Volume 124 Issue 93
kansan.com
Thursday, February 9, 2012
COMMFENTARY
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CAMPUS & TOWN
--my sport. But against Northern Illinois earlier this season, I got the chance to score a get-ahead touchdown on fourth down, with nine seconds left in the game. And it was one of the best feelings I've ever had.
What it's like...
to play football for KU as told to Matt Galloway by D.J. Beshears
CONTRUBUTED PHOTO FROM KUSPORTS.COM
D. J. Beshears is a junior wide receiver for the Kansas football team. On Sept. 10 against Northern Illinois, the Denton, Texas native would make a play he and the crowd at Memorial Stadium would not soon forget. In a wild game with a surplus of offense and a deficit of defense, the layhays trailed late, 38-42. Then the "D.J. drive" happened.
Football players rarely get the chance for walk-off wins. In baseball, you can win it in the bottom of the ninth. In basketball, you can hit a late buzzer-beater to seal the victory. It just isn't as common for position players in
I was able to put us in great field position on that last drive with my kickoff return. I got some good blocks, but I also had to make some guys miss on my own. I spun off a tackle and hit the sidelines, and from there, it was off to the races.
right there.
We drove down to first and goal fairly easily, but we hit a wall right outside of the Northern Illinois end zone. It got more and more tense in the huddle as we failed to score on the first, second and third downs. Coach called a timeout before fourth down and we had a chance to regroup. Then when the play call came in Jordan Webb, my quarterback, the pressure kind of dropped a bit to be honest. It was a mesh play, and we had run it tons of times in
That's what I thought, at least. A Northern Illinois player
blindsided
"I fell backwards into the end zone and heard the 50,000 people at Memorial Stadium erupt in
cheering."
me and stopped me from scoring the touch-
me and stopped me from scoring the touch-down. Looking back, it was probably better that we were able to drain a lot of time off the clock given the way the game was going, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time. In the heat of the moment, I was definitely trying to score
practice that week. It was something we all executed very well. In the huddle, Jordan told the line to get
their blocks, and if they could hold the defense off for at least nine seconds, we would score.
As it turns out, Jordan only needed three seconds. I was actually his last read on that play. I was dragging along the goal line and
the defense was in man coverage. The pass came in kind of wobbly, but I was able to reach forward and grab it at the one yard line. From there, I fell backwards into the end zone and heard the 50,000 people at Memorial Stadium erupt in cheering. I didn't even need to look at the ref. I knew I'd scored. God was on my side, and he helped me get in there.
The referee did confirm it, but they decided to review just to be safe. My wide receivers coach David Beaty actually came up to me on the sidelines. He was praying that I caught it.
"D.J., are you sure you caught it?" he asked.
"Yeah. I know it not, it coach." I said.
The play was upheld, and our defense held them out of the end zone on their final Hail Mary play. To be honest, it was really Jordan who led us to victory that night. I was just glad to accommodate him.
That week, I got props from my teammates, the coaches and even the tutors. No students came up to me on campus and congratulated me, though. Maybe if I was a basketball player they would have. We don't get that much recognition since we wear helmets.
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the starters only further revealed the depth issues on this Kansas squad.
Robinson finished with 15 points, his third-lowest total in Big 12 play, and 11 rebounds. He was picked up by junior center Jeff Withey's career-high 25 points, but consistency has been an issue for him.
Junior guard Angel Goodrich plans her execution during the first half of Wednesday's game against Texas. Goodrich had a record breaking 16 assists. Kansas defeated Texas with a final score of 85-61.
Only five Kansas players scored Wednesday, including junior guard Travis Releford, who finished with just one point. Backup forwards Kevin Young and Justin Wesley looked completely lost at times, combining for zero points and three turnovers.
When Withey and Taylor were on their game, the Jayhawks looked like the best team in the country, and that was with Robinson on the bench. But concerns over reoccurring problems with the beginning and end of games and the team's overall depth should replace the feeling of euphoria when the Jayhawks return to practice.
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
she sai courtside ano watched ner future point guard find open players and pass the ball with ease. So Henrickson was not surprised when Goodrich, a junior guard from Tahlequah, Okla., broke the Allen Fieldhouse single-game assist record last night in Kansas' victory against Texas.
Goodrich had nine assists in the first half on the way to 16, breaking her previous record.
"It's exciting." Goodrich said. "I'm not much of a numbers person, but having 16 assists means that my teammates were ready to shoot."
— Edited by Amanda Gage
Kansas entered the game looking for a Big 12 victory to get them back on track. The team faced Texas, the team they defeated to kick off conference play. The game was similar with scoring fluctuations, but most importantly, the Jayhawks won again.
The Jayhawks pulled together and defeated the Longhorns in a much needed 85-61 victory at home
play.
Kansas shot 57.6 percent from the field and had 20 assists on 34 baskets. Sutherland, who finished with a game-high 24 points and 10 of 15 shots from the field, was one of the main recipients of Goodrich's historic assists.
"Coming off that losing streak this is a great win and gives us the confidence to go out and win another game," senior forward Aishah Sutherland said.
"It is not even a communication, if you say something or make a cut she will see you and get the ball to you," Sutherland said.
Sutherland looked dominant in stretches scoring on multiple possessions in a row. She scored the first six and then finished with a game-high 24 points with 12 rebounds, four blocks and four steals.
"I thought she was really good today, got us off to a good start and hit some tough shots to start it," Henrickson said.
Goodrich matched her 16 assists with 16 points and freshman guard Asia Boyd added some surprising support.
Boyd got a chance for more court time with sophomore guard CeCe Harper on the bench with a concussion. She made the most of it with a career-high 11 points and two steals in 24 minutes.
After trading baskets for the first
"I thought she controlled the game from the tip and once we
couple possessions the Jayhawks jumped out to a 22-9 lead midway through the first half. They built the lead to 17 points before allowing the Longhorns to cut it to four in the second half, Angel Goodrich tipped of an 18-yard run to put the Jayhawks up 20 with under eight minutes to play.
made our comeback she just said, 'no more', and kind of took things into her own hands, literally, and put the game back out of reach," Texas coach Gail Goellenkens said.
Kansas will travel to Manhattan for a rematch with Kansas State at noon on Sunday.
Edited by Amanda Gage