Kansas Jayhawks Are Better In 2011 Than They Were In 2010
It took the Jayhawks 25 games to get there, but they are finally ranked at the top of college basketball (assuming they take care of business tonight against K-State).
As a lifelong Jayhawks fan, I refuse to compare any Kansas team to the 2008 squad until they win a national championship, but stacking this team next to last year's squad seems fair.
With the Morris twins leading the way, I believe the 2010-2011 Jayhawks are a better squad than the 2009-2010 version.
Hopefully they won't have to face Northern Iowa.
Record Comparison
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This year's team: 24-1
Last year's team at the 25 game mark: 24-1
The 2009-2010 Jayhawks only lost one more regular season game. This year's Jayhawks have a tough test tonight at Kansas State and the end of the year at Missouri.
Schedule
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Last year's team at the 25 game mark: Loss at Tennessee
This year's team: Loss at home to Texas, a game that they controlled for the first half against a team most feel should be number one right now.
Last year's team had conference victories over a tough Baylor team, two over a very tough Kansas State team, a win at Texas and a win against Texas A&M.
Out of conference, the tight victory over Cornell turned out to be a quality win, and the blowout at Temple was impressive.
This year's team has a surprisingly good schedule even though they lack wins over top 25 teams. Both Arizona and UCLA will be in the NCAA tournament. The overtime win at Michigan looks better after Michigan nearly beat Ohio State the next day. Memphis could land in the tournament. Also, Kansas has successfully navigated the Big 12 so far.
This year's team needs to win at Missouri, at Kansas State, and at home against Texas A&M, along with the rest of their games to make a case for having a harder schedule than last year's team.
Point Guard
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It's easy to say Sherron Collins over Tyshawn Taylor at the point guard spot, and I agree. But the problem with Sherron at the point was the team would rely on him too much.
Collins had a lot of pressure to be the only option down the stretch of games. With Taylor running the point, this year's team looks more like the 2008 team, where anyone on the floor could hurt you.
Collins will go down as an all-time great Jayhawk and a personal favorite of mine, but this year's team doesn't shut down if Taylor isn't hitting.
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Shooting Guard
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Josh Selby gives the Jayhawks better outside shooting and more of a true shooting guard than Taylor did last season. Selby has still only played 13 games and should find his stride at the perfect time in March.
Small Forward
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Xavier Henry is the stronger small forward than Tyrel Reed.
However, the Henry we saw at the end of last season and the Reed we currently see are surprisingly similar in terms of effectiveness.
Power Forward
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Last year's Marcus Morris was All-Conference.
This year's Marcus Morris is All-American.
Since last year, Marcus has improved many aspects of his game and leads the Jayhawks in scoring. Marcus has become almost as much of a guaranteed two points in the post as Wayne Simien was his senior year. The difference is Morris can shoot the three, too.
Center
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Defensively, I'd take Cole Aldrich. Because of his 3.5 blocks per game, along with numerous altered shots, he was a defensive presence Kansas won't see for a long time.
However, Markieff is a better scorer, about as good of a rebounder and can stretch out the defense with his outside shot.
The chemistry of the twins together on the floor this year has resulted in the best low post play Kansas has seen since the 2008 championship team.
Bench
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The names of the players are similar between this year and last year; the difference is they've gotten better.
Morningstar can come into the game and give you aggressive defense. Elijah Johnson is a solid backup point guard. Thomas Robinson has moments of brilliance and provides emotional strength to the team. Travis Releford can guard small forwards and Mario Little can actually take over offensively for stretches.
This year's team has incredible depth.
Final Analysis
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The Northern Iowa upset makes us forget just how good last year's team was. Remember that had they won the tournament they actually would have finished with a better record than the 37-3 record-setting 2008 team.
The advantage last year's team had over this one was more weapons on offense.
Teams had to account for Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry, Marcus Morris and sometimes Cole Aldrich. The problem was that last year's Jayhawks did not take advantage of this and all the pressure ended up falling on Sherron.
This year's team has a more dominant number one option in Marcus Morris. Josh Selby probably has more talent at the shooting guard spot than any Jayhawk since Kirk Hinrich and the overall defense is stronger.
With a bench of Mario Little, Travis Releford, Thomas Robinson, and Brady Morningstar, who are all possible starters anywhere else, this team is more equipped to deal with nights when the main guy isn't lighting up the scoreboard.
The Jayhawks teams that suffered early exits, such as last year's team or the 2004 squad that lost to Bucknell, relied too heavily on one guy.
If this year's Jayhawks put it all on Marcus Morris, they will leave themselves vulnerable to an early exit.
However, the Jayhawks teams that went far, like the 2008 team or even the Kirk and Nick squads, had multiple options and played complete team basketball. In a six game tournament there will be a night when Marcus has a bad game, and maybe even two or three since teams will plan on shutting him down.
For them to get to the Final Four, Markieff will need to be the man one night, Selby another and maybe Tyrel Reed on a hot shooting night.
This current Jayhawks team is somewhere in between last year's and the 2008 squad. We'll see where they finish out.
.png?w=480 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
