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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Spring game shows defensive improvement
Sophomore running back Tory Pierson noon's Spring Game at Memorial Stadium
Weis'infl
COMMENTARY
On a day when the University honored one of its football program's most significant figures, former coach Don Fambrough, it embarked on a 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.
New quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps showed off their extraordinary passing ability that Kansas fans haven't seen since Todd
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.
"My whole coaching point to him
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.
"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.
Weis likes playing more versatile players at both positions because it allows him to keep his best players on
"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."
points per game in the NCAA Division I last season.
The zero on the board beneath the white squad's name is an impressive feat, but it must be noted that the teams were not matched equally. The
KANSAS 77, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 54
NOVEMBER 30,2011
Kansas calls it 'Hawaii hangover,' wins despite relaxing against FAU
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
Call it post-Maui jet lag, laziness or simply overlooking their foe.
For the first four minutes of Kansas' tilt with Florida Atlantic University at Allen Fieldhouse, the layhayes appeared unready to avenge their loss to Duke.
"It was the Hawaii hangover" Self said.
"Too much pineapple juice"
After a float turnovers and a few Florida Atlantic jump shots, the Owls led the game 9-3 and coach Bill Self, face redened and disgusted, called a time out.
From that point on, the jayhawks found a lead through aggression and a sense of urgency, but despite the lead, Kansas regularly committed fouls, turnovers and mental errors. The ugliness wouldn't cease.
Kansas still won the game 77-54, but they never found a true rhythm in their
first game back in Allen Fieldhouse following the 19 day separation.
"I don't know if their concentration was where it needed to be because they were pretty much in control," FAU coach Mike Jarvis said. "They might have relaxed a little bit."
Perhaps baffled at what they were seeing, the usually raucous fans of the Fieldhouse never approached deafening volumes.
"We didn't do anything to juice the building" Self said.
No. 2 Ohio State will visit Lawrence on Dec. 10, but junior forward Thomas Robinson said that the team won't look past this Dec. 3 game against South Florida, nor Dec. 6 game against Long Beach State.
"That's something that comes over time," junior forward Thomas Robinson said. "Just keeping our focus and not catching ADD."
KANSAS 70, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA 42
DECEMBER 3,2011
Kansas overcomes the crud in 70-42 victory over South Florida
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
There's a sickness going around that drained the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse on a misty Saturday afternoon.
"We've all got the crud," coach Bill self said after the 70-42 victory over the University of South Florida. "I don't know if you guys know the crud's around."
The Jayhawks were sapped of energy in the first half, then revitalized by senior guard Tyshawn Taylor's 20 points in the second half.
"I think there a little bug going around." junior forward Kevin Young said. "When I went to the store last night I got the NyQuil."
Young, who may be feeling the crud, said junior guard Travis Releford and freshmen guards Naadir Tharpe and Merv Lindsay were throwing up recently. Junior forward
Thomas Robinson said that he has been under the weather the past couple of days. Robinson finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds but snapped his double-double streak of six games. Self said several players and a coach have missed practice and visited Watkins Health Center for head colds and other symptoms.
Whether it was sickness or poor shooting that impeded Kansas early, Taylor's ensuing dominance broke the game open. He hit four of six 3-point shots, cueing the turnaround and extending the lead for the Jayhawks.
"Those 3-pointers were big for us to take the lid off the goal," Taylor said.
KANSAS 88. LONG BEACH STATE 80
The consistent defense paired with Taylor's scoring helped the jayhawks get past Saturday's mess struck by the crud.
Robinson and junior center Jeff Withey protected the interior as South Florida converted just 32.6 percent of their shots.
DECEMBER 6,2011
LBS nearly sneaks win, but Withey, Robinson carry team in 2nd half
Students shake newspapers in front of their faces to express disdain for the opposing team. Fieldhouse traditions are part of what make KU basketball so special.
ABBY DAVIS/KANSAN
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
When junior forward Thomas Robinson shot the ball from outside the paint last season, spectators turned their heads in shame and blamed NBA scouts for his experimentation. Now, when Robinson fires away, those same spectators can breathe easy and expect a swish, or at least something close to it.
Robinson's eight-for-eight start from the field appeared rather routine. A jumper from the left elbow. Another from behind the free throw line.
"As much I worked on it, I'm going to be honest with myself," Robinson said. "Don't expect me to come out seven-for-seven every night."
Robinson's shots kept falling and the Jayhawks seemed to be on their way to an easy victory.
But that was the first half
Long Beach State augmented the pressure in the second half Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse and Kansas snuck away with a 88-80 victory that never should have been so close.
"That was a game we had won several times," coach Bill Self said.
Junior center Jey Withey left the game briefly in the second half when contact with the hoop forced one of his teeth through his lip. He returned to the game and finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 9 blocks, one block shy of a triple-double.
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For all the blood, comebacks, contact and ADD, it was Robinson's show. He's a shooter now, and No. 2 Ohio State may want to take notice.
"We wanted Robinson to try to beat us from the perimeter," Monson said. "He certainly did that."
"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?
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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