Volume 124 Issue 91
kansan.com
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Do not blame the refs
COMMENTARY
Following Kansas' 74-71 loss to Missouri on Saturday, the late charge calls on Robinson and Taylor became the major talking points of the game. With fewer than two minutes remaining, Robinson's basket would have given Kansas a 73-66 lead, all but locking up an emotional victory over rival Missouri.
Offensive foul. No basket.
Thomas Robinson caught the ball at the top of the key with 1:46 remaining. He saw a lane to the basket and decided to attack it. Robinson drop-stepped into a spin move around Missouri's Steve Moore and made the shot as Moore hit the hardwood. Two emphatic blows of the referee's whistle broke the collective silence in Mizzou Arena.
As questionable as that charge call may have been, the officiating did not cost Kansas the victory, but rather the Jayhawks completely mismanaged the final three minutes of a game they controlled.
Kansas led 71-63 with three minutes to play, but ending the game on four turnovers and no points is no way to close out an opponent on the road.
TENNIS MOVES PAST HAWAII
Kansas should know better than anyone that an eight-point lead in the final minutes is not insurmountable by any means. After all, the ninepoint comeback with two minutes left in regulation against Memphis ultimately captured Kansas' 2008 National Championship.
Kansas could have limited Missouri's possessions by using time, but rather the overaggressive play both offensively and defensively led to turnovers and lapses in perimeter defense.
Similar to Memphis' inability to hold off Kansas in 2008, Kansas let the moment get the best of them, venturing away from the composed play that got them an eight-point lead in the first place.
With Missouri leaving for the Southeastern Conference next season, the Missouri faithful had one last opportunity to take out a 171-loss frustration on the Jayhawks. Kansas is no stranger to hostile environments, but the first 37 minutes of the game at Mizzou Arena was a relatively tame atmosphere.
The moment Denmon hit a contested three-point shot over Conner Teahan to cut Kansas' lead to 71-69, Mizzou Arena's crowd erupted as the noise level reached Allen Fieldhouse proportions.
Those who want to place the blame squarely on Saturday's officiating should realize that Missouri earned that victory, capitalizing on Kansas' mistakes, not the referee's.
Instead of looking to attack the basket early in the shot clock, Kansas should have used as much time as possible before attempting to shoot. The game clock was Kansas' best friend in the waning moments of the contest, and they did not take advantage of that asset. Had the Jayhawks used up the shot clock, it would have been much harder for Missouri to come back.
- Edited by Max Rothman
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Women's tennis team starts spring dual play against UMKC PAGE 6
ANDREW JOSEPH
ajoseph@kansan.com
A pitcher never takes for granted the fact that any given pitch can be his last.
As a senior tri-athlete at Maize High School, Kansas pitcher Jordan Jakubov received a perseverance奖 after overcoming a series of football-related injuries. Now in his fifth season with the Kansas baseball program, that same resolve enabled Jakubov to overcome a strenuous climb to captaincy.
Jakubov's Kansas career nearly ended before it ever had the chance to begin.
With his arrival in Lawrence just months away, Jakubov began to experience elbow pain beyond
the regular soreness associated with pitching.
"I blew it out in early June, and they didn't think anything was wrong." Jakubov said. "They told me to keep tossing and try going to 90 feet, but every time I threw a changeup, it really killed me. They
say a changeup is when you know you need surgery."
W he n Jakubov went to see a doctor for an X-ray, a torn ulnar collateral ligament confirmed his
Because of the 18-month rehabilitation from "Tommy John," Jakubov knew his freshman season at Kansas would not happen on time. Jakubov redshirted in 2008, and despite having never pitched a game for Kansas, head coach Ritch Price honored Jakubov's scholar-
concerns, requiring a procedure commonly known as "Tommy John surgery."
"There are very few kids in America who have experienced one - let alone two - Tommy John surgeries and are still out there grinding every day."
Ritch Price, coach
ship.
arm pains resurfaced.
"I went to my doctor in Texas, and he said, 'I don't know if you
the unusual
Jakubov entered his second year at Kansas ready for a fresh start. However, after a strong fall season with the Jayhawks,
want to hear this Christmas gift, but we're going to have to repair your UCL again.' I re-tore it," Jakubov said.
After working tirelessly for 18 months to get healthy from his first surgery, Jakubov was once again required to undergo the same, lengthy road to recovery.
"His perseverance is amazing," Price said. "There are very few kids in America who have experienced one - let alone two - Tommy John surgeries and are still out there grinding every day."
Jakubov has spent three years of his life working to get back on the pitcher's mound, but it was the loyalty of his head coach that enabled Jakubov to remain a Javhawk.
"I have the utmost respect
for Coach Price just from that," Jakubov said. "The fact that he kept me on and let me keep my scholarship says a lot about Coach Price - he's a man of his word."
Now completely healthy and experiencing no pain, Jakubov is not dwelling on what could have been, but rather he said that the entire ordeal has given him a new perspective on the mental approach to baseball.
"I think honestly it's helped me stay positive," Jakubov said. "That's for sure."
With each pitch launched to home this season, Jakubov will do what he's done his whole baseball career:
Persevere.
Edited by Christine Curtin
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Withey struggles against smaller players
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
Kansas has something that Missouri doesnt; a seven-footer.
Going into Saturday's game, coach Bill Self envisioned that seven-footer, junior center Jeff Withey, as a potential advantage against Missouri's quick but diminutive rotation.
In Withey's 23 minutes played against the Tigers, a team whose tallest player is six-foot-nine, he grabbed four rebounds and didn't score a point. Withey's ineffectiveness by the basket enabled Missouri to shift its attention solely to junior forward Thomas Robinson, who scored only six points in the first half because he struggled to manage double-teams.
"We were forced to play small because Jeff wasn't a factor," Self said.
So much for that idea.
"If Jeff's not a factor, then you've basically guarded Thomas with Jeff's man." Self said.
Withey recorded his second foul
with 9:36 left in the first half and Self kept him out of the game until the second half. With its tallest player on the bench, Missouri pushed Kansas to play to its style; a fast and athletic game.
Self attributed Missouri's defensive game plan to some of Withey's struggles. He said that the Tigers ignored shooters on the perimeter and chose to clog the lanes by the basket. This made it more difficult for Withey to find room to score, and for the guards to get him the ball.
"I like playing against guys my size a lot more than playing against a bunch of guards". Withey said.
When Withey did have the ball, he said that the smaller Tigers were able to get in front of him faster than most post defenders.
"You can usually use a swim move on a forward, but when boxing out a guard, they are at your knees," he said. "You don't expect it and it kind of takes your legs out from under you."
When Withey sat on the bench
Self had no choice but to overwork his other starters. Senior guard Tshawn Taylor played 38 minutes, Robinson played 35 and junior guard Elijah Johnson played a full 40. Junior guard Travis Releford played 29 only because of foul trouble. The demand on the starters is compounded with the fact that the bench is averaging just 13 percent of the team's points per game.
"Our guys have to be ready to play 32 to 35 minutes a game," Self said of his starters. "That's the fact of the matter."
Self is talking about Withey, too. He expects more out of the seven-footer who he said has been a match-up advantage one game and an unassertive liability the next.
Edited by Jeff Karr
"Their match-up didn't take advantage of us," Self said, "but our matchup certainly didn't take advantage of them."
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Junior center Jeff Witt scores during the second half. Witt scored 15 total points and Kansas won against the University of Oklahoma 84-62.