Before we get back on the court tomorrow night when we host the Cowboys of Oklahoma State, let's take a look at how each player played against the Gamecocks. This is kind of similar to the Keegan Ratings over at www.kusports.com, but mine is less of a ratings system and more just my personal feeling.
First, let's take a look at two more Jayhawk related stories. First off, the Jayhawks moved up to #6 in the AP rankings from #9 last week. The Tar Heels and Ole Roy are now the #1 team in the country, with their only loss coming in the Preseason NIT semifinal round against Gonzaga.
Second, C.J. Giles has officialy began classes today at Oregon State. There were reports saying he was close to signing a pro contract with the Yakama Sun Kings of the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) but he is now enrolled in Oregon State. He is not eligible to play until December 8th, 2007 but will likely be suiting up that day as a Beaver.
Here is the box score for all of you to check out the stats.
Mario Chalmers - Grade: A
This kid is unreal. Super Mario put up another set of great numbers with his 19 points, 5 steals, 3 assists and 2 boards line. He was productive for every single one of his 33 minutes of PT, furthur distancing himself from the field as the best player on this team. He doesn't have the pro future that some other players on our team, but while we are still at the college level he will consistently be the best player at Kansas.
Darrell Arthur - Grade: B+
If Slim Shady could be that productive every single game just imagine how good we could be. The key to Arthur's game is his jumper, if he can make that shot with some consistency he becomes nearly impossible to stop, and he did just that against South Carolina. He shot 8-12 from the floor, many of those baskets coming close to the basket because the defender had to respect his outside shot. He still needs to work on his rebounding, he needs to pull down more than 2 in 27 minutesof playing time, but overall one of the best games Darrell has had, maybe his second best next to the Florida game.
Julian Wright - Grade: B+
This might be a little high for a line of 6 points, 7 boards and 4 assists, but Julian got a half grade up just for that one steal and dunk that was freakin amazing. Wright is becoming more and more a type of role player, perhaps one of the most athletic role players in the history of basketball. Julian's scoring will come, he is an all-around special talent and maybe by him struggling, at least stats wise, NBA teams will sour on him and we will see him next year in Lawrence. Of course, maybe I'm just being too optimistic.
Brandon Rush - Grade: B+
Maybe I'm too hard on Brush, but he did only score 12 points. He is still struggling about how many shots he takes, only taking 9 shots yesterday and making 5 of those. I would much rather have him struggle by taking not enough shots compared to him taking too many, but if he could get at least 10 shots up a game I think the team would benefit, as when he is hot there aren't too many players better in the country. Since Sasha got in foul trouble early and Darrell Arthur is still working on his rebounding skills, he did pick up the slack by grabbing 6 boards, something important for us because of our general lack of big bruisers to do the dirty work. He also played great at the top of the 3-2 zone we played, we should play that more often especially if Brush plays that well on top of it.
Russell Robinson - Grade: C+
I think that RR is still recovering from his bout with the flu because he just wasn't himself on Sunday. RR didn't play nearly as much as he has been used to (30 minutes compared to around 37), partly because of his sloppy play and partly because of his recovery. He still managed to play pretty good defense including a steal and dished out 5 assists which is the reason he got the + on the end of his grade.
Sasha Kaun - Grade: C+
Even though Sasha played pretty well while he was in there with 6 points and 6 boards in 14 minutes, but got in foul trouble early and was a non-factor in the 1st half. For him to really make an impact on this team, an impact we need to be a Final Four contender because of our lack of other big bodies, he needs to play a 20+ minutes minimum and put up something around 10/10. He isn't a focal part of our offense, but it is always nice to have a big boy down in the paint to pick up the trash and the only other guy that does that for us is Darnell Jackson who is only 6'8".
Sherron Collins - Grade: C+
He played real well sometimes and other times he looked pretty bad. He is a freshman, so this unconsistent play is something to be expected. However, he needs to play at least a little more consistent before we start handing him out better grades, his play off the bench is key to this team, especially while RR isn't at full strength.
Tomorrow's Top 10 Showdown is shaping up to be a great game, I would die to go as I haven't been to Allen in what seems like forever (2001, I think). I can't wait for tomorrow night!
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!