Jayhawks survive scare, answer challenge in opener
Bill Self had a simple — yet impassioned — message for his No. 1-ranked Kansas University basketball team at the final full timeout on Friday night as his Jayhawks trailed unheralded, upset-minded Vermont by a basket.
“I said, ‘Let’s see how tough all of us are,”’ Self told his troops with 3:55 left with cold-shooting KU down, 58-56. “‘We’re going to be behind again this year. We’re going to be behind at home again this year.”’
Behind but not buried on a night KU hit a chilly 38.2 percent of its shots, the Jayhawks stormed out of the final huddle to go on a 12-3 run and finally put away the pesky Catamounts, 68-61, on Opening Night.
“Coach told us at that last timeout to really bring it,” forward Christian Moody said. “It was too close for comfort, but we were tough enough to win it at the end.”
Moody was as big as anybody down the stretch when several Jayhawks finally helped out senior Wayne Simien, who was strong throughout with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Moody, a walk-on who started his first regular-season college game, hit two free throws with 2:49 left to bust a 59-all tie.
“I was real excited starting tonight. I just knew I was going to get put on the line for some free throws,” Moody said. “I had to focus. Fortunately they went down, because the second one, I was nervous.”
Following a miss by Vermont guard T.J. Sorrentine — he and standout forward Taylor Coppenrath had 13 and 23 points off combined 13-of-40 shooting — KU’s Aaron Miles drilled a 12-foot leaner at 1:54, giving KU a 63-59 lead.
Miles’ bucket was big, especially considering he had missed his first eight shots.
Kansas University's Keith Langford (5) and Michael Lee (25) converge on Vermont's T.J. Sorrentine as Darnell Jackson backs up the play in the Jayhawks' 68-61 victory. The Catamounts hit just 33.8 percent of their shots but still threw a scare into the Jayhawks on Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.
“We were tough, man,” KU senior Keith Langford said. “Aaron sums up the type of players we have. I feed him the ball three or four times, and he misses every time. The last timeout, he told me, ‘Don’t lose faith in me.’ I was going to him no matter what the last four minutes.”
Self was glad to see Miles fire up the jumper on a night he and fellow Portland native Michael Lee went 2-of-14 from the field.
“Regardless of what anybody says, you should never look at his shooting percentage,” Self said. “You should look at when he makes shots. Aaron has a history of making shots. He and J.R. (Giddens) to me had the two biggest shots of the game. Aaron is a clutch guy.”
Giddens’ bucket was a three right out of the 3:55 timeout that erased the 58-56 deficit
Miles grabbed a rebound on Vermont’s next possession, feeding to Langford who was fouled and hit one of two free throws at 1:12. With that, KU upped its lead to 64-59.
Next, after a Vermont miss, Moody grabbed a rebound at :56.
Kansas University's Wayne Simien, left, contests the shot of Vermont's Taylor Coppenrath in the second half of KU's 68-61 win. Simien had 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Coppenrath had 23 points and seven boards in the game Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Miles hit one of two free throws at :49 and Simien one of two at :34.3, KU leading by an insurmountable 66-59.
Following the game, the Jayhawks elected to praise the opponent and try to focus on the positives, as in their strong play after the final timeout.
“We had to figure out a way to win and did that,” Self said. “This was about as bad as we could have been offensively, but we still hung in there and rebounded pretty well. I am happy to get out of here with a win. It was definitely not midseason form tonight, but it was a win.”
A win in which KU showed some grit late.
“We’re very fortunate to win this game. I don’t think we would have won this one last year,” said Langford, who had 12 points off 3-of-10 shooting.
“The best thing was toughness, which is an extension of coach Self. It’s not always going to be easy. The only person who wants to see a game like that is a coach. Everybody else wants to see acrobatic plays and dunks. But you can get more out of a game like that sometimes.
“I don’t know if a lot of outsiders expected us to be challenged,” Langford continued, “but we certainly expected a fight from Vermont and got one.”
KU next will meet Saint Joseph’s at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse. It’ll be the first game of the year for St. Joe’s.
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