**10:14 p.m.**: Some postgame stuff…**-Sherron Collins led all scorers** with 13 points coming on 6-of-13 shooting. He hit only one of his six three-point attempts, but that’s no big deal because, well, no one ever looks all that sharp in Late Night scrimmages.More important on Collins is that he looks like he did in mid-season as a freshman. He drove to the basket in a smart manner, only recorded one of the game’s 14 turnovers and looked noticeably lighter and bouncier.He put on a display of mid-air acrobatics before the game in layup lines. When asked after the game if he could have done all that a year ago, his answer, with a smile, was simple: “Absolutely not.”He was also a pretty good dancer, to boot.**Jeremy Case led the Red team** with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting, including a pair of threes. Now, of course, nothing concrete in terms of Bill Self’s rotation can come from tonight’s scrimmage, but Case looked at ease on the Fieldhouse floor. That, too, could be because he’s entering his fifth season as a Jayhawk.Case said he’s playing right now with no pressure on him, which could do nothing but help his basketball endeavors. It’ll be interesting to see how having his degree out of the way already helps Case as he tries to work himself into the rotation. He could be this year’s feel-good story, I would predict if solely based on what we saw tonight.**Elswewhere…** Sasha Kaun had a workmanlike nine points and six rebounds for the Red team, though should probably stay away from wearing top hats, which he donned as a backup dancer during Russell Robinson’s ‘New York, New York’ performance. With his fledgling afro, it wasn’t the greatest of looks…Darrell Arthur was third on the red squad with eight points, while Mario Chalmers paced the offense up and down the floor repeatedly, notching five points, five assists and two steasl in 15 minutes on the floor…Conner Teahan, Brady Morningstar and Darnell Jackson each had six points for the Blue team. Jackson also registered six rebounds, three assists and three steals, giving him the most balanced line of any Jayhawk on the night.**A couple of oddities to leave you with…**It might be hard to shake the image of Darrell Arthur boogying to ‘Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough’ in dress pants that made him look a _little bit_ like Michael Jackson actually did in [the original video][1]. But maybe that was intentional?…The tribute videos were nice, including a cameo from Wayne Simien and his brand new baby daughter to wish the Jayhawks the best of luck. Though when they were showing some of the great memories in KU history to Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’, some bitter once were included when Steven Tyler’s voice rang ‘…sing for the tears.’ Included was Mike Lee’s three getting blocked at the end of the KU-Syracuse 2003 National Championship game. Based on the silence in the Fieldhouse for those three seconds, the fans could have done without that one…See you tomorrow for KU-Baylor at 11:30 a.m.**9:57 p.m.**: 44-34, Red wins. Postgame to come shortly.**9:51 p.m.**: 38-25 Red, with about 4:35 left on the running clock. Sasha Kaun has been solid throughout the scrimmage and deserves some mention. He’s shown good control of his feet and has kept the ball close to his body around the basket. It’s resulted in a couple of nice buckets off the glass.Tyrel Reed just hit a layup which gave a good sign from a freshman guard playing in front of this many people for the first time in his life. On a 2-on-2, coming down the right wing, he saw an imposing Darnell Jackson right in front of him and went right up against the senior big man. He floated a shot casually off the glass for two points, as he’s impressed the Fieldhouse fans so far tonight.Sherron Collins’ solid start-to-finish showing continued, as he stroked a three from the left wing. No live stats are being kept, but he’s easily in double digits, as his blue team trails 42-34 with just over a minute to go.**9:44 p.m.**: Jeremy Case has opened some eyes early, hitting a couple of threes and a layin to give himself eight points. On the other end for the Blues, Sherron Collins looks to be in attack mode.If you remember a year ago, there were two attack-mode Sherrons. The first, which lasted for about the first 12-15 games of the season, went into the paint like a runaway sub-six-foot train. It usuallly ended with an offensive foul, an unforeseen swat or a turnover.The second version learned to pick his spots, dish underneath and shoot only when need be. The second one showed up to Late Night, and has looked to be in what last year was midseason form.It’s also worth noting that Teahan just swished another three – something he was noted for in a stellar run at Rockhurst High in Kansas City. Jeremy Case came back with two tough points inside, giving him 10.**9:42 p.m.**: The route is sorta on. The Red squad, containing the likes of Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush (solely as a cheerleader) is looking athletic and smooth. Deep jumpers by Arthur and Tyrel Reed pushed the score to 24-9, before Conner Teahan hit his first three in the Fieldhouse to make it 24-12.**9:39 p.m.**: OK, not done kissing Arthur’s behind yet.This time, he literally took a Russell Robinson layup off the glass after sneaking up from behind. With one hand on the glass on the left side of the rim, the other pinned the ball against the window on the right. Pretty insane.**9:36 p.m.**: It took Darrell Arthur one possession to show off the offensive versaitility he told the media this afternoon he had worked on in the offseason.He hit a baseline jumper from barely inside the three-point arc, and followed it with a tough drive after a steal, though his shot fell off the front of the rim.Mario Chalmers tried to throw him an alley-oop on the other end, but it was swatted away by a lithe Darnell Jackson.**9:32 p.m.**: OK, so the intros and videos are out of the way and it’s time to scrimmage.A couple of notes:**-Both Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur** look like they took their upper bodies to the weight room this summer. They’re noticeably bigger/more defined.**-Tyrel Reed has some springs** in his Adidas. While the layup lines during Late Night always turn into impromptu dunk contests, the freshman from Burlington can get up. He threw himself a couple of two-handed alley-oops off the backboard.**-Sherron Collins and Darnell Jackson stole the show** in the ‘dunk contest,’ not entirely because of creativity or vertical leaps, but moreso because of power at the rim.**8:43 p.m.**: Well, Brandon Rush’s surgically-repaired knee survived its first public test on the Fieldhouse floor – dancing to ‘Boot scootin’ boogie’He and Mario Chalmers were probably the best dancers of the night…until the five seniors excluding Russell Robinson performed a little kick/step jig during Robinson’s rendition of ‘New York, New York’.Some credit should go to senior walk-on Brad Witherspoon, who successfully milked his turn at the microphone while performing ‘Sweet Caroline’ with Sasha Kaun. He might have a future as a lounge singer.I don’t know. Most are just ready for the scrimmage to start now. It’s about 30 minutes away.**8:33 p.m.**: Best job pulling off the suit/stunna shades look – Sherron Collins Most uncomfortable-looking job pulling off the suit/stunna shades look – Cole Aldrich (the height is the killer)**8:29 p.m.**: So the schtick tonight with the team arriving is in formal wear, entering the Fieldhouse by exiting luxury autos and walking the red carpet.First great moment with that? Rodrick Stewart, who was told ‘Lookin’ good tonight’ by ‘red carpet reporter’ Dani Boatwright. His response: ‘Lookin’ good yourself.’ Gotta love it.**8:17 p.m.**: Bill Self came out to address the crowd, sporting a suave-lookin brown jacket with a boxed-pattern (really no idea what it’s called, I’m just a regular dude). He got the crowd pumped by giving the normal shpiel about basketball season, but also by talking a little football trash for tomorrow – something Mark Mangino was careful not to do.**8:06 p.m.**: Sophomore guard Sade Morris won over a few fans, earning a nice ovation after spilling over press row during a scramble for a rebound.A couple more notes from an 18-17 White win:**-Junior point guard Ivana Catic,** who Bonnie Henrickson said the other day at Kansas women’s basketball media day would be leaned on to help fill the point guard void left by the graduation of Shaquina Mosley, looked solid. She hit a couple of threes and got into the paint for a couple of nifty dishes.**-Krysten Boogaard looks to have** some polish in the paint. She looks somewhat comfortable with the ball in her hands and back to the basket. Then again, this is against the same teammates she’s scrimmaged with for weeks.**-Another big ovation came afterwards when** KU recruits Travis Releford, who committed to the Jayhawks following his junior year at Roeland Park (Kan.) Miege, Markief Morris and his twin bro Marcus, two forwards from New Jersey.**7:46 p.m.**: The loudest the crowd has been all night was for Mark Mangino as he sauntered over from the Wagnon student-athlete center, took a break from preparing for tomorrow’s Baylor game to salute the crowd. He was warmly welcomed. Surely, last week’s win at K-State couldn’t have hurt.After that, time for the women’s basketball scrimmage. Two things I’m watching for:1) Danielle McCray did a good job keeping the weight that she busted hard to lose in the spring off this summer. It’ll be interesting to see how she plays even early on in an intrasquad scrimmage.2) How many children will leave the Fieldhouse in fear of Krysten Boogaard’s paint presence (the 6-5 freshman is the younger sister of [Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard][2])?**7:14 p.m.**: [John Riggins][3] = Automatically one of my favorite people.After a proper introduction to the Fieldhouse crowd by Max Falkenstein, the Jayhawk football great and Pro Football Hall of Famer bowed before the crowd, pointing out that if his parents were still alive, this would be one accomplishment they’d take true pride in.For those of you who don’t know, Riggins will be added tomorrow at halftime of the KU-Baylor football game. He gave a humble speech before the crowd, consisting of many who, in Riggins’ words, ‘If you’ve heard of me, or had heard of me, you’re either collecting social security or dead.’It took 15 years after his induction into the Pro Football HOF for his name to be added above the Memorial Stadium stands. But, pardon me a cliche, better late than never.**6:22 p.m.**: We just got the agenda for tonight’s show. Here’s some things that are sure to be highlights:**Mark Mangino recognized**: He’s bound to get a warm reception. Tonight will be another example that it’s no longer just a basketball school.**John Riggins recognized**: A KU legend whose induction tomorrow in the Ring of Honor at Memorial Stadium is [loooooooooooooooooooong overdue][4] (like that dramatic effect, eh?).**Dream On video**: I would assume this mean’s the highlight video from a year ago was done to Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’. If so, job well done to Rock Chalk Video Productions and my boy Douglas Shepperd, showing a speedy recovery from a torn ACL.**Singing Bee**: The team will be performing nine different songs. I’m most intrigued by Sherron Collins’ performance of Soulja Boy’s ‘Crank that’ (I want to see if he knows the [whole dance][5]) and Sasha Kaun and Brad Witherspoon’s surely-romantic duet: ‘Sweet Caroline’Should be a fun night.**4:18 p.m.**: Here’s some notes from the media day that was…**-Darrell Arthur shed some light** on the freshman wall he hit a year ago, following and incredible start to the non-conference season. He pointed out that it was more or less a domino effect down the stretch run of the season, where he was pressing a little too hard to get his offense back on track, and admitted that at times he got into modes where everytime he had the ball in his hands, he was looking to shoot.This summer, he worked a lot with Danny Manning and Darnell Jackson to toughen up in the paint, and as soon as two weeks after the NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA, he was showing a more aggressive side on the court in pickup games.Arthur said that last year was the most he had pressed on a basketball court in his life, and this year he wants to go back to playing like he did in high school – letting things come to him, and when the do come to him, being stronger and smarter than before.**-Brandon Rush, always the most candid quote on the team,** pointed out that it’s going to be hard for him to fully shake the mental block that comes with having had surgery to repair a torn ACL once he gets back into games.”It’s just me getting comfortable and going 100 percent,” he said. “Like, when you go in traffic, I’ll start thinking about it and stuff like that. Because people can land on you, you can land on someone’s foot and hurt it again. That’s going to be my biggest problem this year. Just thinking about it, I’ve got to start getting my mind off of it.”Rush said he still expects to be back for the Dec. 2 game at Southern Cal.**-Tyrel Reed today resembled the type of kid** any old school KU fan from the state of Kansas could appreciate. It could be sensed in his words today that tonight is something he’s waited his entire life for. As long as he’s not too nervous once the actual game starts, fan should be pleased when they see the athleticism he can bring to the floor. But, again, don’t take too much from the scrimmage, as it’s mostly a 20-minute run-and-gun-and-see-who-can-throw-down-the-most-vicious-dunk-while-not-getting-hurt show.**-The backcourt trio of Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins and Russell Robinson** were playing their cards close to the vest in terms of being labeled as the nation’s top backcourt by national analysts as of late. Then again, anyone who watched KU during Big 12 play a year ago, especially, saw how good the trio can be once they’re all clicking at the same time.**-The new fashion trend this year** seems to be the tattoo on the front of the shoulder/upper chest/next to the collarbone area. Darnell Jackson, Collins and Arthur were each sporting fresh ink in the same locale.**-Speaking of Jackson,** he seems to have hit the healthier stuff this summer more than ever, looking visibly slimmed down. Tom Keegan [wrote about this][6] in early September. Jackson played like a beast during the stretch run of the season, and showed springs that he hadn’t before displayed fully. With the lighter load and the fact that it _is_ his senior season, he should be fun to watch from start to finish this year.**This will be the last I’ll say on the new uniforms.** They’re not bad looking at all. There, that’s about all that needs to be said because, again, they’re just uniforms. They’ve got names, numbers, the school name and mascot on ’em. Design and font, well, I’m sure the players could care less.I’ll be back with more during Late Night.**4:00 p.m.**: [Here are the new KU uniforms][7], modeled by freshman Chase Buford.Not so bad.I’ll be back soon with some more media day nuggets.**1:09 p.m.**: Hey everyone. In case you forgot, basketball season is upon us.Sort of.With Lawrence now being a football town at the moment, Late Night has almost been lost in the shuffle. KU’s first exhibition game isn’t until Nov. 1, but things officially kick off (sorry, got to get out of football mode) today, with Media Day at 2:30 p.m.I’ll be with you around 3:30 with photos of the new uniforms, some things heard from media day and whatever else there is to report.Also, I’ll come to you tonight with updates from Late Night. Should be a fun day. See you all again in a couple hours.**_KUSports.com editor Ryan Greene can be reached at rgreene@ljworld.com, or by phone at (785) 832-6357._** [1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq0PFb34Cjk [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfl75-WaV6A [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Riggins [4]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/jul/31/woodling_pless_worthy_honor/ [5]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vum3qgoh0x4 [6]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/sep/03/darnell_lightens/ [7]:
