Volume 124 Issue 63
kansan.com
Thursday, November 17, 2011
COMMENTARY
Big 12 season forecast
With the college basketball season officially underway, here's how I see the Big 12 playing out this season:
1. Baylor: The Bears are loaded in the frontcourt, led by 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Perry Jones III, who shocked experts when he bypassed the NBA draft and returned for a second season in Waco. Senior forward Quincy Acy averaged 12.4 points per game last year and five-star recruit Quincy Miller joins both players down low. Good point guard play could take the Bears to New Orleans and the Final Four.
2. Kansas: With a thin front court and only one seasoned veteran guard in the backcourt with senior Tyshawn Taylor, the Jayhawks will struggle with scores at times. There's still talent there, though. Another conference title wouldn't shock many people.
9. Oklahoma: Lon Kruger is a great coach, but this Oklahoma roster is pretty bad. It will take a year or two before Kruger will have any success down in Norman.
10. Texas Tech: Red Raider coach Billy Gillispie is in the same position as Kruger; e good coach who inherited a really bad roster. Both coaches will need time to recruit.
8. Kansas State: The loss of Jacob Pullen will really hurt Frank Martin's club this year. Junior guard Rodney McGruder and senior forward Jamar Samuels will lead the Wildcats, who will have the talent advantage in Big 12 games exactly four times this season: each pair of games against the two following teams.
Edited by Lindsey Deiter
3. Texas A&M: The Aggies return six of their eight leading scorers and junior forward Khris Middleton will vie for All-Big 12 honors this season. Returning senior point guard Dash Harris will also be huge for the Aggies, who look to make their seventh consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
7. Missouri: If coach Mike Anderson hadn't left and senior forward Laurence Bowers hadn't suffered an injury that ended the season for him, the Tigers would be a top-three contender this year. But that's not the case. With a new system and without its best interior defender, Missouri will struggle to guard anyone down low this season.
4. Texas: Junior guard JCovan Brown is the real deal and with the departure of Dogus Balbay, who seemed to always have the ball in his hands. Brown will get plenty of chances to score. High school All-American Myck Kabongo joins the Longhorns, creating quite the duo with Brown on the perimeter.
6. Iowa State: The Cyclones are the toughest team to predict here because coach Fred Hoiberg welcomes in a slew of transfers. Chemistry will be an issue but talent is there, including former Michigan State guard Chris Allen and former Minnesota forward Royce White. Look for the Cyclones to be gelling by January.
5. Oklahoma State: Upperclassmen guards Keion Paige and Jean-Paul Olukemi both average double figures in career scoring. High school All-American LeBryan Nash is a scoring machine on the wing and will be great when he adjusts to the college level.
WINNING
IFSSICA IANAS7/KANSAN
Senior forward Aishah Sutherland scores a field goal against Creighton during the second half of the game Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Sutherland scored a total of 16 points, and junior forward Carolyn Davis scored a total of 14 points for the 73-59 victory.
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
Kansas notched its ninth straight victory against Creighton, 73-59, yesterday evening. This gave each Jayhawk, with the exception of freshman guard Asia Boyd, an opportunity to play in the second game of the season. With 16:23 left in the game, junior forward Carolyn Davis picked up her third foul. Though Davis only played 18 minutes in her regular season debut, she shone as the star Kansas fans have to expect. She was efficient, scoring 14 points and shooting 5 of 7 from the field.
Davis returned to the start-
ing lineup and won the toffор of
the jayhawks, coming off a stress fracture in her right foot.
"She is a tough kid and resilient," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
Freshman Bunny Williams and sophomore Tania Jackson filled in for Davis at the forward position. Filling out the front court, senior forward Aishah Sutherland played 30 minutes and recorded a double-double.
"She got some tough rebounds," Henrickson said. "In traffic she got fouled a couple times and that's who I think she can be and that is who we need her to be."
"I need to work on my consistency," Sutherland said. "I was really focused on getting rebounds tonight."
Sutherland said when Davis is out, she needs to produce more on both sides of the court.
Sutherland, too, faced trouble late in the game, finishing with four fouls.
The Jayhawks' shooting was solid, as they shot 53.8 percent from the field. However, it was the 25 turnovers that stood out to Henrickson.
"That's just about making better decisions because it is careless," Henrickson said. "I don't know what drill you do for that."
Of the .25 turnovers, 14 were committed by players in the post. Creighton was able to convert 19 points off turnovers.
times about passes that aren't there," Henrickson said. "We settle down and we just waste possessions."
"We are very optimistic at
The Jayhawks faced full-court pressure for the majority of the game, which caused problems as they found themselves sped up.
"We just need to learn how to handle pressure," Sutherland said.
Sophomore guard Keena Mays returned to the lineup after Hemrickson sat her out for the first game. Mays, who started all 34 games last season, impressed with two straight steals and layup possessions late in the second half. Mays played 19 minutes and scored nine points off 4 of 6 shooting from the field.
Henrickson was pleased to see the renewed effort and enthusiasm from Mays.
"She has practiced better and been more consistent," Henrickson said. "There is no doubt we are better when she plays well."
Mays said the message was received and she is dedicated to making a difference when she is on the court.
"I knew whenever I went in I had to help my team," Mays said. "I just want to play."
Kansas will travel to Winston Salem, N.C., to face Wake Forrest at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Edited by Jennifer DiDonato
VOLLEYBALL
Jayhawks fall to Sooners, despite kills
MATT GALLOWAY
mgalloway@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK vball
The volleyball team finished with more kills than Oklahoma in its game on Wednesday. However, it also had more than twice as many attack errors, and the Sooners handed the all-or-nothing Jayhawks another conference loss at home.
The lajayhaws (14-13, 2-12) totailed 26 attack errors and eight service errors and lost to the Sooners (20-9, 7-6) in four sets at home, 20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 17-25.
Senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield smashes the ball into Oklahoma's defense. Mayfield had 18 kills, two aces and scored 21 points for the night. The Jayhawks lost three sets to one.
After trading blows in the first two sets, the Sooners captured the third by the slimmest of margins. The Jayhawks led by four points late, 18-14, but a yellow card issued to Sooners coach Santiago Restrepo seemed to inspire his souad. The Sooners went on a 6-2 rn.t to take the lead in the moments immediately after their coach was warned, seizing the set on a kill by senior outside hitter Suzy Boulavsky. Boulavsky finished with 17 kills and only one attack error on the evening.
IAN TRIMBLE/KANSAI
"There was a call, a little delay in the action, and then we made unforced errors," coach Ray Bechard said. "A two-to-one lead after that match is a lot different than losing a tough third set. It's really frustrating."
"I think we try to be aggressive, but the key to being aggressive and successful is that you need to be consistent," middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc said. "We need to maintain that aggression but also know when it's better to play the ball safe than to error."
After a competitive start to the decisive fourth set, the Sooners would pull away, finishing on a 17-10 run. An attack error by senior
outside hitter Allison Mayfield was the game-winning point for the Sooners.
In the third and fourth sets alone, the Jayhawks made 15 hitting errors compared to only three from the Sooners.
One bright spot for the laj Hawks was the emergence of freshman outside hitter Chelsea Albers, who had a career-high 10 kills and only two errors. Albers said she pinned the loss on chemistry and effort.
"Obviously it's a beatable team," Albers said. "It's just, especially near the end of the season, it's a tough way to end up on our home court, to know that we didn't give enough effort to beat them when we could have."
Albers echoed Jarmo's comment about playing smarter and avoiding errors caused by overaggression. She also said the team that takes the court is sometimes different from the one that shows up to practice.
Albers said that how the team shows up at games can sometimes be a problem.
"Practice is different. We're always together in practice and we're always on," Albers said. "But when it comes to game time situations, we talk about how we need to be
less flustered, we need to be aggressive and we need to be together as a team."
The Jayhawks tried to present a balanced attack, featuring five attackers with more than 20 total attempts, including Jarmoc and Albers. But the scrappy Sooners out-dug the Jayhawks*j)-55 and kept rallies going, and longer ra-
With only two games remaining in the regular season, Jarmoc
lies favor the Sooners, Bechard said.
"We'll never, ever not keep working at it," Bechard said. "Those kids are playing their butts off and they want different results. They're human too, so there is frustration and disappointment."
said the team does not have time to dwell on this outcome.
"The next team you play is not going to pity that you just lost," Jarmoc said. "We've been very good at getting back in the gym, having a positive mind set and just going hard, trying to improve."
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Edited by Jennifer DiDonato