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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Nov.24 vs.Missouri in Kansas City Second group of basketball tickets
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2007
COMING TO AN END
PAGE 1B
Brown prepares for last match as Jayhawk
Family bond won't end when career does
BY RUSTIN DODD
BY RUSTIN DODD
rdodd@kansan.com
es — but Jill Brown knows she's going to get a phone call. She knows the voice on the other end will be her daughter, Emily, a senior setter and right side on the Kansas volleyball team, and she knows what her daughter is going to say.
It's been only 30 minutes since Texas A&M beat the Kansas volleyball team 3-0 — the team's seventh loss in eight match-
"No matter how well she played, she's never done enough," Jill Brown said. "She always feels like she could have done more."
"No matter how well she played, she's never done enough. She always feels like she could have done more."
an unfitting final chapter for a player who has left her fingerprints all over the Kansas volleyball history books. Brown — the only player in Kansas history with 1,000 career kills, digs and assists — has been a key presence on the volleyball team four years. Displaying post service like reliability. Brown has been on the floor for every single match since the first match of her freshman season.
JILL BROWN Emily Brown's mother
It doesn't matter that Emily Brown finished the match with 11 kills, 22 assists, and 12 digs — a performance that showcased her versatile collection of volleyball talents.
It's the type of performance Emily Brown has given the Kansas volleyball program for the past four years. But on Nov. 21, the Brown era will come to an end, as she will play her 119th and final match in a Kansas uniform. Kansas will travel to Lubbock, Texas, to play Texas Tech, perhaps
But Brown's volleyball career began well before her first game at Kansas. It's a career that has been defined by a family bond, and a story of a daughter following in the footsteps of her mother.
A HUMBLE BEGINNING
Twenty miles south of Lawrence, Baldwin City sits tucked along Highway 56. Small antique shops line the brick roads of downtown. City Hall sits on the corner, one block down from the post office. The 3,000-person community is dripping with small-town charm.
SEE BROWN ON PAGE 4B
Emily Brown's career by the numbers
116
116
career matches played
116 career matches in the starting lineup
time in Kansas history
1,027
Katherine Loeck/KANSAN
1,138 career kills — 6th all-
1,027 career assists - 10th all-time in Kansas history
1,002 digs — 8th all-time in Kansas history
Emily Brown, senior setter and right side, has been a crucial member of the Kansas baseball team for four years, but her career as a Jayhawk will reach its end Nov. 21 against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. Brown ranks in the top 10 for all-time kills, dives and assists in Kansas history.
Only player in Kansas history with 1,000 kills, 1,000 assists and 1,000
digs
2 NCAA Tournament appearances
FOOTBALL
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
Sophomore quarterback Todd Reese dodges Oklahoma State defenders in Saturday's game. To have a chance at playing in the BCS National Championship game, the Jayhawks must maintain a perfect record.
Football team stays focused to maintain success
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
There isn't anything unusual about students camping out at Allen Fieldhouse: It happens every fall. And it's certainly not unheard of to see a Kansas team win 10 games in a row. After all, this is Kansas, home of national championships, impressive top 25 rankings and high draft picks.
But the source of excitement this year isn't limited to basketball. The students who took up residence on the lawn in front of Allen Fieldhouseon Sunday night weren't waiting in line for courtside seats. Instead, they were hoping for prime seats at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 24.
"To be at this point in the season and to be undefeated and getting more recognition is awesome, and we're loving it," sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing said. "But we know what's at stake, and that's why we prepare so hard during the week. We want to keep this thing rolling."
There's plenty of evidence suggesting it could be worth the wait to watch this Kansas squad. After spending most of the past century as a run-of-the-mill program, Kansas football has made a splash this season by blowing out opponents, winning on the road and taking care of the football. Because of the team's gaudy statistics and unblemished record, college football's powers-that-bear have been started to pay attention.
Ample reason exists for the recent media onslaught. The Jayhawks have trailed their opponents for fewer than 30 of the season's 600 minutes, are ranked second in the nation in scoring offense and scoring defense and are leading the country in turnover margin. Kansas coach Mark Mangino entered the season 2-18 in Big 12 Conference road games, but has led the Jayhawks to four road victories in four tries.
ESPN analyst Lou Holtz wrote on ESPN.com Sunday that he thought Kansas was the best team in the nation, and ABC football analyst Kirk Herbstreit praised the layhawks after watching their victory at Oklahoma State last weekend. Representatives from bowl games and the Thorpe Award took in Saturday's game from the press box alongside reporters from The New York Times and CBSports.com.
Things could become much more surreal in
a hurry for Kansas football. Barring a Kansas collapse against Iowa State or a Missouri meltdown at Kansas State this weekend, No. 4 Kansas will meet No. 6 Missouri in Kansas City with each team's season on the line. The winner of the match-up would pack its bags and head to San Antonio, Texas, for the Big 12 Championship game the next weekend and the loser would start making plans for a bowl game — presumably not a BCS bowl.
If the Jayhawks defeat the Tigers and win the Big 12 Championship, they would be 13-0 and nearly guaranteed a spot in the BCS National Championship game. That sort of wishful thinking may have made its way to the tents outside Allen Fieldhouse, but it has stayed out of the locker room.
"Our team is 10-0 right now because we've taken care of the task at hand and focused on the task at hand." Mangino said. "I understand that all the Kansas beat writers are sick of hearing that — I would be too if I had their job — but it's the truth. It's just the truth."
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Aldrich, Reed learn from upperclassmen's examples
-Edited by Rachel Bock
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
Cole Aldrich gets advice from Darnell Jackson and other upperclassmen at practice, during games and just about everywhere.
"This morning about nine," Jackson said Friday. "Cole and I were taking a shower. He just got done lifting weights, and he told me.'D-Block, you ready to play?' I was like, 'Yeah. He was like,' Man, I'm nervous.' I was just like,' Man, just go out there and play. Get your body going and start sweating, and you'll be fine."
And everywhere means everywhere.
The shower work talked. Aldrich scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. The other freshman on scholarship, guard Tyreel Reed, scored 11 points. Their early success doesn't surprise Kansas coach Bill Self. He said they were getting better by learning from the best at practice.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Take Reed, for example. He has to play offense against some of the best defensive guards
in the country. Senior guard Russell Robinson, junior guard Mario Chalmers, sophomore guard Sherron Collins and senior guard Rodrick Stewart all take turns harassing the freshman. Reed routinely comes home with bumps and bruises from their physical defense.
"Whether they beat me up or whatever, it's still a learning experience," Reed said. "You have to make it into a learning experience. Coach is going to be on you and players are going to be on you because you're a freshman, but you have to have fun with it."
Aldrich has also benefited from the tough love. At Late Night, he looked lost, turning the ball over nearly every time he touched it. Now, he has become accustomed to the speed of the college game after practicing against the likes of Jackson, senior center Sasha Kaun and sophomore forward Darrell Arthur.
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 6B
Tyreel Reed, left, and Cole Aldrich, right, have gained experience by practicing with upperclassmen such as Darnell Jackson. Kansas coach Bill Ellis said playing against the best in practice would prepare the freshmen for the future.
the other freshmen
Conner Teahan and Chase Buford may not be on scholarship, but that doesn't mean they're useless to the team. Here's a quick rundown on how the other two freshmen have performed so far this season.
Conner Teahan — He's shown everyone he can grow a great head of hair and shoot a nice jump shot. Teahan went scoreless against Louisiana Monroe and didn't play against UMKC, but he did
Chase Buford — Buford could be the scrappiest player to ever wear a Kansas uniform. He'll tell you he's not very athletic, not very quick and not very good at shooting. It doesn't matter. He earns his minutes through his hustle and even scored in the exhibition game against Fort Hays State.
contribute in the exhibition games. He scored two points against Pittsburg State and four points against Fort Hays State.
Collins, a sophomore guard, had surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot and will be out six weeks. Collins aggravated the injury during the second half against UMKC on Sunday on a drive to the hoop. He came out of the game but returned a few minutes later.
Sherron Collins out six weeks with stress fracture in foot
What was originally diagnosed as a sprained ankle turned out to be much worse for Sherron Collins.
After the game, Kansas coach Bill Self said Collins had turned his ankle. X-rays taken this morning revealed the stress fracture.
The loss could be costly for Kansas. Collins has led the Jayhawks with an average of 16 points in the first two games. He had been in the starting lineup as a replacement for junior guard Brandon Rush, who is out until around Dec. 1 with a toma ACL.
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Senior guard Rodrick Stewart, freshman guard Tyrel Reed or senior guard Jeremy Case could enter the startina lineup.
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"This will give some of our younger players an opportunity to share Sheron's minutes," Self said. "We also look forward to having a healthy Brandon Rush playing in a short amount of time."
Mark Dent
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