Bouncy Kevin Young takes top spot

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Kevin Young wrestles for the ball with Colorado defender Andre Roberson (21) teammate Jeff Withey and CU forward Josh Scott (40) during the second half on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Nick Krug

1. Kevin Young: His energy was contagious, and the senior’s hustle paid off as he posted a career-high for his KU tenure with 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He made the easy and smart plays, with the box score showing seven of his eight makes were either layups or dunks. He also was active on the boards, pulling down eight caroms in just 20 minutes.

2. Ben McLemore: His aggressiveness offensively was most evident in his free throw attempts, as he made 10 of 11 to finish with 24 points. Had a great start to the game, reaching double figures at the 11:15 mark of the first half. McLemore impacted the game in other ways too, grabbing five rebounds to go with two steals in 30 minutes. The only negative was his mid-range shooting, as made just 6 of 16 field goals, including 1 of 7 two-point jumpshots.

3. Travis Releford: Held CU’s hobbled leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie to just four points on 1-for-4 shooting. The senior also

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Travis Releford extends to dunk over Colorado defender Jeremy Adams during the first half on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“>posterized CU’s Jeremy Adams on a dunk and continues to show an amazing ability to never get blocked on a layup in transition. Releford finished with 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting with six assists and no turnovers.

4. Elijah Johnson: The senior’s knee looked much better after a week of working to strengthen it. His explosiveness looked to be back too, especially on the defensive end where he was able to slide quickly to keep his man in front of him. Offensively, he scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting and made 3 of 6 three-pointers. He contributed three assists and two steals to go with two turnovers in 25 minutes.

5. Jeff Withey: KU coach Bill Self said Withey “played great” afterwards, and one would have to assume that means the senior’s ball-screen defense was much improved. Withey was efficient with his tries, posting eight points on 3-for-6 shooting. He also added seven rebounds, five blocks and two impressive assists in his 23 minutes.

6. Andrew White III: The freshman can shoot, nailing 2 of 3 three-pointers on his way to eight points in eight minutes. Had one turnover on a charge in transition.

7. Naadir Tharpe: Made two shots to beat the shot clock, but his turnover count (four) was too high considering he played only 17 minutes. He had five points, an assist and a steal and was generally a pest to CU’s guards on the defensive end.

8. Jamari Traylor: Four points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 11 minutes is good. Five fouls in those 11 minutes, though, is not so good.

9. Perry Ellis: Had an increase in minutes (17), but his stats wouldn’t indicate that. The freshman had two points, one rebound, one assist, one block, one steal and one turnover.

10. Rio Adams: Self yanked him out for good late in the second half to sub in Evan Manning. Judging by Self’s reaction, Adams wasn’t doing what he was supposed to defensively. Adams did have two steals in five minutes, but he also had no points and a bad turnover after trying to dribble through too many defenders.

11. Justin Wesley: Had two rebounds in six minutes of garbage time.

KUsports.com Season Standings
1. Jeff Withey (50 points)
2. Ben McLemore (49 points)
3. Travis Releford (45 points)
4. Elijah Johnson (41 points)
5. Kevin Young (31 points)
6. Perry Ellis (30 points)
7. Naadir Tharpe (29 points)
8. Jamari Traylor (27 points)
9. Andrew White III (12 points)
10. Rio Adams (8 points)
11. Justin Wesley (7 points)

— Compiled and written by Jesse Newell.

Bouncy Kevin Young takes top spot

The KUsports.com Ratings