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Volume 126 Issue 72
kansan.com
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
COMMENTARY Black steps up in Embiid's place
At the 13-minute mark in the first half, freshman center Joel Embibd committed his second foul and headed to the bench. Senior center Tarik Black got the nod to enter the game.
On the first defensive possession Black played, he out muscled a rebound away from Baylor forward Rico Gathers. Three minutes later senior guard Naadir Tharpe sent an entrance pass to Black on the left block and Black attempted a contested layup. Black missed the layup and grabbed his own offensive rebound. He went for the layup again, missed again and again recovered his own rebound while being fouled by Baylor sophomore center Isaiah Austin.
Black's efforts proved that he could be reliable to come off the bench again, after missing time with an ankle injury, and kept the paint under control in Kansas' 69-52 win last night.
"He got about three rebounds when he first checked in," coach Bill self said. "I think that gave us confidence. He cleared space and did a great job."
Black, who only played six minutes against Texas on Saturday, missed two games against TCU on Jan. 25 and Iowa State on Jan. 29, played 11 minutes in the first half last night due to Ebiiid's foul trouble. Black reminded everyone why he was once the starter. Black scored four points on 2-4 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half. Black committed only one foul in the first half.
"I felt like everybody was getting after it," Tharpe said. "Everybody was into it the whole game."
Black helped Kansas outrebound Baylor 24-12 in the first half and contributed to the 35-27 lead going into half time.
The physical play by Black is what makes him effective. He plays with a big body at 6-9; 260 pounds.
"I'm a grid and grind type of guy," Black said. "If I try to be finesse, that won't be a good night for me."
Early in the second half, Black was forced to face Baylor's Austin in the lane and both times Black caused a jump ball. Then, he had the best play of the night.
In the second half, Embiid picked up his third foul with 18 minutes left, giving Black more playing time, where he showed flashes of defensive skills.
"We really guarded in the second half, Self said. "This was more about defending and rebounding."
With nine minutes left in the second half, Black contested a layup against Gathers that led to a breakaway monster dunk by freshman guard Andrew Wiggins to put Kansas up 54-44. Black received the assist on the play.
Black's offensive performance can be summed up with one play. Black caught a pass from Tharpe on the left block; power dribbled once and laid it up with over five minutes left to play in the second half. That was the best post move that Black has shown all year. Black has improved offensively and defensively since coming off the bench.
"It's important for me perform every night." Black said when asked about how important his play was.
Black played 23 minutes, the most he's played all season, and had a season-high nine rebounds and only three fouls.
Edited by Casey Hutchins
KANSAS 69 BAYLOR 52
MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
Coach Bill Self congratulates his team after defeating the Baylor Bears 62-52 in Waco, Texas, Tuesday night. The win gives the Jayhawks a 17-5 overall record and an 8-1 Big 12 record.
Upperclassmen outscore freshmen
BLAKE SCHUSTER sports@kansan.com
WACO, Texas - With an abysmal half coming to a close for Andrew Wiggins you had to expect he would try anything to get on the score sheet. He was hardly getting any touches, let alone looks at the basket, and nothing had fallen. He couldn't even bully his way to the free throw line against a Baylor zone that kept him out of the paint for most of the frame.
He wasn't expecting it to swish through the net.
So when the ball landed in Wiggins' hands with nearly four seconds remaining in the first half he had every right to take a desperate shot from half court.
Or maybe he was, as he walked to the locker room with his teammates jumping around, acting as if nothing had happened.
"We ran that play at the end of the first half to get him going." Kansas coach Bill Self said with a smirk after the No. 8 Jayhawks defeated Baylor 69-52.
Really, that was all that mattered on Tuesday night. Not that freshman center Joel Embiid shot one of six from the field while playing just 17 minutes, or that Wayne Selden Jr. tallied only four
As easily as Kansas fell into a funk a few days ago in a loss to Texas, the Jayhawks, 17-5 (8-1 in the Big 12), came right back out it against the Bears, 14-8 (2-7 in the Big 12).
points and certainly not Wiggins' lack of scoring in the first half.
The Jayhawks just needed to stop a streak before it began.
"We wanted to make sure one didn't become two," said senior forward Tarik Black of Saturday's loss. "That's all we were saying. It was our motto."
Instead of focusing on offense to make the motto come true, Kansas stylized Baylor's, holding the Bears to their lowest point total of the season.
in the absence of scoring from the Jayhawks' freshmen, it was Perry Ellis, with 14 points, and Naadir Tharpe, with 22 points, keeping Kansas in control. Tharpe went four of six from the beyond the arc while Ellis
stayed busy down low.
yed busy down low. Tharpe's performance comes just one game after he was benched midway through the second half against the Longhorns. Whatever message Bill Self wanted his point guard to learn, Tharpe accepted it.
"I knew that last game wasn't Kansas basketball," Tharpe said. "Me being a point guard leading this team, I didn't do anything to help. I had to play better."
While Tharpe only had four assists, it was his calmness with the ball that provided consistency for the offense. This wasn't a night of Tharpe taking wild shots as he's known to do. Tharpe was more selective. He had the opportunities to get his shot off and he took them.
"We're going to be a team where it's a different guy every night," Self said. "And he stepped up."
It's what you would expect someone like Tharpe is capable of at this point in his career. And with a younger team, Tharpe didn't have much of a choice when it came to picking up the Jayhawks after a demoralizing loss.
That's also why no one talked about what happened in Austin when the Jayhawks returned home from the weekend. There wasn't time to worry about what had already happened.
"We had to move onto the next one," Ellis said.
— Edited by Tara Bryant
TENNIS
Senior says team supports her success
TORI RUBINSTEIN
sports@kansan.com
Senior Paulina Los is off to an incredibly hot start this spring. With an overall singles record of 5-1, she is becoming a force to be reckoned with for opponents. Coach Todd Chapman attributes this success to her aggressiveness, which has greatly improved from past years.
"She's playing much more physical tennis this season than in the past," Chapman said. "She's really trying to move forward and be more aggressive. She's doing a great job with that."
Los doesn't have any specific goals for this season as far as wins and losses, saying that all she wants to do is put her best effort into every single match. She is also focusing on her demeanor and says she will be fine as long as her attitude is good.
"Whenever I start a match my mindset is to fight for every ball." Los said.
Los, who is originally from Gdansk, Poland, said that the biggest difference from playing overseas is that she is playing for a team here.
"Sometimes I feel like it motivates me more playing for a team than when I was just playing for myself in Poland," Los said.
Los said she has many great memories from her time at Kansas, but the one that stands out was winning third place at the annual JayRock event.
JayRock, which began in 2006, is an annual student- athletic variety show sponsored by the Kansas Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Los helped the Jayhawks roll past the Huskers this weekend, winning her singles match 7-6 (7-1). 6-3. This is just the third time in ten
She said another one of her favorite memories was beating No. 70 Missouri her freshman year and also beating No. 36 Nebraska this past Friday.
a top-30 ranked opponent. Living near the coast in Poland, Los enjoys water sports such as windsurfing and in the winter, she loves to ski and snowboard. She says that when she is not playing tennis, she is usually hanging out with friends.
years that Kansas has beaten a top-50 ranked opponent.
Upon graduating, Los plans on returning back to Poland to attend graduate school and eventually get her master's degree.
"I don't have many plans for the future right now," Los said. "The most important thing will be for me to find a job and decide what university I will go to get my master's."
Los and the rest of the Jayhawks will look to keep rolling when the Colorado Buffs come to town this Friday. This match will take place at the Jayhawk Tennis Center at 3 p.m.
— Edited by Stella Liang
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
Junior Paulina Los competes against Iowa State at the Jayhawk Tennis Center sunday afternoon. KU defeated Iowa State with a final score of 4-3.
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