Post by MizzouTiger on Mar 4, 2008 2:14:05 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/166/story/513547.html
KU takes command early and whips K-State 88-74
By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star
LAWRENCE | Brandon Rush saw all those NBA scouts sitting courtside, and he noticed the same thing they did.
“Beasley was beastly,” Rush said.
Michael Beasley, Kansas State’s 6-foot-9 man-child, certainly didn’t disappoint anyone who came to see the player tabbed as the most talented in college basketball. He scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and it surprised absolutely no one.
But what Rush did on Saturday night in KU’s 88-74 victory over K-State was much more relevant. Rush, a Kansas City native, scored 21 points in leading another balanced Jayhawks’ effort. His aggressiveness in taking the open shot helped No. 6 KU pull even with Texas, which lost to Texas Tech earlier Saturday, in the Big 12 standings. Rush hit five of nine three-pointers.
“He was terrific offensively,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He looked like a pro jumping up and shooting the ball.”
A pro, huh?
Well, isn’t that what Rush was always supposed to be? Lord knows he’s tried. Twice. As a senior in high school and again after his sophomore year at Kansas. He’d have to wait, of course. A torn ACL sustained preparing for the NBA’s pre-draft camp last summer made sure of that. Rush would have to be patient, much more so than Beasley likely will have to be.
Rush has performed well this season. Coming into Saturday night’s primetime showdown on ESPN, he was leading the Jayhawks in scoring in Big 12 play with 13.7 points per game. Still, it was hard to watch Rush and feel that he was all the way back from the June surgery. He has struggled to play two good halves for most of the season.
The first K-State game, an 84-75 Wildcat win, is an example. He had 12 first-half points and finished with 15. On Saturday night, Rush was the offensive leader in the first half yet again with 13 as the Jayhawks took a 41-29 lead to halftime after leading by as much as 32-11 early.
KU’s guards, fueled by the loud-and-proud home crowd, hounded the Wildcats for 10 steals and 14 turnovers in the first half.
“When we play good, it’s because of intangibles,” Self said, “not because of what we run. We looked like a fresh team. We didn’t look tired.”
It also helped that Beasley and fellow freshman forward Bill Walker spent a large portion of the first half on the bench with foul trouble. Beasley picked up his second foul at the 17-minute, 55-second mark and would play only 12 of the first 20 minutes. Walker, who finished with a quiet nine points, picked up three at the 10-minute mark and played just 19 minutes for the game.
So there the Jayhawks were, playing their most inspired ball of the season heading into halftime. But what would Rush do? He said that he’d heard that he was shut down by K-State’s Dominique Sutton during the second half in Manhattan, Kan.
He didn’t like that.
“I had a point to prove,” Rush said.
He scored eight more points in a second half that turned out to be largely meaningless after KU started on an 11-0 run and built a 52-29 lead.
Beasley kept going at KU, trying to follow through on his bold guarantee that the Wildcats would beat the Jayhawks in Manhattan, Lawrence and Africa. One fan held a sign that said, “Hey Beasley, if you can win here, I’ll pay for your safari.” The safari will have to wait. As Beasley stood at the free-throw line for some futile freebies in the final minute, the KU students chanted “AFRICA! AFRICA!”
“They came out and punched us in the first half,” Beasley said. “They played with a vengeance.”
The Jayhawks, 26-3 overall and 11-3 in the Big 12, took a three-game lead over plummeting K-State, 18-10 and 8-6, and pulled even with the Longhorns.
Individually, Rush needed a game like this. Those pro scouts didn’t learn anything new about Michael Beasley. They learned that Rush is back to his old self. At least, he thinks so.
“No pain, no nothing,” Rush said. “I’m back to 100 percent.”
KU takes command early and whips K-State 88-74
By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star
LAWRENCE | Brandon Rush saw all those NBA scouts sitting courtside, and he noticed the same thing they did.
“Beasley was beastly,” Rush said.
Michael Beasley, Kansas State’s 6-foot-9 man-child, certainly didn’t disappoint anyone who came to see the player tabbed as the most talented in college basketball. He scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and it surprised absolutely no one.
But what Rush did on Saturday night in KU’s 88-74 victory over K-State was much more relevant. Rush, a Kansas City native, scored 21 points in leading another balanced Jayhawks’ effort. His aggressiveness in taking the open shot helped No. 6 KU pull even with Texas, which lost to Texas Tech earlier Saturday, in the Big 12 standings. Rush hit five of nine three-pointers.
“He was terrific offensively,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He looked like a pro jumping up and shooting the ball.”
A pro, huh?
Well, isn’t that what Rush was always supposed to be? Lord knows he’s tried. Twice. As a senior in high school and again after his sophomore year at Kansas. He’d have to wait, of course. A torn ACL sustained preparing for the NBA’s pre-draft camp last summer made sure of that. Rush would have to be patient, much more so than Beasley likely will have to be.
Rush has performed well this season. Coming into Saturday night’s primetime showdown on ESPN, he was leading the Jayhawks in scoring in Big 12 play with 13.7 points per game. Still, it was hard to watch Rush and feel that he was all the way back from the June surgery. He has struggled to play two good halves for most of the season.
The first K-State game, an 84-75 Wildcat win, is an example. He had 12 first-half points and finished with 15. On Saturday night, Rush was the offensive leader in the first half yet again with 13 as the Jayhawks took a 41-29 lead to halftime after leading by as much as 32-11 early.
KU’s guards, fueled by the loud-and-proud home crowd, hounded the Wildcats for 10 steals and 14 turnovers in the first half.
“When we play good, it’s because of intangibles,” Self said, “not because of what we run. We looked like a fresh team. We didn’t look tired.”
It also helped that Beasley and fellow freshman forward Bill Walker spent a large portion of the first half on the bench with foul trouble. Beasley picked up his second foul at the 17-minute, 55-second mark and would play only 12 of the first 20 minutes. Walker, who finished with a quiet nine points, picked up three at the 10-minute mark and played just 19 minutes for the game.
So there the Jayhawks were, playing their most inspired ball of the season heading into halftime. But what would Rush do? He said that he’d heard that he was shut down by K-State’s Dominique Sutton during the second half in Manhattan, Kan.
He didn’t like that.
“I had a point to prove,” Rush said.
He scored eight more points in a second half that turned out to be largely meaningless after KU started on an 11-0 run and built a 52-29 lead.
Beasley kept going at KU, trying to follow through on his bold guarantee that the Wildcats would beat the Jayhawks in Manhattan, Lawrence and Africa. One fan held a sign that said, “Hey Beasley, if you can win here, I’ll pay for your safari.” The safari will have to wait. As Beasley stood at the free-throw line for some futile freebies in the final minute, the KU students chanted “AFRICA! AFRICA!”
“They came out and punched us in the first half,” Beasley said. “They played with a vengeance.”
The Jayhawks, 26-3 overall and 11-3 in the Big 12, took a three-game lead over plummeting K-State, 18-10 and 8-6, and pulled even with the Longhorns.
Individually, Rush needed a game like this. Those pro scouts didn’t learn anything new about Michael Beasley. They learned that Rush is back to his old self. At least, he thinks so.
“No pain, no nothing,” Rush said. “I’m back to 100 percent.”