Volume 124 Issue 34
kansan.com
Thursday, October
COMMENTARY
Money dictates moving
DEFECTIVE DEFENSE
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN on The louhawai' defense
CHRIS BRUGSUM/KANSAN Junior defensive end Toben Opurum tackles Northern Illinois running back Jasmin Hopkins in the backfield for a loss during the first half of the Northern Illinois game earlier this season. The Jayhawks' defense will have to step up against Oklahoma State's fast-paced offense.
The last 16 months or so of conference realignment
Edited by Jonathan Shorman
So please don't pretend Missouri is looking to hightail it out just as everything is getting settled, because at best it's a six-year window of stability and at worst it gives Texas and Oklahoma a few more years to figure out what they want to do. A six-year deal spells stability like MC Hammer spells financial guru. Missouri not pursuing its options at this point would be irresponsible. Of course, if Missouri ends up leaving for greener pastures it puts Kansas in a tough spot in this realignment game. Emotional tirades from Kansas fans toward its neighbors to the east are understandable, but if the last 16 months taught us anything, it's that it's every school for itself.
cemented that, more often than not, fans simply cannot take emotions out of sports. When Nebraska left the Big 12 last summer for the Big 10, it wasn't because it was a better fit and sound business decision. It was because it couldn't beat Texas. When Texas A&M signed off last month, it wasn't because the Big 12 is more dys-functional than an episode of Jersey Shore, it was because it couldn't stand Texas anymore.
What a lot of people don't want to hear is that decisions like these are not made because a team can't beat another team. Nor are they made because a school is fed up with another school. Decisions like these are made because of money, plain and simple. Well, and stability, which is what the Big 10 and SEC have and the Big 12 wishes it had. Ask Nebraska how it is doing in the Big 10, a conference in a perfect spot for further expansion. Texas A&M and Colorado are in identical situations. The trio of departed schools are sitting comfortably while the Big 12 is dangling in the wind for the second straight year.
With the Missouri curators officially giving Chancellor Brady Deaton the authority to shop around for another conference, likely the SEC, fans are in an uproar again. Except this time the "You just can't beat Texas" or "You just hate so-and-so" excuses are harder to find. Probably because there aren't any of those excuses. There never were.
Sure, the Big 12 just agreed to equally distribute tier I and II television revenues, but it is only a six-year deal, and nothing has even been signed yet. First tier revenues come from ABC and ESPN games while second tier revenues come from Fox Sports. Also included in the equal sharing plan are men and women's basketball games as well as NCAA tournament revenues. Tier III broadcasts, which will not be shared, include Texas' Longhorn Network. Part of the six-year deal also includes every school granting the league its television rights for the length of the contract, meaning a team choosing to leave will forfeit its television rights until the six-year window closes. That sounds good, but what stops a Texas or Oklahoma from leaving in four years, sacrificing two years of television money in exchange for a fat, new deal in, say, the Pac-12 or SEC, and taking a potential spot from a Missouri or Kansas later on? Nothing at all.
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK_Fball
It's a safe bet to say that a few more grays have been added to defensive coordinator Vic Shealy's salt-and-pepper hair in preparation for Oklahoma State throughout this week.
The Cowboys boast an offense
that rides the leading edge of a revolution in college football. And it's not just the spread offense, which has become commonplace to see in college football. The revolution is the over-the-top, fast-paced tempo in which they run their offense.
it makes it too tough for the defense to keep fresh players moving in and out of the action.
"It puts more pressure on the defensive coaches," coach Turner Gill said. "Five years ago or 10 years ago, you had time where you could always substitute. The offenses are dictating a lot more now."
That quick-snap style not only makes it hard for defensive coordinators to scheme against, but
The Cowboys run an offense
in which they will often snap the ball as fast as possible, Shealy said after reviewing game film on Oklahoma State. He would see a receiver catch the ball out of bounds, flip the ball away and then run hard back to the line of scrimmage. Shealy said as soon as the receiver gets back to the line, the ball is ready to be snapped.
The trick for the defense comes
in trying to recoup and get lined up properly in time. All the while, the defensive coaches try to get their play calls to their players in the best way possible. The combination of trying to get lined up while looking to the sideline to get their play call has made it
SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 6
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Taylor brushes up on sharp shooting
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.con
twitter.com/udk_bball
"I've been shooting all summer," said Taylor, a senior guard from Hoboken, N.J.
Tyshawn Taylor knows the greatest weakness of his game and he's been working to fix it.
Off a dribble, pass, on- or off-ball screen, he is practicing his shot for any scenario: fadeaway, free throw, upright jump shot and leaner, left and right. Three-pointers, mid-rangers and layups, he is leaving no shot behind.
"Ty is playing the best basketball from a point guard that I've seen." Freshman guard Merv Lindsay said.
Lindsay said Taylor's shot has proper lift, meaning that his shot takes a trajectory that maximizes the chance of the ball dropping into the hoop. A line-drive shot is usually more difficult to convert and a rainbow shot can be just as flawed. Taylor works several hours each day to find a happy medium and become consistent and dependable from the perimeter.
"The real good shooters train themselves to shoot the same way every time," Taylor said. "Even when they've got a
defender in their face."
Taylor said it's easier for him to shoot off a pass because it gives him time to gather himself and explode into the air for a clean and less-contested shot. An attempt off the dribble can be more difficult. Taylor said, because it depends more on the defender. You might have to fade away or try to draw a foul, rather than simply catching and
TYSHAWN TAYLOR
Senior guard
However Taylor is the starting point guard in a primarily half-court offense and will likely have the ball in his hands more than any other jayhawk. So when coach Bill Self wants to get Taylor's shot going, he will likely have junior guard
"You never know when you're going to get it," Taylor said of attempting a shot off the dribble.
shooting.
Elijah Johnson and freshman guard Naadir Tharpe distribute the ball.
As Taylor has progressed his game, he's noticeably stepped up as a leader for the team. Yes, the same player who was suspended last season for violating team rules and who dislocated a finger after fighting with the football team is now a role model and motivator for the younger players. The Morris twins had that role last year and now it belongs to Taylor.
"He's going to do some special things this season," Lindsay said of Taylor.
"Tyshawn's been a great leader, has a much better attitude and it's shown on the court," senior guard Conner Teahan said.
Leading a team and knocking down jump shots in the offseason is different than doing the same in the heart of the conference schedule. But his teammates are confident that this will be a different year for Taylor, the scapegoat point guard of the past.
"When you have somebody that you can rely on and that people have respect for," Teahan said, "it makes it that much easier."
Edited by Ben Chipman
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor is fouled in the final minute of last season's game against Illinois. Taylor is focusing on shooting in practice this year.
4