**9:31 p.m.**: It’s a good thing that the rest of KU’s nonconference schedule is rather light, because the list of those banged up continues to grow. On top of the obvious list of Sherron Collins (stress fracture in foot) and Brandon Rush (still not 100 percent following ACL surger), Tyrel Reed, just back from a sprained ankle, rolled the _other_ ankle on the baseline after crashing to the floor tonight, limped off and didn’t return. Sasha Kaun, Bill Self said, is also knicked up, having apparently rolled his ankle tonight, too.Self said he doesn’t expect Sherron Collins to go Saturday when KU plays DePaul.But as for Rush, Self said he saw three positive signs from the junior guard tonight in a nine-point, 10-rebound effort which featured just a 4-of-11 showing from the field. Self liked the fact that Rush 1) grabbed a rebound in traffic up high when jumping off of two feet, 2) finished a transition dunk by jumping off of one foot and 3) guarded speedy EWU guard Adris DeLeon most of the night and never let him blow by.One other note tonight in Allen Fieldhouse was the abundance of Orange Bowl logos. I’m fully expecting it to be painted on the floor for Saturday’s game. It’s already present on the cheerleaders’ uniforms, the mascot uniforms, somewhere on almost every athletic dept. employee’s shirt and so on and so on.Can’t blame the department, though, for marketing the heck out of it.See you again Saturday…**8:52 p.m.**: The two loudest moments of the night…1) When the Orange Bowl was pubbed early in the game and…2) When Conner Teahan came in to hit his now customary first late-game three-pointer.Be back in a bit with postgame nuggets…**8:37 p.m.**: For those of you who had a chance to read [Tom Keegan’s column today][1], you’re seeing just what Darnell Jackson was talking about on full display. He’s played an absolutely unleashed game, leading KU with 17 points and soaring fearlessly in traffic to snatch rebounds.I’ll stick by what I said this weekend, in that barring an injury, there’s no way Sasha Kaun’s taking back his spot in the starting rotation.**8:23 p.m.**: Here’s some second half fodder for you with the game now out of reach for the overmatched Eagles…After tossing an alley-oop pass in the halfcourt set to Sasha Kaun, Mario Chalmers ran back in front of Bill Self and tugged at his jersey, which is the signal that he needed a breather.Instead, after Tyrel Reed checked in, Chalmers sprinted to the locker room…I would assume because he didn’t want to hold it. Sitting down at court level, I’m glad we didn’t have to witness him [pulling a Bill Walker.][2]He checked back in a minute later after cracking a joke on the sideline with Cole Aldrich.**8:00 p.m.**: Some halftime funtivities (for all you Office fans):-Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson were a combined nine-of-14 from the field. The rest of the team was four-of-15. Bill Self has been clamoring for this type of offense in which the guards freely and confidently dump the ball to the big men. For one reason or another, they finally got the message.Arthur also slipped back on his shoes he wore for the season’s first few games, signed by the rest of his teammates reminding him that he plays for them, he said early in the year. He’s played that way tonight. It’s a good sign.-After recording just six assists comapared to 22 turnovers Sunday, the Jayhawks have dealt out 11 dimes to just six giveaways tonight. Good to see that was just a minor blip.-KU is a solid 9-of-13 from the free throw line.-Mario Chalmers led KU in scoring Sunday with 20 points, but tonight has yet to register a single digit in the column. He bought into Self’s feed-the-post approach, though, as he has five assists and just one turnover. He’s also snatched four steals, flummoxing the EWU backcourt (promised myself I’d use that word tonight). Then again, 17 of those 20 points against the Trojans were after the break. Don’t be surprised to see him light it up a bit in the first 12 minutes or so of the second half before he more than likely takes a breather and the rest of the night off.**7:42 p.m.**: There’s such a dropoff from when KU plays teams like Arizona and Southern Cal to teams such as tonight’s Eastern Washington group. While no one on the Jayhawks’ noncon schedule has the depth to hand sufficiently with KU, those previous two teams at least had a bit of star power. EWU is struggling to come to terms with the fact that KU can consistently rotate fresh legs in the game.This game, though, was needed for KU, given what’s happened so far. The Jayhawks’ guards needed to re-establish confidence in tossing it into the posted up big men. And vice versa.The bigs have scored at will against an overmatched group of Eagles, and KU has gone at full speed all night, treating this game no differently than the one played last Sunday. That’s encouraging.**7:14 p.m.**: Wish granted.KU has taken eight shots in the game’s first 4:51. Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson have taken seven of them, scoring all of the Jayhawks’ first 13 points. And none of those shots have come from outside of five feet. Gotta love the Jayhawks attacking a smaller foe this way.Arthur is playing like a power forward. Too bad 26 NBA scouts aren’t here to see _this_ one. He could be one of the conference’s most prolific scorers, and this is how.**6:45 p.m.**: This game would have been a bit more interesting had [Rodney Stuckey][3] not bolted from Eastern Washington following his junior year.Stuckey, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound rookie guard now for the Detroit Pistons, was selected with the 15th overall pick in [last June’s NBA Draft][4]. The rook has been on the injured list for the Pistons since Oct. 26, thanks to a broken hand, and won’t be back until later this month, at the earliest. Dude was a stud at EWU, and has all the tools, from what it looks like, to be a solid NBA two-guard, especially learning behind Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton.But hearing his name in that last ‘graph has to make you wonder ‘what if?’If that body mold sounds familiar, it should. KU junior guard Brandon Rush, listed at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, and the two play a similar style of game. Rush was someone the Pistons had seen play in person on a few occasions during last season, including a trip by General Manager and Pistons legend Joe Dumars alongside another team scout to Allen Fieldhouse last winter for a game. Had Rush not gotten hurt last summer, one has to wonder if he would have been a Plan A for Detroit in June. Of course, this is all speculation, and I’m simply stretching for some kind of angle before a game in which KU should win pretty handily.Eastern Washington is 4-6, and has lost by an average of 18.3 points in each of those letdowns. They’ve played a couple of decent teams, such as Virginia Tech, Michigan, New Mexico and Washington State. But KU is traditionally a pretty strong team right after ugly showings, which Sunday’s [][5] certainly was.Tonight, I’m looking for one thing and one thing only – for Darrell Arthur to [play like a power forward][6], not a three.Talk to you in a bit. [1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/dec/05/keegan_jackson_having_blast/?sports_columns [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ozV5AESRc [3]: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4293 [4]: http://nbadraft.net/2007.asp [5]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/dec/03/mario_steals_spotlight/?mens_basketball59-55 win at USC [6]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/dec/05/better_bucket/?mens_basketball
