Waco, Texas ? Power forward. That two-word combination seldom seemed accurate for a Kansas University basketball team that for much of this season desperately needed somebody, anybody, to give center Cole Aldrich a helping elbow.
Fatigued forward. Flinching forward. Even finesse forward, but not power forward.
That all changed Monday night inside Baylor University’s strangely not sold-out Ferrell Center, where three men defined the power forward position for Kansas in a mighty impressive 75-65 victory against the talented-but-reeling Bears.
Marcus Morris scored KU’s first eight second-half points, and when Aldrich went to the bench because of his fourth foul with 8:16 left in the game, Markieff Morris and Mario Little cleaned up underneath, doing all the dirty work in Aldrich’s absence.
The three players, close friends off of the court, combined for 34 points and 18 rebounds in 48 minutes.
“They played great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Markieff went after every ball like a man, and Mario made some key plays for us. He’s just got a natural feel. … (Marcus) played great. He got off to a terrible start … but he was able to change it. That’s a sign of guys growing up. I thought he and ‘Kieff and Mario, they were all fabulous in the second half.”
If this team continues to improve and contends for a Big 12 title with a roster so inexperienced such a lofty goal didn’t seem realistic, then Big Monday’s 45-37 second half will be looked back upon as the moment it grew muscles.
Once Aldrich, playing with a somewhat cumbersome plastic mask to protect his broken nose, was whistled for his fourth foul, the Bears knew their opportunity had arrived to close the five-point deficit. Instead, KU went on a 10-5 run that was book-ended by buckets from Markieff Morris and Little. Sherron Collins, who played a phenomenal second half at both ends, took care of the other six points during the stretch.
“Any time you can get a team’s best interior player on the bench with four fouls, you always want to try to attack,” Baylor’s talented senior post player Kevin Rogers said. “Their interior players stepped up and made plays for them.”
Markieff Morris and Little were the ones who attacked. Self accurately predicted Little, who started the season sidelined by a leg injury, would toughen up the Jayhawks. It’s not a stretch to believe that the twins, seeing Little handle so well the expectations of such a demanding coach, followed his lead.
Nobody needed to grow up more than the Morris twins, who never had to work hard to earn playing time before coming to Kansas. They arrived out of shape, worked themselves into far better condition, and then had to learn the lesson that can escape freshmen: When you think you’re playing hard, play a whole lot harder.
It’s not fair to twins to group them together all the time, but Marcus and Markieff certainly don’t make it easy to avoid doing so. They tend to have their good and bad games together.
Marcus in the past two games: 36 minutes, 19 points, 13 rebounds. Markieff in the past two games: 31 minutes, 19 points, 13 rebounds.
