Lincoln, Neb. ? There were nothing more than congratulations and smiles dealt out between Kansas University senior Sasha Kaun and pal Aleks Maric, Nebraska’s monstrous senior center, following Saturday’s game in the Devaney Center.
But one couldn’t blame Maric if there was a bit of frustration still stewing underneath the friendly facade.
The two, who worked together and bonded plenty at the Amare Stoudemire Skills Academy this summer in Phoenix, were going head-to-head plenty in the Jayhawks’ 78-59 victory over the Huskers to open Big 12 play.
Friendship didn’t keep either from taking it easy on the other, and while Maric finished with the prettier stat line, Kaun took home the bragging rights. Not only did KU win the contest, but the Jayhawk post defense – headlined by Kaun on Saturday – made Maric look constantly uncomfortable, as he also did in both meetings a year ago. To add insult to injury, Maric wound up greeting his parents after the game with a gash on his eyelid, which required five stitches to seal.
“He did get a lot of points late, but Sasha’s a really good post defender – he always has been since he’s been here,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He’s longer and a little bit stronger than what people may give him credit for, and he’s hard to score over, and Aleks is probably the first true low-post player we’ve had to guard all year, and we knew Sasha would be important to us to have success.”
KU’s top big man off the bench didn’t have any inflated defensive numbers (one block, zero defensive rebounds) to show off from the final stat sheet alongside his 10 points, but Self and Kaun’s teammates shelled out plenty of praise after Maric was held to a sterile 19 points in 26 minutes.
Kaun’s words returned the favor.
“Maybe just because we practice with a lot of good bigs, and we’re used to guarding each other, and guarding Maric is like guarding one of us,” Kaun said. “I think it helps us a lot because he has to go against me, Darnell (Jackson), Cole (Aldrich) and (Darrell Arthur), and every player guards a little differently. I think it’s hard on the offensive player because you’ve got to adjust your game in terms of how people guard you.”
The big men weren’t the only ones to receive kind words from Kaun, as he said neutralizing the central nervous system of Nebraska’s offense took more than one man.
“He is big, but everything revolves around him,” Kaun added. “He’s always sealing and doing a great job of getting angles. People are looking for him, and it just makes it really hard.
“I think our guards are doing a very good job of making the other guys catch the ball a little higher so it’s harder for them to throw the ball inside, so he doesn’t get as many touches as he usually does. We’ve got to guard him with not just bigs, but guards as well.”
