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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10.2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Kansas 96 Fort Hays State 62
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jared Soares/Kansan
Sophomore forward Sasha Kaun, left, and freshman guard Brandon Rush, right, fight for a rebound against Fort Hays State during second-half action. The Jayhawks defeated the Tigers Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Kaun finished with 23 points and Rush added 17 points in the winoff effort.
Welcome, freshmen Second half calms players' jangled nerves
PAGE 1B
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITER
Sitting in the locker room before Kansas' 96-62 victory over Fort Hays State, Brandon Rush didn't feel so well. His nerves were in full force and he had a severe case of "bubble gut."
"I was real nervous, I had the BG. My stomach was bubbling and everything." Rush said.
It took Rush a half to get his nerves settled, but when he did the freshman forward was nearly unstoppable.
After going one for three from the floor in the first half for just two points, Rush went six of nine with 15 points in the second. In a one-minute stretch, Rush scored eight consecutive points, including a highlight where he stole the ball and drove it the length of the court for his signature reverse dunk.
"I stole the ball and felt him behind me and just reversed it and threw it down," Rush said. "Then I stared him down."
Rush also pulled down seven offensive rebounds. He said the main reason for his enlightened play in the second half was that he felt more comfortable with 20 minutes of play under his belt.
SEE FRESHMEN ON PAGE 3B
VOLLEYBALL
Kyle Nosal/OKLAHOMA DAILY
Senior outside hitter Paula Caten dives for the ball during Wednesday's match against Oklahoma at the McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla. Kansas won the game 3-1.
Defense carries team
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
kansasANST WRITER
Kansas is now 14-11 overall
The Iajhawks still have to win at least three more matches to have a realistic chance of making the NCAA tournament. Their next test will come Saturday night against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Kansas volleyball team overcame a one-game deficit to win three in a row and defeated Oklahoma 3-1 in Norman, Okla., Wednesday night. The second straight Kansas road victory might have happened just in time to save the season.
"Every match is a must-win situation," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. "We put ourselves in that situation, but we've been in it before and responded, and I think this team is very capable of doing it again."
Senior outside hitter Paula Caten and senior middle blocker Josi Lima added 15 kills each, and Lima posted a team-high 6.5 blocks to pace the lawhaybs.
Sophomore opposite hitter Emily Brown had one kill after the first game. She finished the match with 22. After the match, Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard expressed his satisfaction with her effort.
After losing the first game 30-27, the Jayhawks began their comeback and evened the match in game two. They led nearly the entire way and slipped past the Sooners 30-27.
and 6-10 in Big 12 Conference play. Oklahoma fell to 6-19 and 1-15 in league action.
Game three was all Kansas.
It fell behind early in the game.
but it stormed back and won 30-
23, grabbing a 2-1 advantage.
"She was huge tonight," he said. "She has been big for us the last couple of matches."
Kansas wrapped up the proceedings in game four with a hard-fought 30-28 victory. After recording a triple-double against Colorado just more than a week ago, senior setter Andi Rozum fell just one kill short of repeating that feat Wednesday night. She finished the match with nine kills, 10 digs and 56 assists. Junior defensive specialist Dani Wittman led Kansas with 17 digs. Three others finished in double-digits as well.
Bechard said the Jayhawks' defensive effort was the key to victory.
"We've won back to back matches on the road, and that's a sign that the team's trying to get better and not giving up," Bechard said.
Edited by Tricia Masenthin
FOOTBALL
Josh Kirk/KANSAN
Senior quarterback Jason Swanson throws a pass during the game against Nebraska Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Swanson had two touchdowns and one interception in the 40-15 victory. Swanson has provided an offensive spark since taking over during the Colorado game Oct. 22.
Swanson a surprise star
BY KELIS ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTWRITER
As Jason Swanson walked down Mass. Street a few hours after Kansas defeated Nebraska 40-15 Saturday, he didn't feel like a big man on campus.
The senior quarterback was dressed in the suit football players wear before every game and should have been easily spotted by the multitude of fans downtown celebrating the Jayhawks' first victory against Nebraska since 1968.
But the only people congratulating him were his girlfriend and her mom.
The lack of attention didn't surprise or bother him. He's too modest to expect superstar treatment, even after ending a 36-game losing streak to Nebraska this year and an 11-game losing streak to Kansas State last season.
"Not a lot of people know who I am without having a jersey on." Swanson said. "People don't talk to me very often on campus. I just feel like a normal student."
People might not roll out the red carpet for him now. But in coming years, he could be one of the most fondly remembered quarterbacks in Kansas' history.
Despite playing in only a handful of games, the victories he earned and the streaks he ended will forever be part of Jayhawk lore. No matter what he does the rest of his college football career, he'll be brought up whenever Jayhawk trivia is played.
"I've got one of those college trivia games asking weird off-the-wall questions." Swanson said.
SEE SWANSON ON PAGE 3B
▼ 'HORN BORN, 'HAWK BRED
With six victories in sight for coach, columnist retracts criticism
Beating either Texas or Iowa State and getting his team to a bowl game two out of the last three years would be a tremendous step for Mark Mangino and his program.
On that note, I would like to formally apologize to Mangino. I'm sorry.
To think that only a month ago, this Kansan columnist suggested that he might not be the right man for the job. Oops. On Sept. 10 I wrote, "If he doesn't start winning close games, this offseason Kansas needs to take the next step and hire a better in-game coach with the ability to deliver a winning season." Well, Mangino started winning and has a good chance of getting to six victories.
big guy. Thanks for proving me wrong. Kudos for the fantastic defense you put together.
Mangino still hasn't won many games decided by nine points or less in his career at Kansas. His record in those games is 3-10. But Mangino won't need to make the right decisions in close games to make a bowl game, because his team won't make most of its games close.
It really is a pleasure to watch those guys tackle and make the other team consistently punt the ball. It's even better when the offense doesn't give the ball right back.
Since Mangino finally found the right quarterback in senior Jason Swanson
TRAVIS ROBINETT
TROBINETT@KANSAN.COM
and figured out that Kansas' offensive strength was the running game, the nation's best rushing defense has been able to stay off the field and watch for more than four plays before stepping on the field again. Even better than that, the offense has actually scored five touchdowns in the last two games. That's two more than what it scored in the previous four.
Mangino already has accomplished the program's immediate goals by ending the 36-game losing streak to Nebraska, ending the 11-game losing streak to Kansas State, defeating Missouri three years in a row and making a bowl game. What more could Kansas fans ask of Mangino?
Mangino's secret for a successful team clearly isn't in-game decision making. But he is great at recruiting, making game plans and motivating his team, especially against the opponents Kansas fans really want to beat.
Four years ago, all those achievements would have been inconceivable under former coach Terry Allen. Remember the last time Kansas played at
Texas? The year was 2001, Allen had just been fired and Kansas lost 59-0. Kansas will most likely lose again this weekend, but Mangino has put together a team that has a chance, even though it's a very small one, to go into Austin, Texas, and win.
The next step for Mangino is to push the program to the point where it is getting at least six victories on an annual basis. Maybe then he and Kansas will get more respect across the country.After the last two victories, Mangino will at least get some from his own campus.
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- Robinett is an Austin, Texas, junior in journalism.
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