Gamer 07
The University Daily Kansan - Mon. March 5, 2007 - Page 1B
Jayhawks ease defense against Texas star
By Michael Phillips
The Texas Longhorns were moving the ball through pressure defense easily, and star freshman Kevin Durant was making highlight-reel shots from everywhere on the court. So what did coach Bill Self do?
He told his players to back off of Durant.
“We said to make Durant beat us, because everybody else was lighting us up,” he said. “Just try to keep the other guys under wraps.”
That, combined with a textbook example of the law of averages, fueled a second-half comeback that led to a 90-86 Kansas victory.
The Longhorns shot 11-for-14 — 79 percent — from three-point range in the first half. Durant shot a perfect 5-for-5. That number plummeted to just 19 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks never dropped below 50 percent from behind the arc, not panicking or rushing shots during the Longhorns’ hot streak.
“It’s a long game,” sophomore guard Mario Chalmers said. “We just wanted to keep playing the way we were defensively.”
At halftime, Self told his players not to focus on Durant, because he was going to be spectacular no matter how many hands were in his face, but to focus on the rest of the Texas team.
Sophomore forward Julian Wright led the charge as the Jayhawks took back the paint, denying Texas guard D.J. Augustin open shots off of screens and keeping him away from the basket. On the offensive end, Wright and junior center Sasha Kaun scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half, cutting the Longhorns’ lead to two.
“Coach told us that there were no 12-point plays, but we can be aggressive and try to put pressure on them,” Wright said. “We were able to get inside more and get to the rim.”
The final member of Texas’ freshman trio, guard A.J. Abrams, was also held in check during the second half, making just 2 of his 8 three-point attempts.
Self said he was pleased with the way his players handled the halftime deficit.
“It’s good to be under pressure situations, and I think our guys felt pressure in the first half,” he said. “It’s good to be able to play out of that.”
The game also changed when Durant went down midway through the second half, re-aggravating an ankle injury that he suffered during practice on Friday. He said he would be treated this week and remained optimistic that he would be ready to play Friday at the Big 12 Conference tournament.
With Durant out of the game, Kansas outscored Texas 10-7. He returned three minutes later, although he played with a noticeable limp for the remainder of the game.
The Longhorns left Allen Fieldhouse impressed by the depth and talent of the Jayhawks.
“They have somebody for every position,” Augustin said. “They have big guys and they have guards.”
Wright took his turn stepping up on Saturday, holding Durant in check with man-to-man coverage and allowing the rest of the team to neutralize the Longhorns in the second half. Self tipped his hat to all the players, saying the athleticism was at a high level.
“There wasn’t a lot of play running out there,” he said. “There were a lot of guys making plays.”