SPORTS
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, SEPT. 24, 2015
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Column: Wiggins needs to carry his team to playoffs
MIKE MAICKE
@MJ_Maicke
This time last year, Andrew Wiggins was focusing on getting ready for his first NBA season. Just a few months earlier, he had been selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and the anticipation was building.
But the start of the 2015-16 season brings something completely new for Wiggins. With the 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick Karl Anthony-Towns joining the Timberwolves, Wiggins will look to lead a franchise that has struggled historically in the postseason.
The rookie out of Kansas turned plenty of heads last season, despite the Timberwolves' dismal record. The team won 16 games last year, finishing last in the Western Conference
That didn't stop Wiggins from receiving Rookie of the Year honors, as he averaged nearly 17 points per game while showing glimpses of what his future could hold.
That was on display this sum mer as well, although, once again, his team didn't come through.
At this summer's 2015 FIBA Americas tournament, the highly talented Canadian roster — filled with NBA players
— underperformed. Canada was bounced in the semifinals of the tournament, falling to Venezuela 79-78. Canada would go on to win the third-place game against Mexico, albeit by one point.
However, while the team was far from ecstatic with its finish and failed to guarantee a spot in the upcoming Summer Olympics, Wiggins performances were silver innings.
in 10 games at the FIFA Americas, Wiggins averaged 15.1 points per game - not an easy feat given the depth and scoring ability of nearly everyone on the roster.
Perhaps even more impressive, however, was his efficiency from the floor.
Wiggins shot 48.7 percent from 2-point land while connecting on more than 51 percent of his 3-point jumpers. Wiggins finished the tournament at 15-of-29 from 3-point range, which was a big part of why he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
And that's the Wiggins the Timberwolves need.
The Timberwolves will need their Rookie of the Year to perform at an even higher level than last year if they want to improve upon the 2014-15 disaster of a season.
Last year, Wiggins put up a hefty 1,137 shots, connecting on 497 of them for a 43.7 field goal percentage. That mark was good enough for 72nd in the NBA last season and wasn't necessarily a poor field goal percentage, considering his team lacked multiple offensive threats to take the pressure off him and relied on him to create a lot of his offense.
However, the efficiency he put up at the FIBA Americas speaks to the type of player Wiggins could become. And the Timberwolves are going to need that Wiggins if they're going to have any chance at a postseason run.
It has been more than a decade since they've made the playoffs, and even with new additions, there's still a long way to go before the winning culture can be restored.
Head coach David Beaty and defensive coordinator Clint Bowen shout as the Kansas defense runs onto the field on Sept. 12.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Kansas and Rutgers leave turmoil and shoddy past at the door ahead of game
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
2009 was a bizarre year for Kansas football.
Kansas football and basketball teams feuded early in the season, resulting in physical altercations, injuries and subsequent apologies from both teams. A week after the season-ending loss to Missouri, head coach Mark Mangino stepped down from his position with the team. Many felt the resignation was warranted, too: under Mangino, Kansas had dropped seven straight contests while he went under investigation for the treatment of his players.
Kansas football would win only one away game that year; a 34-7 clobbering of Texas-El Paso on a feverish September day at the Sun Bowl in El Paso. Texas. A 30-game road losing streak would follow; a streak that still stands today, six years later.
Now-head coach David Beaty was a wide receivers
coach on that 2009 team. Since then, he hasn't seen a team that can quite compare to the Jayhawks that went through those tumultuous months. That is, until Kansas (0-2) faces up against Rutgers (1-2) this weekend.
When Beaty was asked this week how much Rutgers' seven missing players — six dismissed, the one suspended — affected the Jayhawks, his reply was simple.
"None."
He attributed that to the team's head coach Kyle Flood, who is also suspended for two more games due to violating University policy, but can still coach the team from Sunday to Friday every week.
"He does a really good job. He's been very productive there," Beaty said, before talking about Rutgers' first game without Flood last week. "You saw guys straining on every play on the tape every night. You saw accurate execution... Those guys did not look different to me. I think
that's a testament to him. He's done a nice job of preparing those guys whether he's there or not."
And suddenly, Beaty might be reminded of that 2009 team. Rutgers, through turmoil and the loss of its head coach for gameday, is doing just as Kansas did in 2009.
"It didn't (affect) us," Beaty said of the issues off the field in 2009. "I think that was because of our leadership. Our coaches did a good job through that process, which I'm sure their coaches are, too."
The effect, though, on the field has been similar for both, despite Beaty calling it "minimal." Both Kansas, in 2009, and Rutgers, in 2015, don't really seem to be coherent.
Rutgers is missing three starters — wide receiver Leonte Carroo, cornerback Dre Boggs and safety Delon Stephenson. Carroo is considered to be the biggest loss of the group, as he is the team's top offensive playmaker. But there are still other problems.
The fans have yet to endorse Chris Laviano as the team's starting quarterback, sometimes even booing the sophomore as he comes onto the field. The defensive line is banged up, including the team's top defensive talent, defensive tackle Darius Hamilton. Hamilton is dealing with a knee injury and could redshirt this season.
In one way or another, all of those issues have caused two-straight losses for Rutgers, including a 28-3 loss to Penn State in the first game for interim head coach Norrie Wilson.
In a way, it could be compared to the collapse of Kansas football since that last away win in 2009. But that's not on Kansas' radar, though that's not to say they haven't heard about it.
"It's not something that I really have given too much thought to... I read it on Twitter this morning," Beaty said. "That's one of those things that I don't think our kids really think a whole lot about that either. We don't allow them to."
ther. we don't know them to.
It probably shouldn't be on this team's mind; not even a bit. Six years later, not one of these players was involved with that 2009 team that started the slump. Only a about half of the players who are still around Memorial Stadium have been a part of the attempt to break it.
When it comes to Saturday's game against Rutgers, it will be about Kansas getting its first win of the season, and both teams leaving the turmoil of the past behind them.
"If it was a 30-game win streak or 30-game lose streak, you'd like to be on the other side of it, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter," Beaty said. "What happens that day is what's going to matter."
- Edited by Colleen Hagan
Kansas defeats Kansas State to extend streak
JOSH McQUADE
@L0neW0lfMcQuade
The Horesi Center was once again filled with fans, and once again, they waved the wheat as Kansas volleyball topped Kansas State. The Jayhawks bumped up its undefeated streak to 13 matches with a win over the rival Wildcats in four sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21).
The Wildcats put up an impressive fight, but they lost after swiping one set from the Jayhawks.
set those kills up with her 13 assists, putting up all but one of the total assists.
"Welcome to the Big 12," coach Ray Bechard said after the team's rough performance. "Offensively, we hit .220, that's probably the lowest of the year. We had to rely on some other things."
The second set was the fourth set that the Jayhawks have dropped this season as the Wildcats edged out a 25-19 victory. The Wildcats proved they are a force to be reckoned with after they dominated during the majority of the set. But the Jayhawks stayed level-headed.
The first set of the match proved to be difficult for the Jayhawks as they trailed the Wildcats throughout the majority of the set. Kansas took the lead a total of three times in set one. Eventually the Jayhawks took the lead at 19-18 and held it to win the set 25-23.
Right side hitter Kelsie Payne led the Jayhawks in kills, posting six throughout the set. Setter Ainise Havilli
Junior libero Cassie Wait celebrates Wednesday night against Kansas State after Kansas defeated the Wildcats in four sets in Lawrence.
MISSY MINEAR/KANSAN
State after Kansas
"We can't change our mentality," said libero Cassie Wait. "Our facial expressions
"Offensively, we hit .220, that's probably the lowest of the year. We had to rely on some other things."
RAY BECHARD Head Coach
The Jayhawks recorded only 11 kills in the second set, a relative low for the team. The leader in kills in the second set was outside hitter Madison Rigdon, who added four kills to bring her total to five.
can't change, our body language can't change."
Wait continued to prove herself as a defensive specialist by adding five more digs to her five from the first set. Wait was diving all over the court, trying for balls that seemed impossible to save.
The Jayhawks took the third set 25-22 in a hard-fought battle. Payne continued to post impressive kill numbers, adding six to make her total 15 in three sets. Havili assisted her teammates and put up 16 assists to increase her total to 38.
Wait led the team in digs. She showed her dedication to her defensive position by taking a full-speed hit to the face
out saved the ball and immediately got back up.
"One ball, one set, one match at a time," Wait said. "That's what I focus on."
Hawni added another 16 assists to bring her total to 54 — only three away from her personal best. Rigdon used those assists to post six more kills and finished the day with 14. Payne ended the day with 20 kills, five coming from the final set.
The fourth and final set came much easier to the Jayhawks as the fire that was once burning within the Wildcats began to die. The Jayhawks took the set 25-21.
Five players ended the game with a dig amount in the double digits. Wait led with 27. Havili had 12 and posted yet another double-double for the season. Defensive specialist Addison Barry had a spectacular night in the back, recording a season high of six digs.
“[Barry] was digging everything in her zone,” Bechard said. “That was big”
The Jayhawks will face Kansas State once again on Nov. 25 in Manhattan. For now, the team's next test comes against TCU on Saturday on 2 p.m.
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