SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY DECEMBER 18, 2022
11A
quote of the day
"Reeing is a scraper — he has a never-let-die attitude, and obviously he brought them back to win the ball game."
- Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel
fact of the day
-KU Athletics
Saturday's victory gave coach Mark Mangino 44 victories in seven seasons in Lawrence, tying him for third on the all-time list with Jack Mitchell, who was 44-42-5 from 1958-66.
Sports celebrities visit The Wheel
trivia of the day
Q: How many times has Kansas played in consecutive bowl games in the program's history?
Word had made its way through campus that ESPN analyst Digger Phelps would be there. So The Wheel was packed.
A: Never.
It was March 1, a Saturday afternoon, hours before Kansas would face the fighting Michael Beasleys and just after Phelps and Rece Davis had wowed the Allen Fieldhouse crowd at College GameDay.
Now Phelps wanted to wow another group. He got up from his Wangburger meal, quieted the restaurant and gave a speech that left them cheering.
It was one of the bigger celebrity appearances in a while at The Wheel, and owner Rob Farha wanted to remember it. So he asked Phelps to contribute to a Wheel tradition.
He asked him to sign his name on the wooden Jayhawk mural in the back corner of the bar, where his signature now rests, next to
The boards have been up since 1987, and the first people to sign were basketball players. Almost everyone from the 1988 team is on there, and members of the Final Four teams from 1991 and 1993 joined them. There are the big names — Roy Williams, Larry Brown, Rex Walters — and the not-so-big ones — Sean Tunstall, Scooter Barry and Macolm Nash for instance.
A few feet away, in the corner
The Wheel showcases the signa-
those of several other public figures — sports and other.
tures of Phelps and other recent additions. There's the late George Mikan, the first great big man and Mr. Basketball himself. His son, Terry, lived in Lawrence for many years, and Mikan often came to The Wheel.
Coming off a Super Bowl year for Riggins and the Redskins, Sports Illustrated wanted to do a story on him for the 1983 season preview. He told them he'd do it, only if they interviewed him at The Wheel.
There's Matt Gogel, a former KU golfer who won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2002. About three or four weeks after that PGA victory, he was at the Wheel, in town for the Missouri basketball game, and signed the board.
There's John Riggins, the former KU and NFL Hall of Fame running back, up there next to John Hadi, a KU quarterback and NFL star.
Sports Illustrated came. The article featured a picture of him sitting on the front porch.
There's George Brett, the only Royals' player in the Hall of Fame. He was in Lawrence in October of 1997 to watch the dedication of Budig Hall for his good friend Gene Budig. Afterwards, he stopped at The Wheel, where only four people were eating. They didn't recognize him. Farha did and asked him to sign.
So Brett's name is up there. So is former Royals teammate Brian McRae. The last two KU Chancellors, Budig and Robert Hemenway, have signed. And so has Conrad Dobler, one of the most intense players in NFL history. His daughter graduated from here a few years ago.
Phelps was the last one to sign. Farha wishes he could've gotten Phelps' co-workers Scott Van Pelt
and Neal Everett, but it's been too busy when they've visited. Right now, he has no idea what kind of celebrity might show up next and sign the board.
"It just kind of happens," he said.
"You don't really plan on it."
— Kansas coach Bill Self
Edited by Ramsey Cox
KU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
Kansas appears to be entering its easiest swing of the season as its next five opponents come from non-BCS conferences. Don't think Kent State is a write-in victory, though. The Jayhawks' best chance to trip up in that span might be tonight against the Golden Flashes. Kent State won the Mid-American Conference last year and was a No.9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They return the MAC Preseason Player of the Year, senior guard Al Fisher, and a crew full of competent guards to support him.
KENT STATE STRIKES
PLAYER TO WATCH
"We lose focus. I'd say that's the thing I'd like to see us do is to play an entire 40 minutes. We're not going to. We're not prepared to do that yet, but we've got to keep after it."
Morningstar
Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
How does Morningstar follow his career-night on Friday when
QUESTION MARK
he made six three-pointers and recorded career-highs with 21 points and seven rebounds? He won't need to do that much for the Kent
State game to be considered a personal success.
Will Tyshawn Taylor be able to play at full speed?
With a set of talented guards for the Golden Flashes, Morningstar's role might revert to being a defensive stopper again. If Morningstar plays steady defense and hits a couple three-pointers, Self will once again have positive things to say about him.
After the 85-53 victory against Coppin State, everyone downplayed Taylor's ankle injury that forced him to leave the game. Self said if it was practice, Taylor would have played again. Taylor said he was fine. He admitted, however, that his left ankle was still a little sore from when he came down awkwardly on it after contesting a three-point shot. The Jayhawks need Taylor. He's their third leading scorer at just less than 10 points per game and has proven to be one of the most explosive players on the roster.
The Golden Flashes are the first or five non-BCS games for KU, but they could be the hardest KANSAS VS. KENT STATE 8 p.m. Monday, ALLEN FIELDHOUSE, ESPNU
KANSAS STARTERS (4-1)
Sherron Collins, 5-foot-11 junior guard
Collins has only made seven of his last 33 shots. Collins can't be expected to be invincible from slumps, but he needs to break it tonight.
★★★☆
Tyshawn Taylor, 6-foot-2 freshman guard
It's all coming together for Taylor. He recorded six assists as opposed to one turnover against Coppin State, went on a personal 9-0 run against Syracuse and made the biggest highlight of the year against Washington with a game-changing blocked shot.
★★★★☆
Collins
Taylor
Brady Morningstar. 6-foot-3 sophomore guard
While Self praised Morningstar for soil CBE Classic, fans groaned at the sophomore's lack of offensive impact. Morningstar answered with 21 points and six three-pointers against Copin State.
Marcus Morris. 6-foot-8 freshman forward
Marcus ranks second on the team with seven rebounds per game. But he hasn't exploded for a breakout game. Could it be looming in his fourth career start?
★★★☆☆
Cole Aldrich, 6-foot-11 sophomore center
Aldrich turned heads with his performance in the CBE Classic and national broadcasters such as Bobby Knight and Dick Vitale hailed him as one of the most improved players in the nation. Makes sense - Aldrich is averaging 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks per game.
Markieff had his worst game against Coppin State with only one rebound, three fouls and two turnovers in 17 minutes of play. He needs to get back to rebounding tonight.
SIXTH MAN
Morningstar
★★☆☆
Morris
Markieff Morris, 6-foot-9 freshman forward
Aldrich
Morris
Case Keefer
Freshman forward Markieff Morris drains a three-pointer. Before the season, Self and the players talked about how the Morris twins could stretch defenses with their shooting ability.
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF ...
Marcus and Markieff, however, missed their first four three-point attempts of the year until Markieff made one against Syracuse. To say a big man knocking down three-pointers adds a new dimension to the offense would be understating it. Who doesn't love a six-foot nine, 235-pound gunner in the first place?
KENT STATE STARTERS (3-2)
Chris Singletary, 6-foot-4 junior guard
A human movement studies major, Singletary practices his practicum on the court with quick moves to the basket. He's a big guard who can post up smaller players but also has the versatility to hang with speedsters defensively.
Al Fisher, 6-foot-1 senior guard
Now at his third college, Fisher has carved a niche as the go-to scorer for the Golden Flashes. He's averaging 21.8 points on 53 percent shooting this season. Last year he was named an AP honorable mention All-American.
Singletary
Jordan Mincv. 5-foot-10 senior guard
Fisher
Mincy's job is floor general, and it's one he's had since high school. As a senior at Ridgeway high school in Memphis, Tenn., Mincy dished out 12 assists in the Class AAA title game to help his team win. This year he has a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Julian Sullinger, 6-foot-5 senior forward
An undersized forward, Julian is the black sheep of his family. His older brother, JJ, played at Ohio State and his younger brother, Jared, has already committed there as the No. 7 recruit of the 2010 class. Julian was 1-for-6 in Saturday's loss to Texas A&M.
Brandon Parks, 6-foot-10 junior center
Mincy
Parks is by far the biggest player, in both height and weight, on Kent State's roster. He owns all of the weight lifting records and he's also a reputable jumper. Park leads the team in rebounds but doesn't get to the free throw line nearly enough for a big man.
Sullinger
Parks
SIXTH MAN
Anthony Simpson, 6-foot-8 junior forward
Simpson plays the minutes of a starter and may supplant Sullinger in the line-up at some point. For now he's a spark off the bench who hits shots and doesn't get into foul trouble.
Taylor Bern
PHOG ALLEN WILL ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE IF ...
PREDICTION: KANSAS 70, KENT STATE 63
Freshman forward Marcus Morris misses more layups. Let's stay with the twins theme. In the game against Coppin State, Marcus missed his first three shots from just below the basket. Self calls the shots "bunnies" and is puzzled as to why his team is having such trouble with them.
Taylor said jokingly — or was it? — that Marcus' misses cost him two extra assists on the statistics sheet. But seriously, Marcus has to be able to connect on easy shots. If not, he won't be an effective power forward.
KANSAN.COM
Follow the game with live blogging at Kansan.com/blogs
KSU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
Kent State challenged itself with an early season tournament against big conference teams, and it should help the Golden Flashes in the long run.
In the South Padre Island Invitational, Kent State played Illinois and Texas A&M in South Padre on back-to-back days. The Golden Flashes lost both games by six points each.
Against Illinois, Kent State surrendered a lead and played poorly in overtime. The experience of matching wits with big time teams should pay dividends against Kansas and further down the road.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior guard Al Fisher
Kent State must score in bunches to hang with
Fisher
Khanus, and the only way for it to do that is by feeding the ball to Fisher. He's efficient off the dribble and could cause foul troubles for the Morris twins.
or Cole Aldrich if they get too aggressive with help defense.
If Fisher is off, then the Jayhawks will blow the Golden Flashes out of Allen Fieldhouse. If he's on, then first-year coach Gino Ford's squad will have a chance at the upset.
QUESTION MARK
Can Brandon Parks prevent Cole Aldrich from dominating the game?
Parks is the only Kent State player that can match-up with Aldrich in the size department, so he must be effective defensively.
Not only can he not get into foul trouble, but also Parks must actually figure out a way to contain Aldrich down on the block. Now that's a tall task.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"I feel like our team got better playing these two games. Even though we came away with tough losses against two good teams, it's better for us than playing sloppy against two bad teams and winning.
1
Hopefully it shows us how good we can be so that we find a way to get to the next level and win a game like this down the stretch."
— Kent State coach Gino Ford