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SPORTS
Rich Clarkson witnessed, photographed three of KU's
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS MAKES IT IN ELITE 50 LIST
THE MORNING BREW
national championships. MEN'S BASKETBALL 5B
STACK Magazine honors Jayhawk athletes for their commitment to
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sports and academics. MORNING BREW | 2B
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2008
MEN'S BASKETBALL
PAGE1B
Jayhawks expect Little to bring size, toughness
Sophomoreguard Brady Morningstar is currently starting at Little's position of small forward. Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed also logs 22 minutes per game playing mostly at small forward.
"I think he's a very important piece to our team that we need," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I think it's pretty evident that we need a big wing."
Little shouldn't have the same problems. He's 6-foot-5 and weighs 210 pounds. He even spent time playing in the frontcourt during Kansas' three exhibition games in Canada — where he averaged nearly 13 points and five rebounds per game — because the freshmen Morris never hadn't qualified academically yet.
Little returned to practice Friday and has participated in half-court drills. He's eyeing the Dec. 20 game against Temple at Allen Fieldhouse as his first official appearance as a lajayhawk. Although his comedic relief has entertained coaches and teammates, they think Little will be even more valuable on the court.
And everyone loves it. No one, however, is dreading Little's entertainer role inevitably changing soon.
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Problem is Morningstar and Reed are only 6-foot-3 and are naturally shooting guards. It's more difficult for them to get into the paint and compete with big men for rebounds and loose balls.
Edited by Mark Dent
If a performer ever fails to show up for a halftime show at Allen Fieldhouse, the organizer could always grab Mario Little off the end of the Kansas bench. After all, the junior guard has served as the team comedian since being sidelined with a stress fracture in his left leg before the season began. During games, he points. He laughs. He dances.
"He might do something stupid or say something stupid," junior guard Sherron Collins said. "Even Coach has to laugh, and then we all laugh."
FOOTBALL
Little does anything he can to keep teammates "wired." Little says he loosens the mood at practice even more by cracking jokes in the ears of teammates who are struggling.
Little takes pride in his rebounding ability and lists it and defense as his strongest skills. Collins agrees. Collins, who was teammates with Little on a Chicago-based AAU队 in high school, knows what Little will add for the Jayhawks.
"I've never been injured like this." Little said. "It's hard to sit down and watch everyone else have fun out there."
"A sense of toughness," Collins said. "Suddenly, we've got someone else who is going to get in there and fight. He's going to bring a whole other dimension to the team."
He transferred to Kansas from Chipola, a junior college in Marianna, Fla., as the top-ranked junior-college prospect in the nation. But he also had that stress fracture in his leg.
Toughness is a word that's often attached to Little's name. Sometimes, Little might be too tough.
Little plans to start working out at full speed either Friday or the practice after Saturday's game against Massachusetts at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Self said there was no way Little would play against Massachusetts. That means he'll once again be at the end of the bench trying to keep his teammates calm. The smile and laughs will make it look as though Little is content. But he says he won't truly be happy until he is playing again.
He played through the pain all summer and in Canada. It didn't bother him. He said he was Chicago tough. In the end, however, playing irritated his leg more and forced him to miss the past month.
It's against Little's nature to not practice as hard as he can, but after that experience he knows it's necessary.
"I tried to go out there full speed before and it cracked it in a different spot," Little said. "So I can't do too much stuff."
New Year's Clash After defeating Missouri Kansas prepares to face Minnesota in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 31
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@ku.edu
They sat and watched, but there wasn't much they could do.
Members of the Kansas tootbaun team, fresh off a 40-37 upset of No. 12 Missouri two weeks ago, watched the Tigers face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship — the game they wanted to be in.
"It was frustrating watching the Big 12 Championship," safety Justin Thornton said. "We were one game away and it was a game that we all feel like we could have won. But that's the way the cookie
After last year's 12-1 season, reaching the Big 12 Title game in 2008 was the team's goal. It failed.
crumbles and that's how the season went.
We're looking to finish strong though.
Thornton and the Jayhawks will get a chance to finish strong when they face off against Minnesota on New Year's Eve in the Insight Bowl. It's not a BCS bowl and they aren't receiving any of the national attention they did a year ago — but that doesn't mean the Jayhawks don't have much to play for.
The layhawks could win eight games while playing one of the hardest schedules in the nation. They could win 20 games in a two-year span and could become the first team in school history to win bowl games in back-to-back years.
"Our class wants to leave a legacy here," linebacker Joe Mortensen said.
"We want to win this game. Especially us seniors, we want to finish out on top. We want to win back-to-back bowl games so bad."
Minnesota finished 7-5 on the season and 3-5 in the Big Ten but lost four consecutive games to end the season. They are led by wide receiver Erick Decker, who was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection, led the Big Ten in receptions per game and was number two in receiving yards per game. His 76 receptions were a Golden Gopher single-season record.
Decker also stars on the school's baseball team, hitting .329 with 7 doubles, four triples and three home runs
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 3B
Junior quarterback Todd Reesing jumps into the crowd during celebrations following Kansas' 40-37 victory against Missouri in the Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Reesing hit junior receiver Kerry Meier for a late fourth quarter touchdown on a fourth down pass, giving the Jayhawks a three point lead with less than a minute to go in the game.
Sophomore receiver Dezmon Briscoe leaps into Kansas center Ryan Cantrell's arms after Briscoe's only touchdown of the game. Kansas will head to Tempe, Ariz., to meet Minnesota in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 31.
CRIME
Markieff gets community service for his BB gun incident
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer.kansan.com
Morris will be required to complete 20 hours of community service. Morris said he learned a lesson from the situation.
Markieff Morris
Freshman forward Markieff Morris accepted a diversion Thursday for the
The incident occurred on the weekend before classes began when a BB hit a 47-year old woman in the arm outside of the Towers. The KU Public Safety Office filed an offense report that indicated Morris was also suspected of being intoxicated at the time.
133. 678.254.101
charges filed against him in August after firing an Airsoft rifle BB gun out of a layhawker Towers window.
"I apologize for any embarrassment this caused KU and the basketball program," Morris said. "I'm going to do my community service so I can conclude this matter."
and wanted to put it behind him.
Morris faced battery charges and was scheduled to appear in Lawrence Municipal Court Friday before he ared
SEE MORRIS ON PAGE 3B
Junior guard Danielle McCray puts up a layup during the first half. McCray led all Jayhaws with 18 points and added five rebounds to her stat line in Kansas' 66-43 victory against the Western Illinois Westwinder; on Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse.
Jayhawks recover from disappointing first half to defeat Westerwinds 66-43
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY DANNY NORDSTROM
dnordstrom@kansan.com
Junior guard LaChelda Jacobs had wide eyes with her sights set on two easy points after intercepting a Western Illinois pass. As Jacobs drove in for the open layup, everything seemed fine. To her dismay, however, the ball spun around the rim and missed the hoop.
Enter junior guard Danielle McCray.
"Coaches always say to stay in the play," McCray said. "You never know what's going to happen. I just stayed with the play and followed it and put it back in. It was kinda cool."
Out of nowhere, McCray swooped in, grabbing the ball out of the air. She bounced it off the glass and into the hoop for two points.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
McCray helped lead the Jayhawks (6-1) to a 66-43 victory against the Western Illinois Westwinds (2-7) last night at Allen Fieldhouse. The junior guard dropped 18 points and five rebounds on the night, as Kansas tasted victory again after its first loss to Marquette on Dec. 7.
Kansas improved on its ability to take care of the ball after committing a season-high 29 turnovers at Marquette. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 16 times against Western Illinois, with six turnovers caused by offensive fouls.
"16 was still a lot for us and I guess we have to take it one step at a time," McCray said. "From 29 to 16 is a huge difference, but it's still not what we're looking for."
After a disappointing first half in which the Jayhawks shot only 40 percent
"Halltime wasn't fun at all, but that's what we needed." McCray said.
from the field and looked lazy on defense, coach Bonnie Henrickson delivered a stern halftime speech.
The layhawks didn't look any better during the first four minutes of the second period, as Western Illinois immediately went on a 7-0 scoring run to make the score 33-28. The team battled back, however, as McCray and sophomore forward Ncollette Smith led Kansas on a 10-4 scoring run to give the Jayhawks a comfortable 12-point lead. Smith was
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SEE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON PAGE 4B
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