4B SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN
THURSDAY FERRUARY 5.2009
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Self satisfied with start
Coach, players still see room for improvement despite Big 12 mark
Rvan McGeenev/KANSAN
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor, seen here in Kansas Feb. 2, game against Baylor University in Waco, is one of six freshmen playing for the Jayhawk basketball team this season. The Jayhawks are making significant use of their freshmen in terms of minutes on the court, especially unusual in a team that is currently 7-0 in conference play.
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
It was an innocent question.
"Relatively?" Self quipped.
After Kansas' 75-65 victory against Baylor Monday, a reporter asked Kansas coach Bill Self in the postgame press conference whether his "relatively" young team's success surprised him.
It's easy to forget that five of the eight players who appeared for at least a minute in the victory at the Ferrell Center didn't play for the Jayhawks at all last season. It's hard to remember that only one of them — junior guard Sherron Collins — averaged more than 10 minutes per game on the national championship team.
Those facts tend to be overlooked lately because the Jayhawks are 7-0 in the Big 12 Conference and tied with Oklahoma for first place. Their hot start to the conference season — last year's team only won their first five conference games before losing — has everyone surprised. Even the players consider themselves ahead of schedule.
"I'm impressed, but I can't be too impressed," Collins said. "This is what we expect."
The victory against Baylor helped legitimize Kansas as a contender for the Big 12 Conference championship. Coming into the game, the Jayhawks' schedule allowed reason for doubt.
Although the Jayhawks had won their first six games, they had not beaten any teams in the top half of the Big 12 standings and were only 4-4 away from Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think our 6-0 record in the league going into this, some people probably viewed it as 'Well, they had a favorable schedule', or whatever," Self said. "Which, before the season, you don't know it's going to be favorable."
But before the season, the road trip to Baylor certainly looked like one of the most daunting assignments. The Bears are among the
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most talented and experienced teams in the Big 12.
eight-man rotation — Collins, freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor, sophomore guards Brady Morningstar and Tyreel Reed, junior guard Mario Little, freshmen forwards Marcus and Markieff
"I'm impressed, but I can't be too impressed. This is what we expect."
Morris and sophomore center Cole Aldrich — and received the desirable result.
Each of them scored at least three points and played sufficient defense. Call it coach-speak, but Self described it as a "team effort."
"Those guys played great," Self said. "Everyone contributed."
SHERRON COLLINS Junior guard
But Self is cautious and quick to point out that February will be a tough month. After playing Oklahoma State Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas takes on both Missouri and Kansas State on the road next week.
The Jayhawks then play Nebraska and Iowa State at home leading up to a Big Day showdown
on Feb. 23 at Oklahoma, which is ranked second in the nation. Self won't say the Jayhawks are ready for the three-week stretch, but they're getting closer.
"We've had some things happen to us that we didn't like going through, but we probably knew we had to go through it," Self said. "We're still not as tough and hard as we need to be."
File Photo by Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Throw out the relatively. Is Self surprised by his young team's flawless Big 12 record?
"I'm happy that we're 7-0." Self said. "But not really. No."
Edited by Chris Horn
The Jayahaws' football program built up new training facilities over the summer of 2008, another development credited with increased success in recruiting efforts.
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
around the big 12
A A A A
2345 Iowa · 1835 Mass St
2. Oklahoma - Rivals.com National Ranking: 13, Top signee: Oddly no five-star recruits this year but four-star defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland passed up offers from Texas, USC and LSU.
Members of the 2007 Jayhawk football team celebrate their 2008 Orange Bowl victory at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. The victory is credited for helping to bolster the University's recruitment efforts for the upcoming 2009 season.
1. Texas - Rivals.com National Ranking: 5, Top signee: Five-star quarterback Garrett Gilbert hails from the same high school that produced Todd Reesing and is listed as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the nation.
DQ
4. Nebraska - Rivals.com National Ranking: 28, Top signee: Four-star quarterback Cody Green is listed as the No. 2 scram bling quarterback and the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback. Could immediately start at vacant position.
8. Missouri - Rivals.com National Ranking: 41, Top signee: Five-star defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson more than welcome in Columbia. Recognized as nation's fourth best overall player.
3. Texas A&M - Rivals.com National Ranking: 24, Top signee: Five-star running back Christine Michael reached the end zone 80 times in three years of varsity play despite splitting time for two of those years.
7. Oklahoma State - Rivals.com National Ranking: 35, Top signee: Four-star athlete Dexter Pratt among top-10 athletes nationally and top-15 recruits out of Texas.
9. Colorado - Rivals.com National Ranking: 48, Top signee: Four-star defensive end Nick Kasa chose Colorado over Florida. At 6-7 is ranked as third best defense end in nation.
5. Kansas - Rivals.com National Ranking: 31, Top signee:
Four-star wide receiver Bradley McDougald was a welcome addition Wednesday morning.
6. Texas Tech - Rivals.com National Ranking: T33, Top signee: Four-star running back Eric Stephens could split time immediately. Ranked as the sixth best all-purpose back.
11. Iowa State - Rivals.com National Ranking: 72, Top signee Four-star wide receiver Darius Reynolds was nation's 34th ranked juco player. Played quarterback in junior college.
10. Baylor - Rivals.com National Ranking: 55, Top signee: Four-star offensive guard Ivory Wade chose the Bears over Missouri and Texas A&M. Ranked as ninth best guard in the nation.
12. Kansas State - Rivals.com National Ranking: 94, Top signee: No four- or five-star players signed. Three-star safety Carlton Callender chose Kansas State over offers from Louisville, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Colorado State.
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around the corner from "Brothers"
defensive tackles Kansas signed, Travis Stephens of Houston, Texas — also a junior college player — and Randall Dent, Jr. of Grand Prairie, Texas, can make immediate contributions.
Offensively, Kansas adds size on both the line and at several skill positions. Three-star wide receivers Erick McGriff of Tampa, Fla., and Chris Ormige of Arlington, Texas, measure 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5. Four-star running back Toben Opurum of Plano, Texas, was ranked as the country's third-best fullback but at 6-foot-2, 229 pounds will line up at running back.
"Toben Opurum is the big, strong running back that we have been looking for, Mangino said. "He not only has speed and agility and great vision, but he has the power to go along with it."
"Both throw the ball very well, both are intelligent and both can beat you with their feet," Mangino said.
A pair of three-star quarterback signees enter the conversation as to who will succeed Todd Reeseing after 2009. Jordan Webb of Union, Mo., is one of four players already on campus and Christian Matthews of Arlington, Texas, brings speed to the position.
“There’s no question that having a nice facility helped,” Mangino said. “But our selling point here is the people, and that has never changed since I've been here. I continue to work as hard as I can to get the best assistant coaches and support staff around me that care about the kids.”
This year's class is the first group recruited after Kansas' 2008 Orange Bowl victory and the completion of the $31 million Anderson Family Football Complex. While those developments have indeed put Kansas on more highly-regarded athletes' short lists than ever before, Mangino maintained that they aren't his program's selling point.
- Edited by Andrew Wiebe
rival classes
As signing day drew to a close both Missouri and Kansas State found themselves in the bottom half of the Big 12's 2009 recruiting classes.
The Tigers did have a marquee signing with the nation's fourth ranked athlete, five-star defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.
Bill Snyder's first class since returning to Kansas State will need a miraculous turn of events to land Rivals.com's top player, running back Bryce Brown. Kansas State finished Wednesday with no four- or five-star signees.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Right-hander Brian Bannier and the Kansas City agreed Wednesday to a one-year contract worth $1,737,500 and avoided a salary arbitration hearing.
Bannister signs new deal with the Royals
MLB
Bannister made was 9-16 with a 5.76 ERA in 32 starts for the Royals last season. He was third in 2007 AL Rookie of the Year voting after going 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 27 starts.
Bannister earned $421,000 last year and asked for $2,025,000 in arbitration when he exchanged proposed salaries with the Royals last month. The team offered $1.45 million.
In addition to his salary,
Bannister could earn $12,500
if he pitches 200 innings and
$25,000 if he is an All-Star.
6
Kansas City has two players remaining in arbitration: outfieldier/infielder Mark Teahen and first baseman Mike Jacobs.
1
Associated Press
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