Volume 128 Issue 85
kansan.com
Thursday, February 26, 2014
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COMMENTARY
Jayhawks need to put February in the past
Edited by Callie Byrnes
Nobody should be more excited for the calendar to read "March" than the Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks are struggling this February, limping to a 4-3 record with one game remaining. Despite not playing well for most of the month, the Jayhawks have shown how talented they are, because they have had a chance to win in each of their losses.
Coach Bill Self is no stranger to seeing his team struggle in February. In 2013, they went 5-3 in February and 26-3 in every other month. In 2008 which is the year they won the NCAA Championship, the Jayhawks were 5-2 in February and 32-1 in every other month.
Kansas has not played a complete game since Feb. 2, when it had an 89-76 home victory over the Iowa State Cyclones. But it still has the time and the pieces to right the ship.
Despite some key players struggling, the Jayhawks were in the position to win in all three losses — two of them to top 25 opponents and one to a rival. The pieces are clearly there, and if they play to their potential, they can beat anybody. With Self at the helm, that seems very likely.
February, which is often referred to as the "dog days" of the college basketball season, is a common time for teams to hit skids. Players often look ahead to March, and who can blame them? College basketball fans look forward to the NCAA Tournament all season.
Now imagine being a 19- or 20-year-old kid on a tournament team and how hard it must be to not look ahead.
Through the end of January, Mason was the most consistent player the Jayhawks had. He is still passing and rebounding well, but has struggled to score as effectively this month. He averages 10 points, two below his season average, on 42 percent shooting, which is 3 percent below his season average.
For a young team like Kansas, what it's experiencing isn't that surprising. Underclassmen Frank Mason III, Cliff Alexander and Brannen Greene are all crucial to the Jayhawks' success, and they all have struggled this month.
Greene, who was on fire in January from the three, is shooting just 39 percent this month, which is well below his season average of 48 percent.
Alexander's biggest problem has been staying on the court. Whether it is due to foul trouble or not playing up to Self's standards, Alexander is averaging Just 14 minutes per game this month, three minutes below his season average. He is averaging 12 rebounds and three blocks per 40 minutes, and the Jayhawks have struggled in those areas when he's on the bench.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
G.J. MELIA
@gimelia
Like many athletes, junior All-Conference spinner Rhavean King's world revolves around her sport. But when she completes her education at Kansas, her career will continue off the track.
King will graduate with a degree in political science this May, a year early. She will then attend the University of Kansas Law School, as well as using her final year of eligibility on the track team running the 4x400 meter relay team, 800-meter and 400-meter.
"It just kind of fell into place," King said. "After I did that first year of summer school, and then I did the second summer of summer school going into my sophomore year, that's when my adviser told me, 'Hey, you're on track to graduate [early].'"
Coming into her freshman year, King was already ahead in credit hours. She went to Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tenn., where she
was an International Baccalaureate (IB) scholar. King said that IB classes were similar to Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and she was able to have eight credits of English and Spanish transfer to Kansas.
In addition to her eight hours entering college, King has taken class in the summer each of her three years at Kansas. She also has taken around 16 to 17 hours a semester, another reason she will be able to graduate early.
King has heard all the difficulties the first year of law school can carry,but she said it will only more prepare her for the real world.
"The No. 1 thing every student athlete has and is able to do, is time management," King said. "So that, and my discipline is what I feel like is going to help me transition into that first year of law
"The biggest thing [graduating early] has prepared me for is the discipline to know that I'm going to be extremely busy," King said.
school."
One thing King said she had to learn coming into college was how to communicate with professors in order to stay on top of her studies during the track season. The team can miss up to three days in a specific week in the
"The No. 1 thing every student athlete has and is able to do, is time management,"
RHAVEAN KING Junior sprinter
spring. On road trips, King takes her schoolwork with her and stays up to date with her professors.
Shawn Alexander, a professor of African-American Studies and one of King's former professors, said King was always incredibly engaged
"It's about taking every opportunity to make sure you're on top of your studies," King said.
during class.
"There are many students that can [participate in class], and do it well, but there's an enthusiasm, a directness that she has," Alexander said. "She brings the same determination and skill and enthusiasm to the classroom that she brings to the track."
Sophomore Adriana Newell has competed on the same 4x400 meter relay team with King for the past two years.
"She takes pride in being a leader," Newell said. "Our success is her success. She kind of leads by example. Like, you don't ever see Rhavean doing nothing. She takes what she does on the track and academically very seriously."
King was an All-Big 12 Performer in 2014, and named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. She was also a part of the Fall Big 12 Commissioner and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls.
"I think she sets a great example for our other athletes." Kansas track and field coach
Stanley Redwine said. "Leaders stand out, and she has found a way to stand out. She's just a great person to have around the team."
King is also in the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course Law Program. The summer between her second and third year of law school at Kansas, King will go to Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., for 10 weeks. Upon completion of the program, she will be a second lieutenant in the Marines.
She will return to Kansas for her final year of law school, and after graduation she will attend Marine Basic School for six months. After Basic school, King will go to Naval Justice School in Rhode Island for 10 weeks to learn military law.
At the conclusion of Naval Justice School, she will be assigned her case as a United States Marine Corps Judge Advocate General, which King says is her dream job.
— Edited by Garrett Long
Women's basketball swept by Kansas State
LSCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
When the chips are down.
When the lights are on.
When it's now or never.
You can throw in just about any cliché when the Jayhawks take on the Wildcats, and it'll work. With one of the biggest crowds of the year on hand, the Jayhawks had an opportunity to get their first win against the Wildcats in Allen Fieldhouse since Jan. 2, 2013. However, the visitors from Manhattan were not about to roll over, as they'd go on to win by a final score of 55-48.
"We fought back [and I] thought the effort was good," said senior guard Natalie Knight in the postgame press conference. "We just made
some boneheaded mistakes at the end.
The Jayhawks jumped out to a quick start, scoring six of the first eight points in the game. Kansas forward Chelsea Gardner looked like she was primed for a big-time performance after she connected on a couple of 12-foot jumpers, but the Wildcats did a good job of slowing down the game.
Over the next seven-and-a-half minutes, the Jayhawks would score two points and commit five turnovers, while shooting just 1-of-11 from the field. However, it was very much still a game as the Jayhawks' defense had been near perfect in that stretch, as there was little separation between the two teams.
As the half came to a close, Kansas State's Haley Texada knocked down a couple of triples. A game that felt like it had been incredibly close, suddenly didn't look that way on the scoreboard, as the Wildcats led 28-21.
"We fought back [and I] thought the effort was good. We just made some bone-headed mistakes at the end."
NATALIE KNIGHT
Senior guard
As the second half started off, it was a back-and-forth affair, as each team had moments where it looked like
Then came the run.
they'd run away with the game. In fact, with 9:21 left to play in the game, the margin differed by just a single point more than it was at half, as the Wildcats held an eight-point lead.
Hen came the next six minutes, the Jayhawks went on a 10-0 run to take the lead, following a three-point bomb from Knight, but it was the defense that really stepped up in a big way. Gardner had four huge blocks inside the paint to keep the Wildcats off the board, as momentum swung completely to the side supported by the crimson and blue.
"I thought Gardner was great in the second half," said Kansas State head coach Jeff
However, down the stretch,
the Jayhawks simply ran out of
gas, as the Wildcats closed
out the contest on a 15-6
run. With the loss, Kansas
dropped to 13-16 on the year
and 4-12 in Big 12 play, following a promising non-conference slate.
Mittie after the game, "Defensively, she really limited our posts."
When asked what the loss meant for the rest of the season, Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson quickly responded, with a half-smile and a wink.
"It means were playing on Saturday at Oklahoma at seven. That I feel certain they'll still let us do."
— Edited by Laura Kubicki
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