Some thoughts…from Manhattan
Gary Bedore, Journal-World KU men’s basketball beat writer
“Sherron Collins was magnificent in scoring 20 points, 14 the second half. It was a great effort by both of KU’s freshmen. Arthur also had a great game.
It was nice to see KU win on a day both Julian and Brandon had off days offensively. But don’t discount Wright’s work on Hoskins.
Folks … it is TOUGH to win in Manhattan.
You should be happy in all aspects about this one. Believe me, it was as loud a crowd I’ve ever heard. KU did a nice job in winning again.”
Tom Keegan, Journal-World sports editor
“In less than an eight-minute span, Sherron Collins scored 12 points and turned a tied game into a 10-point Kansas lead.
Remember it as the night it became evident that the two most talented players Bill Self has recruited to Kansas are Collins and classmate Darrell Arthur.”
Ryan Greene, KUSports.com editor
“It’s games like Monday’s which make you believe this team will at least make it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year. That’s because games such as the one played in Bramlage, with the exception of the insane atmosphere, are what you’ll encounter in March Madness.
No one will argue that KU is a more talented, more skilled than K-State. But K-State played hard, and the Jayhawks pushed right back – namely Collins and Arthur, who proved that KU can win when its preseason All-Big 12 studs aren’t completely up to snuff.
And, man, WHAT an atmosphere. That place can get loud when the fans care enough.”
Inside the numbers
19: Obviously, it’s another notch in what has become known as ‘The Streak.’ KU is a perfect 19-0 at Bramlage Coliseum, but it’s getting tougher and tougher every year. Bob Huggins has K-State headed in the right direction, and next year with incoming freshman Michael Beasley (the class’ top-ranked player) and the return of freshman Bill Walker (torn ACL, shot around for an hour after the game, though), the ‘Cats will only get stronger.
0: That’s how many field goal attempts Julian Wright was responsible in the first half. He finished the game with four points on 2-of-5 shooting, while Brandon Rush was an uncharacteristic 0-for-5 from three-point range and scrounged for 11 points. Though winning when neither of them are at their peak is important for KU at this point in the season.
31: That’s how many minutes Sherron Collins logged Monday night, which were nine more than the 22 played by starter Russell Robinson. People calling for Collins to start are way off-base at this point. If he’s playing 30-plus minutes, Bill Self said after the game it’s hard for Collins to complain. He also added that the freshman doesn’t want to mess with the team chemistry to start the game that it already has. Smart kid.
51: It’s almost hard to believe KU shot 51 percent from the field Monday night, but it’s not hard to comprehend K-State’s final percentage being at 32.3. In reality, the ‘Cats were a few shots away in the first 10 minutes of the second half from it being a much closer game than it turned out to be. But KU was also much more active on the glass, outrebounding K-State by 10. In fact, since Bill Self called his big men out for playing ‘soft’ against Colorado on Jan. 27, KU has outrebounded its opponent in all seven games by an average margin of 13.7.
Just in case you missed it…
While Julian Wright was all but absent offensively Monday, he was largely responsible for holding K-State’s second-leading scorer, junior David Hoskins, in check. Hoskins struggled mightily, scoring nine points on just 2-of-15 shooting. He had eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end, but he was unable to get comfortable, good looks on second-chance opportunities.
Hopefully you didn’t miss it…
KU for the most part looked unfazed by what was probably the rowdiest road atmosphere the Jayhawks have ever faced in this rivalry. Wildcat fans were loud from start to finish, and got extra fuel added to their fire with a pep rally roughly two hours before the game, but no KU player ever really lost his cool, and that was part of what helped the Jayhawks persevere in what could have been a trap game of sorts.
They said it…
Bill Self on Sherron Collins staying in his current role off the bench: “I like the way we’re doing it, and it’s probably not as fair to him, but it’s certainly better for our team. I talked to Sherron about it. I said ‘You know, you’re playing well enough to deserve to start.’ And he said ‘I know, but if I did it could screw up chemistry.’ You know, he’s about winning. If he’s getting close to 30 minutes, trust me, he’s not going to complain too much.”
Bill Self on Darrell Arthur’s performance: “Well, he’s been a freshman. He’s had great moments, and he’s had some bad moments and he’s had some average moments. He’s on an uptick now, and he’s just kind of relaxed a little bit and playing and not so sped up offensively, I thought he rebounded the ball like a man tonight.”
Bill Self on three chickens being thrown onto the floor: “My first year here one of them hit me. So I felt pretty good that we were on the other side of the court. People may make a big deal of that, but I don’t at all. That’s a tradition that’s been going on here for many years I guess. I didn’t know there were three. I only saw one.”
Darrell Arthur on his back-to-back one-foul games: “That makes (the game) very easy, two games back-to-back with one foul, I’m trying to keep it that way.”
Russell Robinson on taking a technical foul for Darrell Arthur, which sprung the freshman to back-to-back offensive boards and four straight points: “He was trying to set a screen, and I think it was Cartier (Martin) wasn’t letting him screen and they got into a little pushing match. Nothing too big, but I just stepped in there for my freshman and got a tech, and he definitely made up for it with those.”
Mario Chalmers on Bob Huggins’ ‘guarantee’ triggering KU: “I think it was what coach Huggins said at Late Night, that he guaranteed that the streak would end, so we just wanted to keep the streak going and prove him wrong.”
Brandon Rush on the early-arriving crowd helping pump KU up: “I heard they had like a pep rally for 30 minutes straight, so that kind of set us off a little bit…Yeah, we heard some of it, but we were trying not to pay too much attention to it and stay focused on the game.”
