Posted on Tue, Nov. 10, 2009 09:22 PM
Kansas demolishes Pittsburg State 103-45 in exhibition game
By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star
RICH SUGG | The Kansas City Star
KU's Sherron Collins stole the ball from Clarence
Masters of Pittsburg State in the opening half of
Tuesday night's game at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
LAWRENCE | A behind-the-back pass from Tyshawn Taylor to Marcus Morris in the lane and what happened next said everything about the importance of Kansas’ 103-45 demolition of Pittsburg State in evaluating the No. 1 team in the country.
There was Morris, barreling toward the basket, the 6-foot-8 swingman from Philadelphia who had no doubt he would play big-time college basketball by the time he got to high school. And there in front of him was 6-foot-1 Andy Smith from Dewey, Okla., who was a four-year all-conference performer for the Dewey High Bulldoggers and led them to a pair of district, region and area titles.
Smith had put in his time to place himself in this hallowed lane, underneath the Final Four banners and giant video scoreboard. A junior, he redshirted his first year and then missed the next year with a knee injury. Last season, he finally got on the floor and helped the Gorillas to a win at Truman State with 13 points.
When Morris got the ball in that lane, nobody in Allen Fieldhouse knew what he would do. Last season, as a freshman, he may have pulled up for a jumper. He may have been tentative and drawn a charge. He may have missed a dunk attempt. One of the Jayhawks’ more open personalities, Morris would probably admit that those were all options for him a year ago.
On Tuesday night, in KU’s last tune-up before the season-opener Friday against Hofstra, Morris got that ball and decided he had better ram it down the throat of the South hoop. Morris rose, brought the ball back with his right hand, bulldozed a helpless Smith to the ground and flushed the ball in with authority. No charge was called, and in fact, the helpless Smith was called for a foul.
As Morris walked to the free-throw line, the 16,300 fans in attendance gave Morris a loud standing ovation – a special moment that truly wasn’t conceivable a year ago, when Marcus and his twin brother, Markieff, were a favorite target of the KU critics. Of course, this was Division II Pitt State, and this was Andy Smith as the last line of defense. Will Morris make the same type of play against Texas’ Damion James or Oklahoma’s Willie Warren? That remains to be seen.
Morris was one of a collection of Jayhawks that allowed stars Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich to relax for a night and pick up their points, 13 and 10, respectively, as they came. Morris had 14 points to go with eight rebounds, and Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor and Markieff Morris contributed 17, 12 and 12 points, respectively.
But the most newsworthy event happened on the KU bench, where senior swingman Mario Little and sophomore guard Travis Releford sat in street clothes. By sitting, Little and Releford kept alive their option to redshirt this season, which is looking more likely after junior walk-on Conner Teahan played on Tuesday. Teahan, who plays the same position as Little and Releford, was also considering a redshirt year but will now be forced to play this season.
Posted on Tue, Nov. 10, 2009 09:22 PM