“We signed our two most important recruits right there,” head coach Bill Self said last April. “Those two together mean at least 12 to 15 wins.”
Self wasn’t talking about the class of 2013, or even junior college transfers. He spoke of the decisions by established Jayhawk stars Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich to remain at Kansas for their senior and junior seasons, respectively.
After a brutal five-point loss to eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up Michigan State in the final of the Midwest Regional, Kansas’s immediate future was left in the hands of Collins and Aldrich, arguably the best inside-outside combination in college basketball. The decisions of the two future pros, more than anything else, would determine the fate of the 2009-2010 team.
Collins and Aldrich did not wait long to make up their minds, announcing at the end-of-year team banquet that they would return.
The acquisition of top recruit Xavier Henry has meant almost as much to Self and the Jayhawks, as the freshman is averaging 13.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Plus, Henry is realizing his potential at just the right time. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound shooting guard is physically mature, but has only just begun to play his best basketball in February and March, leading the team in scoring in five of eight games in that stretch.
Add in an experienced supporting cast, and it comes as no surprise that the Jayhawks have rolled to 32 wins and both the Big 12 regular season and Tournament titles.
Back in the Midwest Regional as the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, Kansas is built more effectively for a deep run than last year, or even 2008, when it cut down the nets.
Most notably, the Jayhawks boast a regular rotation 10 players deep that can adjust to all different playing styles. The multi-faceted offense ranks second in overall scoring among Tournament teams with 81.8 points per game. Efficiency guru Ken Pomeroy estimates both Kansas’s offense and defense to be in the top five nationally, an accomplishment only matched by Duke this season.
Aldrich will be a lottery pick in June and has controlled the paint with his 6-foot-11 frame to the tune of 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, second in the Big 12 in both categories.
On the perimeter, the Jayhawks hit over 40 percent of their 3-pointers. While Collins and Henry are responsible for most of those, sharpshooter Tyrel Reed has become a force off the bench, hitting over 46 percent of his shots from long range.
Henry, or “X” as he has become known, provides the glue between both offensive styles. On any given possession he can slash and kick to Collins for a 3-pointer, free up Aldrich in the post with a drive or take it to the rim himself.
Kansas is less flashy than its main competitors, and thus lacks some of the flair that has gotten Kentucky and Syracuse so much publicity over the course of the regular season. But don’t sleep on the Jayhawks—they have a combination of talent and experience that no team can match.
A common piece of bracket-filling advice is to avoid simply “picking with the chalk,” or picking all the favorites. Follow that all you want outside the Midwest Regional, but remember: Rock, chalk, Jayhawk.
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