready by the start of the regular season.
Hopefully you didn’t miss it…
-Not to over-hype Darrell Arthur’s performance – afterall, it was an exhibition – but he did have 21 points, six rebounds, six steals and two blocks in his Jayhawk debut. Had the game not been an exhibition, Arthur would have tied Norm Cook’s KU record for most points by a freshman in his debut, which was achieved on Dec. 1, 1973 against Murray State. He also would have tied a freshman record for blocked shots, which Nick Collisoon set against Nebraska on Feb. 23, 2000.
Yep, they really said it…
Darnell Jackson on his legs cramping up in the second half: “Too much pop before the game. No more Sprite.”
Darrell Arthur on his spectacular performance: “I was tired most of the time.”
Bill Self on Darnell Jackson’s double-double: “I would say from a production standpoint it’s his best game.”
Bill Self on his team’s conditioning: “They’re supposed to build that court leveled, but we run downhill on offense and uphill back on defense…We’re not ready to play 40 minutes yet. Right now we’re ready to play about 20.”
