Curtain call: Traylor, Kansas face big test of brawn, brain

Kansas forward Tarik Black walks through a curtain to the Jayhawks' closed practice on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

? Kansas University power forward Jamari Traylor admits Stanford has a size advantage on the Joel Embiid-less Jayhawks entering today’s 11:15 a.m., NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game in Scottrade Center.

But Traylor — KU’s 6-foot-8, 220-pound red-shirt sophomore, who will go against the likes of 6-11 Stefan Nastic, 6-10 Dwight Powell and 6-10 John Gage — bristles at any assertion the Cardinal players have supremacy in brain power over his Jayhawks.

Stanford, of course, is considered one of the finest academic institutions in the land.

“I mean, I got a 23 on my ACT if that counts for anything,” Traylor said with a smile.

Owner of an impressive standardized-test score, Traylor says the Jayhawks, even without 7-footer Embiid, have enough brawn to test the Cardinal big men.

“Everybody knows they have to give about 10 percent more to fill that void,” Traylor said, referring to his teammates making up for the absence of Embiid, who has been ruled out for today’s game and is questionable for the Sweet 16 if KU makes it that far.

“We’d love to get him back as soon as we can. Everybody knows we have to step it up a bit.”

He erupted for a career-high 17 points and career-best 14 rebounds in Friday’s 80-69 NCAA-opening victory over Eastern Kentucky.

“We’ve got to be focused and block those guys out. They are a big group of guys, but we will not change our game plan, just play our game,” said Traylor, who was mobbed by reporters for a half hour during Saturday’s media session in Scottrade Center.

He indicated there’s no danger he’ll let the EKU game inflate his ego entering today’s contest.

“I don’t get too high about the game yesterday. It’s only one game,” Traylor said. “I’ve gotten a couple texts. I’m happy everybody I know is trying to reach out to me. (But) it’s not hard to stay focused. I know what I have to do. Everybody wants to win so bad, it’s not hard to stay focused.

“If I play hard, I probably could,” he added of matching or surpassing his Game One numbers. “I’m not going to say I can’t. If I go in with that aggressive mind-set, I’ll probably be better.

“Anything’s possible.”

That’s been one of his mottos in coming such a long way in a short period of time.

He was peppered with questions Saturday about his high school days in which he was homeless in Chicago. He ultimately left the Windy City to play basketball his senior year (2010-11) at IMG Academy in Florida.

“Not many people get a chance to do what I can do right now. A lot of people in Chicago don’t even make it to college. I’m happy where I am,” Traylor said of KU and the NCAAs.

The numbers he put up while playing just 22 minutes Friday have opened some eyes about how far Traylor has come since IMG, where he was a lightly recruited player competing on a team with a batch of major-college prospects.

One of Traylor’s KU teammates, Christian Garrett, attended IMG at the same time.

“Back then, I would have been shocked at the midrange jumper he’s developed. That’s new … but he’s been making that this whole year (at practice),” Garrett said of the 15-foot jump shot Traylor cashed against Eastern Kentucky on a day he hit seven of eight shots.

“He was an athlete,” Garrett recalled of Traylor, who attracted the attention of KU coaches Self and Kurtis Townsend while they were recruiting IMG’s DeAndre Daniels.

“He was too quick for post players to guard. He was a tough matchup. Obviously, that’s translated over. He’s added a lot more to his game. His footwork has gotten a lot better. He can shoot. He can dribble and pass a little bit, too. It’s kind of do it all. He’s a beast.”

“He’s a freak of nature athletically,” noted senior pivot Tarik Black. “He can be a star and a starter (in future). He’s capable of that. He’s shown it during the season. It’s a matter of opportunity. He’s always taken advantage of his opportunities.”

Today against Stanford, he gets to play in front of his mom, Tracey, who has seen a handful of his college games thus far and is making the four-hour drive from Chicago for this one.

Traylor can’t promise her a repeat of Friday.

He can promise a repeat of the effort he gave.

“I tried to bring energy,” Traylor said. “The ball found energy (Friday). That’s a little saying we just learned from the San Francisco 49ers coach (Jim Harbaugh, who spoke to KU’s team recently). He told us, ‘The ball finds energy.’ I played with a lot of energy, and things happened, good plays happened. I never back down. No challenge is too big.”

As far as today’s challenge … “I’m going to play with energy. I’m going to fight. I’m not going to lay down just because they are a little bigger than me. This is not the first time and won’t be the last time I play against somebody bigger than me. I’m blessed to be out there with my teammates. We’ll be focused. We’ll be ready.”