+
PAGE 6B
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
+
OPPOSING SIDELINE
Kansas beat reporter sits down with Baylor Lariat Sports Editor Shehan Jeyarajah
West Virginia's Shaquille Riddick sacks Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty during the first half of the Oct. 18 game in Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia beat Baylor 41-27. Kansas will play Baylor Saturday at 3 p.m. in Waco, Texas.
DANIEL HARMSEN
@UDK_Dan
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAN: Art Briles has a 50-33 record halfway through his seventh season in Waco, with 35 of those 50 wins coming over the last 46 games. Historically speaking, though, this is not a particularly successful football program. From 2002-2004, BU trudged to a 9-26 record, similar to Kansas' 9-39 record from 2010-2013. In a nutshell, what is it that Briles has done to turn this program around?
SHEIAN. When you talk college football, you have to talk recruiting and developing talent, and Art Briles is one of the best in the business. Contrary to the star-studded lineups playing at Texas or Oklahoma, Baylor only had three starters better than a three-star recruit out of high school on its Big 12 title team. Being a high school coaching legend, Briles has been able to find diamonds in the rough and coach them up, including such players as (quarterback) Bryce Petty (three-star), current Dallas Cowboys receiver Terence Williams (two-star) and All-Big 12 linebacker Bryce Hager (two-star).
KANSAN: When Robert Griffin III left Baylor after his 2011 senior season, that big gust of wind you heard was the Big 12 conference exhaling collectively. Little did we know Bryce Petty would leapfrog Griffin on many of the BU Career Record Charts and catapult this program to an even higher level. What makes Petty so good and is there a chance another
Heisman trophy is coming to the Brazos?
down linemen, two pure linebackers and a nickel back. At times, the team will go into a three-man rush and bring extra linebackers on to lock-up the middle of the field. The unquestioned leader of the defense is middle linebacker Bryce Hager, a former All-Big 12 pick. On the line, (defensive end) Shawn Oakman is a potential first round NFL draft pick, at 6-foot-9, 285 pounds and crazy athleticism. When the line is able to bring consistent pressure, opposing offenses do not have a shot. In the secondary, cornerback Xavien Howard is developing into a stud in his first season as a full-time starter.
The Bears will certainly try to challenge Michael Cummings to throw the ball, and the secondary is good enough to take advantage of mistakes.
KANSAN: Prediction for Saturday?
SHEHAN: Kansas has some fight in them, but Baylor is out for blood after a rough loss to West Virginia two weeks ago. Especially with a return back to Waco, the Bears will be eager to show they can post arguably their first complete performance since non-conference. Give me the Bears 63-14 on homecoming.
THIS WEEKEND AT THE BOTTLENECK
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
KU INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
HALLOWEEN PARTY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31
COWGIRL'S TRAIN SET
WHISKEY TRIO
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1
EARLY SHOW
THUNDERKAT
LATE SHOW
BREAK THE BOTTLENECK
GUTTAH 2TTS
GSKEE & MORE!
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2
SMACKDOWN TRIVIA
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3
OPEN MIC
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
NADIS WARRIORS
SUNSQUABI
CHIEFS VS. JETS
SUNDAY AT NOON!
S2 MICRO DRAWS
S3 MIMOSAS & BLOODY'S
UPCOMING SHOWS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9
THE ICARUS ACCOUNT
CHASE COY
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11
CHADWICK STOKES
ARK LIFE
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
TWIDDLE
MISTER F
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14
DAVID BAZAN
+PASSENGER STRING QUARTET
DAVID DONERO
FULL CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT WWW.THEBOTTLENECKLIVE.COM
Edited by Drew Parks
KANSAN: This year, Baylor is averaging more sacks and tackles for loss than last year's defense, which ended up being pretty strong. What kind of scheme does Baylor run defensively and who are some players to look out for?
SHEHAN: Baylor runs a base 4-2-5 defense, with four
leap on the team, eclipsing 45 inches. Not to be outdone, Antwan Goodley measured at a 4.41 in the 40 and was also named the Most Explosive Athlete in college football by NFL.com. Covering all three of these guys has proven to be a nightmare for opposing defenses.
SHERAN: Bryce Petty has every physical skill a quarterback can have, perhaps even more than (Robert Lee Griffin III). He is listed at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, but boasts a 38-inch vertical and has run a sub-4.6 40. We have seen over the past two seasons that when Petty is playing at his best, no one can stop him. Unfortunately, poor performances against Texas and West Virginia have put him behind in the Heisman race, but with games in Norman, Okla., and against No. 9 Kansas State remaining, Petty has chances left to get back in the mix.
KANSAN: Over the past five or so seasons, the overall team speed for BU has been its defining characteristic. Give me a few burners that Kansas has to keep in check.
SHEMAN: The Bears have several receivers that cause all sorts of problems for opposing defenses. Baylor's incredible speed starts with KD Cannon. The true freshman wide receiver won the Class 4A Texas State 100-meter Championship after running a blazing 10.32 last spring. Sophomore Corey Coleman measured in with a 4.38 40-yard-dash time, and also posted the highest vertical
Paid for by Citizens Against Greg Orman
Improve Lives Be a Research Hero.
See if you pre-qualify at StudyForChange.com
Rondo returns, helps Celtics defeat Nets
Reconstructive knee surgery kept Rajon Rondo him out for the first half of Stevens' inaugural season in Boston. Rondo hadn't yet regained his old form when, as Stevens prepared for Year 2, Rondo broke his hand.
BOSTON — Brad Stevens knew he had an all-star point guard when he took the Celtics' coaching job, but he didn't really get to see it in his first season on the Boston bench.
After missing the entire exhibition season, though, Rondo returned for the regular season opener on Wednesday night and scored 13 points, adding 12 assists and seven rebounds in 30 minutes to help the Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-105.
"He looks like himself," Stevens said. "He kind of looks like what I saw on film before I got here. I don't think he ever looked like that at any time last year. ... But he is back to full speed. And it's really good to see."
Kelly Olynyk had 19 points and Jeff Green added 17 for Boston, which opened a 29-point lead at the end of the third quarter and coasted to the win.
More than an hour after the game ended, Rondo appeared in the locker room and said he was still improving.
"I wasn't as explosive as I was in the past," he said. "At certain points, I felt like I was skipping a beat. Other than that, it was fun being back out there. It was great to be back out there playing basketball again."
Rondo was unavailable for comment, failing to appear in the locker room more than one hour after the end of the game.
Mirza Teletovic had 20 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench for the Nets, who trailed for all but a pair of free throws that opened the game. Joe Johnson scored 19 points for Brooklyn, and Deron Williams had 19 points and eight assists.
Rondo said he didn't decide to play until about an hour before the tipoff, after waking up from a pregame nap and feeling ready to play. Wearing a black brace on his left wrist and hand, Rondo showed no ill effects of the injury, dribbling with both hands and shooting 6 for 9 — better than his career 47.5 shooting percentage.
The Celtics led 101-72 at the end of the third quarter, but Brooklyn went on a 12-2 run to start the fourth and cut the deficit to 19. The Nets made it 112-97 on Johnson's 3-pointer with 4 minutes left but couldn't come any closer until the final seconds.
"We never really matched their energy," said center Mason Plumlee, who picked up two fouls in the first quarter and two more in the third and played just 11 1-2 minutes.
Rondo's return on opening night stole some of the attention from ex-Celtic Kevin Garnett, who received a big cheer when he was introduced with the starting lineups and went on to score 10 points with six rebounds.
Associated Press
+