SAN
2009
Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 12
TEAM COULD SECURE BIG 12 TITLE IN TEXAS
Kansas travels to Lubbock for 8:30 p.m. game against Tech. GAME DAY I 6B
KANSAS CAN EXTEND WIN STREAK TONIGHT
KANSAN
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Complex offense could help against Baylor. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL I 3B
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2009
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COMMON GROUND
COMRADES COURT
Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor share a strong relationship beyond basketball
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
As the Kansas players exited their locker room at the Lloyd Noble Center last Monday after a victory against Oklahoma, Kansas coach Bill Self made sure to find Sherron Collins.
TONIGHT
Self wanted to congratulate Collins. Self wanted to emphasize to Collins, a junior guard, how much his 26 points and five three-pointers meant to the Jawhaws.
No. 9 Kansas at Texas Tech
8:30 p.m.
Lubbock, Texas
TV: ESPN2 (Channel 34)
"I told Sherron, 'Hey, down the stretch, that's as good as I've ever seen you.'" Self said. "The first thing out of his mouth was, 'How good was the fresh man?'"
"The freshman" is guard Tyshawn Taylor, who matched Collins' output with 26 points and kept the Jayhawks afloat in the first half of
the same freshman who Self said was in a "funk" in the three games before where he only averaged four points.
performance to advice given by Collins
"He just tells me to keep my head up, stop thinking and just play," Taylor said. "That's what I did tonight."
This is the relationship between Collins and Taylor
at its best. As willing as they are to talk about themselves, they'd just as happily discuss each other. Collins says they have a brotherly relationship. Teammates have called it everything from best friends to father-son.
No matter how they describe it, their relationship is working. Collins has served as the Jayhawks' leader all season and won his second straight Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week Award this week for his combined 51 points in the victories against Oklahoma and Missouri.
The Big 12 awarded Taylor with his fourth Rookie of the Week honor for scoring 41 points in those two games. Collins and Taylor will be featured once again tonight when No. 9 Kansas takes on Texas Tech at 8:30 p.m. in Lubbock, Texas, for an opportunity to clinch a share of the Big 12 regular season title.
in Taylor plays well, he'll find him self answering more questions about Collins' influence. Self is fine with that, but he wants to make it clear that their camaraderie is nothing new.
"He scores 26 points in one game and all of a sudden, their relationship is different. That's not how it works." Self said. "His relationship with him doesn't change week to week."
Taylor will list a number of reasons why he ended up choosing to attend Kansas.
Collins will be more precise.
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 5B
Photos by Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
COMMENTARY
Hawks performing well under growing pressure
E expectations are funny things.
Take, for instance, the hypothetical scenario that Kansas makes it to the Sweet 16 this year and no further. There was a time when that would have been considered a stellar end to the season by most Kansas fans. And why not? The reasons for diminished expectations this year have been well documented.
But that time, however recent, is long gone. Then, Kansas was a young team with glaring flaws. The Jayhawks couldn't seem to get a win on the road, and Sherron Collins failed to deliver when the moment most called for his particular talents. Cole Aldrich, a positive surprise regardless, found himself left out of the offensive flow far too often. The Morris twins found themselves similarly disenfranchised, albeit because of their own inability to stay out of foul trouble. Mario Little, plagued by injuries, couldn't find his way onto the court at all. Then, a Sweet 16 sounded, well, sweet.
That Kansas team bears little resemblance to the one
No doubt, you've heard the rumblings. Could this Kansas team, with the proper breaks, get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament? Even if that doesn't happen, is it possible that the layawhacks could make a run deeper than the Sweet 16? Perhaps another Final Four, or — dare I ask? — another championship? No doubt, there's been talk. Perhaps you've even indulged in some of it yourself.
that sits poised atop the Big 12. Unquestionably, things are different now. Kansas is a better team. Better to the point where expectations are beginning to shift dramatically upward.
I know I have. In truth, it's hard not to.
Kansas was projected to finish tied for third in the Big 12 this year.
Weston White/KANSAN
SEE BEECHER ON PAGE 5B
Catcher has big game after return
Senior catcher Buck Amenfirn篮 during Kansas' 8-2 victory against North Dakota Tuesday afternoon. Amenfirn is batting .462 on the season.
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Afenir plays well with both a mitt and a bat yesterday against North Dakota
BY JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
The senior catcher has had a significant impact on the Kansas lineup since he returned against Arkansas last week and it showed once again in Kansas' 8-2 victory against North Dakota Tuesday afternoon.
It's been only three games, but it's safe to say Buck Afenir is living up to his preseason acclaim after being named to the All-Big 12 team.
"I'm more impressed with the
"I feel great; it's good to get back with the team," Afenir said. "Just to get back in there and have some fun."
After going 1-4 with an RBI Tuesday, Afenir is now 6-13 (462 average) with three RBIs. His presence has allowed Kansas to increase its scoring during the past three games from 3.3 runs per game to 8.3. But coach Ritch Price is more impressed with what his fourth-year catcher does at the backstop rather than the batter's box.
SEE PAGE 5B FOR MORE
Dakota, check out page 5B
defense to be honest with you," Price said. "He really struggled throwing the baseball last year, and it became a weakness for our team."
Alenir was the only Jayhawk to be named to the preseason All-Big 12 team and he said he hadn't let any pressure mount from the expectations.
"I just pretty much think about wins right now," Afenir said. "I keep that out of my mind for the most part."
Kansas once again used a smallball approach to help support freshman starter Lee Ridenhour
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 5B