THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2014
PAGE 7
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Quidditch team sweeps Kansas Cup tourney
GJ MELIA
@gimelia
YAY AT HOME
The Kansas Quidditch team defeated the University of Minnesota in the championship game of the Third Annual Kansas Cup on Saturday. The team finished the tournament with a 4-0 record, besting Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma State and Arkansas on its way to the title.
Minnesota ran a tight zone
throughout the match, but Kansas' defense was able to keep them in the game. Kansas stuck to its gameplan and relied on its fastbreak offense for the majority of itspoints.
"It felt really good to come back and show up for our home tournament," senior beater Kate Cooley said. "We were able to really break down [Minnesota's] zone and get our chasers to collapse the defense."
slowly with a win against Oklahoma Baptist. The team's main focus was to win the tournament, but also to play together as a team with new players on the roster. Moving forward, Kansas Quidditch will look to develop that team chemistry with team-building exercises in practice.
Kansas started the day
The crowd turnout at Shenk Sports Complex was much larger than previous years, with around 100 to 150
Kansas Quidditch supporters cheering on their team. Players said they were able to feed off the crowd's energy and it pushed them to increase their intensity level.
"When you're on the center stage in front of your family, it gives you something to play for," senior chaser Bradley Vonada said. "It gives each game more meaning and it really pushes players to go above and beyond their normal play style."
Kansas Quidditch will be traveling to Stillwater, Okla., to compete in the Cowboy Cup on Oct. 18, hosted by Oklahoma State. The tournament will be a similar format with a 12-team bracket. Among the teams making the trip will be Arkansas and Oklahoma Baptist. The University of Oklahoma will also contend for the trophy.
In preparation for the Cowboy Cup, the team will focus on finishing its opportunities
on offense and putting teams onaw when they hold a lead
"There were several times where we got tackled before we had a chance to make those easy layups." Venoda said. "When we get within arms length distance of [the goal], we need to finish. And that's something that we didn't do as well as we could have in the earlier games in the tournament."
Edited by Drew Parks
James sits second half. Cavs beat Maccabi 107-80
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 12 points before resting in the second half and the Cleveland Cavaliers gave new coach David Blatt an exhibition win over his former team, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 107-80 on Sunday night.
James has been monitoring an "iffy" back in training camp. He was kept out of a practice Friday and Blatt is being cautious. James emerged from the locker room at halftime with ice wraps on both knees and one on his back. The superstar spent the rest of the night watching his teammates wear down one of Europe's best squads.
Kyrie Irving added 16 points and Kevin Love 11 rebounds for the Cavs.
Sylvan Landesberg scored 23 for Maccabi.
Understandably, Blatt said the matchup with Maccabi meant more to him than a routine exhibition.
"Personally this is a bit of an emotional game for me," said
Blatt, Maccabi's head coach for six seasons. "I'm playing against the team from which I came and the place from whence I came. Obviously there's some mixed emotions there."
Blatt's focus is on getting the Cavs ready for their Oct. 30 season opener against the New York Knicks. There's work to be done.
Cleveland's ball movement was fluid as players unselfishly made the extra pass hoping to get a better look at the basket. But there were some uncertain moments offensively as well as the Cavs got better acquainted with each other.
Defensively, there are some issues.
Maccabi's players, running a system Blatt taught them, were able to get easy baskets in the first half. Landesberg, who played at Virginia, scored 12 in the opening half and Alex Tyus added 10.
The Cavs showed some of the new weaponry that will make them so difficult to defend.
On a baseline inbounds play
late in the first half, James alertly passed the ball up top to Love, who knocked down a 3-pointer. Love, not known for his defense, then drew a charging foul as the Cavs took a 59-44 halftime lead.
With James on the bench — Shawn Marion started for him in the second half — the Cavs outscored Maccabi 28-16 in the third quarter. Dion Waiters had 12 in the period.
Blatt's arrival in Cleveland was met with some skepticism as to whether he would be able to adjust to the NBA, its players and handle the pressure to win
— especially with James being back.
But Jeremy Pargo, who played one season for the Cavs, said Cleveland is in good hands.
"He doesn't look at you like coach to player or you are beneath him," Pargo said. "He looks at you as a man and he talks to you. That's one of the greatest things about him. And from a coaching standpoint, he has ways of managing personalities and managing games."
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