DAR
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3C
ornia, 11
as City,
Wiscone
et
t
f
n
Clem-
rement
heid his
Astros
Series.
ing his
it wait
certain again clined on means Young re-sign League 1.
years,
years,"
burpura
matter is
we're
nebody
career
nebody
reat ca-
"one of g, diffi os have
because I about agent,
no sur-
avant to mitration decision ens still United inaussic.
million
led the
887 ERA
finished
Young
20-game
ter and
ured leg season this start d Series white Sox
n issue.
koger to
't know
o tie up
of a pe-
lally hurt
ward."
could
trying to
the New
ton Red
clubs.
Clemens t pitch least a
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005 'HORN BORN' 'HAWK BRED
we'll lis-
Athletic underclassmen need starting spots
This year's Kansas men's basketball team is the most athletic group of Jayhawks ever, even more so than the 1997 and 2002 squads. It proved that Tuesday night during its 70-67 loss to St. Joseph's.
TRAVIS ROBINETT
TROBINETT@KANSAN.COM
Need some examples? Freshman forward Julian Wright blocked a shot, led the fast break and dunked the basketball, all in the same sequence. Freshman forward Micah Downs crossed over his defender then hit a fade away three. Freshman guard Mario Chalmers anticipated a pass perfectly, jumped in front of the ball and jammed it to take the last lead Kansas would see at 62-61. Sophomore forward CJ Giles took a pass on the way to
the basket, was fouled and still dunked it with ease.
When was the last time Kansas fans saw their players make plays like those all in the same game?
The starting lineup this year needs to take advantage of that athleticism. Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self should make freshmen Brandon Rush, Chalmers and Downs and sophomores Sasha Kaun and Giles his starters. Of those left, Julian
Wright should get the most minutes.
Rush is the best scorer. His 10 points in the first four minutes of the game proved it. To become more consistent, Rush needs to be more aggressive with the basketball. If the Jayhawks need a basket, he should be the go-to guv.
Senior guard Jeff Hawkins needs to be benched in favor of Chalmers. Chalmers has advantages over Hawkins, most importantly his speed.
Hawkins entered the game against St. Joe's when Kansas was within two points, at 51-53. He guarded senior Chet Stachitas, who had 17 points at the time and ended up with 27. Twice in a row, Hawkins lost
him on the court.
The first time Hawkins lost him, he went to double team an inside player who had the ball, leaving Stachitas wide open. The second time, Stachitas beat Hawkins around a screen. Hawkins looked like he wasn't making it a priority to stay with him.
Chalmers has a bounce in his step that Hawkins doesn't. He is faster bringing the ball up court and makes better passes than Hawkins because he has better court vision. He also has great defensive anticipation, an area where Hawkins struggled two nights ago.
Sure, Chalmers needs to refine his ball handling, but he would learn from increased
playing time. Kirk Hinrich didn't handle the ball well his freshman year either, but Roy Williams started him anyway. The former guard turned out just fine.
Russell Robinson is currently filling the shooting guard position. He hasn't done a bad job at all, especially on defense, but he's small and only a decent shooter. Downs is a fantastic shooter.
Even Dick Vitale agreed the freshmen should get more playing time. During the game, he mentioned that it would be tough to keep them on the bench.
Some people might say Downs is too tall at 6-foot-8, to play defense at the guard position. Downs can use that to his advantage, though. With more height than the player he's guarding, he could leave more room to defend and still threaten to block shots. He
could also use this advantage on offense by shooting over the other player.
These freshmen and sophomores will be around for a while. Self should let them play more minutes than the seniors who leave after this year, so they can learn how to play as a team. The more mistakes they make now, the fewer they will make later in their careers.
- Robinett is an Austin, Texas,
junior in journalism.
▼ BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Vince Young leads Texas players on field, in team 'flow sessions'
BY JIM VERTUNO
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas — Seventh-grade Vince Young toiled away in his yard, raking leaves and piling them in bags. Each time he finished, his mother would dump them out and tell him to do it again.
It was his punishment for participating in a gang fight, and it was torture.
“V
Felicia Young wanted him to hate it. Having struggled with drugs and alcohol for years, and with Vince's father's in jail most of her son's life, she was trying to scare the kid straight.
Young is athlete I've on the field
"She told me I'd end up dead or in jail," Young said, recalling his childhood in Houston, "walking with the wrong crowd and getting gunshots shot at you, trying to avoid a bullet."
Vince the finest ever been with."
Young's supporters see him as
His top competition comes from the guys Texas will have to stop Jan. 4 — Trojans running back Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart, who won the award last season.
"When I was raking those leaves, I thought about that," he said. "I started really working on football and school more, and that was that."
Lloyd Carr Wolverines coach
Young has led the No. 2 Longhorns to 19 straight wins and a Rose Bowl showdown with No. 1 Southern California for the national championship. He's done it in such a spectacular way that on Saturday he'll likely be in New York as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, trying to join Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams as the only Longhorns to win the award.
"That" became the unleashing of an elusive, strong-armed quarterback who became a local legend in a city as big as Houston and has become an even bigger star at the University of Texas.
the best of both. As a quarterback, he's the team's leader, like Leinart, yet as a phenomenal athlete capable of making eye-popping plays, he's every defensive coordinator's nightmare, like Bush.
"At this level you see a few guys with capes and S's on their chest and Vince Young is one of them," Colorado coach Gary Barnett said — before Young passed for three touchdowns and ran for another against the Buffaloes in a 70-3 victory in the Big 12 title game last Saturday.
Young's won 29 of 31 starts, passing Bobby Layne — a college and pro Hall of Famer who set the standard for Texas quarterbacks back in the 1950s — for the most victories.
He's accounted for 78 touchdowns in his career, breaking the school record of 76 set by Williams, the 1998 Heisman winner. His 8,705 yards of total offense is also a school record.
Funny thing is, midway through last season, critics wanted him to play another position.
Following a shutout loss to rival Oklahoma, Young was deided as a great runner whose awkward sidearm motion was too inconsistent.
Instead of benching him or moving him to a new position, Brown left the team in the hands of a 6-foot-5, 230-pound project, flaunting his size and speed as Texas bullied teams with a
"He had to move to receiver." Texas coach Mack Brown recalled recently.
punishing rushing attack.
The Longhorns haven't lost since.
Young's breakout game was the last Rose Bowl when he ran for 20,60,10 and 23 touchdowns and threw for another in Texas' 38-37 win over Michigan.
"Vince Young is the finest athlete I've ever been on the field with," Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr said afterward.
As a passer, Young silenced his critics with 2,769 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. He's also run for a team-high 850 yards and nine TDs in an offense that scored 50 or more points seven times. His pass efficiency rating is 168.6, the best in the nation.
"We take for granted now what he does," Brown said. "He does whatever he needs to do to win."
Young's arm got Texas its biggest win of the season, a 25-22 victory at Ohio State, with a late-game touchdown pass to Limas Sweed.
Then the season really started rolling. Texas ended five years of frustration against Oklahoma. Young was the center of the post-game celebration, leading thousands of fans in singing the "Eves of Texas."
Three weeks later, he saved Texas' season with 506 total yards — 267 on the ground, 239 through the air — in a 47-28 win at Oklahoma State. Texas trailed 28-9 in the second quarter and Young's 80-yard touchdown run at the start of the third turned the game.
"When the chips are down, he can pull something from nowhere," offensive tackle Justin Blalock said.
Young is just as important a leader off the field as on it.
He leads the pre-game, behind-the-scenes "flow sessions" of music and dancing that keep the players and coaches loose.
Texas quarterback Vince Young runs against Texas A&M in the first quarter Nov. 25. Young was AP Defensive Player of the Year.
David J. Phillip/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AD Publication Planner of the Years
To get in better touch with his players, Brown downloaded hours of hip-hop music into his iPod.
"I was telling him (Brown) sometimes what 50 Cent be saying, it's similar to some of our guys' lives," Young said. "We talk to each other like we're best
friends. I knew our relationship would be good, but not like it is now. We've been together a long time. It's let me grow into a man."
Since midseason, Young has maintained that he plans to return for a senior season, even if his family could use the riches
of an NFL contract.
For now, he's having too much fun to think about much of anything other than playing USC for the national title. After the Big 12 championship, Young and the players danced in a spontaneous "flow session" on the field.