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Volume 124 Issue 146
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
kansan.com
HFΔITH
TRENDING
NCAA TOURNAMENT: KANSAS 80, NORTH CAROLINA 67
FINAL FOUR
MARCH 25, 2012
Self's defensive switch and big plays defeat UNC
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
I MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
ST. LOUIS — Travis Releford dribbling the final seconds away before chucking the ball upward and into sweet expiration. Tyshawn Taylor, glossy eyed, twisting gnarled pieces of net around the edges of his brand new hat. Bill Self standing atop the ladder, snipping a slice of the net, only to toss it to the hardwood and grab the chunk of what was left. Child-like glee emitting from all seven feet of Jeff Withey. Heavy, wholesome embraces for all wearing crimson and blue. The Final Four in New Orleans—book Kansas a ticket.
"It's always more fun to do something when nobody really thinks you can do it," Self said.
Did you think these Jayhawks could do it?
Did you think these jayhawks could do it?
This is the same team that was supposed to be rebuilding. No Morris twins, no Tyrel Reed, no Brady Morningstar. Didn't matter.
This version of the Jayhawks, one of shallow depth but impenetrable toughness, slugged their way through Detroit and Purdue in Omaha, Neb., then North Carolina State and North Carolina in St. Louis.
"This is every kid's dream right here," junior guard Travis Releford said.
Now they're one of four teams still dancing, still hunting for a national title.
Three other teams remain: late-surging Louisville, freakishly-skilled Kentucky and the next opponent, heavyweight Ohio State. But Kansas would have never joined these teams if not for its clampdown on the North Carolina Tar Heels. The 80-67 final score at the Edward Jones Dome hardly hints at what took place.
In the first half, it was simply two of the nation's finest teams scoring nonstop. Speed and flair ruled just as the Tar Heels like it. They made 63.6 percent of their shots, while the Jayhawks made 56.3 percent. The score was tied at 47 going into halftime and Self knew something had to change.
"I really figured that if it was a horse contest wed have no shot" Self said. "At some point in time during the game, it had to become a grind-it-out, defensive game."
After the break, Self switched his team into a triangle-and-two zone defense; a funky little scheme that rattled Kansas State in the regular season and Purdue in the round of 32. This time around, the formation messed with North Carolina's traditional style of two
posts by the basket and shooters surrounding them. Self figured that freshman guard Stilman White wasn't going to beat anyone with his jump shot. So the junk defense kept two Jayhawks in the paint, then dared White, sophomore forward Harrison Barnes and sophomore guard Reggie Bullock to shoot freely.
In the second half, White missed all three of his shots. Barnes missed seven of eight. Bullock missed all three of his three-pointers. The Tar Heels scored just 20 points on 22.6 percent shooting, the lowest field goal percentage against Kansas in a half in NCAA tournament history.
"That triangle-and-two is coming in handy for us," senior guard Conner Teahan said.
said it was, without question, the biggest shot of the game.
As the Jayhawks confounded the Tar Heels' offense, they scored just enough to break away. Leading 68-67, junior guard Elijah Johnson knocked down a three-point shot that unofficially called it a night. Self
"He took that shot with no conscience, with a little smirk on his face like he knew it was going in." Taylor said.
Unlike the vast majority of games this season, everyone chipped in against North Carolina. Junior forward Thomas Robinson, all toughness, had 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior center Jeff Withey had 15 points, eight rebounds and three timely blocks. But senior guard Tyshawn Taylor, who had struggled so mightily in the tournament before Sunday, truly gave the Jayhawks enough in the end.
Taylor had his typical bozo plays. Some passes and shots forced Self to do nothing but cover his face with his hands and shake his head in disbelief. Yet when Taylor was on, when he did all he could to make plays and did so cautiously, he was the best player on the floor. He finished with 22 points, six
rebounds, five assists and five steals. He also might have just rewritten his once somewhat shoddy legacy at Kansas.
"If you can look at the body of work that I've put in my four years, I don't understand how you can't love me." Taylor said. "I've made a lot of mistakes, but I feel like that's just part of a young kid being in college and growing up"
Who else, other than Self, could explain the improbable?
"You've got guys going from playing seven minutes a game to a national player of the year candidate," Self said of Robinson. "You've got guys that basically have been as criticized a player as there's been at KU since I've been there, and now everybody's saying he may be the best point guard that's played there in a long time," he said of Taylor.
"It's amazing to me how much these guys have gotten better. I take pride in that."
47
munications and marketing for KU Endowment. "It presents a cohesive case in front of our donors."
Elizalde McCoy pointed to studies showing contributions from donors
University community and our alumni around a central cause," said Rosita Elizalde-McCoy, senior vice president for com-
increase by 20 to 30 percent during campaigns. While acknowledging that the plan is ambitious, she said that achieving the goal is possible, given that more than half the funds have already been raised.
"We've had donors establish scholarships in every field this year at KU."
The press release said that students are already benefiting from the donations. According to the release, 246 new scholarships have been created along with 14 new professorships, which retain
ROSITA ELIZALDE-MCOY
Senior vice president for communications
and marketing for KU Endowment
"The success of this campaign for Kansas' flagship university will benefit people in every corner of our state and region," Gray-Little said.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little praised the initiative and said it would push the University as well as the entire state in the right direction.
Edited by Jeff Karr
"The hospital serves patients from every county in Kansas, so supporting our needs impacts Kansans everywhere," Page said.
Bob Page, president and CEO of The University of Kansas Hospital, said the funds would benefit expansion efforts for the
KU Medical Center.
$325 million for programs (academic, research, clinical and community engagement initiatives)
$400 million for students (scholarships, fellowships and opportunities outside the classroom)
$300 million for faculty (professorships, recruitment of exemplary faculty and staff)
$175 million for facilities (construction and renovation of facilities for learning and patient care).
o make
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like spam
Soap said he expected the trend to pick up again in the fall when the football season kicks off. Soap said October would be a good month
o revamp the trend because it's also Breast Cancer Awareness month.
KEN SOAP Local radio DJ page moderator
unique, but with a trend like KU ooops, it is less about the attention and more about the risk.
"What makes this slightly different from, say, posing nude in an adult magazine is that once photo is shared via twitter or facebook or text message, it's eventual ending point is unknown," he said. "This not knowing and ie risk involved is what I think
drives some of this."
Edited by Max Lush
oport
These numbers total to the $1.2 billion goal.
CRYPTOQUIPS 4A
OPINION 5A
CLASSIFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 4A
3
dowmentESS
book likes: 672
book photos: 481
SPORTS 1B
SUDOKU 4A
s of April 2012, they have raised $612 million.
undraising will end in June 012, when an additional 588 million will hopefully be raised for a total of $1.2 billion.
Fundraising began in July 2008.
The Annual Visual Scholarship Art Show is today in the Art and Design Building from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Don't forget
All contents, unless stated otherwise, $ \textcircled{c} $ 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Today's Weather
Decreasing clouds with a 30% chance of thunderstorms early. 10-20 mpn winds from the south.