Volume 126 Issue 44
kansan.com
Monday, November 11, 2013
COMMENTARY
Tharpe must lead for Jayhawks to succeed
Former Kansas point guard Elijah Johnson once compared the Jayhawks offense to a Bugatti.
A high-powered, goose hump inducing ride that causes pedestrians to pull a double-take if they see one speed by.
Johnson believed his role was to drive this car and direct it through a potential 40-game season.
Last Friday the super machine had no one to steer it.
That's not to say Frank Mason played poorly, but two early fools hindered his performance and the jayhawks essentially sacrificed horsepower for a smoother ride.
Against Louisiana-Monroe, Kansas' most important player never even stepped onto the floor
"Naadir's not our most talented guy but he's been our most valuable player," coach Bill Self said. "Frank did good the other day but if you take our two point guards out of the game you're not going to look very good."
For as much talent as they lay hawks have, they'll only go as far as Naadir Tharpe can take them.
It's not as if Tharpe has to score in double-digits every night. He can leave that up to Perry Ellis, Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden, Jr. And Tharpe doesn't even need to dish out an assist on every other play.
Kansas needs Tharpe to maintain his cool demeanor and take care of the ball. The other players can do the rest.
That won't be the case Tuesday against Duke, and Self understands the advantage as well as anyone.
When Tharpe is on the floor he's constantly talking. He's the calming voice inside his teammates' heads. Against the Warbawks he could only offer sideline support.
"It'll be a totally different looking team," Self said, "Doesn't mean we'll play better, but certainly we'll have a much better chance."
In the Jayhawks' first two exhibition games, Tharpe combined for 15 assists. On Friday, Wayne Selden Jr., Frank Mason and Conner Frankamp combined for just 12. But Tharpe's presence can't be seen by only looking at the box score.
"He brings that leadership," Jamari Traylor said. "He's been in big games as well. He knows what coach wants, he knows what is needed."
It was Traylor who was with Tharpe when he played the summer league game that led to his suspension. And it was Traylor who saw the look of defeat on his teammate when he realized his wrongdoing.
"He felt like he let us down," Traylor said.
All will be forgotten if Tharpe helps bring Kansas it's first Champions Classic victory.
"First it was Kentucky my freshman year, then it was Michigan State last year," Tharpe said. "We had the game in our hands and let it slip. I'm real hungry especially after sitting out and watching the team play."
Edited by Chas Strobel
KANSAS-DUKE
CHAMPIONS COLLIDE
Tuesday night's contest puts all eyes on Wiggins and the Jayhawks
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
When scouting Louisiana-Monroe last week, coach Bill Self would refer to the opponents by their numbers. Names would hardly be recognizable for his players.
When it comes to scouting a Duke team ranked in the top five, Self does just the opposite. There's no need to refer to freshman Jabari Parker as "number one" or Rodney Hood as "number five" and they definitely don't need a reminder of who will be strolling the sideline in front of Duke's bench.
"I told them this is not like playing in the McDonald's game or Jordan game or any high school championship," Naadir Tharpe said. "This is bigger than that. This is bigger to the school than anything."
Although Self admitted the names Duke and Kansas might not mean much to either team at this point, it's every bit as personal.
It's Duke and Kansas on a national stage and the players know it's going to be an atmosphere reminiscent of late March.
"They haven't been in the school and know how your fans react to certain things." Self said. "I'd say Andrew [Wiggins] is thinking about Duke, but he's also thinking about Jabari [Parker]. There's probably a lot of that stuff going on."
Parker was the number one recruit in the nation last year until Wiggins reclassified. The two have each graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and face the extreme expectations that come with it. The magazine named Parker the best high school player since LeBron James. Wiggins was compared to Wilt Chamberlain.
"Jabari Parker is probably about skilled a 6'8" guy as you'll ever see." Self said. "Hes a Pierce,
In his first official collegiate game Wiggins wig up 16 points. Parker went off for 22 in his.
"I feel like we've been getting into it more in practice," Tharpe said. "This is a game that's going to let us show that guys really want it and how ready they are. The last couple practices all I've seen are guys going after it."
Carmelo Anthony type player. He's one of the best players and without question best freshman in the country."
Most importantly, the lay-
hawks worked on defending an
aggressive attack without fouling.
The Blue Devils like to use their
quickness and speed to get to the
basket. With the new foul rules,
that'll likely give Duke an easier
look or a trip to the line.
The Kansas coach feels the Jayhawks are prepared for the challenge, especially with Tharpe returning to action after serving a one-game suspension.
And Tharpe is ready to show off the young Jayhawks to a national audience.
"Coach has been getting after me in practice about driving the ball." Tharpe said.
This will place an added emphasis on the Jayhawks' forwards establishing themselves in the paint.
Kansas wants to attack with the same plan.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
For Jamari Traylor, it's an opportunity that couldn't come at a more perfect time. The Chicago native never had a chance to play on the United Center floor. Traylor hardly went to Bulls games either. The redshirt sophomore has been finding his way in Kansas' offense the past few games, and finally has a chance to prove himself off the bench in front of family and friends.
As far as the rest of the team. Self is just hoping they don't get caught up in the bright lights of the Madhouse on Madison.
"I just want our guys to be in attack mode and play loose," Self said.
Senior forward Tarik Black goes up for a layup against Louisiana Monroe on Friday, Nov. 8. The Jayhawks won 80-63.
Edited by Evan Dunbar
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas wins opener with strong second half
The Jayhawks' offense came to life in the second half Sunday against Oral Roberts (1-1), and the women's basketball team won its opener 84-62. After shooting only 30 percent in the first half, Kansas (1-0) shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, led by power forward Chelsea Gardner's 6-6 field goal shooting in the half.
Going in the locker room at halftime, the Jayhawks had a 31-21 lead. Four minutes into the second half the score was 41-24 and Oral Roberts didn't get close again. Bonnie Henrickson said that run provided the team the cushion they needed. Gardner had 15 points in the half, most of which came during that decisive run.
STELLA LIANG
sliang@kansan.com
"That's about as high a percentage as we are going to get, standing right in front of the rim," Henrickson said.
Gardner led the team with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Asia Boyd added 17 points and 10 rebounds of her own. Guard Natalie Knight also scored in the double-digit with 12 and led the team in assists with seven in her first regular season game after tearing her ACL last season.
BONNIE HENRICKSON
Head Coach
"She is having more assists, getting more uncontested shots by driving it and kicking it," Henrickson said. "She doesn't exceed her speed limit; she doesn't play 100 miles an hour."
Knight was the steady, consistent
Neither team could find any rhythm before halftime, and both
force during the game. She only had one turnover in her team-high 31 minutes on the court.
teams were plaged with fouls throughout the game. Oral Roberts committed 33 fouls and Kansas had 25, which led to a combined 81 free throws attempted.
Forty-one of the Jayhawks' 84 points scored came from the free-throw line. That is the most the Jayhawks have ever scored from the line, and the 54 free throws they attempted was also a record. Henrickson said she was surprised the team was fouled so often.
"I think we can be more aggressive." Henrickson said.
"I think we can be more aggress
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles from the Southland Conference shot 31 percent from the field. They had trouble getting their shots to fall, especially in the first half. Freshman guard Kaylan Mayberry led the team with 17 points, but only shot 33 percent. She made six out of her 18 attempted shots.
Sophomore point guard Lamaria Cole was sped up during the game in her 27 minutes on the court. She committed four fouls and three turnovers in a game where she showed she is still figuring out how to be the starting point guard.
The Jayhawks also had 22 turnovers, which added to the stunted rhythm. Boyd had six of them, and three other players had three.
"Basically, we just had to play better." Knight said. "We weren't reversing the ball on offense. We got stuck on one side of the court a lot. Defensively we couldn't guard anybody. We just had to turn up the intensity."
Five players scored their first points as jayhawks. The five freshmen, Jada Brown, Caelynn Manning-Allen, Keyla Morgan and Dakota and Dylan Gonzalez each had at least one point in their first career game.
Edited by Chas Strobel
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Junior guard Asia Boyd and junior forward Bunny Williams help junior forward Chelsea Gardner up after taking a charge in the second half.
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