Anticipation! by Maple Street Press

Anticipation! Ten things to look forward to this Kansas basketball season by Jacob E. Osterhout

ight now, we’re all feeling the same way. Slightly tense, anxious for the season to get going, already. The long college basketball offseason is full of recruiting wins and losses, progress reports about veteran players, and—probably most prevalent of all—a metric ton of speculation. The Jayhawks always have the talent in place to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, every season. Knowing that is one of the perks of being a Kansas basketball fan. In a way, the guesswork is a big part of the fun of being a diehard fanatic. Will Markieff Morris make the leap to star status like his brother did last year? Is Mario Little going to put together one healthy season as a senior? How will the loyal seniors contribute to a young and talented team? Trying to parse the lineup is tougher, and therefore more interesting, in a year without obvious talents like Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins. The features that follow are meant to give Jayhawk fans solid insider information on what to expect from the men who wear the Crimson and Blue this season, via conversations with coaches and players about their past, present, and future contributions to the team. We’ll begin with ten predictions for the upcoming season. Not Kreskin-like guesswork; something more akin to a highlight reel in advance. We feel confident in the knowledge that the following ten things will happen; the delicious part is finding out how and when each event will occur: that sweet anticipation of a great season to come. —Eric Angevine

KU Features and Analysis

Ten Points of Anticipation Despite the Kansas basketball program’s past success on the hard court, it’s not easy being a Jayhawk basketball fan. Year in and year out, you root like hell for four months straight and then, with one bad game in March, you are forced to wait eight months for redemption and another shot at an NCAA national championship. What are Kansas fans supposed to do for the three-quarters of the year when there’s no college basketball? Sit around and think about Jayhawk hoops? You bet. Here’s ten things to look forward to this upcoming season.

1. The first time Josh Selby tosses an alley-oop

Thomas Robinson’s ripped frame may remind some of former Jayhawk Wayne Simen. He’s no doubt got the skills to penetrate the lane and put the biscuit in the basket. He’s a great finisher. Coach Self labeled the freshman “a point guard that can score.” But what will be really great for the future of Kansas basketball is when Selby finally feels comfortable running the offense. A point guard that can score is great, but the really great point guards get their teammates involved. The first alley-oop that Selby tosses up to a teammate— Marcus Morris, perhaps?—will be a thing of beauty. It’ll be a sign of his arrival as a college point guard, one who has the court vision and touch to not only score in droves but to loft perfectly timed passes to high-flying teammates.

2. The continuation of Kansas’s home-court winning streak The best part about buying a ticket to see Kansas play at Allen Fieldhouse is that you are pretty much guaranteed to see the team win. The Jayhawks haven’t lost on their home court in the last 59 games, the longest home winning streak in the nation. And this isn’t a recent phenomenon. Kansas has a .860 winning percentage at home since the opening of Allen Fieldhouse in 1955 and has posted a 238–12 record at home since February 20, 1994. Both UCLA and USC come to town early in the season before conference play kicks off, but with the home crowd’s support the Jayhawks should handle both teams and possibly surpass the school’s longest home win streak ever: 62 games between 1994–98.

3. The maturation of Tyshawn Taylor When Tyshawn Taylor makes defenders respect his jump shot, the sky will be the limit. 82 | Jayhawk Tip-Off 2010–2011

Like an orchid, Tyshawn Taylor takes a long time to blossom. Once his game blooms, and it will, there will be no denying

Photo on previous page: Jamie Squire/Getty Images Photo at bottom: Tim Umphrey/Getty Images Photo at top: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Last April, when Josh Selby picked Kansas over Kentucky, Jayhawk basketball fans let out a collective sigh of relief. Finally, they had a savior, a 6'3", lightning-quick point guard with ridiculous handle who could replace Sherron Collins as the Jayhawks’ floor general. But lost in all the hype is the fact that Selby remains an unproven high school phenom.

Anticipation! its beauty. Last season, he was a role player, supporting the likes of Xavier Henry, Cole Aldrich, and Sherron Collins. That didn’t work out so well. While his defense remained stingy, he struggled on the offense end. In his junior season in Lawrence, Taylor has a chance to shine. With a freshman point guard, it’s his team to lead, should he want to. And maybe, just maybe, Taylor is more tailor-made for stardom than role playing. Keep an eye on his shooting percentage and on-court demeanor as an indication of his game’s progress. Taylor’s development hinges upon his midrange jump shot, which has been shaky, to say the least. If he can’t shoot off the dribble, defenders will lay off and cut off his drives. But all reports say Taylor has worked hard this offseason to improve his shot. And he has certainly worked hard to stay out of the spotlight after last year’s off-season debacle, during which he dislocated his thumb fighting football players.

4. Brady Morningstar’s free-throw shooting

Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Many believe Morningstar shot the single ugliest free throw in the history of college basketball during a victory over Texas last

season. The ball slipped out of his hand and would have landed a foot in front of him had he not reached out and caught his own shot. And that’s never good, to catch your own free throw. But Morningstar will be clutch this season, as nothing motivates a basketball player like a missed opportunity sprinkled with a heavy dose of national embarrassment. Morningstar has never been a high-flying, highlight-reel kind of player, but he’s a consistent shooter, and you can bet he worked on those free throws over the summer.

5. Jeff Withey facing off against Arizona When he graduated from high school, the seven-foot Withey was one of the top-50 prospects in his recruiting class. As teenagers often do, he made a poor choice, enrolling in Lute Olson’s program at Arizona. When Olson abruptly retired and Withey decided he didn’t want to play for an interim coach, the college freshman had to fight tooth and nail for his release from Arizona. When he was finally granted that release, Withey transferred to Kansas, but has yet to face his first choice on the hardwood. He’ll get the chance on November 17, when the Jayhawks face off against Arizona, now coached by Sean Miller, in the

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KU Features and Analysis Las Vegas Invitational. Withey has massive potential but has yet to receive an opportunity to turn that potential into results. With the loss of Cole Aldrich, he should see more playing time. When Withey takes the floor against the team that didn’t have the common decency to put his future above the school’s academic progress rate, he’ll have a perfect statement game on his hands.

6. Thomas Robinson’s shoulder width Robinson was never a small boy. Listed at 6'9", 240 pounds on the Kansas roster, Robinson really looks much bigger. And, word has it that he bulked up considerably this offseason. With his extra width, the power forward should be able to dominate the boards in college like he did in high school. He’s certainly got the size to bang down low with the best of them and, with the guidance of Danny Manning, could become the next big-time Kansas post player.

How Bill Self uses all of the talent at his disposal is an intricate dance worth watching. during big games. It was also nice to see his sister behind the bench as the team manager. Family, got to love ’em.

9. Little gets big

Bill Self knows a talented basketball player when he sees one. So when the Kansas coach declares Marcus Morris a legitimate candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year this season, you know big things are in store for the 6'10" forward. “Marcus Morris isn’t just one of the best players in the league, he’s one of the best players in the country,” Self said last year. Morris has only improved this offseason. He spent much of the summer playing with some of the best talent in the country on the US Collegiate Select Squad, which scrimmaged the US National Team, and has increased the range on his jump shot. With a long-range jumper that gives him the ability to finish facing the basket or posting up, Morris certainly is Kansas’s most potent offensive force entering the season.

8. Tyrel Reed effortlessly dominating Missouri Sometimes it feels like Tyrel Reed just can’t miss. Mr. Kansas Basketball shot almost 47% from downtown last season. But he saves his best for Kansas’s biggest rival, draining 60% of his shots from behind the arc against the Tigers over the years. Plus, Reed always looks so cool, calm, and collected, even in the face of intense defensive pressure. It’s nice when the best pure shooter on the team can consistently rise to the occasion

84 | Jayhawk Tip-Off 2010–2011

Before coming to Kansas, Mario Little was the top-ranked junior college player in the country, but he’s been hampered by injuries and inconsistent playing time in his first two seasons at Kansas. This season, he’ll see more playing time, especially as a small forward, his more natural position, and his game will flourish. The one thing Little does not lack is heart. After Kansas’s loss to Northern Iowa last March, Little, who sat out the season as a redshirt, crumbled to the court at the end of the bench and cried. With that kind of passion and a deft scoring touch, big things are in store for Little.

10. Bell Self’s substitution scheme Coach Self consistently has a problem most college basketball coaches would die for: too much talent on his team. It’ll be interesting to see how Self balances playing time this season. Will he roll with a 12-man rotation? Or will he stick with the players who have already proven themselves? When the game’s on the line, which guards will be on the court? Top recruits expect to play, but Self maintains a wealth of experienced players who have been waiting for their time to shine. Fortunately, this is a coach who faces this problem every season. Somehow, Self will massage the egos and do what’s best for the team. Is it tipoff time yet? The anticipation is killing me. MSP Jacob E. Osterhout is a newspaper reporter in New York City. His sports writing has appeared on SportsIllustrated.com and CBS College Sports. He played college basketball for two weeks before being cut for mouthing off to the ref.

Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

7. Marcus Morris vying for Big 12 Player of the Year