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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MCCRAY RECEIVES PLAYER OF WEEK
This is the first time the junior guard-forward has been chosen for this honor. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 3B
TWO PLAYERS EARN ALL-REGION HONORS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2008
The athletes are among the 17 Big 12 players chosen for the team. SOCCER | 3B
FOOTBALL
Dolinsky
What the records may not reveal
ANSAN
en to
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber eludes Iowa defender Mitch King in the first half of a game Saturday. Minnesota lost the game 55-0.
Minnesota's last game this season was a total blowout loss to Iowa
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
Sure, their final records are the same. But a look at each squad's last game tells two completely different stories.
Kansas (7-5) notched its best victory of the season on Nov. 29, a 40-37 triumph against No. 12 Missouri. On the other hand, Minnesota (7-5) finished its year on Nov. 22 with a 55-0 loss to Iowa. It was the Golden Gophers' final game in the Metrodome.
Recovering from a loss that bad isn't easy, but sophomore quarterback Adam Weber said he's grateful for another game.
"We're happy we have one more chance to end this on a good note," Weber told The Star Tribune.
It was also Minnesota coach Glen Mason's final game in maroon and gold. Coach Tim Brewster followed him and promptly went 1-11. Things turned around quickly, though, as Brewster's crew jumped out to a 7-1 start this year.
For the second time in three years, Minnesota is headed to the Insight Bowl. In 2006, it surrendered a 38-7 halftime lead to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders' 44-41 overtime victory was the largest comeback in bowl history.
"I could not be more proud of what our team has accomplished this season." Brewster said. "I am thrilled that all their hard work is being rewarded."
Brewster said he liked playing against a team from another BCS conference because it provided a good measuring stick for his team.
Edited by Lauren Keith
Weber quietly had a solid sophomore season. He completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,585 yards and 14 touchdowns.
"It's the start of next season," Weber said. "It's important for us to go into 2009 on a good note."
They've been through two coaches, given up a historic bowl loss and suffered through a 1-11 season. Defensive end William VanDeSteeg said he and his fellow
Weber has also been part of the season- ending skid, throwing six of his eight interceptions in the last five games. He said the bowl game was a chance to regain his early season form and start anew.
Although Weber still has time to play a couple more years, the seniors on Minnesota's squad desperately want to close their careers with a victory.
seniors had been looking forward to this game for four years.
"It will be good to go down to Arizona and play my last college football game as a
Gopher, VanDeSteeg said. "It's something I'll never forget."
Freshman forwards as unpredictable as a box of chocolates
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Coach Billy Self holds his head in his hands during a rough first half against Jackson State Saturday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse.
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BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Self, from Edmund, Okla., coaches basketball. Gump, from Greenbow, Ala., plays ping-pong. Self is witty and earned a master's degree from Oklahoma State. Gump is sluggish and an elementary school principal once said he was too stupid to attend a normal school.
In the 1994 film named after him, Gump repeatedly said, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get." Neither does Self with freshman forwards Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris and Quintrell Thomas.
But when Self tried to describe the play of Kansas' three freshman big men earlier in the season, he used a variation of one of Gump's most famous sayings.
On the surface, Bill Self and fictional movie character Forrest Gump don't share many of the same traits.
"Every day, it's a box of chocolates." Self said.
Although Self hasn't quoted Gump since Kansas' two exhibition games, the team's eight games have proved him right. Both Morris twins and Thomas have started at least one game at power forward alongside sophomore center Cole Aldrich.
Following impressive performances in the layhawks' two exhibition games when he averaged seven and a half points and five rebounds, Thomas scored only seven points in
After opening the season with 15 rebounds against UMKC, Markieff Morris fouled out of an 89-81 defeat against Syracuse three games later. Officials ejected him in an 87-60 victory against Kent State for taking part in a minor scuffle.
the next five games.
Marcus Morris' brightest moment came in the Kent State game. He recorded a double-double with
14 points and 10 rebounds and found his way to the foul line for 12 shots. The next game against New Mexico State, Marcus played only nine minutes and committed three fouls.
BILL SELF Kansas coach
None of the three have played consistently well enough to secure a starting spot.
None of them had good enough practices before Saturday's 86-62 victory against Jackson State. For the first time of his career, senior forward Matt Kleinmann started in front of the three freshmen.
"It ites like that's the way it's starting to end up," Marcus said. "One day, I have a good game, then Kieff has a good game, then Q has a good game."
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"We're just inconsistent."
Marcus scored 13 points and had three rebounds. Markieff recorded eight points and five rebounds and
Self said it was because of a lack of effort in practice.
Fitting in with the theme of the season so far, the Morris twins both played unpredictably well off the bench against jackson State.
they're not going to run in the games. When a guy doesn't get in a stance in practice, he's not going to do it in a game."
"The twins played one of their better games," Self said. "I thought they were both pretty good."
"I think you play like you practice. I'm one of those guys where you can't turn it on, turn it off," Self said. "When it guys don't run in practice."
Thomas was the man of the night two
even made a threepointer.
games ago against New Mexico State. He scored 10 points and recorded seven rebounds.
"We're just inconsistent," Self said. "They've all shown flashes of being very productive, and we also saw flashes of being young."
With a week of practice before Saturday's game against Massachusetts at Sprint Center, Self is hoping all three freshmen progress. He said he thought they would start to be more reliable.
As Gump would say, "You never know what you're going to get."
— Edited by Andy Greenhaw
COMMENTARY
The Big 12 North had no chance
ence season. To the dismay of many Big 12 North football fans, the South still holds all the power.
Missouri's performance in the Big 12 Championship game defined this year's confer-
.
Oklahoma stomped Missouri, 62-21. It really should have been expected — and it was by many. The South has now won five straight Big 12 title games by an average of 36.4 points per game. Although Missouri was beaten handily, 38-17, in last year's championship by Oklahoma, the North held its own during the regular season.
Last year the North went 10-9 against the South. The inter-divisional battles provided some of the more memorable games in conference play. Colorado shocked Oklahoma, and Kansas State busted up Texas in Austin.
Many thought these upsets and the emergence of Missouri, Kansas and Colorado — the three teams went a combined 8-2 against the South — would cause a shift in power to the North.
However, the success didn't continue. The North posted a 3-16 record against its warm-wheathered foes. Unlike last year's success, struggling against the South is nothing new for the North. During the five years before 2007, the North went a horrid 28-67 against the South.
The North didn't even look impressive in the games it did win against the South this season.
This doesn't mean Baylor and Texas A&M didn't enjoy success against the North. Although the two teams went a combined 4-12 in conference play, they were still able to manage a collective 3-3 mark against the North.
Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas State all managed to scrounge up one victory versus the South. Nebraska topped Baylor by 12, Kansas State knocked off Texas A&M by 14, and the Big 12 North Coach Missouri Tigers snuck by the South's bottom-dwelling Baylor by three.
The fact that many of the North's players come from Texas could have something to do with the struggles. Lots of recruits enjoy playing close to home at the schools they grew up cheering for. As a result, the North often scoops up players who bigger Texas schools passed on.
But this doesn't explain everything Texas talent has played a large role in taking Kansas football to a nationally competitive level. Kansas has stolen a plethora of talent from the Lone Star State.
This year, no number of recruits could really help the North. The South was too dominant.
The South's success is self-explanatory. It's simply the best grouping of six teams in the nation, Oklahoma is first in the BCS standings, Texas is third, Texas Tech is seventh, and Oklahoma State is 13th.
Oklahoma is going to the BCS National Championship Game, Texas is on its way to the Fiesta Bowl, Texas Tech is preparing for the Cotton Bowl and Oklahoma State is traveling to the Holiday Bowl. Of all the bowl games played by Big 12 teams, the South has a presence in the top four.
The South is also stacked with some of the best NFL prospects in the country, many of whom are Heisman forerunners. Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Michael Crabtree, Dez Bryant and Graham Harrell all lead the nation in what they do.
This year the South was just too good. Do you think the North would fare better against the ACC Atlantic or Coastal divisions? What about the SEC East or West divisions?
In 2008, it would have. This year the North would have faced anyone rather than the Big 12 South.
- Edited by Mary Sorrick