Volume 124 Issue 93
Thursday, February 9, 2012
kansan.com
Keeping us on our toes
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.
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.
Edited by Amanda Gage
14 point victory against a nationally-ranked squad on their own court is always a good sign, but the Kansas men's basketball team will make a huge mistake if it misinterprets Wednesday night's beatdown of No. 6 Baylor as anything but what it was: a mixed bag.
The final score, 68-54, is probably a better result than an optimistic Kansas fan could have hoped for. Between a sluggish start and a flat finish, the Jayhawks tore through the Bears' weak zone defense on a 37-15 run. Much of that 22-point advantage came with junior forward and national player of the year front-runner Thomas Robinson on the bench. Those are certainly encouraging signs.
But Wednesday's game also revealed cracks in the foundation of this team that need to be addressed if it has any hopes of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
Let's take a look at the beginning of the game. The Jayhawks had eight turnovers in the game's first 11 minutes, six more than the Bears. Kansas trailed after the first 10 minutes for the fourth time in their last five games.
As the game wound down, some of the same problems that plagued the jayhawks in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday reappeared. Granted, the team was playing with a 20 point lead by that point, and the Baylor fans created an environment more akin to a middle school theater performance than the big-fight feel the showdown at Mizzou Arena had, but flaws are still flaws.
Only five Kansas players scored Wednesday, including junior guard Travis Reelford, 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.
Perhaps most discouraging is that Kansas' drought came with most of its starters still on the court. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor looked like the best point guard in the country at times on Wednesday, but near the end of the game he was sucking wind and slowing the offense down. Four layhawks, all starters, had six turnovers in the game's final 6:14. It gave Baylor a window to get back in the game, and while the Bears ultimately wouldn't take advantage of that opportunity, the fatigue of the starters only further revealed the depth issues on this Kansas squad.
On Saturday, Kansas failed to score in the game's final 3:24. Last night, the team scored only three points in the game's final 4:52, none of them coming from the field.
ANDREW JOSEPH
ajoseph@kansan.com
Baseball is a sport that humbles its players and brings people together, but at the end of the day for senior Kansas infielder Jake Marasco, it's just a game.
Baseball runs in Marasco's family. His father Mike played baseball at Friends University, and his brother Matt, played for Kansas State. Instead of family vacations, the Marasco's trips revolved around Jake's baseball tournaments with his traveling team the Midwest Wolverines.
"My parents really supported my brother and I playing baseball," Marasco said. "For our family, it was much more than just baseball games when wed get to travel."
As a standout athlete in football and baseball at Maize High School in Wichita, Marasco drew interest from schools such as Arkansas, Kansas and K-State to play football. When it came time to choose between baseball and football, Marasco went with the sport his family embraced the most at the school his best friend and co-captain, Jordan Jakubov, was attending.
"Jordan and I were best friends growing up, and that encouraged me to come to Kansas," Marasco said. "A lot of times we don't even have to talk to each other to make a decision — we're almost always on the same page."
Despite growing up with a family that loved in-state rival Kansas State, Marasco had the full support
Baseball had always been what brought his family together, but at that time, it seemed insignificant. With the understanding and support of the coaching staff, Marasco took time off from the team to be with his family.
As a true freshman, Marasco played 13 games, recording his first career hit in the season opener against Air Force. Marasco's freshman season came to an abrupt halt after breaking his foot in March, forcing him to take a redshirt. Marasco spent the next three months in crutches and then rehabbing the injury to come back stronger in his redshirt freshman campaign.
of his family when he decided to come to Kansas.
"Coach Price was able to separate being a coach to being a person I needed to lean on for awhile," Marasco said. "He, along with the whole athletic department and baseball team, was always there for me."
The following year, Marasco was a regular in coach Ritch Price's starting lineup, hitting .273 in 30 games. However, on March 8, 2010, Marasco was struck with the tragic news that his mother Carol passed away suddenly at the age of 54.
Coach Price named Marasco a captain for the 2012 season, not just for the adversity he's encountered, but also because he has the potential to be the Jayhawks' top player this season.
said. "We're still waiting for him to take that next step and be an impact player for us"
KANSAS 85, TEXAS 61
"Physically he's one of the most gifted players on our team," Price
Last season, Marasco returned to Kansas playing with a heavy heart, but he still started 52 games for the layhawks. Nearly one year to the day after the passing of his mother, Marasco hit his first career home run in an 8-2 victory against Eastern Michigan. It was an emotional moment that helped put life and baseball in perspective for Marasco.
"You have to take each day with a smile," Marasco said. "Don't take things too seriously and always play for the right reasons."
Edited by Max Lush
Goodrich paves the road to success
KATHLEEN GIER
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
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.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson went down to watch Angel Goodrich play in the state tournament in Tulsa, Okla., before recruiting her to play for the Jayhawks. She sat courtside and watched her 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.
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
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."
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
Wednesday night. The Jayhawks fulfilled several different demands tonight including ending a three game losing streak, notching another conference victory and coming back to defend their home court. Kansas moved to 17-6 overall and 6-5 in conference play.
"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.
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.
"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 18-6 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 Goostenkors said.
Kansas will travel to Manhattan for a match with Kansas State at noon on Sunday.
Edited by Amanda Gage