Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NORTH CAROLINA WILL PLAY 18TH FINAL FOUR
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MANGINO EVALUATES POSITIONS IN PRACTICE
MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2009
Mangino will review two players' suspensions this week. FOOTBALL 13B
MICHIGAN STATE 67, KANSAS 62
PAGE 1B
Weston White/KANSAN
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich puts his arm around junior guard Sherron Collins as they walk to shake hands with the Michigan State players. Kansas ended its season with a 67-62 defeat in the Sweet Sixteen.
Collins' contributions bittersweet
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
INDIANAPOLIS — It had to end like this.
Not necessarily in the Sweet Sixteen at Lucas Oil Stadium in a 67-62 defeat to Michigan State. But from the beginning of the year, it was clear that Kansas would go as far as Sherron Collins could take it.
In the end, Collins willed the layhawks to a 65-60 lead with just more than three minutes remaining against the Spartans. And no further than that.
From there, Collins, a junior
guard, committed a key turnover,
made a key foul and missed a key
free throw. Then, it was over.
"I can take the loss or whatever," Collins said. "I take it on my shoulders."
But it's not that simple. Because without Collins, the lajwahaws would have never stood a chance against the Spartans. He played a game-high 38 minutes, scored a game-high 20 points and led Kansas out to a 32-19 lead in the first half.
No, the blame could go around to everyone after the loss. Collins' teammates knew it.
thing for us to win," Aldrich said. "Sometimes, that's what it comes down to."
Didn't happen again. Collins and Aldrich — who finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks — accounted for 60 percent of Kansas' offense.
"Everybody that played in the game did things that if they think
Taylor was part of one of the major problems. Before the Sweet Sixteen, Kansas coach Bill Self talked about how players other than Collins and sophomore center Cole Aldrich needed to contribute more than they had in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
back, they could be like, "Well, this cost us this game," freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor said.
"Sherron and I will do any-
Collins specifically carried the burden Friday. He got a one-minute break before checking back into the game with 6:45 remaining and the score tied at 51.
Three minutes later, Collins had helped the Jayhawks regain the lead at 60-55 with two baskets off of nifty drives through numerous Spartan defenders. Perhaps one more field goal would have clinched a Jayhawk victory and
SEE MEN'S ON PAGE 7B
MEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND PAGE 6B
For full coverage of the men's basketball game against Michigan State, check out the rewind on PAGE 6B.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Controlled confidence will be key against collective-natured Lobos
BY JAYSON JENKS jjenks@kansan.com
While equipment and food were being loaded and stored onto a bus outside Allen Fieldhouse Sunday, coach Bonnie Henrickson stood on the layhawk at halfcourt with her players gathered around.
Soon after, the jayhawks boarded a bus — and eventually a plane — destined for their WNIT game at New Mexico (25-10, 9-7). But first, Henrickson wanted to leave her team with one final thought for the lengthy trip ahead.
Henrickson wanted to make ummistakably clear that Kansas couldn't overlook New Mexico — a team that lacks one standout player, but plays well collectively. "Those teams, like New Mexico, are harder to beat because you have to guard everybody" Henrickson said.
Perhaps the mental aspect of
Kansas vs. New
Mexico
8 p.m.
Albuquerque, N.M.
Radio: 1320 AM
tonight's game at 8 p.m. poses the biggest challenge for Kansas (20-13, 6-10). The Jayhawks have won seven of their last nine games, and the only losses in that stretch were to top-25 teams that made the NCAA tournament.
Still, something didn't sit right for Henrickson — or her players for that matter — in Kansas' last two practices. And the Jayhawks insisted they weren't overlooking a New Mexico
In the middle of her team Sunday afternoon, Henrickson used her best player, junior forward Danielle McCray, as a perfect example. In a 69-62 loss at Colorado on Feb. 18 — arguably Kansas' lowest point season — McCray struggled, scoring just 11 points.
"I can't tell you why, but the feel was different," senior guard Ivana Catic said. "Even if there was some thought that they weren't an SEC or Big 12 team, they still have (25) wins and they're still a good team."
team that plays in the lesser-known Mountain West Conference.
And Henrickson noticed something with McCray, something she pointed out to the rest of the team.
"She's a very confident kid, which makes her a great player. And I'm not trying to take any ounce of confidence from her," Hendrickson said. "But at times I think her confidence
SEE WOMEN'S ON PAGE 4B
Tyler Waugh/KANSAN
Freshman forward Aishah Sutherland struggles for a shot from under the basket during the Jayhawks' 75-59 victory against Arkansas on Thursday in Allen Fieldhouse.
COMMENTARY
Jayhawks fought hard until the end
Coach Bill Self put it bluntly. After being asked to reflect on the season shortly after the loss to Michigan State, the national coach of the year had one thing to say.
"We weren't a very good basketball team early," Self said. "The guys really came together and they gave us a chance to be good."
Kansas, after losing all five starters and a key reserve, simply never should have made it this far.
The Jayhawks earned a low-20s preseason ranking on the strength of a national title reign, an unproven nucleus of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, a seven-deep recruiting class that Rivals.com ranked as the second-best in the country and a coach who is arguably the best in the game.
But, beyond Self, nothing was proven. The Jayhawks, who represent one of the top college basketball programs in history, were for the first time in a long time an unknown commodity. They were unproven, untested and unqualified.
In East Lansing in January, Kansas didn't belong on the same court as the Spartans. Michigan State dominated the first half, holding the Jayhawks to only 19 first-half points with their physical play. But in Indianapolis in March, the Jayhawks were tougher, stronger and refused to go quietly into the night.
But that's what made this year's Jayhawks so fun to watch. No one knew what to expect, and the Jayhawks redefined unpredictable, going from the highest highs — a 25-point dismantling of a solid Missouri squad — to the lowest lows — a 19-point loss three days later to lowly Texas Tech
— without any seeming reason.
Once the young jayhawks hit the bottom of the barrel, though, it took little time at all to float back on top. After that Tech loss, Kansas rebounded to knock off Texas and clinch an improbable fifth-straight conference title.
The maturation of this year's inexperienced team was plain to see, and perhaps nothing demonstrates it better than their fourth loss and the one that ended the season. Those two losses, both to national title contender Michigan State, couldn't have gone differently.
It took a coaching performance from Self that has racked up multiple national awards to get the Jayhawks this far. It took Collins developing into a dominant scorer and all-conference guard. It took Aldrich growing from a virtual unknown to a potential lottery pick if he decides to leave Kansas for a shot at the NBA.
The best thing about this year's team, though, might be its potential for greatness down the line.
"If we're able to keep these guys together," Self said. "I really believe that this could be a special group, based on how much they improved over the course of the season."
Edited by Jesse Trimble