Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JAYHAWKS LOOK TO KEEP SEASON ALIVE
Kansas takes on Michigan State in Indianapolis. GAMEDAY I 8B
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2009
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COMMENTARY
PAGE 1B
Memphis Tigers deserve respect
Edited by Justin Leverett
Let me take this time to dole out my respects to the Memphis Tigers. The Tigers, the team that KU defeated to earn the national championship last season, lost many players to the NBA just like the Jayhawks. The Tigers are very similar to the Jayhawks and that's why their run in the tournament so far, discounting last night's loss, has been extremely impressive.
Memphis and Kansas both lost numerous starters from last year's teams. The Tigers lost three while the Jayhawks lost all of their starters. Both entered the season with lower expectations than during the previous year, even with star recruits such as Tyreke Evans for Memphis and Marcus and Markieff Morris for Kansas.
At the beginning of the season these lower expectations held strong for a time. Both Kansas and Memphis exited the top 25 rankings at nearly the same time. Kansas was out in week five and Memphis followed in week six, but both teams eventually made it back into the rankings.
That really speaks to what coaches Bill Self and John Calipari have been able to do with these teams. They've each taken a group of less-experienced players and gotten them right back to the same high level of competition that got them into the national championship game last year. It's no wonder both coaches are highly respected in their profession. You can't help but notice the phenomenal job both coaches have done this season, not to mention Calipari's recruiting sweepstakes or Self's already numerous coaching awards.
Memphis even parallels Kansas in terms of its basketball history. Memphis has been dominant recently, winning the last four Conference USA tournaments, similar to Kansas' three straight conference tournament championships from 2006-2008. Kansas has the most tournament championships of any Big 12 school and Memphis is tied for the most wins with Cincinnati, a team no longer in the conference.
Calipari brought prominence to the Memphis basketball program, while Self brought another national championship to Kansas. Calipari hasn't gotten there yet, but his time is looming down the road, especially with the top recruiting class for the 2009-2010 season, which includes the second and third overall recruits in the nation, DeMarcus Cousins and Xavier Henry.
Jayhawks fans will obviously applaud the efforts of Self and his ability to hold this Jayhawk team together with so many inexperienced players, but Jayhawk fans should also applaud the effort of the Memphis Tigers, who, to a lesser extent, were able to bounce back from similar adversity to make another run in the NCAA tournament. There are similarities between the two teams that fans should be able to respect, leading to a mutual appreciation of the two teams. Besides, it's not like any true Jayhawk fan could have rooted for Missouri to win anyway.
SWEET TIME TO STEP UP
Ready for the challenge
Self knows how to motivate Collins to play his best
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
INDIANAPOLIS — Bill Self has a story he loves to tell. It's a story about Sherron Collins. A story that perfectly illustrates Collins' personality.
It was April 6, 2008 — the eve of Kansas' national championship game against Memphis in San Antonio. Self didn't know which of his players should guard Derrick Rose, Memphis' point guard and eventual No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, so he asked them.
"Watch," Collins responded. Just put me on him."
"No," Self said. "We're going to have to put someone a little bigger, a little stronger, a little tougher at point."
That's what Self wanted to happen all along. The question and the subsequent challenge were both a part of Self's plan to motivate Collins.
TONIGHT
Kansas vs.
Michigan State
8:37 p.m.
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Ind.
Collins, then a sophomore guard, responded first. Collins told Self he wanted to defend Rose. Collins said he could do it.
— he forced Rose into a number of tough shots and guarded him well enough for Kansas to prevail.
While Collins didn't shut down Rose — he still scored 18 points
"I love toughness and I love guys that you can't tell them what they can't do." Self said. "If you tell Sherron what he can't do, it's just motivation for him to do it."
Self knows how to inspire Collins, now a junior guard, and Collins knows how to react to it.
TV: CBS (Channel 5, 13)
Collins
s a i d
Thursday
at Lucas Oil
Stadium that
he expected a
challenge from
Self before Kansas
tips off against Michigan
State at approximately 8:37
"I think he'll challenge me somehow in the next day or two," Collins said. "I'm going to respond to it well. Every time he challenges me, I take it up."
In fact, this season started with Self challenging Collins. When the Jayhawks traveled to Ottawa, Canada, for three exhibition games in Angust, Self was upset because Collins arrived to practice out of shape and overweight. Self said he didn't think Collins could be the team's leader.
"We go with him," sophomore center Cole Aldrich said. "We follow him."
Turns out Self was dead wrong. Collins has averaged 19 points and five assists per game this season and is a second-team All American. Most importantly, he's led this young group of Jayhawks to the Sweet Sixteen — further than most analysts expected at the beginning of the season.
The Jayhawks have definitely stuck with that theme through the first two games of the NCAA tournament. Collins recorded a combined 57 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and only two turnovers in the victories against Dayton and North Dakota State.
Self put it, Collins "has made every play." The two games have arguably been the best of Collins' career. Not surprisingly, they've come following yet another challenge from Self.
Collins has told Self all season that as a leader, he's in charge of making sure the Jayhawks play with maximum effort. It's Collins' job to keep the energy level high.
When Kansas lost to Baylor 71-64 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Self blamed the defeat on a lack of energy. Collins took the statement personally.
SEE COLLINS ON PAGE 7B
That didn't happen against Baylor. Now, Collins is determined to make sure the Jayhaws never have a similar letdown again. In the two tournament games,
Photos by Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Freshman forward Aishaah Sutherland fights for position against Arkansas Ayana Brereton during the third round of the WNIT game on Thursday. Sutherland had two blocks and 11 rebounds. The Jayhawks play the winner of the Oregon State/ New Mexico game in the WNIT's round of eight.
Tyler Waugh/KANSAN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
McCray, Morris step up big in victory
The action on the screen revealed a noticeable and glaring concern: Sometimes during games, junior forward Danielle McCray and junior guard Sade Morris failed to look for one another on offense.
Before the Big 12 tournament, Kansas' two best scorers sat and watched film together with position coach Katie O'Connor.
First, McCray and Morris discussed the situation at hand. Then,the two's talks delved into the bigger picture.
"We just said, 'Hey, this is our postseason and we need to go far,' McCray said. "We can't rely on other people. We have to be the ones that step up this team."
This season, Kansas has depended on McCray and Morris for the bulk of its offensive
production. And, for much of the year, the pair has filled the role adequately.
"They get confused on how and when to guard us," Morris said. "If they come out too far, we'll shoot it. If they want to guard us, we'll bring it off the dribble."
McCray and Morris thoroughly dominated in Kansas' 75-59 victory against Arkansas — a result that pushed Kansas into the final eight of the tournament. The two combined for 58 of Kansas' points.
McCray tied a career-high with 35 points, an impressive total for sure but nothing unexpected from the Big 12's second leading scorer. Morris filled the Jayhawks' remaining scoring needs by pouring in 23 points.
For full coverage of the women's basketball game against Arkansas, check out the rewind on page 38.
Coach Bonnie Henrickson and her staff call the duo Batman and Robin. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair refers to the pair as Jordan and Pippen. Whatever nickname
SEE WOMEN'S ON PAGE 3B
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