Kansas vs. Missouri: Player Ratings to the Theme of Jokers

KU wins the Border War yet again. Let's rate some players by what the opponent has become.

Author:
Derek Noll
Publish date:
Dec 11, 2023 10:44 AM EST

In this story:

Who do these jokers think they are? They think they can come into Allen Fieldhouse and take a quick lead and think that things wouldn’t swing and swing quickly? Well, joke’s on them, I guess. Yes, this article will be some references like you see above. And yes, this article will be Batman centric, but what else do you expect when you see a theme of Jokers? Anyway, let’s see how the KU players rate after their performance against Missouri. As always, here is the list by which they are judged but feel free to skip ahead using the table of contents.

5 Stars: Out of this world performance. This is a hard to achieve rating and is only reserved for the most impressive or impressionable performances.

4.5 Stars: Very strong performance, packed the stat sheet, provided undeniable intangibles.

4 Stars: A strong performance that falls just short of the standards above.

3.5 Stars: Above average performance, perhaps stands out in one category or one aspect of the game.

3 Stars: Average performance. Also could be a very strong game in one aspect but a very poor game in another such as 15 points but seven turnovers. Could also be that the player played, did their job, but didn't do much spectacularly.

2 Stars: Below average performance, or we simply have higher expectations for the player on this particular night.

1 Star: Rare, but if a player has a stinker in all aspects.

5 Stars: Heath Ledger

Inarguably the best Joker in the Batman canon, and sadly died too young to feature again. But man, The Dark Knight is such a great movie and it owes almost everything to Ledger’s Joker.

There were no five-star performances.

4.5 Stars: Jack Nicholson

For those of you too young to remember the hype regarding 1989’s Batman, I’m not sure how to describe it. It might’ve been the biggest movie ever when it hit the silver screen. And while Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Batman was originally disparaged, Jack Nicholson’s Joker was universally praised. An all-time classic performance.

This was such a weird game that it doesn’t merit any 4.5 star ratings either.

4 Stars: Cesar Romero

The fact that this guy wouldn’t shave off his signature mustache to play the Crown Prince of Crime is an amazing fact. Romero set the gold standard for villains in the old Batman TV series and until Nicholson, was the premier Joker of all time.

The block will obviously and deservedly get all the press, but KJ Adams had a very nice night against Mizzou. Fran Fraschilla loved him during the broadcast and for good reason. Adams finished with 17 points and five assists in this one. We’ll disregard the five turnovers this time as everyone seemed to have loose hands in this one.

Kevin McCullar scored 17, snatched nine rebounds, and had four assists, but perhaps his three steals were the most impressive. It seemed like whenever KU needed a good defensive stand, Kevin was there.

Elmarko Jackson was another Jayhawk that was consistently praised by Fran throughout the telecast, and the outing against the Tigers just might’ve been the kind of performance that he can build on. He scored six of his 11 points from the free throw stripe, but his three pointer and one was a crucial moment in the game. He does need to cut down on the fouls, especially since the bench isn’t that deep right now.

3.5 Stars: Impractical

People love the show Impractical Jokers. It’s currently going on its tenth season on TruTV.

Hunter Dickinson had 13 points and 16 rebounds and this is considered an off night for the big transfer from Michigan. Kansas could never really get Hunter rolling, but luckily they didn’t need to.

It’s the turnovers that drop Dajaun Harris down a half star. It seemed like at times he was pressing too much against the school from his hometown. Finished the night with eight points, five assists, but also gave the ball away four times.

Parker Braun did quality work in his limited playing time, swatting away two Missouri shots and making two baskets.

3 Stars: The actual card

Sometimes the joker card adds to a card game (pitch comes to mind) and sometimes it takes away. I mean, when it becomes a wild card, it just changes whatever game you are playing so much that oftentimes it becomes a burden.

Nick Timberlake was the only other bench player to score, nailing a three in the first half. Johnny Furphy and Jamari McDowell played limited minutes and went a combined 0-3 against MU. Furphy did grab four rebounds in the game.