Richard GwinEntering his team’s matchup with Kansas University, Kent State head coach Geno Ford had seen sophomore center Cole Aldrich play about a dozen times.
But what Ford witnessed during Kent State’s 87-60 loss to the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night was not even close to what he remembered seeing.
“He’s really much improved,” Ford said of Aldrich. “He has to be the most improved player in college basketball. A year ago, watching him, he was not very impressive. And now I watch him, and it’s amazing. He’s made a big commitment, and he’s certainly a big-time player.”
Aldrich poured in 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in improving KU to 5-1 overall while handing Kent State its third loss in four nights to even the Golden Flashes’ record at 3-3.
But it wasn’t as much Aldrich’s final stat line that had Ford in awe as it was the way he played. Possession after possession, Aldrich owned the paint, forcing the smaller Kent State lineup to put him on the free-throw line.
“At one point, I thought he was going to foul our whole team out in the first half,” Ford quipped.
Aldrich’s play in the middle — on both ends — allowed his Jayhawk teammates to roam free and wild. That resulted in 14 first-half turnovers for Kent State, a team that came in averaging just 8.5 giveaways per game.
In addition to forcing Kent State into 20 total turnovers, the Kansas defense forced the Golden Flashes to start their offensive sets from 40 feet away from the hoop and completely took leading scorer Al Fisher (21.8 points per game) out of the flow. That made it difficult for the rest of the KSU players to operate.
“It disrupts us a lot,” said junior center Brandon Parks, who collected seven points and one rebound in 13 minutes. “Al Fisher is our offense.”
With Fisher reduced to the role of spectator, the rest of the Golden Flashes struggled and, as a team, shot just 38 percent.
Discouraged by the outcome, but encouraged by the effort, Ford said his team desperately needed to end its losing streak.
“We’ve gotta shake these three (losses) off,” he said. “You try to bounce back, but this isn’t the easiest place to bounce back. I would’ve liked to have seen the College of Short People Under 4-foot-6 at home, is who I would’ve liked to have seen tonight.”
Instead, the Golden Flashes saw Kansas in one of the best arenas in all of college basketball.
“Just getting a chance to come in here and play was awesome,” Parks said. “We’ve been to North Carolina, Duke and Kansas now, so I don’t know really what else is left. But this is definitely the best gym I’ve been to.”
