Nick KrugMy late, great friend Elden Auker, who earned All Big Eight honors in football, basketball and baseball for Kansas State more than 80 years ago and went on to pitch in the major leagues for 10 seasons, didn’t much care for visits to the mound from the manager.
Auker wished player-manager Joe Cronin had stayed at shortstop and left the pitching to him.
Auker was fond of recounting Cronin’s sermons on the mound, saying, “Don’t give him anything good to hit, but for God’s sakes, don’t walk him!”
The task Kansas senior center Landen Lucas needs to execute in Friday night’s season opener in Honolulu against Indiana’s powerful center, Thomas Bryant, is a little like what Cronin asked of his pitchers: Play him physically, but whatever you do, don’t get into foul trouble.
“We’ve always been blessed to be a program that can run four bigs out there and foul trouble wasn’t going to be an issue,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “That isn’t going to be the case this year.”
Junior Dwight Coleby, an Ole Miss transfer on his way back from ACL surgery, sophomore Carlton Bragg and freshmen Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot, join Lucas in the frontcourt.
So strong and experienced, Lucas is well equipped to take on the challenge of guarding Bryant, a potential All-American. Beyond Lucas, defending Bryant becomes a little murky.
Which post player does Self trust most to defend a quality post man in the event Lucas is sent to the bench by foul trouble.
“Probably Udoka because he could play behind and hopefully wall up,” Self said. “Carlton’s got to get where he can do that. … Mitch isn’t quite ready yet, and Dwight’s not healthy yet, not explosive, so we’re going to have to throw Doak to the fire. We’re going to have to play four guards, too.”
After reviewing his options behind Lucas in terms of defending the post, Self emphasized one of the many responsibilities the fifth-year senior from Portland will carry into games as those around him grow up.
“Landen needs to stay out of foul trouble so he can play his 25 to 27, 28 minutes a game,” Self said. “He doesn’t have to play 32, but if you watched our team last year, when we got good, Landen was playing 25 to 30 a game down the stretch. So he’s got to be able to do that for us.”
Bryant, a native of Rochester, N.Y., steadily improved during his freshman season and refined the art of drawing fouls. In three NCAA tournament games, he made 15 of 20 free throws. So Hack-A-Hoosier isn’t a viable option.
