Jayhawks trying to rebuild after championship
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| Cole Aldrich helped the Jayhawks topple Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels in the NCAA semifinals. (Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images) |
"I've seen bits and pieces, but I haven't watched it yet," Aldrich said. "Probably 10 years from now I will watch it."
Most guys would have it on their laptop and play the performance in which he scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and swatted four shots in just 17 minutes over and over in slow motion. However, Aldrich doesn't need to see it again and again to believe what he did against Psycho T.
He'd rather move into the business at hand and the new-look Jayhawks.
"We know we're going to be good, but it might take awhile for us to get there," Aldrich said.
Kansas' situation is similar to that of the previous national champs, Florida, two years ago when just about everyone of note left for the NBA. Aldrich and Sherron Collins — two top reserves on the Jayhawks last season — are basically the lone holdovers from last year's team that pulled off the miraculous win against Memphis in the national championship game.
Seven of the team's top nine scorers are gone, which means that Aldrich and Collins will be the de facto leaders this season.
It wasn't a surprise that Kansas coach Bill Self had an inordinate number of concerns and questions after the 10 practices he put his team through leading up to last weekend's Labor Day trip to Canada. That makes sense considering he has seven brand-new faces and many of the others only saw action in blowouts a year ago.
"I didn't know how we were going to score any points," Self said. "I thought I'd be able to get them to guard, but I thought scoring would be an issue."
Scoring wasn't a problem at all. In fact, the box scores resembled the well-balanced team that won it all in a sense that there isn't one clear-cut go-to player.
Freshman Tyshawn Taylor led the Jayhawks one game, fellow frosh Travis Releford was the leading scorer in another and junior-college transfer Mario Little scored 20 in the finale of the three-game trip north of the border.
Self said he was impressed with many of the newcomers — especially Taylor.
"We knew he was a good player coming out of St. Anthony's and having played for Coach (Bob) Hurley, but he averaged 10 points per game in high school," Self said. "We didn't know he could put points on the board like we feel he's capable of doing."
Self said Taylor — who was granted his release following the coaching change at Marquette — might be the quickest guard with the ball of anyone he's coached since he arrived in Lawrence.
Kansas also received good news Friday when the NCAA declared that the Morris twins — freshman forwards Marcus and Markieff — will be eligible to play this season.
With all the talented newcomers, don't be surprised if Kansas lands in the NCAA Tournament this season despite the mass exodus. While Self doesn't have a ton of experience returning, he still has two key players back — which is two more than Billy Donovan had in Gainesville.
"I didn't play a lot of minutes, but I played some big minutes in big games," Aldrich said.
But the key may be Collins, who hasn't exactly shown Self that he's ready to pick up the leadership duties quite yet. Collins was on the mend after offseason knee surgery, and he came into workouts and practices in poor condition.
"I put a lot on him because he knows what to expect," Self said. "But I do think that, under the circumstances, it wasn't his fault. He could have done a better job to help the young guys in practice. But since school started, his attitude has been terrific."
A year ago, Self didn't necessarily need Collins and Aldrich. However, if the Jayhawks are to make a run at the Big 12 title and a spot in the Big Dance, both of them will need to be consistent.
"We know it's not going to be easy," Aldrich said. "When we play someone, they're going to circle it on the calendar and that'll put a little pressure on our team."
If Aldrich's confidence ever takes a hit, though, all he has to do is slide in that DVD.
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