Volume 124 Issue 86
kansan.com
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
UNNOTICED REC STARS STUDENTS SHOW SKILLS IN INTRAMURALS PAGE 6
BENCH BLUES
COMMENTARY
Final fight at the'Zou
Edited by Bre Roach
ROTATION LACKS REST
This weekend's showdown with Missouri may have the national build-up as one of the biggest games of the season. All eyes will be on both teams as they prove that this is not just another game.
If this season is in fact the last year of the "Border Showdown" at least it will go out with a bang.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Saturday's game against rival Missouri in Columbia promises to be one of the most anticipated games of the series in years.
Last Saturday's loss at Iowa State and Missouri's loss at Oklahoma State further proved that winning on the road in Big 12 play is never an easy task, and Kansas can't put too much emphasis on simply leaving Columbia victoriously. Bill Self and the Jayhawks can't get caught looking ahead because that's what leads to lackadaisal and uninspired play.
Senior guard Conner Teahan drives through his opponent to get to the goal during the game against Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center where the Jayhawks defeated the Sooners 72-61. As of late, Conner Teahan and much of the Kansas bench have played below expectations.
With animosity between the two sides dating back to actual violence in the Civil War, Kansas and Missouri have taken this hatred out on one another in athletic competition for 120 years. The history and intensity of this series makes the "Border Showdown" worthy of comparable national recognition as Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn and Duke-North Carolina. However, the rivalry has rarely received the national exposure and hype that it deserves.
ESPN's College GameDay will make its first-ever trip to Columbia to showcase one of the final meetings between Kansas and Missouri. For just the third time in the series' history, both Kansas and Missouri will square off while ranked in the top 10: Missouri at No.4 and Kansas at No.8.
That will change on Saturday.
From the looks of it, this game at Mizzou Arena should mean more to the Missouri faithful than it does for Kansas. The Missouri Alumni Association is even holding a contest for free tickets awarded to the person with the three best reasons he or she is not a jiahawk.
The whole nation will be watching as a sold out Mizzou Arena bids farewell to the Kansas Jayhawks before the eventual leap to the Southeastern Conference. The Jayhawks are no stranger to hostile environments, but the scene on Saturday night will blow away the "Hilton Magic" that led to the Kansas defeat over the weekend.
Saturday night's game is the most important regular season game in the history of Missouri basketball as beating Kansas in the last-ever meeting at Mizzou Arena would give the Tiger faithful bragging rights that they'd cherish forever.
Is this game really the be-all and end-all for Kansas? Absolutely not. The Jayhawks lead the series 171-94, so if the rivalry does end this year, Kansas dominated the basketball side. If both Kansas and Missouri take care of business during the week, the Jayhawks will enter Saturday's match-up with a one-game lead on the Tigers in the Big 12 race. Yes, a win over Missouri would double Kansas' lead in the standings, but there is still so much basketball yet to be played.
KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
With just more than 13 minutes to play in the first half of Saturday's game against Iowa State, senior guard Tyshawn Taylor received an outlet pass from Travis Releford and dribbed up the right sideline. He led a 3-on-2 fast break in favor of Kansas, but instead of doing what he's known for — getting to the basket — Taylor stopped on a dime and attempted a three-pointer about two feet beyond the line. The shot fell about two feet short, bouncing innocently out of bounds into
the Iowa State student section, giving the Cyclone fans a chance to yell "airball" for the rest of the game whenever Taylor had possession.
Coach Bill Self immediately spun around and eyed his bench, looking for a message to send to Taylor in the form of a substitution. Except Self couldn't find any messengers in blue uniforms. He had just sat Elijah Johnson after a pair of bad passes led to two turnovers and had no other guards in his rotation available. He decided to leave Taylor in the game.
"We're playing guys too many minutes," Self said after
the loss. "But we're not getting much from our bench at all right now."
The decline in bench production has certainly hampered Self's opportunities to invite players to take a seat after mistakes, but even a productive starting-five needs a rest every now and again. Four players
— Taylor, Johnson, Thomas Robinson and Releford — are currently averaging more than 30 minutes per game. If the season ended today, it would be the first time that many players have averaged at least 30 minutes in Self's career at Kansas.
Self has had three players play
more than 30 minutes per game in two seasons. In terms of winning percentages, they were two of his three worst seasons at Kansas (2003-04, 2004-05). In 2003-2004, the bench consisted mainly of Jeff Graves and David Lee, but both were able to shoulder the load with 18 minutes per game a piece. The following season, there were four players coming off the bench to form a nine-player rotation.
"I do think it's hard to develop great chemistry if you're playing nine," Self said, but he didn't agree that seven players were
SEE ROTATION PAGE 6
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Player Games MPG
Thomas Robinson 21 31
Tyshawn Taylor 21 32.2
Travis Releford 21 31.4
Elijah Johnson 21 31
Jeff Withey 21 23.1
Conner Teahan 21 20.8
Kevin Young 20 10
Justin Wesley 21 11.3
Merv Lindsay 9 2.3
Naadir Tharpe 19 6.4
Jordan Juenemann 10 3.4
Niko Roberts 5 2.4
Christian Garret 5 2.6
Anthony West 1 1.0
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas fights for No. 2 spot in Big 12
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
Growing up in Tahlequah, Okla., located approximately three hours east of the University of Oklahoma, junior guard Angel Goodrich was a dedicated Sooners fan throughout high school.
For a while she considered playing at OU and had the opportunity to go there after high school, but decided Kansas was a better fit.
At 7 p.m. tonight at Allen Fieldhouse, the Sooners (13-6, 5-3 Big 12), and the Jayhawks will battle for second place in the Big 12 Conference.
One might think Goodrich would have a little more incentive to beat her childhood team, but she's not too concerned.
In order to be successful, it will be important for the Jayhawks to shake off their 74-46 loss to No. 1 Baylor this past Saturday.
"I've been to their school and I know (Oklahoma head coach) Sherri Coale, but it's not just them. It's just like any other game," Goodrich said. "I'm going in thinking about what I need to do and what I need to do to get the team ready for this game."
With two days of practice
and preparation underway for the Sooners, the Jayhawks (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) seem focused and ready for the next match-up.
"If we didn't go out and compete our hardest, then it would be a dower, but we know we gave effort," junior forward Carolyn Davis said. "There's things we need to fix of course, but as long as we went in there with the confidence and we played our best. We just didn't come out on the right end of it."
Even though this a crucial point in the season, the Jayhawks understand they've got to take it one game at a time.
"The most important thing is to not worry about them, that will take care of itself", coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We need to figure out how to prepare and beat Oklahoma."
Some of the key players the Jayhawks will have to look out for include Sooner sophomore guard Aaryn Ellenberg who's currently in fourth place in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.9 points per game.
Goodrich and the other Jayhawk guards will be defending Ellenberg for much of the night.
"She can shoot the ball. She's really quick. She can drive the basket. She can do it all pretty much. I just got to contain her. She's a good point guard." Goodrich said.
The other major player the Jayhawks will need to contain is junior guard Whitney Hand who has emerged as the No. 2 option for the Sooners lethal three-point attack.
The Sooners lead the Big 12 at 37.7 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
MacFa陆, a Derby Kan., native, broke her jaw on Jan. 14 against Oklahoma State.
When Oklahoma is healthy it has a well-developed front court. However, the status of Sooner junior forward Joanna MacFarland is still unknown.
According to a story by The Oklahomaan, Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale expected her to be out for at least two weeks. MacFarland had surgery to repair her jaw on Jan. 16.
Regardless of who will be in the front court, the Jayhawks will be ready for any scenario.
"They're going to come in hungry ready to take that spot from us." Davis said. "It's kind of like we're even right now. They're thinking they can beat us and we're going in the same way."
Edited by Anna Allen
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN FILE PHOTO Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson gives directions to her team during a time out during the first half of Saturday night's loss to Texas A&M, 76-65.
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