Jayhawks entertained by ESPN’s SportsCenter on bus ride home from Stillwater, Oklahoma
Kansas’ basketball players tuned into ESPN, specifically the SportsCenter show, on their long bus ride from Stillwater, Oklahoma to Lawrence after Tuesday’s 90-66 victory over Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
They were checking to see if a certain dunk by senior guard Nick Timberlake over the Cowboys’ Bryce Thompson made the network’s Top 10 Plays of the Day.
“The guys erupted in the back of the bus,” KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend said of the Jayhawk players reacting to Timberlake’s first-half dunk being selected No. 3 on the network’s top play list encompassing all sports.
“It was fun, good to see. Everybody cheered. We were all happy for Nick. That was a big-time play,” Townsend added of the one-handed breakaway slam that gave KU a 46-27 lead late in the first half.
Towson transfer Timberlake, a 6-foot-4, 200 pound native of Braintree, Massachusetts, was one of nine Jayhawks to score in the rout of OSU. He had two points, two steals and two rebounds in nine minutes. For the year, he’s come off the bench to average 3.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 11.2 minutes a game. He’s struggled from outside, making 11 of 40 3s for 27.5%.
“He really can shoot. He gets it going some days in practice where we say, ‘Wow, that’s what we need,’’’ Townsend said, subbing for head coach Bill Self on Self’s Hawk Talk radio show.
“He’s getting better defensively, too. That’s where he first lacked when he got here. He’s improved at that. He’s taking care of the ball better. He can shoot but he’s a sneaky athlete. He is way more athletic than people think,” Townsend stated.
The No. 3-ranked Jayhawks dominated on offense in improving to 3-1 in the Big 12 Conference and 15-2 overall.
KU had 20 fast break points compared to three for OSU (8-9, 0-4). The Jayhawks cashed 36 of 58 shots for 62.1%. Led by Johnny Furphy’s three 3s in five attempts, KU was 5-of-13 from beyond the arc for 38.5%.
The Jayhawks, who had five starters in double figure scoring, went 13-of-18 from the free throw line and had 21 assists against 11 turnovers.
“I think playing inside/out … Hunter (Dickinson) usually helps us get off to a pretty good start. If he scores a couple buckets inside it kind of loosens up the defense. With them paying so much attention to him we tend to get some open looks,” Townsend said.
Dickinson opened the scoring with a bucket and had four of KU’s first 12 points.
“If we can get out and run — talk about running, Nick’s dunk in the middle of the game gives a team so much confidence and energy,” Townsend stated. “Johnny … I think his first basket was a dunk in transition. He hits three 3s the first half. When it is clicking like that, when we are hitting 3s, I think we are really tough to guard,” Townsend added.
Furphy was 5-of-5 shooting the first half as KU led 48-33 after 20 minutes. He was 0-for-1 shooting in 15 minutes the final half.
“If you noticed the second half they almost played him so he couldn’t get a shot off,” Townsend said. “That’s what happens when you knock down a couple, They clamp down on you and make it hard to get open shots.
“He can knock down open shots,” he added of the 6-foot-9 freshman from Australia. “He’s as good a shooter as we have. The way we play inside/out he’ll get open looks. With all the attention Hunter and Parker (Braun) and KJ get in the post, Johnny will get some open looks. They’ll rotation rebound to try to keep our guys off the glass. So he could have games he makes three, four or five.”
Of having the five starters score in double figures (Dickinson 21, Kevin McCullar 18, Adams 16, Furphy 15, Dajuan Harris 11), Townsend said: “I think what was good to see is Johnny gaining confidence and us being able to play inside/out. “We throw it to Hunter and Kevin has been steady for us the whole time. Juan being more aggressive offensively... KJ has been consistent all year. He does what he does. It was good to see all five guys clicking at once.”
Of Adams, who leads the conference in shooting percentage at 62.2%, Townsend said: “He is starting to make those little pull-up shots. They try to put one guy in front of Hunter and somebody behind him and it makes KJ open. If KJ is able to hit those 15-footers, it makes us a lot harder to guard.”
KU will next meet West Virginia at 3 p.m., Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia.
