The Kansas Jayhawks officially kick of the season tonight against the UMKC Kangaroos at 7:30 CST. Here's your game preview for the opening round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
Season Opener Defending NCAA Champion Kansas opens up the 2008-09 season by hosting UMKC in the first round of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, Sunday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. KU will then host Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. in the second round of the event. Both games will be televised on ESPNU. Kansas went 5-0 in the exhibition season with three wins in Canada over Labor Day weekend and two victories at home – 98-79 vs. Washburn (11/4) and 103-58 vs. Emporia State (11/11). Kansas is looking to win its 36th straight home opener at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have won their last six consecutive season openers dating back to 2001-02. UMKC opened its 2008-09 season with a 61-56 loss to North Dakota on Friday. Florida Gulf Coast will be opening its season at Allen Fieldhouse. FGCU was 10-21 last season.
About Kansas Kansas is coming off a 103-58 win against Emporia State Tuesday in its final exhibition game of the preseason. Every Jayhawk who suited up scored in the contest as junior guard Sherron Collins led the team with 22 points. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich recorded a double-double in the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar had 13 points, while freshmen Marcus Morris (11 points) and Travis Releford (10 points) also scored in double figures. Morris also pulled down six rebounds for the game. In KU’s two full-team exhibition contests – the Morris twins did not compete in Canada – Collins led the team with a 22.0 scoring average. Morningstar was next with 14 points, while Aldrich scored 12.5 ppg and led KU with a 9.5 rebound average. Freshman forward Quintrell Thomas (7.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and sophomore guard Tyrel Reed (9.5 ppg, 6-11 3FGs) also stood out in exhibition play. KU enters its 111th year of college basketball. Last season, KU won its 51st league title, most in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks return eight letterwinners from last season’s 37-3 team, yet less than 20 percent of almost every statistical category. About UMKC UMKC opened the 2008-09 season with a 61-56 loss to North Dakota on Friday at the Swinney Rec Center. Sophomore guard Reggie Hamilton led UMKC with 22 points, including going 4-for-7 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Spencer Johnson had 15 points and senior guard Dane Brumagin 11 in the game. The Kangaroos return two starters and four letterwinners from last season’s 11-21 team. UMKC went 6-12 in Summit League play and finished eighth. Brumagin is the lone senior and he and Hamilton are the returning starters. Brumagin averaged 17.1 points and 4.8 rebounds last season, while Hamilton scored 11.7 points per contest with 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Sophomore forwards James Humphrey (4.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Spencer Johnson (1.8 ppg) also return for UMKC. All of the seven eligible newcomers for UMKC are either freshmen or sophomores. More basketball notes, roster information, jump into the post...
CBE Classic Notes & Schedule The 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic will feature four regional sites (Lawrence, Syracuse, N.Y., Gainesville, Fla., and Seattle, Wash.) and culminate with the championship rounds Nov. 24 and 25 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. KU will face Washington on Nov. 24 and either Florida or Syracuse on Nov. 25 in Kansas City. The event is formally known as the Guardians Classic and started in 2001. last year, #2 UCLA defeated #10 Stanford 68-63 in the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center. This is Kansas’ first appearance in the event.
Thomas Robinson Inks NLI University of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced Wednesday that Thomas Robinson has signed a national letter of intent to play at KU next season. A native of Washington, D.C., Robinson is a 6-8, 224-pound forward who plays at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. He played his junior season at Riverdale Baptist High School in Upper Marlboro, Md., where he averaged 16 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks per game. A five-star prospect, Rivals.com rates Robinson the No. 18 player nationally and the No. 7 power forward in the class of 2009. Robinson verbally committed to Kansas on October 11 and chose KU over Memphis. His coach at Brewster Academy is Jason Smith. Last summer, Robinson played for Dwight Redd’s Squash All Beef AAU team of Virginia. Self indicated Kansas could announce more signees later.
Unveiling 2008 National Championship Banner on Nov. 18 A fifth national championship banner honoring the 2008 Kansas NCAA title will be unveiled prior to the Florida Gulf Coast contest at approximately 7:45 p.m. (Central), next Tuesday (Nov. 18). The banner will be hung at the north end of Allen Fieldhouse. Fans are encouraged to show up early for this ceremony. General admission tickets are still available for the contest via the KU ticket office at 785.864.3141, 800.34.HAWKS or kuathletics.com. Earlier this year, a 2008 Final Four banner was raised at the south end of Allen Fieldhouse during Late Night in the Phog.
2008-09 Kansas Roster No. Pos. Name Cl.-Exp. Ht. Wt. Hometown (Previous School) 2 G Conner Teahan So.-1L 6-5 215 Leawood, Kan. (Rockhurst HS) 4 G Sherron Collins Jr.-2L 5-11 200 Chicago, Ill. (Crane HS) 10 G Brennan Bechard Sr-2L (TR) 6-0 185 Lawrence, Kan. (Lawrence HS/Barton County CC) 11 F Quintrell Thomas Fr.-HS 6-7 240 Newark, N.J. (Saint Patrick HS) 12 G Brady Morningstar So.-1L(RS) 6-3 180 Lawrence, Kan. (Free State HS/New Hampton Prep) 14 G Tyrel Reed So.-1L 6-3 185 Burlington, Kan. (Burlington HS) 15 G Tyshawn Taylor Fr.-HS 6-3 180 Jersey City, N.J. (St. Anthony HS) 21 C Markieff Morris Fr.-HS 6-9 232 Philadelphia, Pa. (Prep Charter HS/APEX Academy [N.J.]) 22 F Marcus Morris Fr.-HS 6-8 225 Philadelphia, Pa. (Prep Charter HS/APEX Academy [N.J.]) 23 G Mario Little Jr.-TR 6-5 210 Chicago, Ill. (Washington HS/Chipola [Fla.] CC) 24 G Travis Releford Fr.-HS 6-5 200 Kansas City, Mo. (Bishop Miege HS) 32 G Tyrone Appleton Jr.-TR 6-2 203 Gary, Ind. (Harmony Prep/Midland[Texas] College) 40 G Jordan Juenemann Fr.-HS 6-4 195 Hays, Kan. (Hays HS) 41 G Chase Buford So.-1L 6-3 210 San Antonio, Texas (Alamo Heights HS) 45 C Cole Aldrich So.-1L 6-11 245 Bloomington, Minn. (Jefferson HS) 54 C Matt Kleinmann Sr-3L (RS) 6-10 250 Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley West HS) Upcoming November Games 16 UMKC (ESPNU) ............ 7:30 p.m.1 18 FLORIDA GULF COAST (ESPNU) . 8 p.m. 24 Washington (ESPN2) ........... 9 p.m. 25 Florida/Syracuse .............................(ESPNU/ESPN2) .......6:45/9:15 p.m. 28 COPPIN STATE (JTV) .......... 7 p.m.