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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Spring game shows defensive improvement
Sophomore running back Tony Pierson noon's Spring Game at Memorial Stad
Weis'inf
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
In one of the Kansas football team's practices last week, sophomore linebacker Michael Reynolds had three different coaches talk to him about running the play full speed.
On a day when the University honored one of its football program's most significant figures, former coach Don Fambrough, it embarked on new era.
An estimated 15,000 Jayhawk fans caught a glimpse of the new Kansas football team under the leadership of new coach Charlie Weis during the spring game Saturday.
At the end of practice, coach Charlie Weis called him out for it, trying to explain to him that they are going after him because he is one of the few players on the team who can make that play.
New quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps showed off their extraordinary passing ability that Kansas fans haven't seen since Tod
COMMENTARY
"I'm very comfortable with it because it gives me the chance to stand up and rush the passer and also play in coverage," Reynolds said.
Reynolds, along with fellow linebacker senior Toben Opurum, played a hybrid linebacker/defensive end position normally seen more in a 3-4 defensive scheme than in the Jay-hawks' 4-3.
Weis likes playing more versatile players at both positions because it
points per game in the NCAA Division I last season.
what his role will be in the fall. Because of Jackson's bigger build, he has the ability to play in the traditional halfback position as well as a bulkier fullback.
"He could very easily be at 230 with a couple of cheeseburgers," Weis said. "That's what were going to have to decide, what weight we want him at, but you can see he has some natural running instincts."
The zero on the board beneath the white squad's name is an impressive feat, but it must be noted that the
COMMENTARY
MARCH 5,2012
2012 basketball team had distinct, winning flavor
During the 2011-12 college basketball season, the Kansas men's basketball team reinvented the art of winning.
In one of the most memorable postseason runs in Kansas history, coach Bill Self led his team to an unlikely national championship appearance. But the way this group got there was far different than the program's three previous Final Four teams in 2002, 2003 and 2008.
The 2012 Jayhawks were not gifted offensively. They weren't a great 3-point shooting team, and their brand of basketball certainly wasn't the sexiest.
But Kansas ultimately did just what the 2002, 2003 and 2008 Final Four teams did: they won. A lot.
The recipe for success, however, was unfamiliar to a Kansas program that has been characterized for the last decade by prolific offense, incredible playmaking and NBA lottery picks.
By Sam Kovzan editor@kansan.com
Given the circumstances facing the 2012 Jayhawks — poor depth, limited experience and lack of firepower — Self knew Kansas' offensive motor couldn't run the way it did when Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and the Morris twins took the floor.
Thus, Self took a page from Tom Izzo's playbook at Michigan State (or perhaps Brad Stevens' at Butler), abandoning a fast-paced, finesse approach for one of abundant toughness.
Unlike Kansas' three previous Final Four teams, the one spearheaded by Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson hardly overwhelmed opponents. The laj Hawks scored 73.5 points per game (+11.8 scoring margin), averaged 67 offensive possessions per
game and shot 47 percent from the field.
game and slot 47 percent from the field. Robinson was the only first round NBA draft pick on a team that had zero McDonald's All-Americans.
The national championship team from 2008 was probably the most dominant. It included five McDonald's All-Americans on its roster and seven future draft picks.
The 2003 national runners-up flaunted similar numbers: 83 points per game, a +15.8 average scoring margin, 74 possessions per game and a 50 percent shooting clip.
These numbers pale in comparison to those generated by the previous three Final Four teams. The Roy Williams-coached 2002 squad, which boasted four McDonald's All-Americans and three future lottery picks, led the nation in scoring (90.9 points per game), held a +16.2 average scoring margin and had 79 offensive possessions per game. The players shot 51 percent from the field.
That team averaged 80.5 points per game and smothered opponents by an average of 19 points per game and shot 51 percent.
Since 2002, Kansas has more total wins, NCAA Tournament victories and 30-win seasons than any program in college basketball. Of those seven groups that surpassed the 30-win plateau, the most memorable team may have been the least dominant.
Indeed, what made the 2012 Jayhawks unforgettable was their ability to win — not with talent, speed and finesse — but with toughness and togetherness. Sure, their offensive numbers aren't nearly as impressive. With the exception of Robinson, the highlight reel may not have been as packed
Nevertheless, the players continued Kansas basketball's all too familiar trend: they won games.
They just did it in their own way.
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