It seems that Kansas basketball has been walking a tight rope for some time now. Throughout the early part of the season, Kansas was able to overcome sloppy play and mediocre opponents to a 14-0 start. On Sunday afternoon, all the mistakes, all the carelessness caught up to them in a 'stunning' 76-68 loss to Tennessee.
There is nothing that I want to take away from Tennessee, they were able to overcome their own off the court issues to win. However, Kansas stunk. Tell me why Tyshawn Taylor is on the court. Did the Morris twins skip the junior league practice when the coach was teaching lay-ups? Why so careless with the ball? The things that haunted Kansas against Tennessee are the same things that they have been able to get away with up to this point. Today, however, things were a bit different.
Brady Morningstar in the starting line up please. Morningstar did his time and paid the price. He is the best defensive option that we have on the team, a consistent three point shooter, and perhaps most importantly, he takes care of the ball. Let's get him in the starting lineup and see how that changes the team. See what Taylor can do coming off the bench, see what kind of team player he is. I don't know if I am in the minority in my opinion of Taylor, but he has done nothing in my view to warrant all the playing time. I cannot dwell on that for too long of my skin starts to boil.
Speaking of my skin starting to boil. The Morris twins. I don't get that one either. This is the thrid game in a row that I have watched in which point blank lay-ups were missed. As I said earlier, were they home sick that day that lay-ups were taught. Why would I think anything else? Much like Taylor they do not do enough to warrant all the playing time. Let's see Thomas Robinson in big minutes. Against Tennessee he had roughly 5 minutes of PT. Robinson has proven to be a viable option through the first 14 games. He plays with energy, makes lay-ups, and rebounds like an animal. Those three characteristics are exactly what this team needs most. I want to see the twins excel, show improvement, and they are not doing that right now. They are far too inconsistent at this point. And if this team is to be a true title contender, those two need to play better. They are looked to as important pieces to this Championship puzzle, act like it please.
There is a final thought here that I need to make sure to mention. This team is not built to have one person bear the weight of it all. Against Cornell, Sherron was able to be the man. He put the team on his back and brought them to victory. He was unable to do that against Tennessee. They have to be more consistent with the scoring, constant contributions from everyone is how this team is going to win.
I am not totally discouraged by the loss to Tennessee, but the Jayhawks are a ways off from being the best team in the country. They can get there, live up to the preseason hype, but as of today they have a lot of work to do. We'll see what type of magic Bill Self can make. We'll see if he uses this game as a learning tool and a way to motivate. We'll see what the "#1" team in the country is made of.
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