Wayne Simien, arguably the best post player in Kansas history not named Wilt Chamberlain, saw his jersey hung in the rafters at halftime Saturday night. How fitting, then, that it was Kansas’ current post players, at least one of whom has an excellent chance of hanging his own jersey in those rafters someday, that carried the torch for Kansas in a 90-66 shellacking of rival Kansas State.
And as good as the Morris twins were — very: 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 18 rebounds — Saturday was once again about Thomas Robinson. But this time it was about his presence on the court just as much as the tumult he’s endured off of it.
“This was an extra special game,” coach Bill Self said, “not because it was K-State, but because it was the first game that he’s had an opportunity to really play for his mother.”
It was unclear whether Robinson would even play until late Thursday night, but somehow, after losing his mother Lisa and both his maternal grandparents, he played. Then, sporting a black and white “LR” patch on his left shoulder, he put on the performance of his career, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and nine boards.
“I played tonight because I can’t sit around for too long,” Robinson said. “I know my mother wouldn’t want me to sit around crying forever.”
After struggling in the early going, missing a dunk and a couple shots from in close, Robinson found his range early in the second half. With four points on two consecutive possessions five minutes after the half, Robinson jacked up an 18-footer — he called it a “heat check” — which under normal circumstances would have found him deeply ensconced on the bench shortly after. But Saturday wasn’t normal, so when the heat check went in, Self laughed it off, like he laughed off the technical Robinson picked up after hanging on the rim too long after a dunk.
“That was a special deal for him,” Self said. “And of course the fans here are incredible, how they recognized him when he checked in and how they recognized him when he checked out. That’s a special moment. That’s one that he’ll never forget.”
Collectively, it was the best performance of the season, especially considering that Kansas State’s frontcourt, even after all the Wildcats’ struggles, is regarded as one of the best in the Big 12. For Kansas to lay down a 24-point beating, it took a near-perfect effort from the Morris twins and Thomas Robinson.
And near perfect is what they gave. Aside from the dominant offensive performance, the Jayhawks frontcourt stifled the Wildcat posts, who totaled just 15 points among the four of them.
“Our bigs were really good,” Self said. “We played well. We played well on both ends.”