Kansas Basketball: Silvio De Sousa ready for March Madness
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas basketball team is preparing for their NCAA tournament opener with Penn. Silvio De Sousa is just warming up for the Jayhawks.
We know Hall of Fame Coach Bill Self is amazing. When Silvio De Sousa arrived during the Christmas holiday, Self was more than thrilled. The Kansas basketball team was desperate for front court help. Self reminded fans it would take time for De Sousa to catch up. He suggested it would be late February before the Jayhawks could expect much from him. It’s approaching mid-March and De Sousa is probably ahead of Self’s schedule.
De Sousa made his first appearance for the Jayhawks about 60 days ago against the ‘Cats at Allen Fieldhouse. His four minutes in the one-point victory were forgettable. At that point, many fans were still holding out hope Bill Preston would get a chance to contribute. De Sousa looked overwhelmed after the standing ovation from the crowd but lost.
Two nights later at West Virginia, De Sousa looked much. He hit a shot and grabbed 3 rebounds in 7 minutes and the Jayhawks rallied to win. If coach Self felt confident enough to use him in Morgantown, that said a lot about the youngster.
As a matter of fact, De Sousa played almost as many minutes in Morgantown as he would over the next seven games. On February 19, De Sousa started to show more of what the Jayhawks expected. On Big Monday, the Angola native played 13 minutes, scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the 30-point blowout against Oklahoma. He made some impressive moves against the Sooners older, more experienced Khadeem Lattin.
In the season finale against Oklahoma State and during the Big 12 tournament, De Sousa has only continued to improve. In Saturday night’s tournament title game, he played tough in the paint, made all 8 of his shots and with 10 rebounds recorded a double-double. His three game totals of 30 points and 29 boards were more than worthy of All-Tournament team consideration.
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De Sousa ready at just the right time
Udoka Azubuike’s minor knee strain might be the best thing that happened for De Sousa. The freshman’s confidence grows with each trip off the bench. Self even included him in the starting lineup to begin the second half against West Virginia. Coach Self’s timing is usually perfect. De Sousa takes a lot of pressure off this team. With him in the lineup, the next couple of weeks will be exciting for Jayhawk fans.