Volume 124 Issue 77
kansan.com
Wednesday January 18,2012
COMMENTARY
"Phog" lives up to hype
The banner hangs on the north side of Allen Fieldhouse, sending the message to any team that dares to enter.
Entering the season, and especially after the Dec. 19 loss to Davidson at the Sprint Center, Kansas' chances of repeating as Big 12 champions for the eighth-consecutive year looked slim. It's amazing how much can change in a month, as the Big 12 crown appears Lawrence-bound again.
"Pay Heed, All Who Enter: Beware of the Phog."
- Edited by Gabrielle Schock
Over the years, the Fieldhouse has received accolades and recognition for being the nation's toughest college basketball venue, but Monday night's game against Baylor showed a national audience that "The Phog" doesn't just live up to its hostile reputation, but rather surpasses it.
In 2010, Baylor coach Scott Drew took his players off the court during the introduction video, and the action received a negative response from the Kansas faithful. Drew's controversial move nearly resulted in a victory, but this time the team stayed on the court during the video. The deafening music and crowd's roar had to be impossible to tune out, even in a huddle.
Junior guard Angel Goodrich swiftly moves past her opponent from Iowa State to get to the basket during last week's game against. The Jayhawks will travel to Oklahoma State tonight at 7 p.m.
Monday night was a perfect storm, as then- undefeated Baylor visited Allen Fieldhouse in the midst of the Bears' best-ever athletic run. Since Robert Griffin III and Baylor defeated Missouri on Nov. 5, the football, men's and women's basketball teams had won every game: 40 victories, zero losses. Confidence in Waco, Texas, was at an all-time high, and the third-ranked, 17-0 Bears were ready to leave Allen Fieldhouse with victory No. 18.
From the Rock Chalk Chant to introduction videos and tip-off, the Fieldhouse presents opponents with the virtually impossible task of leaving with a victory.
That may have happened at any other venue, but not here in Lawrence – not at Allen Fieldhouse. Baylor is a team loaded with NBA-caliber talent in Perry Jones III and Quincy Miller, who lead one of the nation's deepest frontcourts. On the other hand, outside of Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor, many experts considered the 2011-12 Jayahaws as a team seriously devoid of typical Bill Self talent. However, anyone who saw Kansas' 92-74 thrashing of Baylor witnessed a trio of the nation's best players, excellent coaching and an unmatched home-court advantage
Had Kansas not lost to Texas on Jan. 22 of last year following the tragic passing of Robinson's mother Lisa, who knows what would have ensued or how future opponents would have reacted. But we do know that 85 of the last 86 teams to visit Allen Fieldhouse have left with their heads down in defeat. Rankings are irrelevant at the Fieldhouse, and the Baylor game was just another example to add to an already enormous sample size.
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
This is the second time the Kansas women's basketball team will travel to Stillwater, Okla., this season.
The first time occurred under startling circumstances on Nov. 21 as the Jayhawks attended the memorial service of Oklahoma State's women's coach, Kurt Budke, assistant Miranda Serna and the other two victims of the small-plane crash on Nov. 17, in Perry County, Ark.
The casualties of the plane crash will be on Kansas' mind and in hearts when it faces the Cowgirls tonight at 7 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
After the tragedy, every Big 12 woman's basketball player and coach has displayed orange ribbons that are either pinned or
stitched on the left side of their shirt or jersey.
Although this season has been extremely painful for the Cowboy community, one Kansas player has felt the pain of the situation, too.
Budke and the rest of the Oklahoma State coaching staff recruited junior guard Angel Goodrich, a Tahlequah, Okla., native, when she was coming out of high school.
Before she decided to become a Jayhawk, Goodrich developed a relationship with many members of the Oklahoma State coaching staff.
"It's been a tough year for them and for the Big 12," Goodrich said. "It's something you see and you think about it, but this is another game in the Big 12. We're just going to go down there and do what we need to do."
"They were one of the top schools on my list," Goodrich said. "To get to know those coaches and see that happen is very sad."
Goodrich thinks it will be a difficult game, but she also realizes that the Jayhawks must continue to build on the momentum they've built up during the Big 12 season.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson coached against Budke for six years and would regularly exchange family stories with him whenever they talked.
The Jayhawks (14-2, 3-1)
come into this game on the best
"All things considered, the tragedy at the beginning of the year, those kids played hard before that and have continued to do that since that." Henrickson said.
Although it was a difficult loss for Henrickson, she thinks that Budke left behind an impressive group of women at Oklahoma State that helps the team continue to be competitive in the Big 12.
conference start they've had since the 1999-2000 season.
One of the most-important players leading the Jayhawks to this success is junior forward Carolyn Davis.
Her efficiency on the offensive end and presence on the defensive end continues to help Kansas, especially on the road.
There are not many games when 6-foot-3 Davis looks up at anybody, but 6-foot-6 Oklahoma State sophomore center Vicky McIntyre could be someone who prevents
The Jayhawks notched another road victory on Sunday when they defeated the Missouri Tigers, 72-63.
"I think we showed a lot of growth," Davis said. "We had trouble on the road a lot last year, so I think this year we've came through a lot of adversity and really been more mature."
Davis from having another dominating performance.
Davis said that Oklahoma State has a lot of size and strength inside. The Cowgirls will also try to double team her and play a lot of zone, but she expects her team to have a good game plan.
Although the tragedy will be on everyone's mind, the layhawks know that the healing process has begun in Stillwater.
They will console the coaches and players, but the team also realizes this is another road game that needs to go in the win column.
"You try to find a place for it and keep a place for it," Henrickson said. "We haven't talked about that. I don't know if we would, to be quite honest. I think for us to go down there and focus on what we can control."
Edited by Katie James
MEN'S BASKETBALL
"Turnover" Taylor starts turning his career around
MAX ROTHMAN
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/udk_bball
Taylor ignored coach Bill Self's play call, skipping the ball through his legs as he inched toward the center of the arc. With seven seconds left in the half, Taylor jumped, legs failing behind, and buried a 3-point shot of his own to cap a 13-0 run of which he scored 11.
Milk the clock to nothing and find senior guard Conner Teahan for three points. That was senior guard Tyshawn Taylor's job at the end of the first half against Baylor on Monday night, and he just couldn't do it.
"I told him, 'Go flat and let's get Conner a three.' So he did exactly what I asked," Self said. "He shot it himself."
Self imagined that if he told
Taylor to shoot it, Teahan would have gotten the shot.
"Tyshawn and I have kind of a unique relationship," Self said.
He scuffled with the football team in September 2009 and dislocated a thumb. He's been suspended multiple times and repeatedly stirs trouble on Twitter in defense of his image and game. He turns the ball over at a high rate, feeding critics with an eye-sore of a statistic
It's this relationship that has puzzled Kansas fans throughout Taylor's four years in Lawrence.
Then there are days like Saturday and Monday, where Taylor's brilliance outshines his past.
"Turnovers don't come up too much when we're winning," Taylor said.
Taylor has scored a career-high 28 points in his past two games, victories against Iowa State and
Baylor. After a long summer of shooting, his once flawed 3-pointer has become a weapon.
His unrelenting ability to attack the basket, no matter the defense allows him to make acrobatic layups. If he opts not to score, he's already drawn the defense's attention, and his teammates simply wait for his pass to knock down open shots.
"We've only had one other kid since I've been here that can get the ball to the paint, and that was Sherron," Self said. "Tyshawn does it better than Sherron."
When the shot clock is nearing zero and Taylor has the ball, his quick first step and improved jump keeps the defense guessing and the Jayhawks rolling on.
- Edited by Caroline Kraft
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CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor celebrates with fans after the Iowa State game Jan. 14.Taylor has recently put in back-to-back 28-point performances.