Volume 128 Issue 58
kansan.com
Monday, December 8, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAVY KANSAN
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COMMENTARY
Halftime spark fuels Kansas over Florida
W when a young team is down 18 points in the first half, usually that team will curl into a ball, take the loss and fight another day.
"It's just chipping away," sophomore guard Wayne Selden Jr. said. "The TV timeouts, just going to try to win that four minutes and just chip away at it."
A special spark happened during halftime. Kansas pulled off an 18-point comeback and won, 71-65, against Florida. The win sent Kansas to 6-1 on the season and 1-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which began last year.
When a team comes out in the second half and plays a totally different game, similar to Kansas' Friday night performance, many wondered, "What happened in the locker room during halftime?"
Kansas coach Bill Self said there wasn't much to say to the team in the locker room, and he didn't give the team any special, motivating speech to hype them up. Selden said the team picked each other up and had a lot of energy.
At halftime, Kansas Athletics introduced newly appointed head football coach David Beaty — could that have been the difference? Self said the halftime stuff is irrelevant, Kansas just played better than Florida in the second half.
That seems unusual for a team down 15 points at halftime to have a lot of energy in the locker room. The energy was something Florida coach Billy Donovan noticed, as well. He said he saw Kansas play with a lot more energy than Florida, which was the complete opposite from the first half.
Donovan said the first half was due to the height advantage Florida had over Kansas. Florida forward Chris Walker caused havoc for the Kansas frontcourt, scoring 12 points.
A reason for the high energy in the locker room could have been sophomore guard Frank Mason's layup as time expired in the first half that lit the flame under Kansas.
The energy must have ignited something because Selden couldn't be stopped in the second half. Selden scored 14 second-half points.
The size advantage was a major adjustment in the second half, especially for freshman forward Cliff Alexander, who couldn't get anything started in the first half with two points.
Alexander said the aggression took over in the second half, and he attacked the basket more, which led to his career-high eight free throws, with six coming in the second half. Kansas was 21-of-24 from the free throw line in the second half as the Jayhawks held on for the win.
"Everybody shot [free throws] great," Self said. "Of course nobody shot them better than Cliff, but everybody shot their free throws great. Of course, we needed them ton,ght."
Edited by Ben Carroll
COMEBACK KIDS
Kansas rallies from 18-point deficit to take down Florida, 71-65
BEN CARROLL
@BCarroll91
After defeating then-ranked No. 20 Michigan State in the Orlando Classic Championship five days prior, Kansas (6-1) struggled to get much of anything going against unranked Florida in the Big 12/ SEC Challenge on Friday. In the first half, anyway.
The Jayhawks were outplayed in the first half, but the Gators (3-4) fell to pieces in the second, paving the way for a monster Kansas comeback in the second half, leading to a 71-65 victory inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Sophomore guard Wayne Selden Jr. led the way for the Jayhawks with 21 points, helping Kansas erase a deficit that was as much as 18 in the game.
"It was just chipping away at it," Selden said. "There's no 18-point plays, 10-point plays. We got to stay persistent"
Freshman gaurd Devonte' Graham pumps up the crowd in the win against Florida. Graham recorded nine points.
Kansas slowed down after jumping out to an 11-5 lead, allowing Florida to go on a 10-0 run. The Gators took their first lead on a Kasey Hill field goal nine minutes in.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
"We moved the ball very well," Florida coach Billy Donovan said of his team's first-half dominance. "We kept it ahead of their defense, we had
penetration, we were playing inside and out."
The Gators outplayed the Jayhawks in all facets of the first half. Kansas struggled to score points and failed to keep possession of the ball while on offense. The Jayhawks committed nine turnovers, were outrebounded 18-11 and were only able to score 24 points, the fewest first half total this season.
"Well, it was a terrible start and our best players were not very good at all in the first half," coach Bill Self said. "And our bench didn't give us anything when they came in for the most part."
Florida led by 15 at the end of the first half and Kansas shot just 35 percent from the field, going 8-for-23. In one of the few good things that happened, sophomore guard Frank Mason got a last-second layup to give Kansas a small momentum push heading into the locker room, ashove the Jayhawks desperately needed.
Freshman guard Devonte Gruntsin pull back into the game in the second half. As the Jayhawks were streaking, Mason got a hand on the ball for a block when Florida knocked it out of bounds. On the next play, freshman forward Cliff Alexander laid the ball off the glass, inching Kansas closer, 49-41, starting what would be a crucial stretch for the Jayhawks.
"Who would have thought Frank cutting the lead to 15 right before halftime would be a big play," Self said.
But it turned out to be the pivotal turning point in Friday's game as it made room for Florida's second-half collapse.
Kansas climbed all the way
A few Kansas possessions later, junior forward Perry Ellis was fouled and made one of two free throws, tying the game at 52 with just over six minutes to play. Soon after, Kansas regained its first lead since 13:41 in the first half on one of Selden's nine field goals. The Jayhawks left the Gators in the rearview mirror the rest of
the game.
"It was a bad team to play in the first half and a terrific Florida team and the roles reversed in the second half," Self said. "We played very,very well. They missed some shots, but we also defended them so much better."
Edited by Drew Parks
David Beaty named football head coach
@UDK_Dan
DAN HARMSEN
@UDK Dan
Not a week after the conclusion of the 2014 season, Kansas Athletics named former Texas A&M wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator David Beaty as the next head football coach at Kansas — the 38th in school history. Former interim coach Clint Bowen will stay on staff as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
"I am very excited to be back at Kansas," Beaty said in a Kansas Athletics press release. "I am especially excited that Clint Bowen has agreed to stay on as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Clint will be a huge part of our success going forward and I am fortunate to have him on my staff."
Succeeding Charlie Weis after his firing in September, the 44-year-old Garland, Texas, native makes a return
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
David Beaty, the new football coach, speaks to the crowd at Allen Fieldhouse during Friday's basketball game against Florida.
"Coach Beaty developed me as a receiver, but he also developed me as a man," Briscoe told Kansas Athletics. "When he came to KU, he took me under his wing and really helped me mature off the field. We have a great relationship and still communicate to this day."
During that tenure, Beaty's most notable work on the gridiron came with the development of receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe, who both received All-Big 12 accolades. Briscoe was also named an All-American in 2009.
During Meier's junior season and Briscoe's sophomore season in 2008, a season which ended in an Insight Bowl win against Minnesota, the wide-receiving corps as a whole set school records in season receptions, game receptions, season yards, game yards and season touchdowns.
trip to Lawrence, after spending the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Jayhawks as the wide receivers coach.
Athletic Director Sheaon Zenger points to Beaty's past success, particularly at Kansas, as one key reason of the hire.
"David Beaty is well-respected in the football community and brings to KU great vision, passion and energy," Zenger said. "He has a bright football mind and
is known as one of the best recruiters in the nation."
While at Kansas, Beaty's forte off the field was his recruiting ties to Texas. Coaching at the collegiate level since 2006, Beaty uses his connections from high school stints at Naaman Forest, Garland, North Dallas and Irving MacArthur High. Beaty's notable signees from Texas include former Kansas running back James Sims, running back/defensive end Toben Opurum and Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill.
But after former coach Mark Mangino's resignation in December 2009, Beaty left Kansas and became Rice's offensive coordinator in 2010. While there, Beaty led the Owls' offense to 28.7 points and 375 yards per game.
He returned to Kansas in 2011, joining Turner Gill's staff as the co-offensive coordinator. In 2011, the Jayhawk offense averaged 22.3 points per game, the only time it averaged more than 20 points a game since 2009. In the four seasons since 2009, excluding 2011 with Beaty on staff, Kansas averaged just 17.1 points per game.
Since his last stop at Kansas three seasons ago, Beaty spent time as Texas A&M's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. In 2013, the Aggies set school records for receiving yards, receiving
touchdowns and completion percentage. The unit was led by first-team All-American Mike Evans, who set the Aggie record with 1,394 receiving yards.
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"David is a great recruiter, a great coach and a great man," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said in a Kansas Athletics press release. "He was one of the first people I hired at Texas A&M and he's been a huge part of what we've been able to accomplish here. He's earned this opportunity to be a head coach, and I believe he will do a tremendous job with the Jayhawks."
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"I am pleased to welcome Coach Beaty back to the Jayhawk family," Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said. "He is an outstanding fit for the University of Kansas and his work to build a competitive football program will advance our athletics department and the reputation of KU nationally."
A 1989 graduate of Garland High School in Texas, Beaty attended Lindenwood University from 1990-1993 to play football. A four-year starter at wide receiver, he led the team in receptions his final three seasons and was named team captain the final two.
Two University student athletes were arrested Sunday morning outside the Oread Hotel.
lamari Traylor, Rodriguez Coleman arrested
According to the Dougias County Sheriff's website, Kansas basketball player Jamari Traylor and football player Rodriguez Coleman were arrested on different offenses.
Coleman, a junior wide receiver.
Edited by Drew Parks
Traylor, a junior forward, was booked at 2.17 a.m. for interfering with an officer. Traylor was released at 3.18 a.m. on a $100 bond.
was booked for battery at 1:53 a.m.
and released at 4:18 a.m. on a $100
bond.
"We were made aware of the situation concerning Jamari
(Traylor) late last night." Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said. "We have been gathering information all morning and will continue to do that. This will certainly be addressed and handled as we receive complete information."
New head football coach David Beaty said the situation
"The situation concerning Rodriguez was brought to our attention in the early morning hours," Beaty said. "We are in the fact-gathering process at this time and will handle this matter internally."
with Coleman will be dealt with internally.
Traylor and Coleman were arrested with former Kansas football cornerback Kevin Short, who was booked for failure to appear in court Short paid a $210 bond and was released this morning.
Blair Sheade