Kansas vs. UConn: Player Ratings to the Theme of Famous People from Connecticut
Kansas showed a lot of grit and determination to get the win against a tenacious UConn team. And with a famous Kansan in Jason Sudekis and a UConn alum in Sue Bird in the crowd, we’re going to keep with the theme of famous people. A lot, and I mean a lot of famous people are from Connecticut. Because of its proximity to New York City, the state of Connecticut has produced a ridiculous number of celebrities for its size. So today, we rate the players based on famous “Nutmeggers”. Yes, that’s what people from Connecticut are called. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s the way we rate the players and if you already know the format, feel free to use our 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.
Memorial No Star: Named after former KU walk-on Chris Teahan and is awarded to the player(s) who didn't have enough playing time to contribute or whose performance isn't worthy of a rating for another reason.
5 Stars: Christopher Lloyd
As a Back to the Future aficionado, I had to put Christoppher Lloyd in the top spot. He’s also leant his voice to many animated series and been a writer on some of the most successful TV shows ever. Great Scott, indeed.
While this game was great, it would be a stretch to award anyone with a five star.
4.5 Stars: Meg Ryan
Sure, most people know Meg Ryan from such legendary films as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and City of Angels among others, but I’ll always value her multidimensional acting chops on Joe Versus the Volcano.
How can you not love KJ Adams? The answer is that cannot not love him. He had an excellent game for the Jayhawks in what was sure to be an emotional game for him as he is scheduled to leave after the game for his mother’s funeral. An emotionally spent KJ almost collapsed to the floor as the final buzzer sounded, his two free throws at the end sealing it for Kansas. Adams finished with 18 points on the night, his dunks firing up an already fired up crowd. KJ added five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks to his wonderful stat line.
Kevin McCullar drilled key three after key three in this one, including two straight in the late second half to give KU the lead for good. He finished the game with 21 points and five rebounds, and was perfect from the line making all six of his attempts.
It’s not often a Hunter Dickinson non double-double (15 pts, 9 rebs) will rate this high, but today, we are accounting for his defense. This had to be one of Dickinson’s hardest working defensive displays of his career, certainly his best as a Jayhawk. He battled Donovan Clingan all night, limiting UConn’s big man to eight points. There was a sequence in the second half where Dickinson wouldn’t back down to Clingan, eventually forcing an off-balance miss. After the Huskies scooped up the rebound while the other four Kansas players watched like statues, a visibly irritated Dickinson got after his teammates. KU went on a run shortly afterward.
4 Stars: Katharine Hepburn
While I may not be able to name a film that Katharine Hepburn has ever been in, it doesn’t mean that I can’t recognize greatness.
No one was a 4 star.
3.5 Stars: Rivers Cuomo
Five stars for early Weezer, one star for everything after Maladroit. Rivers Cuomo lands in the middle.
The rest of the field gets lumped in here, starting with the only bench player to do anything for KU. Johnny Furphy scored six points on two of three shooting from deep and contributed by playing decent defense.
Elmarko Jackson had that “freshman moment” late in the game where he threw it away after crossing the timeline. These are learning moments for Elmarko, and he’ll also need to be more aggressive offensively in the future, but his six points, four rebounds, and two assists were enough to keep almost everyone else on the bench.
Three points and six assists for Dajuan Harris in this one. Not great, but who else would you rather have in there than the floor general. The answer is no one, despite the most distressing part of his game against the Huskies- the two late missed free throws. UConn had an open look to take the lead after those misses and Juan will know he has to be better in the future.
3 Stars: Chris Berman
Like Cuomo, Chris Berman is a man that became a caricature of himself. Early Berman was a revelation, a game changer in the world of sports broadcasting. Then his schtick got old really fast.
This was too good of a win to rate anyone here.
2 Stars: JP Morgan
No one likes the richest man on Earth* do they?
*I’m not sure Morgan ever was the world’s richest man, but still.
No one was a two-star.
1 Star: Benedict Arnold
Certainly no one likes a traitor from the 1700s.
And no one played like one.
Chris Teahan Memorial No-Star:
Outside of Furphy, the bench didn’t do anything. Parker Braun got a few minutes while Dickinson sat, and Nicolas Timberlake played sparingly in the first half. Jamari McDowell played the final 2.4 seconds of the game.
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