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Volume 126 Issue 74
kansan.com
Monday, February 10, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & GANSAN
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COMMENTARY Kansas prepares for K-State rivalry
By Blake Schuster sports@kansan.com
Until this year senior forward Tarik Black had never played basketball in the state of Kansas. He matched up against the Jayhawks once in Madison Square Garden back in his Memphis days, but that's about it. He had never witnessed the game, never grew up listening to stories about the Big 8 battles. Black didn't pay attention to Michael Beasley in 2008, or Jacob Pullen in 2011 and he likely didn't hear much about Rodney McGruder either.
"It's very personal," Black said when Monday's contest was brought up.
Yet listen to his voice when Kansas State comes up. Watch as his smile starts to fade and his demeanor darkens.
Freshman guard Wayne Selden Jr., grew up on the East Coast. He played high school ball in New Hampshire. He wasn't around any man who was a Wildcat, let alone every — at least not in the Big 12 sense. Yet when talking about Bramlage Coliseum he speaks like a veteran.
"We're going in expecting the worst," Selden said. "We're expecting a hostile environment, expecting not to get any calls, expecting to battle through it." Freshman guard Andrew Wiggins didn't know a lick about Kevin Durant's days at Texas before this season started. There's little chance he knew about anything that happened 90 miles west of Lawrence before then either.
There's virtually no reason many of these players, certainly the freshmen, should care about playing Kansas State. Instead, the team has taken it upon themselves to come out with what Black called, "one of our best games," and to prepare for the hatred that stems from years of familiarity. All for a team they hardly know.
One day soon these Jayhawks will be playing for some serious titles. Owning this state is just first on the list.
Quite simply: This team has bought into being Kansas basketball players.
They've bought into dominating Big 12 play, bought into protecting home court and bought into the rivalries.
At this point it wouldn't be surprising if freshman center Joel Embiid walks off the floor in Manhattan on Monday night blowing kisses to the crowd the same way Elijah Johnson did last year.
"We're expecting to shine when we play them," Black said, acting as though he'd been the one to rip the hearts out of Wildcats fans for years now.
Maybe this is just talk. Perhaps the team is playing this up for the sake of the rivalry.
Maybe it's more than that. Maybe Black, Selden and Wiggins have been walking around campus and listening to their classmates. Maybe they have been hearing stories from students and coaches about K-State.
Then again, this isn't the first time players have gone up against hated opponents.
This is their rivalry now and it'll probably be the last time Kansas plays this year - assuming there's no match in March.
"It's an in-state rivalry," Black said. "We're ready for that."
Edited by Amber Kasselman
KANSAS 83 WEST VIRGINIA 69
Battle-tested Jayhawks hang on for victory
Kansas guard Frank Mason gets ready to send the ball back into play. Mason scored five points against West Virginia on Saturday.
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
BLAKE SCHUSTER sports@kansan.com
Freshman guard Frank Mason wasn't done working. Kansas' backup point guard still rife with energy, and getting set to check in, wasn't satisfied just watching from the sideline as the second half ticked away.
In front of the scorer's table Mason got himself squared up and rattled off some pushups, grinding them out until the whistle blew and he could get back to playing.
"I just felt like doing some," Mason said. "It's the first time."
Atter months of coach Bill Self trying to instill a sense of workmanship among his players the message has gone subliminal. The dividends have been a bit easier to spot, like Mason grabbing a loose ball and finishing with a sidestep into the lane that had West Virginia's junior guard Gary Browne falling over.
No. 8 Kansas defeated the Mountaineers, 83-69, and with the second half of the Big 12 season officially underway the Jayhawks' vitality answers many of the remaining questions surrounding them.
"It doesn't really matter who starts," freshman guard Wayne Selden Jr., said after finishing with 17 points. "No matter who is on the court we should be able to do the same thing."
Which is more of an embodiment of Kansas' game on Saturday than anything else.
When sophomore forward Perry Ellis and freshman center Joel Embiid started struggling and fouling in the first half, senior forward Tarik Black and sophomore forward Jamari Traylor came in and took control of the paint for them. Instead of laboring and clogging the middle, the two combined for 18 points and seven rebounds.
Really it's become just another constant for this Kansas team. When the first group of bigs needs to get off the floor, the second group takes over flawlessly.
"I'm not sure there was a drop off when Tarik was in the game," Self said. "He's playing the exact way we envisioned when we got him. Maybe better."
The days of Black fouling uncontrollably have faded away with the confusing mess that made up non-conference play. It's what you would expect from a seasoned team, learning how to cope with new teammates and different atmospheres. Not necessarily something you expect from group that routinely plays five freshmen.
Even freshman guard Andrew Wiggins seemed to
SEE MASON PAGE 7B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas falls to Oklahoma at home
KYLE PAPPAS
sports@kansan.com
Junior Natalie Knight drains a 3-pointer in the game against Oklahoma on Sunday.
After taking No. 11 Oklahoma State down to the wire earlier this week, Kansas women's basketball should have been high on confidence heading into its home matchup versus Oklahoma on Sunday. But that confidence quickly dissipated as the Jayhawks were simply outplayed during their 81-71 loss to the Sooners in Allen Fieldhouse.
"We just didn't have any pop," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We allowed them to be who they wanted to be."
The Sooners (15-9, 6-5 Big 12) went scoreless in the game's opening four minutes, but Kansas (11-13, 4-8 Big 12) still found itself playing from behind for much of the first half. Oklahoma was able to string together a few key runs to maintain a comfortable advantage while the Jayhawks couldn't seem to get much going on offense.
AMIE JUST/KANSAN
The game's pivotal matchup was Kansas junior forward Chelsea Gardner on Sooners' senior center Nicole Griffin. At 6-foot-6, Griffin was Oklahoma's sole threat in the paint, and they tried to get her the ball early and often. But Gardner continuously stifled the towering center, blocking or altering several of her first-half attempts.
Though on the other end of the floor, Gardner wasn't faring much better. She
was' continuously harassed by Sooners' defenders immediately after touching the rock, rarely getting a clean look at the basket. The Jayhawks were forced to call on their supporting cast as Gardner was held without a field goal in the first half.
"They rotated and kept fresh legs on her," Henrickson said. "They were physical on her."
Junior guard Natalie Knight single-handedly kept Kansas in the contest throughout Gardner's frustrating first half. She logged 15 points in just the first半 while no other Jayhawk recorded more than five. Knight drained a barrage of shots from all over the court as Kansas was able to cut its deficit to just two by halftime.
"Hats off to Natalie Knight, she really shot the ball well night," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "She was really, really good."
In the second half, Knight picked up where she left off, sinking a three on Kansas' first possession to give the team its first lead in over 15 minutes. But the Jayhawks promptly gave up a series of effortless buckets to Oklahoma, enabling them to regain the lead shortly after.
Each time Kansas seemed to gain momentum, the Sooners marched down the floor and stole it right back. Gardner eventually began to get comfortable in the second half — she finished with 10 points and collected nine rebounds — but it was too
little too late.
The Jayhawks perhaps had their best chance at a comeback with just over
"We just didn't have any pop. We allowed them to be who they wanted to be."
BONNIE HENRICKSON Coach
seven minutes remaining. Down by only five after a Gardner jumper, the 5,418 in attendance at Allen
"We just weren't able to find open people in transition," senior guard Markisha Hawkins said. "We weren't matched up and they took advantage of those mistakes."
Fieldhouse returned to their feet. But 3-pointers on Oklahoma on consecutive possessions quickly pushed its lead back to 11 and Kansas never got close again.
If there was a silver lining to be found, it was certainly Knight's day shooting the ball. She registered a career-high 25 points and hit six shots from behind the arc to tie a career-best. The Jayhawks' remaining opponents will be increasingly hesitant to assign
double coverage to Gardner after Knight's day from the field on Sunday.
For the Sooners, senior guard Aaryn Ellenberg led the way with 19 points on 7-14 shooting. Kansas routinely allowed her uncontested shots from everywhere on the court, which she took advantage of. The entire Oklahoma offense contributed as well, shooting 55 percent from the floor in the second half.
"It's who we knew they were as far as how explosive they can be in transition," Henrickson said. "I'm disappointed we didn't have better focus and concentration."
Edited by Chelsea Mies
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