Well that was an interesting game. Part of me thinks that when evaluating our season we should almost just throw that game out. I don't particularly enjoy Cal's style of basketball, and there's no room in the game for the crap Jorge Gutierrez did (not that our players were without fault), but I can't really blame them for trying to muck up the game a bit.
I think a pattern is starting to develop when looking at the 2010-11 Jayhawks. This team had leads of 11 and 6 points within 2 minutes of eachother. Then they took a 47-30 lead with about 18 minutes left and by the 12:48 mark it was down to a three point lead. This team is definitely a roller coaster ride. Still, the team responded to the adversity of having their best player kicked out of the game, in their first true road game of the year. (I wouldn't exactly call Cal a hostile environment though. I thought Berkeley kids were supposed to be smart? What was up with the unoriginal insults?) And it seems like Bill Self is adapting a bit. I will never say that he is a bad game coach, but I (and I think a lot of other people) were disappointed that he didn't extend the bench a bit last year. Last night everyone who got in (9 guys) except for Elijah played at least one-fifth of the game (and EJ was close). I know part of it was foul trouble and the Marcus thing, but I think (hope) Coach Self realizes he has a big group of guys that he can trust, just maybe not all in the same game.
Player bullets after the jump:
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I'm going to throw everyone off the scent and start with Tyrel Reed. 18 points for the Senior, and accomplished with a very good 68% eFG. Reed was 3-8 on threes which, when looking at it, seems like not a great number, but it's 38% and, beyond that, if he makes just one more he's at 50%, and so on. I have no problem with Reed taking 8 threes in a game, and in fact I demand he takes roughly that many per game. And let's not discount his rebounds. 7 boards for the guard, and he got them in every which way; ranging from balls dropping to the floor after all the bigs had cleared out the lane, to 50/50 balls where he basically went over a guy. Big game for Reed.
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I think Josh Selby's time as a bench player is over. He struggled a bit from 2, going just 3-9, but was 3-4 on threes and made all 3 of his free throws. He also had 4 assists and 2 steals, and on a couple of occasions broke down the defense like there was no one else on the floor. 21 and 18 points in his first two games is a pretty nice debut.
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With Marcus out, Markieff picked up the slack, and kinda made me wonder if they didn't just switch uniforms. He had 21 points with Marcus like efficiency, a 60.7% eFG on 14 shots.
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Another strong game for Thomas Robinson. Only 7 points but in just 19 minutes, and on 60% shooting. He also missed a bunny which would have made his numbers even more impressive (though he has missed a few this year, so I am starting to get a bit concerned.) He also had 10 boards, which is an impressive full game, not to mention a half.
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A second poor game in a row for Tyshawn, who shot just 1-6 from 2 and 0-2 from 3. I have no problem with him shooting, bit he obviously needs to make some shots. He also backed up his 5 assists with 5 turnovers. He played good defense per usual, but it would be nice to see him get out of this mini-slump he is in.