LJWorld.com

First, Tyrel Reed swished a pair of free throws.

Then the 6-foot-3 Burlington sophomore shooting guard buried consecutive three-pointers from the deep corner — right in front of Kansas University’s basketball bench.

His eight-point flurry stretched a 48-42 lead to 56-42 and effectively — finally — finished off pesky, upset-minded Jackson State on Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.

“He hit some big shots. We’re used to that from him,” KU junior Sherron Collins said after KU’s 86-62 victory.

“He was really big, really good,” freshman Tyshawn Taylor noted.

Reed arguably was the unofficial star of the game, not that his teammates could tell it from the look on the face of the reluctant hero in the winner’s locker room.

“I know he doesn’t think he’s playing great yet,” KU senior Matt Kleinmann said of Reed, who hit consecutive threes in helping KU stretch a 63-51 lead to 69-53 in Wednesday’s 100-79 victory over New Mexico State. “He gets down on himself over a turnover here or there.”

Reed, who finished with 11 points versus Jackson State after totaling 12 against New Mexico State on Wednesday, acknowledged, “It was nice to come out and hit some shots today, to get in the flow.”

Yet he also was quick to point out, “We’ve been really soft defensively, not going after the ball with two hands, being weak. We need to get better these next two weeks. Our toughness level will increase,” added Reed, who insisted his own defense also must improve markedly.

“The defensive mistakes I made … I just need to get better every day.”

As far as Reed not singing his own praises after the last two victories, his dad, Stacy, shed some light on that matter.

“He is the Bill Self/Bobby Knight-style guy, always looking for that edge, something to make himself better and his teammates better,” said Stacy Reed, Tyrel’s coach at Burlington High.

“He’s always been one of those kids that there’s never a perfect game for him. He probably was upset at not getting back on defense or committing a turnover.

“He doesn’t want those things as part of his game. He’s been one of those kids all his life. It might stem from being a coach’s son.”

Stacy and Tyrel were part of 97 victories and just four losses and one state title at Burlington High.

“There are things he enjoys. He enjoys winning and being part of that,” Stacy Reed said. “I don’t think anybody is harder on himself than him. He expects the best. As a dad, I wish he’d loosen up a bit and enjoy it, but from the standpoint of a coach, there are things he needs to work on. I don’t talk with him much about basketball. I talk about other things. I tell him to have fun.”

Reed, part of KU’s national title team as a freshman, will vie for as many victories and titles as possible in four seasons here, then give up the pursuit of sports victories.

Reed plans on a career as a physical therapist.

“The perfectionist part of him makes it hard for him to be a coach,” Stacy Reed said. “Coach Self can accept mistakes. He wants the kids to play through those mistakes. It’s hard for a kid who is a perfectionist to be a coach.”