Big Dave McCormack earns top spot after monster effort

By Matt Tait     Jan 8, 2020

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Kansas forward David McCormack dunks during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Iowa State, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

**1 – David McCormack -** McCormack’s muscle and tenacious effort on the glass early on set the tone for a big night for the KU big men, who combined to score 28 points an grab 16 rebounds in the easy win.

**2 – Ochai Agbaji -** Made 6 of the 7 shots he took, including 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line and looked a lot more aggressive on the offensive end than he has in recent weeks. Finished with 16 points, 2 assists and 2 steals but also turned it over 4 times.

**3 – Devon Dotson -** The sophomore point guard proved to be nearly impossible for the Cyclones to stop, as he used a blend of power and speed to rumble his way to 20 points and 6 assists in 34 minutes.

**4 – Udoka Azubuike -** His double-digit rebounding streak was snapped, but, in 23 minutes, Dok scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while hitting 4 of 5 free throw attempts and dishing 2 assists.

**5 – Christian Braun -** Hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range, including what KU coach Bill Self called two of the game’s most important shots. Finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 25 minutes.

**6 – Marcus Garrett -** Played just 20 minutes because of the ankle injury but still managed to score 4 points, grab 3 rebounds and dish 3 assists to go along with 2 steals and a block. All of that was merely gravy for the Jayhawks, who played well even with Garrett out of the lineup.

**7 – Silvio De Sousa -** Still got sped up a little bit and lacked polish. But he played hard while he was out there and appeared to be as aggressive on both ends as he has been in weeks.

**8 – Isaiah Moss -** Made just 1 of 5 field goal attempts, including an 0-of-2 clip from 3-point range and finished with 2 points in 17 minutes.

**9 – Tristan Enaruna -** Swiped two steals but gave one of them back with a bad turnover. Still, his 16 minutes with Garrett out of the lineup were important minutes, even if his stat line does not fully show that.

Season Standings
———–

1 – Udoka Azubuike – 103

2 – Devon Dotson – 101

3 – Ochai Agbaji – 89

4 – Marcus Garrett – 86

5 – David McCormack – 72

6 – Isaiah Moss – 58

7 – Christian Braun – 48

8 – Tristan Enaruna – 44

9 – Silvio De Sousa – 38

10 – Jalen Wilson – 2x

x = broke his ankle 20 seconds into the second game of the season and is expected to be out at least three months.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.