Waving the Wheat - KU solidified at the #1 spot

So it has taken me nearly the entire season to write up a post on my thoughts about KU basketball so far this season.  I blame my job, apparently it gets busy this time of year.  Or perhaps its the fact that I eschew most of my KU tidbits and opinions to my friend via email after the games.  Either way, this post has been a long time coming so without further delay here are my thoughts on the season so far.

I will have to be honest, for most of the season I have been unimpressed with the Jayhawks.  They were blowing teams out early in the seas but that much was to be expected, and there were actually a few games that were closer than they should have bee (see: Michigan, Cal, UCLA).  Although the Hawks have spent most of the season at #1 it wasn't until the Temple game in December that they actually played like the #1 team in the country.  However, that was short lived as they lost to Tennessee less than a month later.

It was after that loss though that this team seemed to wake up a bit.  They have since played well in some tough games against some stiff competition (Cornell, K-State, Texas, Baylor) and I am actually thinking they are starting to put things together and are gearing up to make a run in March.  I do have a little more in depth analysis as follows.



Sherron Collins has to be in the top 3 for player of the year contention.  This man has stepped up beyond what anyone thought he could to this point.  He is the heart and soul of this team and has officially replaced Jacque Vaughn this year as my all time favorite KU player.

Cole Alrich has been somewhat disappointing this season.  He has played as expected on defense and on the boards but offensively he has been underwhelming.  Recently in the season he has started to pick it up and become that go-to force on the inside everyone thought he would be, however, I still expect more from him come March.

Xavier Henry started out the season just like everyone thought he would, better in fact, and he looked as NBA ready as anybody.  Once conference play hit though he slowed down considerably.  He has looked overmatched and as though he will need at least one more year of seasoning before heading to the NBA.  He has started to get back into the flow the last couple of games and is looking more aggressive which is a good sign as we get closer to March.  Everyone thought he was going to be the solid 3rd scoring option on the team (after Sherron and Cole) and he looked like he was going to be just that early on.  However, it seems now he may have to settle for being the fourth option.

Henry might end up being the 4th option cause Marcus Morris has stepped up in conference play to become the legit 3rd option.  His stats in conference play are quite remarkable and if he continues to play this well and Sherron, Cole and Xavier continue to play as they are, this team is going to be SCARY with 4 legit scoring options come tournament time.

The biggest problem I have with the team up to this point is Tyshawn Taylor.  He showed some great flashes last year and had me real excited for his play this year but he has regressed majorly.  He is nothing more than a role player at this point and he has made big mistakes in big moments in big games. This does not bode well.  I feel as though Tyshawn had some success on the U-19 USA team over the summer and it went to his head.  He needs to realize where he's at and get his act together.

I have also been somewhat unimpressed with the defense.  While it has been good, it hasn't been as good as KU's past defenses.  The perimeter defense has been lacking and the help defense has not been there as needed.  Cole has patroled the middle as we all knew he would, but the rest of the help defense has been lacking.  This is not good come tournament time.  Thankfully, it appears to be getting better and Self is the master at making adjustments in game so I do not expect this to be a huge concern.

I feel that some of the close games this year can be blamed on disinterest.  It is never good to have a team disinterested, but it is apparent that they are only interested in March.  That is the case and they are still beating teams handily, which is a good sign.  UNC fell into this same trap last year losing to teams such as Va Tech, Miami (FL), and Florida State, but come tournament time they kicked it up and destroyed everybody.  While I cannot guarantee KU will do the same, I do imagine them kicking it up a notch come March to make them a very formidable Final Four and National Championship contender.

All in all, KU is the definitive #1 team in the country at this point.  They are the most consistent, deepest, most talented team in the country, and the scary part is they are not even playing as good as they could be.  This team appears to be on the upswing and if they continue as such and peak going into March they will be tough to be.