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Cliff Alexander Out For Kansas Jayhawks Against Texas Longhorns

By Joel Wagler

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The Kansas Jayhawks will be without the services of their big freshman, Cliff Alexander, in Saturday’s game against the Texas Longhorns. Evidently, the NCAA is questioning some possible eligibility issues concerning Alexander.

The Lawrence Journal World and KUSports.com are reporting that Cliff Alexander will not play against the Longhorns as a “precautionary measure.” The Journal World quoted Kansas Athletic Director, Sheahon Zenger, and Head Coach, Bill Self:

"“The NCAA has alerted us to an issue that could affect Cliff’s eligibility,” Zenger said. “As a precautionary measure Cliff will not take the court until we have resolved the issue.”“We are committed to NCAA rules compliance,” KU head coach Bill Self said.  “and we want to make sure that we take every precaution to minimize the impact on Cliff.”Zenger said Kansas would have no further comment until the issue is resolved."

There is no further details forthcoming at this time.

Alexander is averaging 7.1 points, 5.3 points, and 1.3 blocks a game, according to ESPN’s team page.

This is a big blow for the Kansas Jayhawks. Cliff Alexander has been slowly developing over the past few weeks, and leaves a big void in the middle of the line-up.

The Kansas big men have not been as good this season as in the past, without the likes of Joel Embiid, Jeff Withey, and Thomas Robinson, but losing Alexander really cuts into the depth the Jayhawks have on the interior. 

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Alexander was starting to pick up his physicality on the defensive end.  He has seven blocked shots over the last five games.

His offense has been up and down recently, as he has only scored in double digits once in the past nine games, and has been shut out three games.

Suddenly, red-shirt freshman Landen Lucas becomes even more important than he has been of late.

Lucas has seen his minutes jump recently as he has played at least nine minutes in his last seven games. Look for double digit minutes on Saturday.

Jamari Traylor needs to step up big time as well. Traylor is most known for his high energy, but he needs a well rounded game against the Longhorns. He doesn’t need to score a ton of points, but he really needs to rebound and play great defense.

Look for little-used Hunter Mickelson to see some time, too. Mickelson has only played in 12 games all year, but he will be needed, especially if the other Kansas interior players get into any kind of foul trouble.

Losing Cliff Alexander could also place even more focus on Perry Ellis. The junior forward is the leading scorer for Kansas, dropping in 14.0 points a game. Ellis is the only Kansas big man that will be much of an offensive threat.

This is a tough time of the year to lose a key player like Cliff Alexander. Bill Self is going to have to rally his players, and concentrate on picking up the slack. Hopefully, the Jayhawks will be able to overcome the adversity, and this whole situation will be cleared up very quickly.

Next: KU Has A Tough Stretch Ahead

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