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GOLF Extreme weather hasn't stopped the Kansas men's golf team from preparing for its Hawaii tournament. PAGE 2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2005
Miles key to turnaround
www.kansan.com
Seniors Wayne Simien, forward, and Keith Langford, guard, jump off the bench to celebrate an alley-oop from senior guard Aaron Miles to junior forward Christian Moody last night. Simien led all scorers with 22 points and eight rebounds. Simien and his fellow seniors are now 8-1 out of the Missouri Tigers.
John Tran/KANSAN
Late assists propel 'Hawks past Tigers
By MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
MLENNEN SPORTSWITTER
Aaron Miles apologized to his teammates at halftime. The senior guard said he thought he was responsible for the Kansas Jayhawks' lackluster first-half performance. The Jayhawks trailed the struggling Missouri Tigers by eight at the half.
"When we play like that, I feel like it's my fault." Miles said.
Although Miles wasn't the only Jayhawk to blame for Kansas' sub-par first half, he was the key to their second-half rally that ended with a 73-61 victory against Missouri.
Miles scored 10 points and nine assists in the final 20 minutes of play and finished the game with 14 points and 10 assists. He hit consecutive three-pointers early in the second half that not only narrowed the Missouri lead to five, but also got the frustrated crowd back in the game.
But for someone who takes so much responsibility for things that go wrong. Miles doesn't take credit for what goes right.
Last night was just another example. It seemed like he was involved in every second-half play for the Jayhawks. Whether it was pushing the ball up the court or dishing out a perfect alley-oop pass, Miles did it all. Heck, every time he shot a three-pointer last night, it went in.
But he credited Keith Langford, who also came out of the locker room smokin' hot, for the Jayhawks second half resurgence.
Langford, who scored only two first-half points, looked like a different player after the intermission. And it wasn't because he traded in his white Nikes for black ones.
The senior guard scored nine second half points, breaking loose for transition buckets, slashing through the Missouri defense and opening up countless perimeter shots for his teammates — well, mainly the starters.
"Yall might say it was me, but I think it was Keith, more so because he just started attacking and drawing double teams."
rebounds in 24 minutes of play. Sophomore J.R. Giddens hauled in 15 points and threw down an alley-oop dunk that gave the Jayhawks their first second-half lead, one they would never relinquish.
The starting five scored all but two of the team's points. Senior forward Wayne Simien had a game-high 22 points and Christian Moody scored nine points and pulled down six
But Kansas coach Bill Self said it all started with Miles.
great," Self said. "But it all keyed off of Aaron."
When the Jayhawks were forced to stay an extra night in Philadelphia after their 83-62 loss to the Villanova Wildcats, Self said Miles was the most vocal in the team meeting they had at the hotel. Self has said all year that Miles was the last one to point fingers when something went wrong. Instead,
he finds ways to fix it.
"J.R. made some baskets. Christian made some baskets. They were both
So it should come as no surprise to the Jayhawks that Miles came through once again.
"He's been doing the same thing consistently game after game," Langford said. "It just kills me that people don't give him his recognition."
SEE TURNAROUND ON PAGE 3B
Defeat puts Mizzou coach's job security further in question
BY KELLI ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
The Missouri Tigers showed promise in last night's game at Allen Fieldhouse.
After falling behind by seven points early on, they regrouped and stuck it to the Kansas Jayhawks for the remainder of the first half. Sophomore forward Linas Kleiza came off the bench, and the Tigers got hot. They made 15 of 29 shots and closed the half off with a scissillating 20-4 run, giving them an eight-point halftime lead.
But Missouri coach Quin Snyder knows all too well that promise means nothing without results.
Kansas switched to a zone defense in the second half and chipped away at the Missouri lead. It took Kansas a long while to put Missouri away. The game was still close with three minutes remaining when Kleiza committed his fifth foul and then mouthed off to an official, earning him both a seat on the bench and a technical.
"That definitely hurt us," said Missouri freshman forward Marshall Brown. "They were up, but we had a chance to come back. We would have had a chance to make a run until that technical."
The play symbolized Missouri's entire game, and even its entire season. The Tigers played well enough to win, but they committed so many mental errors that it didn't matter matter how much promise they showed.
A question about Snyder's job security was sure to come following the game.
"It would be selfish for me to answer that and talk about myself," a visibly distraught Snyder said after being asked about how long he expected to be Missouri's head coach. "I'm concerned about the team. Ultimately, though, I know I'm accountable."
In fact, it was the second question he was asked.
The Kansas student section let every
SEE SNYDER ON PAGE 3B
John Tran/KANSAN
Missouri Tigers coach Quin Snyder speaks to his bench last night at Allen Fieldhouse. Missouri's loss to Kansas was his sixth at the Fieldhouse.
SPORTS COMMENTARY
JONATHAN KEALING jkealing@kansan.com
This season did not exactly start out the way LR. Giddens planned.
Giddens 'just plays', emerges from slump
Until recently though, Giddens had the dubious distinction of being the season's biggest disappointment.
The sophomore guard entered the season with expectations of a lottery pick in the NBA Draft and a chance at ending up as an all-Big 12 Conference selection.
Dating back to overtime against Georgia Tech, through the game against Texas A&M, and then through the beginning of the game at Kentucky, Giddens endured a 59-minute dry spell. He wasn't shooting, he wasn't rebounding, and he certainly wasn't defending.
In fact, Giddens was in the middle of a pronounced sophomore slump.
His play earned him more and more time on the bench, time which he used to focus on what was wrong.
"When you're playing playground ball, you can play like you don't care." Giddens said. "I don't think I was thinking too hard. I'd say I was thinking too much."
On the advice of coach Bill Self, Gilders relaxed and just played. So far, it's working. Judging from both Saturday's demolition of Texas and last night's triumph against Missouri, Gilders has turned the corner.
"Nick Bae tried to drive on me to the hole, and he said, 'J.R. you're sliding your feet good,'" Giddens said.
Sliding out to cut off open lanes and force extra passes is an area of defense in which Giddens has made an effort to improve. This extra work has made him more valuable on the floor and helped him carry the load when the team was trailing hated rival Missouri.
Several times last night he spun past his defender, stepped inside the line and shot up a two, instead of a way-too-long three. Even beyond that, Giddens is dishing assists. While he didn't wrack up any against Missouri, he did accumulate five assists, a season high, against Texas.
The last two games represent a new Giddens, one who is playing a big part in his team's victories.
Of course, any piece on Giddens wouldn't be complete without at least some description of the acrobatics that fans have come to know and expect of the sophomore from Oklahoma City.
In last night's game Giddens had the second-most points, 15, and the second-most minutes, 36. He also pulled down four boards. With Giddens' height and jumping ability, he shouldn't have had the rebounding problems he endured through early January.
not only is Giddens working harder to grab the loose ball, he's also making the extra pass. Early on, the team could rely on Giddens for mostly one thing: putting up the three. But lately he's discovered the pass and the pivot.
With 10:24 left on the clock in the second half, the Jayhawks moved down the court after successfully defending a Tiger possession. As senior guard Aaron Miles moved the ball up court, Giddens saw his chance. Telling himself to "just run J.R.," Giddens took off for the basket.
Giddens has also made night-and day improvements on defense.
As he streaked along the baseline, Miles fed him an alley-oop, which Giddens slammed home, giving Kansas its first lead of the second half, 52-51.
Yes, I'd say it's safe to assume J.R. has turned a corner on his season, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Jayhawks.
Keeling is a Chesterfield, Mo. sophomore in journalism and political science. He is the Kansan associate sports editor.
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