Volume 126 Issue 58
kansan.com
Monday, December 9, 2013
COMMENTARY Embiid deserves starting spot
At the beginning of the season Kansas coach Bill Self quipped that senior
At the beginning of the season Kansas coach Bill Self equipped that senior transfer Tarik Black would have the opportunity to play as much as he wants this year. Self trusted the three-year starter at Memphis would jump right into the same role for the lawhaves.
The point being things change. Situations change,players develop and needs must be met.
On Saturday Self trotted out a lineup with freshman Frank Mason starting over Tharpe. If Self continues to tinker with his starters he should look at swapping Black for Embid next.
Since then, Embid has exploded on the court and in the national conversation, where the pundits who boasted about Andrew Wiggins being the number one overall pick in the NBA draft are starting to say the same things about the freshman from Cameroon.
Again, it's not that Black isn't a valuable asset. He provides a physical game and has shown he's capable of igniting the team with thunderous dunks. The problem is that his efficiency is staggeringly low.
"Iojo can be as good as he wants to be." Black said earlier in the year, "It's my job to help him mature in his game, understand a couple of things and just help him with the little things on the court to make him that much better of a player."
The Jayhawks look to flow more freely when Embid is on the floor and his finishing ability seems to improve with each shot he takes.
We were told the seven-foot center would see a lot of time right away. In each of the last two games Embiid played more than 20 minutes. Currently he's averaging 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.
During that press conference Self said that freshman Joel Embiid has a long way to go before he would see a ton of minutes. We were also told that Naadir Tharpe was the best option to run Kansas' offense.
That's not to put blame on Black. He's not a scapegoat for Kansas dropping two of its last three games. Basketball is about the team, and there's no denying at this moment that the Jayhawks are a better team with Embiid in the game.
This puts him in an awkward situation of sorts. As he's been developing his own game, Self has tasked Black with helping develop Embiid transition to the college level.
Things change. It doesn't mean that Black is a bad player, or that he can't break out of this funk.
After watching Colorado defeat Kansas at the buzzer, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports suggested the switch as well, noting the best lineup for the Jayhawks would have Mason, Wayne Selden Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Perry Ellis and Joel Embid starting.
— Edited by Casey Hutchins
Still, if Self is going to mix up his starters again, no one could blame him for inserting Embibl.
But this is an adjustment period for Black just as it is for many of his freshman teammates. He may be a senior, but Black is learning, a new system and doing so under the new hand-check rules. He isn't just being taught how to play at Kansas, he's figuring how to play defense, period.
Black is averaging 3.5 points per game heading into Tuesday's matchup with Florida. There have been three games where he didn't record a single point. Which might not be the case if he could stay out of foul trouble. In the 89 minutes he's played so far, Black has picked up 23 fouls with many of his calls before the first media timeout.
KEY THREE
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Freshman Andrew Wiggins walks off the court as Colorado fans rush the court behind him. The Jayhawks snapped their 19-game winning streak against the Buffalooes in the 72-75 l
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
Boulder, Colo - You could say Askia Booker primed himself to take the Buffaloes' final shot on Saturday afternoon.
With time expiring, Booker pulled up from three and knocked down a shot to give Colorado a 33-30 lead at halftime.
That might as well have been the game winner. Yet Booker duplicated the feat, sinking another three as time expired in the second half to give the Buffaloes the win.
At the end of it all, Booker stood frozen in place, his face a mix of shock and pride. The students mobbed their classmates on the court at Coors Events Center and Elwary personally congratulated each player as they walked into the locker room.
You could say Kansas fell when
Such is life when you take down the No. 6 team in the nation, a former rival and the alma mater of Colorado coach Tad Boyle.
Booker hit his first dagger at the end of the first half. Really, the Jayhawks fell 75-72 as Booker's deja vu gave Kansas its second loss in the last three games.
After a promising start in which
18-9 lead the team
fell flat, struggling
to find any moment,
let alone hang
onto it.
"After the first 10 minutes they controlled the game," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Self said.
Indeed, the Buffaloes' zone defense stymied Kansas' offense. After working through Joel Embid (fouled out with 10 points, 4 reebounds) early on, Kansas was forced to shoot from the outside.
No matter whom Self put on the floor, the shots just wouldn't drop. The Jayhawks went just 5-20 from 3-point range.
"It's easier to score in zone than
man-to-man," Embiid said. "We didn't really know how to do it like we always do in practice." Even more worrisome was the fact that Kansas gave up 14 turnovers, resulting in 24 points for
"After the first 10 minutes they controlled the game."
Colorado.
Andrew Wiggins came out in the second half looking more aggressive than he has all season, and even with a few bonehead plays - namely a turnover or two that gave Colorado easy points - he was the
And yet, with the Jayhawks mak ing life tougher for themselves, they still kept the pressure on the Buffaloes to put them away.
It wasn't that Kansas was out of the game, but for a stretch it never felt like it was in; it as if some players never came back from the Bahamas.
BILL SELF coach
That's not to say there weren't things for Self to build on.
main reason Kansas hung around until the end.
"That's what I try to do," Wiggins said. "That's what I'm best at. I think it worked out." It worked enough for 22
points (7-11) and five rebounds, and it worked enough for Wiggins to draw a foul on a three-pointer with Kansas down 71-68. Wiggins would hit two of the ensuing three free throws, which were all that mattered if the Jayhawks wanted a chance to steal back a victory.
chance to be locked in a barn.
Once Colorado hit another free throw of its own, Perry Ellis sliced his way through traffic for a quick layup to tie the game with three
seconds on the clock.
"It was perfect," Self said. "Pick and pop with their big guy guarding Perry and he made a really good play."
But as overtime loomed Booker rose up. He caught the ball at mid-court with time for one or two steps. As it turned out, he found space to swim around Frank Mason contorting his body for an awkward Euro step before launching his game-winner.
Self said the Jayhawks' philosophy is to make the shooter catch the ball in front of you. Booker was able to get off to the side, giving him the small look at the basket, which turned out was all he needed.
"It was more him making a good play than bad defense," Self said after falling to Colorado for the first time in his career.
"Still, I wish we could do it over."
—Edited by Casey Hutchins
MLS
Shootout sends Sporting to MLS Cup victory
MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
Sporting Kansas City players celebrate their win against Real Salt Lake for the 2013 MLS Cup. This is Kansas City's first professional sports title since 2000.
BEN FELDERSTEIN
bfeldersteinr@kansan.com
The game got off to a rough start. Sporting midfielder Oriol Rosell was substituted out in the eighth minute for Lawrence Olum. This substitution was made due to injury and was the earliest substitution in MLS Cup history. The opening minutes of the game were slow due to injuries and large stoppages of play.
Ninety minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time were not enough to decide a victor of the MLS Cup on Saturday. It took 10 rounds of penalty kicks for Sporting Kansas City to defeat Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park. This was Kansas City's first professional sports title since 2000.
"Half of the field was completely frozen." Sporting head coach Peter Vernes said. "It was almost unplayable."
Both head coaches had similar complaints about the field. But like Vermes said, "That's the beauty of sports, both teams have to play in it."
The first half did not have a lot of highlights. In the 29th minute,
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SEE SPORTING PAGE 8