Kansas Basketball: Takeaways from Jayhawks win over Vermont
By Rylan Stiles
Top three takeaways from the win
1) Veteran leadership + young guns
There is no doubt that Jayhawk fans are ecstatic for their freshman sensations Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson. Least you forget about Senior Legarald Vick. Vick shocked the entire state of Kansas, and the College Basketball world when he made the decision to return to school for one last ride. He even was forced to switch his number after not announcing his return until after Charlie Moore claimed his old number.
The Senior guard lit up his final home opener by setting a new career high with 32-points he shot 100 percent from three (8-8) and went 12-for-14 from the field. Vick also grabbed three rebounds. It seems unrealistic to expect Vick to turn in this performance every night, but he was exactly what the doctor ordered. No, the freshmen did not play terrible, more so nervous. Not only was this their first tilt in Allen Field House, but Vermont did not back down.
Vick was not the only veteran to step up tonight. Udoka Azubuike did exactly as you would expect him to in any contest, but especially against Vermont. The Junior big man turned in 23 points, all of which coming from down low, and a lot of them at the start of the game when this contest was still a close one. At times early, the Jayhawks offense was stagnant but settled down by dumping it down low to the overpowering Azubuike. He also hauled in 11 rebounds with a block to his credit.
2) Kansas has the depth, but they have to show up
The Lawson twins, more so Dedric, have the ability to take over games, and tonight against Vermont they did not show up. Dedric went 0-for-6 from the floor with seven rebounds and two turnovers. The Jayhawks only had three double-digit scores, when Quentin Grimes snuck in a late three to tally ten points tonight. Transfer Charlie Moore posted seven points on an efficient 3-of-6 shooting, but from the bench unit, you would like to see a bit more.
3) Vermont is for real
The Catamounts came into Lawrence, Kansas ready to play. On a sleepy Monday night, Vermont stood in the face of Jayhawk nation unphased and rattled home 9 threes on their way to posting 68 points on the road while also attacking and getting to the line 17 times. You will be hard pressed to find a better player in Vermont’s conference than Ernie Duncan. The Catamounts also got three players in double figures Monday. They proved that they are a well-rounded, well-coached team for those of us who admittedly do not pay enough attention to the mid-majors.