Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
TIGERS ENTER PHOG FOR BORDER REMATCH
Kansas wants payback, Mizzou wants the Big 12 lead. GAME DAY 18B
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009
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A PERFECT 10
PAGE 1B
Kirk reigned as king of the court
Legendary guard returns to retire jersey before Kansas-Missouri game
If you listened to Kirk Hinrich on Thursday, you realized that the young kid you remember is gone.
Hinrich, Kansas' former All-Big 12 guard, is 28 now. He's played for the Chicago Bulls for almost six years, and on Thursday afternoon he met the President of the United States.
"I don't know if there's a greater honor." Hirnich says.
And then someone asked if he specifically chose to have the jersey ceremony during the Missouri game. And, of course, he did.
But on Thursday, before his trip to the White House, Hinrich tried to explain how he'll feel on Sunday, when his jersey is lifted to the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse during halftime of the Missouri game.
"Playing in that Missouri-Kansas rivalry for four years, I definitely understood how important it is," he said.
Seems President Obama is a Bulls fan. Must be a Chicago thing.
And then you realized that Kirk Hirchh has changed a bit.
This is a story about a young kid from Sioux City, Iowa, with big ears. This is a story about a coach's son. But you must know this. It's hard for me to write about Hinrich.
You see, sportswriters are supposed to be objective. They're supposed to supply statistically sound, fact-based arguments. And how can you be objective, when you've had a poster of Kirk Hinrich tacked on your bedroom wall since 2002?
How can you be objective when, as a high schooler, you grew out your hair, pushed it all forward and wore that matted down mushroom cut? Because that's how Kirk wore it.
And how can you be objective when, as an unathletic, 5-foot-10 high school shooting guard, you patterned your game off his? You wore your socks like he did, and you copied his mannersism. You hurt on the inside when he walked off the floor against Syracuse as a lover.
There are so many Hinrich stories.
There was the time Hinrich sprained his ankle against Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2002. There was a dark cloud hanging over that game. Kansas barely escaped and Hinrich violently rolled his ankle and spent the second half on the bench. He was on crutches the next day and nobody thought he'd play in the second round against Stanford — except Kirk, himself. Of course, he did play and he made three three-pointers and scored 15 points, and Kansas was on its way to the Final Four.
There was the Elite Eight game against No. 1 seed Arizona in 2003, when Hinrich willed Kansas to another Final Four with
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Self wants fewer turnovers, players want revenge
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
A Missouri player passes out of a trap from sophomore center Cole Aldrich and freshman forward Marcus Morris during the first half of the Jayhawks' Feb. 9 game in Columbia, Mo. Kansas will face the Tigers again at 1 p.m. Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks will seek to continue their 39-name winning streak at home.
Tyshawn Taylor is starting to understand this whole rivalry thing.
Jon Goering/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Taylor, a freshman guard, arrived at Allen Fieldhouse for practice Thursday and noticed the hallways clogged with campers waiting for Sunday's 1 p.m. tipoff against Missouri. He looked at the camping group sign-up list. Sixty groups.
Wherever Taylor goes, he's noticed how much everyone is anticipating the game.
"It's big. It's important," Taylor said. "People have been telling me on campus. 'We've got to get them, we owe them one.'"
No. 15 Kansas (23-5, 12-1) lost to No. 8 Missouri (24-4, 11-2)
62-60 three weeks ago at Mizzou Arena. For only the second time in
the last eight years, the Jayhawks have a chance to avenge a defeat to
the Tigers in the same season.
"Motivation should not be because it's payback or things like that," Self said. "It should be because you're playing a rival and it means a lot."
Of course, Kansas coach Bill Self doesn't believe revenge should be the predominant theme of the game.
BORDER
SHOWDOWN
WHO: Kansas vs. Missouri
WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m.
WHEN: Allen Fieldhouse
TV: WHERE: Allen Fieldhouse
TV: (Channel 5, 13)
He's right about it meaning a lot. The winner of the game at Allen Fieldhouse will be in first place in the Big 12 and control its destiny as far as winning the Big 12 regular season championship the rest of the way.
Check Kansan.com/videos for footage of Thursday's press conference with clips from coach Bill Self, Cole Aldrich and Sharon Coons.
When Collins looks back on the loss to Missouri, however, he says he remembers Kansas giving the game away. The Jayhawks led for most of the night, including a 14-point advantage at halftime.
"Coach will be telling us every five minutes how many turnovers we had, every time we screw up in practice," sophomore guard Brady Morningstar said. "That's just something that happens and we've got to learn to get fewer turnovers."
"You could say that," junior guard Sherron Collins said. "This is Kansas and Missouri. They beat us the first time. It's a game we've been looking forward to."
But most of Self's players also have revenge on their minds.
But an inability to deal with Missouri's full-court defense cost them in the end. Kansas committed 27 turnovers, the third most by the team in the last 20 years.
Self said the lajwhays — who lead the Big 12 in turnovers with
Self will make the Jayhawk starters practice against teams of seven and eight reserves in practice leading up to the game. Collins said that was helpful because it forced him to read three opponents at a time and concentrate on not turning the ball over.
16 per game in conference play — shouldn't commit more than 13 turnovers per game. He's got some tactics to help keep the number down against the Tigers Saturday.
But Collins thinks the most important thing to the lawhaws
"We didn't attack their pressure at all," Collins said. "We just got across the court and let them set their defense back up and tried to play from there. We've got to attack them in their soft spots, take the ball up court and attack the rim."
If the lahayws play that way, it will make for an exciting afternoon of uptempo basketball at Allen Fieldhouse. It's the kind of
basketball that will make fans like the ones who talked to Taylor excited.
COMMENTARY
Not that they weren't already, After all, this is Missouri. The whole experience might be new to Taylor, but everyone else is used to it.
"Same old Missouri team, same old rivalry it is every year," Morningstar said. "It's going to be a fun game to play in. I'm excited for it."
Edited by Sam Speer
CLIPPERA MU
Improving Tigers make for better Showdown
The Border Showdown — it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
I would rather call it something else, a different epithet that all KU fans use to describe the Kansas-Missouri rivalry. Kansan style with holds my ability to print that word here, but you know what it is.
That passion makes Jayhawks-Tigers rivalry one of the most heated in the nation. Over the past few years the impact of the games has faded. Missouri toiled in mediocrity over the waning years of the Quin Snyder era and struggled in Mike Anderson's first couple years. Now, though, Missouri bears a top ten ranking and the pride of a victory over Kansas in Missouri.
That victory has layhawk fans seething. Zaire Taylor's shot may have looked ugly because he was a wearing a Missouri uniform — granted, it looked aesthetically ugly from a basketball standpoint as well — and Cole Aldrich may have been fouled at the end of the game. But the fact is Missouri defeated Kansas, something it hadn't done since the '05-'06 season.
Missouri's versatile big men DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons gave the Jayhawks all they could handle last time. The Morris twins need to be strong on the defensive end to help out Aldrich in shutting down Missouri's best scoring options.
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The Jayhawks need smarter play considering they turned the ball over 27 times in Columbia. This team has been steadily improving, which adds to the anticipation of a rematch with Missouri.
There's more up for battle in this grudge match than just bragging rights. The winner will be sitting in the driver's seat in terms of the Big 12 Championship. Sherron Collins has been blazing for Kansas, and the freshmen are starting to find their way.
The pop hadn't been there in the rivalry until that point. The Tigers split with the Jayhawks in the '04-'05 season and the following year, but the contests in Lawrence were blowouts, including a 33-point victory by Kansas in Lawrence in 2006. The Jayhawks added insult to injury for the Tigers in the following two seasons. The Jayhawks swept the series both seasons, which included Julian Wright's dominating 33-point, 12-rebound performance in Columbia in 2007.
The Tigers have had their tails between their legs for some time now. They've even had trouble selling out their new arena. Now, they've resharpened their claws and have a share of the conference title in their sights.
Missouri will put it all on the line in Lawrence. The Tigers haven't been this prominent in the national media's eyes for a long time. Their last trip to the NCAA Tournament was in 2003 and their last conference tide was in 1994.
Sunday's game will be more than a rivalry. When "Requiem for a Tower" plays before the KU player introductions, realize that Sunday's game could go down as one epic battle.
— Edited by Sam Speer
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