Kansas basketball: Team effort leads to 7-0 start
By Stan Unruh
The No. 2 ranked Kansas basketball team is off to an impressive start. Two players had an impact in the win over Syracuse but all play an important role.
The Kansas basketball team is 7-0 after the first month of the season. The Jayhawks 16-point win over Syracuse on Saturday in the Miami Hoophall Invitational was not pretty. On the other hand, the Jayhawks sent a huge message to the national television audience, the rest of the college basketball world and the Big 12.
Devonte Graham scored 35 points for the second straight game. The senior’s career night in south Florida was far more impressive than against Toledo on Tuesday’s runaway win at Allen Fieldhouse. He made it look easy.
The Syracuse zone is a challenge. The Jayhawks last two meetings against the Orange didn’t end well. Graham took over the game midway through the 2nd half with his own little 5-point run to end an 11-point run by Syracuse. He had 7 threes in 13 attempts on Saturday. The 70 points in two games are the most since probably Wilt Chamberlin scored 91 points in back to back games for the Jayhawks.
In addition to Graham, Lagerald Vick’s contribution played a critical role in opening the Syracuse zone defense. He did an outstanding job in the middle of the zone, found open shooters and scored 20 points on some of the most acrobatic plays of the young season.
Svi struggled early with a poor defensive effort, a missed three, had and a couple of turnovers and a foul on a moving screen but banked in a 3 at 7:30 to go to give KU a 16-14 lead. He hit another triple less than a minute later and finished with 11 points.
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Walk-on Clay Young contributed 12 valuable minutes in the first half when Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot got in foul trouble. The Jayhawks outscored the Orange 22-7 during that stretch. The win was not fancy but each player had an impact at various times.
Azubuike did grab 9 rebounds. Malik Newman struggled shooting but had 5 assists and 5 rebounds. While Graham and Vick led the way Saturday, each member of this team is stepping up when needed and is certainly worthy of their No. 2 spot in both the Associated Press and USA-Today polls.