CMSU next for KU

A 4 a.m. wake-up call Saturday was not Roy Williamsâ way of punishing his Kansas University basketball players for back-to-back, double-digit losses in New York.

The No 2-ranked Jayhawks, who fell to North Carolina, 67-56, on Wednesday and Florida, 83-73, on Friday, had to rise before the sun to catch an early flight home.

Home is where the Jayhawks, who suffered consecutive double-digit setbacks for the first time since the 1982-83 season, will attempt to work out some kinks in time for WednesdayâÂÂs 7 p.m. home battle against Central Missouri State, followed by stern road tests Saturday at Oregon and Dec. 11 at Tulsa.

âÂÂWeâÂÂve got to go to work to figure out what we can do and do well,â KU senior forward Nick Collison said after scoring 35 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in the two losses.

âÂÂLast year it all came pretty easy – pass, pass, shoot, fastbreak. This year itâÂÂs taking a while. Right now weâÂÂre trying to play with what weâÂÂve got and execute. WeâÂÂre not executing at all.âÂÂ

Lack of execution spilled all over the stat sheets.

Offensively, the Jayhawks hit 37.5 percent of their shots against Florida and 40.7 percent versus North Carolina while combining to make five of 25 threes.

Collison, KUâÂÂs All-America candidate at power forward, went 0-for-2 from the field the first half against Florida.

âÂÂThey were playing zone. When I was getting the ball I didnâÂÂt make quick decisions with the double (team),â Collison said. âÂÂAs a team we werenâÂÂt moving it. I need to move the ball and be patient that itâÂÂll come back to me.âÂÂ

He disagreed with a theory that KU had a tough time scoring simply because of the loss of three-point threat Jeff Boschee. It shouldnâÂÂt be forgotten that Kirk HinrichâÂÂs shooting form was noticeably off – he made 2 of 11 threes in two games – because of back pain.

âÂÂThe team can attack a zone in different ways,â Collison said. âÂÂIf we donâÂÂt have shooters, we can at least move the ball. We werenâÂÂt patient. WeâÂÂve got to find a way to play without Jeff. HeâÂÂs not here anymore.

âÂÂDrew Gooden is not here anymore. Right now weâÂÂre just trying to come together. Everybody else is, too. North Carolina is. Florida is, and they still beat us. WeâÂÂve got to find a way to play. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of time to do a lot of work.âÂÂ

Defensively, the Jayhawks were burned by the three-pointer versus Florida – the Gators cashed 14 of 31 treys while hitting 45.5 percent of their shots overall.

North Carolina, which like Florida spread the floor, hit four of 18 threes, but had great success in taking it to the hole for some monster, backdoor jams. As far as the three-pointers, guards would penetrate then dish to open shooters on the perimeter.

âÂÂThey really did a good job of getting inside,â sophomore guard Keith Langford said of the Gator guards. âÂÂItâÂÂs something weâÂÂre going to have to pick up with our effort in practice. Guys weâÂÂre going against are penetrating a lot more. We have to obviously get better at it.âÂÂ

WhatâÂÂs more, KU received no punch from its bench in New York. The reserves scored four points against Carolina and eight versus Florida. North Carolina didnâÂÂt show much bench production either, defeating KU despite just seven points off the pine.

And KU had free-throw woes, making 10 of 16 versus the Gators after hitting 22 of 36 against Carolina.

On the positive side, the Jayhawks rebounded well, outboarding Florida 50-39, and North Carolina, 41-28.

And after showing little life versus the Tar Heels, the Jayhawks exhibited grit in slicing a 19-point deficit to two against the Gators before again getting buried by a barrage of threes.

âÂÂThey are a good basketball team,â KU coach Roy Williams said of the Gators. âÂÂI think we are, too. We just need to bounce back from what we have done just the last four days.âÂÂ

The Jayhawks, who lost their opener to Ball State last year and still made the Final Four, feel they have to make strides at practice.

âÂÂWe just need to learn how to play with each other, bounce back with good practices,â said Hinrich, who will undergo tests on his back in coming days with results forthcoming on Monday. His back sprain is not believed to be serious.

Practices must improve for the Jayhawks to rival last yearâÂÂs performance, Collison said.

âÂÂI think itâÂÂs been definitely more of a struggle this year in practice, more than say last year,â Collison said. âÂÂLast year we were a more veteran group and just never really had a problem. It was just constantly positive play every single day and this year we have not had that.

âÂÂSome days are good and some are not so good. So itâÂÂs definitely a lot different team than last year. ItâÂÂs not as easy as last year, but we do have winners on this team. I think we will bounce back.âÂÂ