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2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I never thought you could look at the box score and see somebody with 50 with a triple-double, but it's happened."
— LeBron James after recording 52 points,
11 assists and 10 rebounds at Madison
Square Garden Wednesday night
FACT OF THE DAY
LeBron James' 52 points were the most in a triple-double since the NBA-merger. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 was the last player to score 50 points in a triple-double.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Besides LeBron, who's the only player with multiple 50-point games in Madison Square Garden?
A: Michael Jordan. His Airness had a few 50-point outings in the Garden, but the most memorable was a 55-point performance shortly after he returned from his first retirement. That was the highest scoring total by an opposing player in MSG until Kobe Bryant scored 61 on Monday.
@KANSAN.COM
The Jay Report: After doubt ing the Jays' in Waco, the guys explain why Kansas will keep the nation's longest winning streak alive against Oklahoma State.
BEWARE OF "THE BLOG"
"Blog" Allen: Look for Case Keefer's always insightful "Double Overtime post following Saturday's game.
Courtside: With their four-
game losing streak in the past, the Jayhawks travel to take on the Tigers on Saturday. And Jayson Jenks breaks down the matchup.
The Give and Go: Finally with out Clark, the Jayhawks stop
their losing streak.
Unfortunately, he's back for a preview of Missouri.
FOOTBALL
Illinois defensive coach fills vacant Kansas job
Former Illinois defensive line coach Tom Sims was announced Thursday to join Kansas at the same position. Sims replaces Kerry Locklin who was hired on Jan. 20 but has since left to join New York Jets coach Rex Ruan's staff.
Sims brings 12 years of coaching experience and a seven-season stint in the NFL — including the 1990-92 and 1996 seasons with the Chiefs — as a defensive tackle.
"We are glad to have Tom on our coaching staff," coach Mark Mangino said in a prepared statement. "He brings great experience as a coach and former NFL defensive lineman."
Associated Press
Graduation coming early for OB Lawrence
Signing a decent quarterback or two for Kansas' 2009 recruiting class made more headlines than news that redshirt sophomore Tyler Lawrence would graduate early, this coming summer.
Lawrence's departure means Kansas' top two quarterbacks on its projected 2009 depth chart — Todd Reesing and Kerry Meier — will be seniors with Kale Pick next in line as a sophomore.
Kansas signed Jordan Webb of Union, Mo., who is already on campus, and Christian Mathews of Arlington, Texas.
"Both throw the ball very well, both are very intelligent and both can beat you with their feet," Mangino said. "We got quality at that position."
Stephen Montemayor
]
COMMENTARY
Hard-hitting recruits common in SEC
Rivals.com bestowed 33 high school senior football players with the top recruiting honor — a five-star ranking.
The scary part? Fourteen of them signed with Southeastern Conference schools. That's nine more than in any other conference — the Big 12, Pac-10 and Atlantic Coast Conference grabbed five each.
Before expelling more negative energy about rivals.com's recruiting rankings, realize you're wrong. Sure, the Web site gives some players two stars and they turn into first-round picks in the NFL Draft. That's expected. Evaluating thousands of players perfectly and accounting for their maturation isn't going to happen.
But when a player gets five stars, it's usually indicative of future success. Ask Vince Young, Reggie Bush or Adrian Peterson — all of whom went on to illustrious careers after rivals. com gave them five stars. Want defenders? Rivals.com ranked LaMarr Woodley, Ernie Sims and Haloti Ngata at the top of their classes. Now, they're all NFL standouts.
This means the SEC dominated the recruiting circuit this
season almost as well as it has dominated on the field in the last half-decade.
Alabama snagged running back Trent Richardson. Louisiana State kept wide receiver Rueben Randle in state Georgia got cornerback Branden Smith, Florida signed linebacker Jelani Jenkins. Get ready to hear these names a lot over the next four years.
Ten SEC teams — everyone except Vanderbilt and Kentucky
Before criticizing the team rankings, realize Florida, USC, LSU, Georgia and Notre Dame were the only schools to be ranked in the top 10 in each of the last three years. Throw out Notre Dame and that's an impressive list that includes three
— hauled in classes that rivals, com ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Alabama and LSU ranked No.1 and No.2, respectively. Georgia and Florida ranked No.9 and No.10, respectively.
national championship teams and eight teams that have won BCS bowl games.
These juggernaut recruiting classes ensure that the best football will continue to be played below the Mason-Dixon Line for years to come. Next year, the SEC will try to become the first conference ever to produce four straight national champions.
The only question is, which team will it be? It's going to happen. In every aspect, the SEC is ahead of the rest of the college football world.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
Hooray for Kansas' second Big Monday game in a row next week, when it will play Missouri on the road.
Why is this something to cheer about? Because if Kansas
didn't play Monday, it would play Wednesday and conflict with a new episode of ABC's Lost.
Lost's fifth season kicked off last month and has once again proven to be one of the two best shows on network television. The other? NBC's Friday Night Lights, which airs new episodes at 7 p.m. on Fridays.
Luckily, Kansas never plays on Friday nights.
Edited by Justin Leverett
It's part blog, part column,
part pop-culture melting pot. It's The Morning Brew. A daily dose of Kansas sports, college life and pop culture.
You can read daily postings from The Morning
the brew goes digital
Brew guys at Kansan.com/
blogs/morning_brew, and
if you have any questions or
comments, please give us
a holler at morningbrew@
kansan.com.
Jayhawks head to Arizona for series
Nolan Manfield, Voohee, N.J., sophomore, pitches a fistball during a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon. The club baseball team is heading to Tampa on Thursday to compete against Arizona State.
CLUB BASEBALL
BY BRETT PHILLIPPE
bphillippe@kansan.com
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Mark Hays and his KU club baseball team would not usually even ponder hitting the diamond right now, considering Kansas' harsh weather conditions. But in October they got a phone call from Arizona State University.
Arizona State's club team asked Hays, Overland Park senior, if Kansas' team would be interested in playing a weekend series in early February. The laylahaws had won their conference the previous season, and the Sun Devils told Hays they wanted to build a nonconference schedule filled with conference champions from around the nation. After talking it over at their next club meeting, the laylahaws decided the series would be a tremendous opportunity to gain valuable experience and bond as a team.
"The most important thing about this trip is team bonding since we did not get many games during the fall semester."
After signing on to play the series, the teams had a lot of work to do. Kansas and Arizona State spent the next couple of months debating who would pay for rental vans and who would pay for hotel expenses.
But now all that work is out of the way and the team can focus
on playing.
"This is a very exciting time for the team," Hays said. "We only lost two seniors from last year, and with thirteen returning, it should not only be an incredible weekend, but an exhilarating 20-plus game season."
After winning the Mid-America South Conference championship last season, the Jayhawks are the heavy favorite to be repeat champions this year and ultimately content for a spot in the NCBA World Series. High expectations to repeat this year
Hays seems very excited about the season. "With the majority of the team coming back we should be able to compete at a very high level and contend for another conference championship," Hays said.
mean everyone in the conference will be gunning for Kansas, including teams such as Saint Louis University, Missouri State, Kansas State, and of course the Missouri Tigers.
And with the upcoming weekend of games against the Sun Devils, they are sure to get a.
WHAT: Kansas club baseball vs. Arizona State club baseball
WHEN: Today at 5 p.m.
and 7.30 p.m. (seven-in-
ning doubleheader) and
Saturday at 10 a.m. (nine-
inning game)
substantial jump on the competition, win or lose.
Edited by Liz Schubauer
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Tennis
Illinois, 2 p.m.
Champaign, Ill.
Softball UTEP, 2:30 p.m. Phoenix, Ariz.
Softball
Arizona, 5:30 p.m.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Swimming & diving
Iowa State, 6 p.m.
Lawrence
Men's golf
Hawaii-Hilo Invitational
Kona, Hawaii
Track & field
New Balance
Collegiate Invitational
New York, N.Y.
SATURDAY
Swimming & diving Iowa State, 10 a.m. Lawrence
Tennis
Illinois-Chicago, 2 p.m.
Champaign, III.
Women's basketball Missouri, 1 p.m. Columbia, Mo.
Men's basketball
Oklahoma State,
2:30 p.m.
Lawrence
Softball
Northwestern, Stanford
Phoenix, Ariz.
Track & field
New Balance
Collegiate Invitational
New York, N.Y.
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Softball
Nevada, 11 a.m.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Men's basketball Missouri, 8 p.m. Columbia, Mo.
GOLF
Villegas leads PGA event with three-stroke lead
SAN DIEGO — Camilo Villegas holed out for an eagle early in his round and made a string of birdies late for a 9-under 63, giving him a three-stroke lead at the Buick Invitational.
Associated Press
THE FRIDAY GRIDLOCK
| | Favorite cartoon show? | Favorite candy bar? | At age 24, LeBron or Jordan? | Worst movie you’ve ever seen? | Who has had the most influence on your life? | Fe h holiday |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Cole Aldrich sophomore center men's basketball | South Park | I love a frozen Snickers | LeBron | House of a 1,000 Corpses | My parents but Darnell Jackson since I've been here | Halloween, of course, it's my birthday |
| Sam Zerger, senior pitcher club baseball | Family Guy | Reese's Peanut Butter Cups | LeBron | Little Miss Sunshine | My dad | Fourth of July |
| Mark Francis head coach soccer | Tom and Jerry | Mounds | LeBron | Leaving Las Vegas | My college coach, Schellas Hyndman | Christmas |
just 1 of
= 72,634,054,790,000,000,000
possible combinations
6 flavors, 60 toppings you make the call.
1119 mass. 785.838.3600 around the corner from "Brothers"