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HURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Mario Little, Rodney McGruder reflect on Big 12 days
SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
"I miss college."
This famous Tiger Woods quote sums up the thoughts shared by many graduates and athletes alike, following their entrance into the proverbial "real world." These words also ring true for Mario Little and Rodney McGruder, two former Big 12 basketball standouts.
The two were among the dozens of professional basketball players who gathered in Santa Cruz for the D-League Showcase earlier this month, and both said they loved to reminisce about their glory days while doing what they can to stay connected to the school.
but more than anything he appreciated the bond he shared with the coaches.
"I still keep my ties with Kansas (because) being there was just different," Little said. "Even something like running out of the tunnel (in Allen Fieldhouse) was just so special."
Although Little has moved on to playing for the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, he still has kept in regular contact with the Jayhawks. Little said he enjoyed going back to Kansas to play against the players on the current roster,
"I talk to the coaches all the time and wish them good luck," Little said. "I love that Coach Self really knows what he's doing. He's been so good at winning (Big 12) titles, especially with teams that really didn't have anybody."
"I still keep my ties with Kansas (because) being there was just different."
MARIO LITTLE
Former Kansas guard
Little played a fairly significant role in extending Kansas' Big 12 Conference (regular season) championship streak in his senior season, where he had seven performances with at least eight points in conference play. Little's best outing came against the rival Missouri Tigers, as he finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, adding five rebounds in a 17-point Kansas victory.
year, which has been the case in six of the last 10 seasons. However, a couple of years after Little had moved on, the team would only manage a share of the conference championship, finishing with a record of 14-4.
Kansas won the Big 12 that
That same year, Rodney McGruder led Kansas State to tie with Kansas. McGruder posted 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while playing an average of 33.5 minutes per night. Like Little, the former Kansas State standout was fond of his college years, and he was especially fond of the opportunities he had to play in the Sunflower Showdown.
"When I was a freshman, one of my favorite guys to play against [was] Sherron Collins," McGruder said. "Then the next year, it was awesome to get to beat Kansas, especially because whenever we play the Jayhawks, we know it's a big-time deal."
The Sunflower Showdown is coming to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The former Wildcat went on to add that the atmosphere fn Bramlage Coliseum when the Jayhawks came to town made it a "top-two" arena in the Big 12, falling just short of only one other venue: Allen Fieldhouse. Little also claimed Allen Fieldhouse as the best
This year, the Fieldhouse has certainly lived up to the hype, as the Jayhawks are 3-0 in conference games played at Allen Fieldhouse, and they are 11-0 at home this year (one of which was played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City). The team has racked up an impressive 16-3 record, but Little didn't think they were anywhere close to where they
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
could finish the year.
"Over the break is usually when Kansas starts to get a lot better," Little said. "Once they get back, everyday, you'll start to see that improvement."
Overall, Little said he was happy with the way the team had played so far this year, and he wasn't the only one enjoying the season. McGruder said he loved seeing Kansas State in the top tier of the Big 12
standings, and he said he thought the team could even go on to win the Big 12.
Little, on the other hand, had a different answer when asked who he thought would win the Big 12. The former Kansas guard laughed to himself, flashing a big smile before answering, "I'm always going with Kansas."
— Edited by Callie Byrnes
Kansas has edge in cross-state rivalry
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@ Ben_Felderstein
One of the most heralded rivalries in college basketball is the Sunflower Showdown. Twice a year, Kansas and Kansas State square off to prove who truly runs the state of Kansas on the basketball court. While Kansas State has had the better of Kansas on the gridiron, the Jayhawks have had the edge of late on the hardwood.
In the all-time series record, the Jayhawks lead the Wildcats 187-92 including five victories in their past six appearances. The first matchup against the rivals took place in 1907 and the two have matched up yearly since 1912.
During the first 60 years of the rivalry, things remained even between the two teams. It wasn't until 1938 that Kansas sparked a 22-game win streak against Kansas State until 1947.
From 1945 to 1978, Kansas and Kansas State won their conference title a combined 26 times. During the 2012-13 season, Kansas and Kansas State shared the regular season Big 12 title.
WIX.COM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the 2014-15 campaign, Marcus Foster leads the Wildcats in scoring with an average of 13.8 points per game, shooting 42.1 percent from the field. Nino Williams leads
Kansas State in rebounding with only 4.9 boards per game.
The Wildcats are 12-9 on the season with a 5-3 conference record. Kansas State lost two of its previous three games, including West Virginia and Iowa State. In its loss to West Virginia, Foster scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting from the field.
On the other side, Perry Ellis and Frank Mason III lead Kansas in scoring with 12.8 points and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Mason has scored 10 or more points in 16 consecutive games while averaging 4.2 assists per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. Ellis leads the Jayhawks with 6.6 rebounds per contest.
Kansas' two star freshmen, Kelly Oubre Jr. recorded double-digit points in four of his past five games and Cliff Alexander had a total 28 points and 22 rebounds over his past two games.
The Jayhawks have surged to the top of the Big 12, with a half-game lead over West Virginia. Kansas State has fallen to fifth in the conference, right behind Iowa State. A win for the Jayhawks would do a great deal in eliminating the Wildcats from Big 12 title contention.
— Edited by Mitch Raznick
WIX.COM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image provided by Wix.com shows a portion of the company's television ad scheduled to be aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015. Super Bowl advertisers are being careful not to offend this year. Rather than debating with rayc ads, like some other advertisers, Wix.com went for non-edgy laughs with an ad that shows retired football players coming up with funny fictional businesses, like Brett Favre, center, who invented a charcuteries business called "Fave and Cave."
Advertisers seek attention, not shock in Super Bowl commercials
MAE ANDERSON
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Super Bowl advertisers are being careful not to offend.
GoDaddy decided not to run an ad that showed a dog being sold online so as not to offend dog lovers. The Victoria's Secret angels are fully clothed in its teaser spot, at least, although they reveal more in their actual Super Bowl ad. And an anti-domestic abuse commercial will have a high profile-spot during the game after a year of domestic violence scandals in the NFL.
Advertisers have to find a balance between grabbing people's attention and not going too far to shock or offend a broad base of more than 110 million viewers. They want to be sure to make the estimated $4.5 million they're spending for a 30-second
Super Bowl ad worth it. This year, that seems to mean erring on the side of caution.
"Companies are being more prudent," said MediaPost columnist Barbara Lipper. "It's also a very weird atmosphere with all the coverage about deflated balls and domestic abuse. Maybe advertisers want to be a little more careful in that climate."
Even GoDaddy, which made its name with racy Super Bowl's spot since it began advertising 11 years ago, has been moving away from being edgy; last year one of its Super Bowl ads focused on a woman running a small business.
It's a far cry from the dot.com commercial attempts in 2000, when an E(asterisk)Trade ad showed a monkey in a garage and touted the fact that the company had just wasted $2 million dollars, but MediaPost's Lippert says it makes sense to be restrained.
This year, they promised a warm and fuzzy ad featuring a puppy, spoofing a Budweiser ad from last year that also featured a puppy. But the twist at the end of GoDaddy's spot showed the puppy was being sold online via a web site created with Goddady.com. After it debuted early, a social media storm erupted, with pet lovers finding the ad offensive. GoDaddy said late Tuesday it wouldn't air the ad.
"At the end of the day, our purpose at GoDaddy is to help small businesses around the world build a successful online presence," said CEO Blake Irving. "We underestimated the emotional response." GoDaddy says it has another ad it plans to run.
Wixcom, which helps people build web sites, has taken a lesson from GoDaddy. Instead of debuting as a Super Bowl
advertiser with a racy spot like GoDaddy did when it was a new advertiser, Wix.com went for nonedy laughs with an ad that shows retired football players coming up with funny fictional businesses. Brett Favre, for instance, invents a charcuteries business called "Favre and Carve").
Other companies appear to be playing it safer too by not focusing so much on bare skin and sophomoric humor. A Victoria's Secret 90-second teaser ad showed supermodels fully dressed as football players. The actual Super Bowal ad shows the models dressed in Victoria's Secret lingerie, though.
And the NFL is airing a public service announcement from NoMore, a coalition of antidomestic abuse organizations. The ad depicts a chilling 911 call from a battered woman to demonstrate the terror of domestic abuse.