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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sutherland makes history with 1,000 points
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
Aishah Sutherland stood at the free-throw line on Saturday night one point shy of 1,000 for her career. She missed the first, but the second was perfect, falling through the net and into history.
In front of alumni and the second-largest home crowd of the season, Sutherland became the 24th player in program history to record 1,000 career points and just the 15th player to pair that with more than 500 rebounds.
"It means I can go down in history for this program and it means a lot." Sutherland said. "I feel like I've accomplished something in this program and am able to leave my senior year knowing that I've reached 1,000 points."
But the senior from Paris, Calif., has one more milestone she wants to work on before graduation.
"Now I'm focused on rebounding and trying to get close to 1,000 rebounds if I can. That is my goal to complete this program," Sutherland said.
Assistant coach Tory Verdi said this milestone means a lot for Sutherland's development in the
program.
"I think it is a great accomplishment and it says a lot about who she is as a player and as a person." Verdi said. "It's a credit to her. She has invested the time to make herself a better basketball player."
Verdi works primarily with the post players and has helped develop Sutherland's range and rebounding this year.
At 6 foot 2, Sutherland has size, making her hard to compete with in the lane. Against Oklahoma State, she pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds while scoring 15 points.
Verdi said her length and ability to quickly change speeds contribute to her powerful game. He said that even when he was coaching at Nebraska he knew Sutherland's potential.
"She has been unbelievable," Verdi said. "We all knew of the potential that Aishah has had and I think coach has been preaching all along and she is starting to get that once you have consistency, good things will happen to you and hard work pays off."
She had five double-doubles in the first 18 games. She has also led the team in scoring on three ocae-
sions and rebounding in a teamhigh 10 games. Then there are her blocked shots. She currently ranks second in program history with 130 blocks.
"I have always been working on my game and right now I just had
a sense of urgency that came to me, I guess," Sutherland said.
That sudden burst has contributed to Sutherland recently playing some of the best games in her time as a Jayhawk.
di said.
"I would say it's the best in her career from a competitive standpoint, from an effort standpoint," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
"I think the greatest thing is really understanding what it takes to be a difference maker and I think she is starting to realize that," Ver-
"It's a credit to her. She has invested the time to make herself a better basketball player."
Verdi also said he has noticed a fundamental difference in her mechanics from the way she sets up shots to her ability to rip and drive to the basket, but the biggest thing is realizing her place in the program.
Sutherland makes this difference through consistency and hard work in practice, and her success combines nicely to create a veteran group of leaders. Now, Kansas has four players it can rely
TORY VERDI
Assistant coach
Sutherland said she would hit the board even harder now as she worked toward that final goal of her career — 1,000 rebounds — as a Jayhawk with 12 conference games left.
"I feel like I accomplished a goal that I have been having in this program and now I am going to focus on rebounding and try to get close to 1,000 rebounds," Sutherland said.
- Edited by Gabrielle Schock
Senior forward Aishah Sutherland lays in a shot for an easy basket during the second half of a game against SMU. Sutherland recently reached 1,000 points.
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
NBA
Bosh's 35-point game helps Heat to beat Cavs
MIAMI —LeBron James was not playing his best game, and an opportunity to defeat his former team was slipping away.
Chris Bosh made sure that didn't happen.
Bosh scored 17 points in the fourth quarter — the most in a final period by any Miami player this season — and finished with a game-high 35 points, carrying the Heat to a 92-85 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Bosh reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season as Miami improved to 4-1 against Cleveland since James joined the Heat.
"Whenever I play, and I don't hesitate,
good things happen," Bosh said.
He was all about the points down the stretch, literally and figuratively. The 17-point final quarter matched the third-best of his career, and he capped the night with a pair of finger-wags — one at one of his shots as it hovered on the rim before falling to begin a three-point play, the other at wife Adrienne after his jumper fell for an 84-76 lead and finally allowed Miami to exhale.
"I think he made the biggest adjustment with this whole situation," James said, referring to the moves that allowed him, Bosh and Dwyane Wade — who sat out again with a sprained right ankle — to team up in July 2010. "He's done it before."
The 35 points matched Bosh's high since joining Miami.
Kyrie Irving — Cleveland's No. 1 overall draft pick and the face of the Cavs' franchise — scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Samarco Samuels made his first seven shots and finished with 15 points for the Cavs, who got an 11-point, 11-rebound night from Anderson Varejao and 10 points from Ramon Sessions.
"We kind of beat ourselves tonight," Irving said. "We had 22 turnovers and we lost by seven points."
Miami committed 18 turnovers, leading to 22 Cleveland points, but found a way — thanks to Bosh — down the stretch.
Associated Press
BIG 12 BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas State coach Frank Martin calls for a time out during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri, Saturday, Jan. 7, in Manhattan. Martin believes in substituting as soon as a player makes a bad play on the court.
K-State's liberal substituting key part of Martin's coaching
"If I was a football coach, I'd drive you guys crazy," Martin said with a sly grin. "I'd sub the quarterback — I'd sub everybody. If guys don't do their jobs, why should they play? I don't care what they did last year or last week, last game. You've got to do your job every day."
That's why it's not uncommon to see full line changes during games. Or star guard Rodney McGruder heading to the bench in the opening minutes. Or dependable forward Jamar Samuels taking a seat next to Martin in crunch time.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Some would argue that Kansas State coach Frank Martin substitutes so readily because the Wildcats are so deep. Others would say that the Wildcats are so deep because he substitutes so liberally.
While teams like Kansas get by on five starters and a couple of go-to reserves off the bench. No. 22 Kansas State is the only team in the Big 12 with 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
"How would your backup ever be ready to play if he never got in?" Martin asked.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
That level of depth is why any player who commits a sloppy turnover, takes an ill-advised shot or misses a defensive assignment will likely be on the bench within about 30 seconds. And why the guys coming off the bench have played enough important minutes to understand what the Wildcats need in any given situation.
Junior guard Martavious Irving is fast and strong, a good perimeter defender who can get to the rim and the foul line. Sophomore guard Shane Southwell gives the lineup more height, transfer Jeremy Jones can get off a shot as quickly as anybody, freshman Adrian Diaz has instincts that allow him to always find the ball, and senior Victor Ojelley epitomizes work ethic and leadership.
Martin's constant changing of players keeps the Wildcats on their toes, both in practice and in games. A player must earn his time through practicing well, but just because he earns a certain spot does not mean he'll keep it for the duration of the game.
It's certainly a different philosophy than elsewhere around the league.
When the Wildcats hosted Texas on Jan. 18, McGruder and fellow guard Will Spradling were the only Kansas State players on the floor for more than 30 minutes. Three others played about 20 minutes each, and another trio got off the bench for least a quarter of the game. Three more provided just shy of 10 minutes, and the result was enough energy down the stretch that the Wildcats hung on for an 84-80 victory.
By comparison, when the Jayhawks faced the Longhorns on Jan. 21, their five starters each played at least 30 minutes.
Six-foot-11 junior Jordan Henriquez was recently suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, removing one of the most assertive big men on the team from the starting lineup. Redshirt freshman Nino Williams, who scored 12 points in his first significant playing time against Oklahoma, is trying to recover from a grade-two sprain of the MCL in his knee.
All that depth may come in handy late in the season. Now that there are only 10 teams in the league, the conference schedule has expanded to 18 games, with each
All of that depth has already come in handy.
"It's definitely new to me because I was always playing a lot in high school — I barely got off the floor in high school," Diaz said. "And now that he subs me out like every second, it's like, 'OK, I've got to find a way to get back on the court.'"
For many players, that constant cycle of evaluation and consequence takes some getting used to.
While a seven- or eight-man system might work for other teams, it's not the way Martin operates. He believes in giving players what he calls "line" based on how responsible they are — the line representing an ability to make mistakes and remain in the game.
The Wildcats have seen the merit in their coach's method.
"If you make some mistakes consistently, and your behavior doesn't change, and you go out in the game and you make the same mistake that you make over and over, then that line is real short," Martin said. "When you go out there and you're a guy that continues to grow, when you make a mistake, that line's a little longer."
team playing everybody else twice. The Wildcats (14-4, 3-3) head to Texas Tech on Wednesday night as they continue the opening slate of games against Big 12 opponents.
Irving started four conference games before Martin replaced him with Rodriguez. And since coming off the bench, the veteran guard has been playing better than ever.
"If you have somebody coming off the bench giving you great energy, you don't really lose nothing from the starting five," Irving said, "and then the starting five players, they can also get a break, give a rest, come back with the same energy. So as far as Big 12, I think it helps us a lot and creates problems for a lot of teams."
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