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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Spring game shows defensive improvement
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.
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.
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 Jayhawks' 4-3.
Sophonove roaming back to Tony Pierson
noonoo`s Spring Game at Memorial Stadium
"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.
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.
COMMENTARY
Weis'infl
"He could very easily be at 230 with a couple of cheeseburgers," Weis said. "That's what we were going to have to decide, what weight we want him at, but you can see he has some natural running instincts."
Weis likes playing more versatile players at both positions because it
points per game in the NCAA Division I last season.
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.
The zero on the board beneath the white squad's name is an impressive feat, but it must be noted that the
New quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps showed off their extraordinary passing ability that Kansas fans haven't seen since Tode
On a day when the University honored one o its football program's mos significant figures, former coach Don Fambrough, it embarked on a new era.
KANSAS 92, BAYLOR 74
JANUARY 16.2012
CHRIST BRUNSON/KANSAK
Junior guard Travis Reelford celebrates with the fans after time expires on Jan. 16 at Allen Fieldhouse where Reelford contributed 11 points in the Jayhawks 92-74 victory over Baylor. Kansas is now 15-3 for the season and 5-0 in Big 12 play.
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN
Kansas Jayhawks hand Baylor Bears their first loss
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
The hottest offense in the nation paraded into Lawrence on Jan. 16 fresh off its most recent slaughter.
No. 3 Baylor, undefeated and flush with all the talent that an NBA scout could conjure, routed Oklahoma State for 106 points on Saturday. The Bears were merciless, just as network know it-alls preached they would be
Then No. 7 Kansas (15-3, 5-0) squeaked them on both sides of the floor.
A layered, sturdy defense and an offense unafraid of attacking Baylor's lengthy zone led to the 92-74 victory in Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think the nation saw how tough they are:"
Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
The layhawks were out to prove it, too.
"He pressed the up button," said Taylor, who scored 28 points for the second consecutive game.
Just more than three minutes into the game, senior guard Tyshawn Taylor swiftly dribed down the right side of the floor and lobbed a pass behind junior forward Thomas Robinson's head. The national player of the year candidate leaped into the air, slung his right hand backward to catch the ball, and pounded the lob through the hoop with one hand, ensuring that Allen Fieldhouse would never hush.
Robinson's dunk underlined how the game would continue. It was the jawhacks, not the
Bears, who would dictate on both ends.
Robinson's increased patience with the ball provided him with cleaner shots and fewer mistakes. He finished with 27 efficient points and consistently freed space for his teammates in both fast break and half-court sets.
"He's become more a guy that understands the game and how he can take advantage of his skill set and his body," coach Bill Self said.
When the Bears attacked with forwards Perry Jones III, Quincy Miller and Quincy Acy, Robinson acted as the interior muscle to hassle shot attempts and swallow all rebounds.
"If you make it past that stage," junior guard Elijah Johnson said, "you've still got to go over a seven footer who's athletic and can do just
about anything."
Johnson was referring to junior center Jeff Withey, who played aggressively from the opening tipoff and never quit bothering the Bears with his long, shot altering arms.
After Withey clogged the opposition, Taylor initiated the fast break that broke the game open.
"I'm not saying that people are sleeping on us," Taylor said. "But people didn't really know what to expect coming from this team. They didn't really know what we have or what we can do. I think the last two games, we showed them we can be the best team in the conference if we play we have been playing."
22
"William Faulkner was a Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) Member." What other English Literature courses and assigned novels were written by fraternity men and sorority women authors?
(BONUS QUESTION)
Which KU fraternity man was founding editor of the Book of the Month Club and ran for Kansas Governor on an Anti-Klu Kux Klan Ku Platform?
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