Volume 124 Issue 72
kansan.com
Monday. December 5, 2011
COMMENTARY
Coaches sitting in hot seat
With athletics director Sheahon Zenger in the midst of searching for Turner Gill's replacement, there are other coaches that he should consider finding replacements for too.
There are three coaches that I think are on the hot seat, but I don't know if Zenger will pull the trigger given the amount of money tied up in the Gill buyout. Soccer coach Mark Francis, volleyball coach Ray Bechard and women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson may also be shown to the door.
MARK FRANCIS
Francis just completed his 13th season as soccer coach for Kansas, guiding the lajahwks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008 and their fifth overall. While getting to the tournament should protect a coach, it may not this time around.
Kansas played seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament; four of them were from the Big 12. Kansas compiled a 2-5 record with victories against Texas and San Diego. Add in a 7-2 thrashing from Florida and those numbers should concern Zenger. The soccer team isn't competing with better teams in the nation.
From 2009 to 2011, the soccer team is 29-30-3 overall and 8-20 in conference play.
Verdict: The Tournament berth might keep him in the safe zone this year.
RAY BECHARD
Bechard finished his 14th season as volleyball coach after posting a 15-14 record overall and 3-13 in conference play. Last season, Kansas went 9-2 in non conference play and went 8-2 in non conference play in 2009.
He is the only coach in program history to lead the volleyball team to the NCAA tournament, which he did three straight times from 2003 to 2005, but he hasn't been back since then. The Jayhawks always look promising before Big 12 play starts, but then the wheels fall off.
BONNIE HENRICKSON
Verdict: Zenger should look for another option.
Henrickson is in her eight season as coach of the Jayhawks. When she arrived in 2004, Kansas was coming off its fourth straight losing season.
The Jayhawks haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2000, but have gone to NIT the previous four seasons with an appearance in the finals in 2009. Under Henrickson, Kansas has never finished Big 12 play above .500. Its best season has been 6-10, which it did twice, in 2009 and 2011.
Despite getting a three-year extension, which runs through the 2013-14 season, this is a big year for Henrickson.
Verdict: If Kansas doesn't make the NCAA Tournament and finish better than 9-9 in conference play, Zenger will' have a reason to look for a new women's basketball coach.
Edited by Rachel Schultz
KANSAS DEFEATS SOUTH FLORIDA 70-42
Tyshawn Taylor leads guards to victory, despite sloppy first half PAGE 4B
SWIM TEAM PLACES THIRD IN MIZZOU INVITE PAGE 3B
GET WELL SOON
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
Junior forward Thomas Robinson and senior guard Tyshawn Taylor celebrate after a dunk by Robinson by Taylor's assist. The two scored a combined total of 38 points for the Javahaws.
SICK WITH THE 'CRUD'
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
There's a sickness going around that drained the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse on a misty Saturday afternoon.
"We've all got the drud" coach Bill Self said after the 70-42 victory over the University of South Florida. "I don't know if you guys know, the drud's soing around."
The Jayhawks were sapped of energy in the first half, then revitalized by senior guard Tyshawn Taylor's 20 points in the second
half.
"I think there's a little bug going around," junior forward Kevin Young said. "When I went to the store last night I got the NyQuil."
Young, who may be feeling the crud, said junior guard Travis Reifer and freshmen guards Naadir Tharpe and Merv Lindsay were throwing up recently. Junior forward Thomas Robinson said that he has been under the weather the past couple of days. Robinson finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds but snapped his double-double streak of six
games. Self said several players and a coach have missed practice and visited Watkins Memorial Health Center for head colds and other symptoms.
Whether it was sickness or poor shooting that impeded Kansas early, Taylor's ensuing dominance broke the game open. He hit four of six 3-point shots, cueing the turnaround and extending the lead for the lavihawks.
"Those 3-pointers were big for us to take the lid off the goal," Tavlor said.
Junior guard Elijah Johnson
missed seven of eight shots in 20 minutes and watched from the sideline as senior guard Conner Teahan stepped into his place and scored 11 points in 25 minutes.
"He automatically becomes deflated very fast," Self said of Johnson. "He's not impacting the game in any way when things don't go well early."
The division of minutes may derive from Self's need for Teacha's scoring, or act as a way to inspire lohnson.
never found a rhythm offensively. Robinson and junior center Jeff Withey protected the interior as South Florida converted just 32.6 percent of their shots.
The consistent defense paired with Taylor's scoring helped the Jayhawks get past Saturday's mess struck by the crud.
"Our sickness had a little bit something to do with it." Self said. "I don't think guys were all there emotionally."
Edited by Josh Kantor
New names on the radar for coaching job
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
Over the weekend, Kansas athletic director Sheahan Zenger continued making his rounds around the country, interviewing candidates to be the next head football coach at the University of Kansas.
While none of the candidate's names have been mentioned by Zenger, a number of new coaches have come into the mix this weekend. And while those new coaches have come into play, some of the team's original targets have dropped from the list.
Gus Malzahn: Currently the offensive coordinator at Auburn. Malzahn is known as a leader in the spread offense revolution that has taken place in college football. He wrote a book on the no-huddle, spread offense and is one of the creators of the wildcat defense. In
THE NEW GUYS
2009, Sports Illustrated called him, "One of football's most innovative minds." He appeared on the Jayhawks'
Malzahn
ESPN's Joe Schad said on Twitter that Malzahn had emerged as a strong candidate at Kansas.
radar Sunday, as
Paul Chryst: Chryst has been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin.
sin since 2005. The Badgers have gone 71-21 in his five years. Chryst has been a tight ends coach in the NFL and an offensive coordinator at Oregon
Chrvst
State. In his second and final season with the Beavers, Chryst's of
fense ranked 10th in the country.
Randy Shannon: A linebacker in the NFL for five years and a
NFL for another nine years, Shannon would bring a big name to Kansas. He was the head coach at Miami for four years and was
fired after going 28-22. He has not coached since his 2010 firing.
Shannon
Skip Holtz: A top candidate for the job at Kansas when it was open
two years ago,
Holtz is once again on the radar for Kansas.
He's at South Florida and has gone 13-12 in two years with the Bulls. His previous job
Holtz
was at East Carolina, where he went 38-27 in five seasons.
THE GUYS FROM THE BEGINNING
Larry Fedora: Ever since Mike Leach came off the board early last
has been the Jayhawks' most likely choice. He won 11 games at Southern Mississippi this year, and on Saturday his Golden Eagles
Fedora
feated Houston team 49-28.
Dave Doeren: Doeren's Northern Illinois team came back from a 20-point deficit at halftime to win the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championship, defeating Ohio 20-3 this year. Doeren's team went 10-3 this year — his first at Northern Illinois. He is a former defensive coordinator at Kansas and is thought of as a strong recruiter. His loss to Turner Gill's Kansas team earlier in the year could hurt him.
Doeren
Wyoming and South Florida. Now, he's the defensive coordinator at Florida State and considered to be one of the top assistant coaches in the
Mark Stoops: Stoops coached with Zenger for four years between
Stoops
Sonny Dykes: If Leach was Zenger's first choice, Dykes —
SEE COACH ON PAGE 8B