Kansas

A healthy Kansas team should take the court on Monday

Published

2 months ago

November 4, 2024

A healthy Kansas team should take the court on Monday

When Kansas opened up the exhibition portion of its schedule at Arkansas back on October, 25, the Jayhawks were without the services of Hunter Dickinson, Rylan Griffen, and Shakeel Moore. Bill Self’s squad fell to John Calipari and the Razorbacks, 85-69.

In returning home for its only exhibition game of the season, Kansas, on October 29, rolled past Washburn, 84-53. With Dickinson and Moore still sidelined with minor injuries, the Jayhawks were led by David Coit (19), Zeke Mayo (16), Griffen (14), and Flory Bidunga (10).

The No. 1 ranked team heading into the regular season, Kansas, will take the court against Howard on Monday night with a complete squad.

“I anticipate having a full squad,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self when addressing the media on Friday. “We have not limited reps since the game Tuesday with Hunt (Hunter Dickinson) and Shak (Shakeel Moore), even though that may be the case kind of moving forward, but we haven’t limited reps. So, yeah, unless something unforeseen happens, then we should be good.

“Rylan did fine getting through the game, and so this is the closest we’ve been to healthy, even though the timing’s off on two of them, but hopefully, by next week, we’ll be a little bit better,” he added.

A season ago, his first in Lawrence, Dickinson averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Offensively, he shot 55 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from behind the arc, and 62.4 percent from the free-throw line.

As high as the expectations were a season ago, those expectations might be even higher this season. For the second straight year, Kansas will enter the season as the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball. Furthermore, Dickinson will be the focal point on a team expected to compete for its third National Championship under Self.

Dickinson, at the end of the season, ultimately made the decision to remain in Lawrence to work on and improve different aspects of his game. On Friday morning, Self was asked if any of those improvements would be noticeable right away.

“I don’t think it’ll be obvious immediately until he gets his rhythm back because I do think conditioning and rhythm may be a little bit of a factor early on,” said Self. “But I think the biggest thing that you’ll see is, I don’t know if it’s a huge improvement, we’ll see a better passer just because of the way that we’re playing a little bit different than last year.”

What, if anything, did Dickinson focus on in terms of looking to improve during his time in Lawrence this offseason?

“I would say he continued to work on his athleticism, his body, and I think that what Hunt can do, I think Hunt has an unbelievable touch that if the ball gets on the rim sometimes it just has a tendency to fall in,” he added. “He’s got a soft touch. I don’t think he shot it near as well last year as what he’s capable of shooting it. I think early in the season he did, but I don’t think late in the season he did.

“And so just him to start maybe making some of the same shots that he didn’t make last year,” he added. “And I think a lot of that was legs too, because playing so many minutes.”

When it comes KU’s starting five against Howard on Monday night, Self wasn’t ready to tip his hat by announcing the starting lineup during his weekly press conference on Friday. However, it should come as no surprise that three players in particular were mentioned by Self.

“No, we haven’t decided yet,” said Self. “We haven’t decided yet, but I would say if health is good, you could make a case for Hunt. Juan (Dajuan Harris, Jr.) and KJ (KJ Harris, Jr.) starting, but we haven’t decided.

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Kansas

How To Watch Kansas State-TCU, Lineups, Preview, Stats To Watch

Published

6 seconds ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

How To Watch Kansas State-TCU, Lineups, Preview, Stats To Watch

Betting line: K-State (+3.5)

O/U: 141.5

Money Line: CIN -160, KSU +132

Game time: 4:00 pm, EST

Where: Schollmaier Arena, Fort Worth, TX

TV: CBS (watch here)

VITALS: Kansas State is coming off their first victory after losing three in a row. Dug McDaniel had just his second start of the season, where he scored 17 on 53.8 percent shooting. Coleman Hawkins had his best performance as a Wildcat, logging 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. They face a TCU squad looking for its first Big 12 victory after losing to Arizona Monday.

PROJECTED STARTERS

WILDCATS

G Brendan Hausen: 13.0 PTS, 2.3 REB, 1.3 AST

G Dug McDaniel: 10.3 PTS, 2.6 REB, 4.3 AST

F Max Jones: 8.7 PTS, 3.5 REB, 2.1 AST

F David N’Guessan: 13.6 PTS, 6.8 REB, 1.6 AST

F Coleman Hawkins: 10.1 PTS, 7.0 REB, 4.1 AST

HORNED FROGS

G Noah Reynolds: 10.6 PTS, 2.5 REB, 3.9 AST

G Vasean Allette: 10.7 PTS, 3.3 REB, 2.3 AST

F Trazarien White: 10.2 PTS, 3.3 REB, 1.7 STL

F David Punch: 6.1 PTS, 4.8 REB, 1.0 BLK

F Ernest Udeh Jr.: 9.2 PTS, 8.6 REB, 1.3 AST

QUOTABLE: “It makes us even more versatile,” Dug McDaniel said about Coleman Hawkins’ presence in starting lineup. “When you have a 6’10” guy who can put the ball on the floor and make decisions. Nine times out of 10, their fours and fives are guarding him, and it’s harder for those guys to guard in the perimeter. He’s very versatile, and I feel like if we keep using him the right way, he can go very far.”

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

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Kansas

Northeast Kansas school cancels Monday classes due to winter weather

Published

8 hours ago

January 3, 2025

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Northeast Kansas school cancels Monday classes due to winter weather

JUNCTION CITY (KSNT) – A northeast Kansas school district announced it will be closed early next week due to winter weather.

Matthew Hoover with the Geary County Schools USD 475 said in a press release on Jan. 3 the district will be closed on Monday, Jan. 6. Athletic and after-school activities on Monday are canceled.

“We look forward to seeing our students and staff back in our schools on Tuesday, Jan. 7. USD 475 will continue to monitor the weather throughout the upcoming days and will notify parents of any school closings or changes.”
USD 475 press release excerpt

Hoover said classes are expected to resume on Tuesday, Jan. 7. However, school officials will continue to monitor the situation and keep parents informed as the weather changes.

Parents can keep up with urgent alerts from the district through its School Messenger text message service. People can access this by texting ‘Y’ or ‘Yes’ to 67587.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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Man and 2 children dead after fire, gunshots inside Kansas City home

Published

18 hours ago

January 3, 2025

Press Room

Man and 2 children dead after fire, gunshots inside Kansas City home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Police are investigating after officers found a man and two juveniles dead inside a Northland house.

Someone called Kansas City police and asked officers to check on the people living inside a house in a neighborhood northwest of Route 152 and US 169 around 9:45 p.m. Thursday.

Officers arrived at the house and smelled smoke. They also noticed a fire burning inside the house.

They called the Kansas City Fire Department and then entered the house to search for anyone inside. They made the decision to evacuate because of the threat of the fire.

ALSO READ: 3rd fatal shooting in just over 2 months reported near Kansas City grocery store

After firefighters extinguished the flames, police reentered the home. Inside they found a man and a girl dead from gunshot injuries.

They also found a boy suffering from gunshot injuries. Emergency crews rushed him to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

Detectives are working to determine what happened leading up to the shootings. They said they are not looking for a suspect, but have not provided any other details about what may have happened.

ALSO READ: $7.5K reward offered for information about fatal shooting of Missouri canines

The names of the people killed have not been publicly released.

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