+
Volume 128 Issue 70
Mondav. February 2, 2015
kansan.com
+
COMMENTARY Jayhawks play best when they are having fun
On the court, the lajhawks showed more energy than usual. Self said he's encouraged the team to show personality on the court and said he thinks the more fun the players have, the better the team will play.
For instance, the Jayhawks came out attacking as soon as the ball was tipped. Junior forward Perry Ellis scored six of Kansas' first 10 points, which helped give Kansas the early 10-4 lead. Ellis said he contributed the early lead to the team having both energy and fun.
"We have a team of personalities :that if Perry [Ellis] said he has been fun; then that's great because no one else would know it because he doesn't smile a lot," Self said. "I want them to have fun. When you have fun, you have more energy."
From an early age, players have always been told to have fun while playing sports. However, when it comes to Kansas men's basketball, the fun notion usually gets thrown out the window.
When Self looks onto the court, he said he can't notice if the team is having fun because most of the team is "stone-faced."
Kansas coach Bill Self could have said all he wanted about the Jayhawks taking a step in the right direction after the 68-57 win against rival Kansas State, but this win showed the team is having more fun on the court.
"That's the whole deal," Self said. "When you look at our team, if we're turned up, we're playing right."
Edited by Lane Cofas
The reason this three-letter word is important to this Kansas team is because earlier this season, the team looked deflated, and the court looked like a no-fun zone.
At the end of that play, Graham received a technical for having too much fun. Graham was trash talking Kansas State guard Marcus Foster, and although Self said Graham deserved the technical, there wasn't any poor sportsmanship involved.
"Pun is always the key, and coach has always emphasized on playing with energy and having fun," Ellis said. "If you're having fun, good things happen from that. We definitely have to continue to focus on that."
"I don't know my strength sometimes," Selden said. "I got him in the throat, and I felt pretty bad about it."
Freshman forward Cliff Alexander, sophomore guards Wayne Selden Jr. and Brannen Greene surround Kansas State sophomore guard Marcus Foster during the Jayhawks' 68-57 win against the Wildcats at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Every time someone scored, the bench went nuts. On one possession, sophomore guard Brannen Greene had a pretty pass to freshman guard Devonte' Graham, who finished with an uncontested layup. Sophomore guard Wayne Selden Jr. went so crazy on the bench that when Greene ran by the bench, Selden accidentally hit Greene in the throat. Selden said he tried to slap him in the chest.
Kansas downs rival Kansas State 68-57
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@Ben_Felderstein
The first installment of the 2015 Sunflower Showdown was decided early in the first half. The Jayhawks silenced the Wildcats' comeback attempts all afternoon, eventually defeating them, 68-57.
No. 9 Kansas (18-3, 7-1) came out of the gate scorching hot against its in-state rival. By the second media timeout, the jayhawks had an 11-point lead while shooting 64 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the three-point line.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
"We played good in spurts today," coach Bill Self said. "We played solid defense and scored in spurts in the first half."
Sophomore guard Frank Mason III attempts a layup in the win against K-State.
Kansas State (12-10, 5-4) struggled from the floor early, converting only one field goal through the first eight minutes of play. The Wildcats shot 17 percent on 6-of-35 from the field in the first half and finished the game shooting 33 percent from the field.
on the season having yet to score. Sophomore guard Frank Mason III came into the game having scored 10 or more points in 17 consecutive games. With 12:43 left to play in the game, Mason used some fancy footwork to help him convert a floater in the lane for his first two points.
In the first half, junior forward Perry Ellis had one of his strongest halves of the season. He was an absolute monster down low, dominating both offensively and on the boards, posting a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the period.
"It's always a fun game playing against them [the Wildcats]," Ellis said. "I was aggressive early and grabbed a lot of rebounds."
on 4-of-5 shooting and 3-of-4 from the three-point line.
The Jayhawks took a 33-17 lead into the half with one of their most productive players
Mason struggled to find open shots down the stretch, shooting only 3-for-12 from the floor. But with 22 seconds left on the clock, Mason sunk his third and fourth free throws of the contest to reach 10 points and extend his streak to 18 games.
"Brannen [Greene] kind of bailed us out," Self said. "He was able to make four shots outside of 17 feet when we didn't run good offense. He jumps up and shoots it as good as anyone we've ever had."
While Ellis had trouble getting going in the second half — finishing with 16 points and 12 boards — his strong play early in the game helped Kansas get ahead and stay ahead the rest of the game.
Just as Kansas State started chipping away at Kansas' 17-point lead, sophomore guard Branney Greene stepped up like he has all season. With three-point field goals on consecutive possessions and an assist to freshman guard Devonte' Graham, Greene' extended the Jayhawk lead back to 16. Greene finished with 11 points
"We had a feeling it was going to be his [Ellis] night," freshman guard Kelly Oubre Jr. said. "It was against his in-state rival and he came up big for us."
After a slow start in the first half, sophomore guard Wayne Selden Jr. was Kansas' most productive scorer in the second. Whenever the Wildcats seemed to be making a run at the Jayhawks' lead, Selden was there to knock down an open jumper. Selden finished with 14 points, 10 coming in the second half, and four blocks on the defensive end.
With two minutes to play, Selden missed a turnaround
Selden's block put an end to all hopes of a Kansas State
"My teammates found me for open opportunities and I was able to knock them down," Selden said. "Coach [Self] wants me to be more aggressive on the offensive and defensive end."
jumper that was rebounded by the Wildcats. Wesley lwundu found himself alone under the basket for a fast-break dunk. Selden sprinted from behind half court to chase lwundu down for the block that led to two free throws.
comeback, as Kansas shot free throws the rest of the way for the win. Up next, the Jayhawks will host Iowa State on Monday night.
"We owe them," Selden said.
"They outplayed us in Ames and it's time to get them back."
Edited by Kayla Schartz
Swim and dive falls to Arkansas for ninth year
AMIE JUST
@Amie_Just
"Some meets you're the hammer, other meets you're the nail," coach Clark Campbell said after Kansas fell to Arkansas for the ninth straight year.
The competition was closer than it had been in previous years, but Kansas (9-3) was on the losing end of a plethora of close finishes and fell 194-105.
The Razorbacks won all but one event Saturday — the 200-yard butterfly. Junior All-American Chelsie Miller claimed the Jayhawks' lone title on the morning with a time of 2.01.61.
"I hadn't swam the 200 fly for a few meets," Miller said. "I was just trying to get back in rhythm and focus on swimming it, not necessarily racing it."
Multiple Jayhawks nabbed individual second place finishes.
of 4:56.88 and 2:04.36.
Miller finished second in her two other events, the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley with times
Junior Bryce Hinde finished in second in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke (1:04.70, 2.21.72) events.
Sophomore Lindsay Manning was the runner-up in the 1,000-yard freestyle, clocking her third-fastest outing of the season with 10:18.45.
Sophomore Pia Pavlic finished second in the 100-yard butterfly (57.10).
In the diving well, sophomore Graylyn Jones grabbed silver in the 1-meter dive with the final score of 231.90.
Birthday girl sophomore Yulduz Kuchkarova finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.33 seconds.
A diver prepares for a flip at a home meet last season. The swimming and diving team fell to Arkansas on Saturday.
"I was OK with being second in the 100-back," Kuchkarova said. "I had another race and I had to focus on that, one, too. Being second is not catastrophic."
Kuchkarova also had her mind on someone outside the pool.
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
Her mother flew in all the way from her native Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The two spent a week together in honor of Kuchkarova's 21st birthday.
"It was a huge support having her here," Kuchkarova said. "It feels different when someone who cares is watching you, someone that has been
watching you for 21 years. This was actually the first time in three years that she's seen me swim. I'm so happy about it."
Kansas hosts Iowa State for the final dual meet of the season Feb. 6-7. Friday's session begins at 6 p.m. and
Saturday's session begins at 10 a.m.
Edited by Yu Kyung Lee
+