Volume 124 Issue 63
Monday, November 21, 2011
kansan.com
These five teams will wear special warm-up shirts and a pair of adiZero Crazy Lights, the lightest basketball shoes ever weighing in at 9.8 ounces a shoe.
Michigan, UCLA, Tennessee and Chaminade, the host school, will also wear Maui-inspired apparel since all four schools wear Adidas.
When Kansas' contract with Adidas is up after the 2012-13 season, Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger needs to make a deal with Nike like he did when he was at Illinois State.
That's where the cool factor stops.
COMMENTARY Nike can renew the swagger
MISERABLE SEASON HITS A NEW LOW
I understand why Turner Gill doesn't want to have names on the back of the jerseys because he wants the players to be playing for the name on the front, not the back, but I would argue Kansas' football team needs some help in the swag department since it doesn't have names on the back of the jerseys. With the team this bad, how are fans supposed to know who is wha? Remembering numbers is difficult enough, especially when you can't see somebody's face because it's covered with a helmet.
Adidas may bring in the cash, but Nike will Help bring the swag.
This creative idea is to get the players and coaches involved as Bill Self and the staff wear Hawaiian shirts on the sideline and players will wear the look during warm-ups.
Edited by Rachel Schultz
A commit going to school because it's Nike or Adidas or Under Armor is superficial, but so is the world we live in.
He ended up committing to Kentucky. a Nike school.
See stats and analysis from Kansas' 61-7 loss PAGE 6-7
Before Kansas switched to Adidas in 2005, it was a Nike school. Of course it was about money and getting the most bang for the buck, but being an Adidas school hurts Kansas' chances during recruiting, especially for basketball.
The EA Sports Maui Invitational bracket play begins today and, coinciding with the games, Kansas and Adidas will unveil a Hawaiian-inspired line of footwear and apparel.
Look at Nike's football uniforms. They scream swag, especially the Pro Combat uniforms—they're unique and specially designed for each team. Heck, even the NFL is switching from Reebok to Nike next season.
Archie Goodwin, a five-star shooting guard in the class of 2012 as rated by Rivals.com, ruled out Baylor earlier this year partially because of its Adidas status.
Addidas just doesn't have the swag that Nike does. A majority of the players playing in Legends of the Phog were wearing Nike.
"I didn't like that they were an Adidas team, but that's not to say I wouldn't go to Kansas because Kansas is a great team." Goodwin told Rivals. "I can look over the Adidas thing — I own some Adidas stuff. I didn't like their colors, either. I don't like green and gold. That's ugly. When you got ugly colors like that, you gonna be Nike. Baylor has some ugly shoes, too."
At least he's being honest.
Kansas prepares for Maui tournament PAGE 9
BAD TO WORST
Aggies deliver quick knockout punch against Jayhawks
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — For the third time in his two years at Kansas, Turner Gill took his team to his home state of Texas. For the third time, his team produced a disastrous result.
This trip, a mistake-prone first half left the Jayhawks in such a deep hole, they would have had a hard time climbing out of even if they showed up in the second half.
And when a play did bounce the right way for the Jayhawks,
giving them a glimmer of hope, the walls came crashing down soon after in their 61-7 loss on Saturday.
"We were a little flat, and I couldn't tell you why we were flat, but everything that could've went wrong, went wrong," senior linebacker Steven Johnson said. "It was difficult to fight back from some of those situations you put yourself in"
The trouble started in the first quarter when sophomore long snapper Tanner Gibas snapped the ball over the head of punter Ron Doherty and into the endzone. Doherty then kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone to prevent Texas A&M from scoring a touchdown.
The Kansas punting game, once highlighted as a bright spot on the team, didn't improve from there. Doherty's free kick following the safety went out of bounds, and the Jayhawks could not contain Aggie returner Dustin Harris, who returned three punks for 162 yards and one touchdown.
The Aggie defense kept the Kansas run game in check, forcing the Jayhawks into third-and-long. But in the first half, the Jayhawks responded, converting seven of 13 third downs, including twice with more than 10 yards to go.
"We had one or two guys that were different as far as personnel-wise," Gill said. "But, again, guys need to go out there and make tackles and for some reason we just didn't get it done."
But penalties and other mistakes hurt any chance Kansas had. Mistakes like the shotgun snap flying back into freshman running back Tony Pierson as he ran behind the offensive line,
sending the ball into the arms of the Aggie defenders at the line of scrimmage.
"I think the crowd kind of go to us," sophomore running back James Sims said. "Just the yelling and all that. We false-started and put ourselves in a bind, then you miss a block and it can cause a turnover right there."
With the Kansas offense shooting itself in the foot and the punting game unable to pin the Aggies deep in their own end, the Jayhawks relied on their defense to come up with big stops.
And they responded the same way they have all season: Allowing A&M to move down the field quickly and demoralizing the Jayhawks.
Aggie quarterback Ryan Tannehill used the strong performances of his running backs to take advantage of play fakes that
left receivers open over the middle. Tannehill completed 21 of 26 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns.
"We had a couple of busts," minor safety Bradley McDougald said. "We had a guy out for a week so we had to fill in and had some guys playing new positions and playing the side of the ball they normally don't play on."
Coming off of a narrow loss against Baylor, the Jayhawks regressed against Texas A&M. Under Gill, the Jayhawks have been outscored 159-14 in the three games they've played in Texas.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
"You've got to get your guys ready to play, and I didn't do a very good job of getting our guys to play at 11:10 today," Gill said. "So that's on me as a coach. I need to get my guys ready to play."
— Edited by Jayson Jenks
Last-second layup propels Jayhawks
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
With less than a minute remaining in its game at Wake Forest, the Kansas women's basketball team had a one possession lead. They struggled with turnovers throughout the game, which kept it close. As the clock ticked down, Wake Forest took the lead after a threepoint play, but with five seconds left in the game. Kansas sophomore guard Keena Mays hit the game-winning layup.
"For her to not settle with a shot on that last play, but go in and make a play, I am really glad she did that," junior guard Angel Goodrich said. "She stepped up and did what she needed to do to help us get a win."
Kansas hung on to defeat Wake Forrest in a 74-73 bout that marked its first road game of the season. The Jayhawks improved to 3-0 on the season.
The layhawks gave up runs at the end of each half to the Demon Deacons. They led by as many as 16 points in the second half before letting the lead dwinkle down and disappear, finding themselves down by one point on the last possession. Kansas committed 28 turnovers, a big reason why its lead dissipated in the second half.
The Jayhawks played another physical game. Junior forward Carolyn Davis and Goodrich were both injured, but returned to the game. Davis hit her head when she drove to the basketball and fell on the floor, and Goodrich was treated for an ankle injury in the second half.
"We were just sloppy, and casual and careless," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "There is still no excuse for 28."
Goodrich continued to fight, recording a career-high seven assists. She finished the game with 10 points, seven steals, and six rebounds to round out her performance.
After sitting out the majority of the first half with foul trouble, Davis scored quickly in the second half. Davis committed her second foul with 13:41 remaining in the first period, but started for Kansas after halftime and scored nine points in the first four minutes of the half.
Davis finished the game with 21 points and five rebounds. Nineteen of her 21 points were scored in the second half.
"It was frustrating, but I came in for the second half ready to dominate," Davis said. "I hadn't been a factor in the first half, and I knew I needed to be in the second half for
4
the team so I just came out playing my game."
The Jayhawks hit only one shot from behind the arc, which drew the focus to the play of the front court. Sophomore forward Tania Jackson and senior forward Aishah Sutherland both contributed double figure scoring. Jackson scored 15 points while Sutherland followed up with 11.
A perfect 14 of 14 performance from the free throw line in the first half allowed Kansas to stay in the game despite 17 turnovers. They led at halftime by one point. In the second half, they shot 17 of 22 from the court.
"When we are driving, we are getting fouled," Davis said. "Our free throw shooting the last couple games has been going really well."
The Jayhawks will travel to Stillwater, Okla. to attend the memorial service for Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna, the Oklahoma State coaches who died in a plane crash Friday night in Arkansas. From there, the Jayhawks will return home to host the BTI Tip-Off Classic during Thanksgiving Break. They will play Lamar on Friday at 7 p.m., IUUP1 on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Florida Atlantic University on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
JESSICA JANASZ/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore guard Keena Mays goes for a layup during the second half of the game against Creighton Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Mays hit a layup with five seconds left, against Wake Forest Sunday to give Kansas the victory.