Volume 124 Issue 109
kansan.com
Monday, March 5, 2012
Seniors embody Kansas
died around their coaches for the final television time-out, the Allen Fieldhouse crowd broke out in a resounding chant for senior guard Jordan Jenemann.
With less than four minutes left and the teams huddled around their coaches
They screamed his last name over and over to encourage coach Bill Self to put him back into the game. Self would wait, letting the crowd's enthusiasm boil over, before Juwemann walked to the scorer's table with around a minute left to check in.
Juenemann, along with fellow senior guards Conner Teahan and Tyshawn Taylor, fully embody what it means to be a Kansas Jayhawk. Their hard work and effort helped the team get through a tough non-conference schedule and grow into the team that is knocking on the doorstep of its third consecutive number one seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Jayhawks began this season ranked in the Top 25 more out of respect for Self's accomplishment than for what the team showed on paper. In the preseason poll, the Big 12 coaches picked Kansas to share the conference crown with Texas A&M simply because it was hard to count out the seven time defending champions.
But the Jayhawks returned only one starter, Taylor, and while junior forward Thomas Robinson had shown flashes of brilliance, he had played just 14.6 minutes a game standing in the shadows of the Morris twins.
Junior center Jeff Withey had yet to establish himself as a shot-blocking force on the inside.
After a couple of early losses to top teams, no one would have questioned the Jayhawks had they faltered a little and relinquished the Big 12 crown for the first time since Self's initial season at Kansas, just like no one would've questioned Juenemann had he decided to simply become a full-time student and enjoy life following in the crowd, Teahan had he decided to transfer to a smaller school to get more playing time, or Taylor had he decided to enter the draft following last season, risk life as a possible second round draft pick, and leave the rebuilding process on other player's shoulders.
Instead Robinson became a top candidate for national player of the year, Withey became the second player in Kansas history to record 100 blocks in a season, and Taylor emerged as the energizing leader that fans have expected him to grow into.
But Self and this Kansas team are no longer content with just winning the Big 12, they want more from this season.
And because of that, these seniors walked off Allen Fieldhouse court not only winning four straight conference titles, but winning them outright, a feat not seen at Kansas since the class of 1998, and never achieved in the Big 12 before this season.
We've had enough pats on the back about winning the league, that's over," Self said. "We need to put our focus in on trying to make it a special season. It's a good season, you can't take that away from us, but its not going to be special unless you play well from this point forward."
— Edited by Tanvi Nimkar
GRADING OUT
BASEBALL DROPS THREE IN A ROW
Who received
passing marks against Texas
PAGE 8B
The Jayhawks fall to Gonzaga 7-2 Sunday at University of Texas San Antonio Tournament
PAGE 3B
KANSAS 73. TEXAS 63
LEAVING THEIR MARK
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
Somewhere in the recesses of memory, where names like B.H. Born, Jacque Vaughn and Tyrel Reed rest, Kansas basketball fans will store Saturday night's game, the last at Allen Fieldhouse for seniors Tyshawn Taylor, Conner Teahan and Jordan Juenemann.
No. 3 Kansas (26-5, 16-2) finished its regular season with a 73-63 victory over Texas, but the emotions, not the game, ruled the night. Taylor even admitted that his mind wandered a bit before the final buzzer sounded.
"The focus was definitely on that speech," he said. "I was thinking about that speech a lot more than I should have during the game."
While Texas was fighting for a bid in
NCAA tournament,
coach Bill said his
team wasn't defending
like it should.
Texas guard J'Covan Brown scored just four points in the first half, just like he did when these teams met on Jan. 21 in Austin. But again, Brown found a way to
Brown's 33 was the first time an opposing player dropped at least 30 points on the Jayhawks since Jacob Pullen scored 38 in last season's upset in Manhattan.
escape the tightest pressure from junior guards Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson and scored 29 second-half points.
"If you let a good player catch it where he wants to," Self said, "then your idea is mercy."
"Travis has got to become a lock-down defender," Self said. "That's obviously not happening right now."
"He's playing too passive defensively right now," Self said. "He just needs get back to being aggressive, creating havoc, stealing loose balls and taking the other team's best player out."
Self said that Releford hasn't been aggressive for the past few weeks and he doesn't know why.
Self also switched Johnson to defend Brown, but Johnson failed. Self said that Johnson and Releford need to get it together defensively because Taylor can't do it all. He's already expending energy on the other end by carrying the scoring load with junior forward Thomas Robinson, who added to his player of the year resume with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
"Thomas was terrific," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "We just didn't have an answer for him."
Despite Brown's onslaught, the rest of the Longhorns shot 31.5 percent from
the field and failed to find a rhythm.
Taylor scored 22 of his own to squash Texas' momentum and seal the victory. He scored many of his points by speeding down the court and sinking floating layups. "I think with every-
"I think with everything going on and the
emotions in the air, it was a little tougher to get up and be excited about this game," Taylor said. "Knowing it's the last one for a lot of us, we did pretty well."
After the game, Taylor, Teahan and Juenemann spoke to Fieldhouse crowd, sharing memories and thanking friends, family, coaches and teammates.
"I really didn't want to be up there," Taylor said, "unlike my man Teahan."
Edited by Pat Strathman
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor shoots against junior guard J'Covan Brown during the first half of the game. Taylor scored 22 total points and Kansas won against Texas 73-63.
Jayhawks finish sixth in Big 12
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
ASHI FIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
Senior forward Aishah Sutherland gets ready to pass the ball above her opponents head for her teammate to take to the basket during Wednesday night's game against Oklahoma State in Allen Fieldhouse where the Jayhawks lost 66-63.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, senior forward Aishah Sutherland flew off the bench. She knew the significance of the Jav Hawks' latest victory.
"I think I was more excited today than ever." Sutherland said.
Kansas won their 100th Big 12 victory as they defeated Oklahoma 83-77 in Norman. The victory was also the first time Kansas defeated Oklahoma in Norman since 1998. But, for a more immediate impact, Kansas locked a six seed and a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament.
After celebrating Senior Night just four days ago, Sutherland turned in another big game when it mattered. Sutherland finished the game with 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the Jayhawks to victory on the road.
"We were talking about how it needs to be Oklahoma, it needs to be on the road, it needs to be a high RPI win," Henrickson said. "This is a resume builder. It is an unbelievable opportunity."
The Jayhawks have won just two of their last six games, but Sutherland said this game will give them momentum going into the tournament later this week.
"This win gives us great confidence," Sutherland said. "We are able to be just as high as them in the conference and we are good enough to be."
The Jayhawks finished the regular season 19-11 overall and 8-10 in conference play. After a first-round bye they will face Texas A&M at
7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Jayhawks shot only 38.2 percent from the field in the first half, but Sutherland had 17 points to add consistency. They took a one point lead into the half and came out swinging with a 9-0 run early in the second half.
"They played to win from the tip." Henrickson said.
Three Jayhawk starters — Sutherland, freshman forward Chelsea Gardner and sophomore
guard CeCe Harper — fouled out in the final minutes which threatened their double digit lead; however, the Jayhawks hung on with 10 straight made free throws in the final minute from three different players. Kansas hit 21 of 25 free throws — 84 percent — on the night.
Freshman guard Natalie Knight hit four of those free throws on her way to 18 points — a career high. She drained three of six shots from beyond the arc and hit seven of eight free throws.
"I made sure they know how great it was and congratulate them and thank them for making those
types of plays and finishing like they could." Sutherland said.
"That's where they played with a lot of confidence and communicated really well," Henrickson said.
Back-to-back three pointers from sophomore forward Tania Jackson and junior guard Angel Goodrich gave Kansas a 14-point lead with just less than five minutes left in the contest. The bench was able to maintain the lead through clutch free throw shooting and tough defense even with three key contributors fouled out.
- Edited by Max Lush
AWARDS
Four Jayhawks earn conference honors
Junior forward Thomas Robinson was named the conference's player of the year and a member of the All-Big 12 first team. Junior center Jeff Withey was named the conference's defensive player of the year and a member of the All-Big 12 defensive team and All-Big 12 third team. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor was also named to the All-Big 12 first team. Coach Bill Self was named co-coach of the year along with Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg.
The Big 12 Conference announced four Jayhawks with honors to conclude the regular season on Sunday.
Robinson averaged 18 points and 11.9 rebounds per game on the season, making him the only player in the conference to average a double-double. His 22 double-doubles led the league and are fourth in conference history for one season. Robinson is the seventh Jayhawk to be named the conference player of the year. Marcus Morris took the honors last season.
Withey's 100 blocks led the conference and rank fifth in conference history for one season. His 65 conference-season blocks set a Big 12 record. Withey is the fourth Jawhayk to be named conference defensive player of the year since its inception after the 2005-06 season. Cole Aldrich took the honors in 2009 and 2010.
Self was named Big 12 coach of the year for the fourth time at Kansas and third time in the past four seasons. Robinson and Taylor were unanimous selections for the All-Big 12 first team.
Max Rothman