Little makes it look easy

By Tom Keegan     Feb 8, 2009

Watching the wheels of a basketball player’s mind grind slowly ranks right down there with watching a short-order cook burn your burger.

It’s frustrating to watch a guy on the court so obviously thinking about where he should be heading and what he should be doing once he gets there.

Players who feel the game so well they don’t have to think, those are the guys easy to watch all day long. Guys like Mario Little, Kansas University’s junior forward from Chicago, the 2008 national Junior College Player of the Year. Such a creative, clever scorer, Little has a knack for up-and-under moves to score down low on much taller defenders. His fade-away creates space for mid-range jumpers. His passing and shooting skills and ability to remain under control in hectic situations make him a perfect fit for manning the all-important high post when teams play zone defenses to combat Cole Aldrich.

Little rolled out some new stuff from his scoring arsenal during Saturday’s impressive 78-67 victory against Oklahoma State. His jab-step three-pointer called to mind his idol, Michael Jordan, a name that always brings a huge smile to Little’s face, a smile not unlike Jordan’s.

Asked to name KU’s leading scorer Saturday, Little dialed up the right answer. He said he didn’t know. Whether his nose grew when he claimed ignorance is beside the point.

Little’s 13 points were the most among four Jayhawks in double figures. He also mixed in five boards, three assists and a blocked shot in 26 minutes. He made six of eight field-goal attempts to drive his shooting percentage to .628, one of the most remarkable Kansas stats. Many of those shots were made over, around and fading away from much taller players than the 6-foot-5 Little.

“He’s got a natural feel to slither around in there,” was how KU coach Bill Self expressed it.

Little, who has played 11 games since returning from a leg injury, said the rust in his game is “about gone. I feel comfortable with any shot I take, even if I miss it. … I’m feeling my shot. It’s starting to drop. Pretty much all my shots. I’m feeling more comfortable with my game. Defensively, it’s hard, but I’m trying.”

Little has made Kansas a much better team, and his emergence has taken some heat off of rookies Marcus and Markieff Morris.

Without Little, it’s difficult to imagine Kansas bringing an 8-0 Big 12 record to Columbia, Mo., for the biggest Monday of the season so far. Little has heard all about the Missouri rivalry, the antics of the Antlers student-cheering section, and a little bit of the roots of the hatred between the states and schools.

“I think coach told us in the summertime it went all the way back to the Civil War, about us being a free state and them being a slave state and them coming over here and killing the men and children,” Little said.

He was asked the obligatory rivalry question: Do you hate Missouri?

“We’re supposed to, but I don’t know anything about Mizzou,” he said. “Ask me Tuesday.”

The seeds of hatred germinated as he spoke.

“I heard they throw hot pennies at you and spit at you and all that,” Little said. “I hope I don’t get spit on.”

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