NSAN
2008
KANSAS VOLLEYBALL LOSES TO OKLAHOMA The Sooners bring the Jayhawks short winning streak to an abrupt halt. 6B
SPORTS
KANSAN Hall.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TAGLIABUE TO SPEAK AT DOLE INSTITUTE
Former NFL commissioner to recount experiences at 7:30 p.m. CAMPUS | 2B
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2008
WWW.KANSAN.COM
SOCCER
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Junior defender Estelle Johnson leads the soccer team in minutes played with 1,930. Johnson's father spent hours with her as a child practicing intense defense drills.
Dedicated to defense
awiebe@kansan.com
When Estelle Johnson was a little girl, her father, Jerry, began the process of molding her into a tireless defender.
Estelle Johnson has spent her whole life training on defense and now leads the team in minutes played.
Above all, he preached intensity and tenacity. He even invented his own term for the defensive mentality he wanted to ingrain in his daughter.
"It's called mad dog defense," Johnson said laughing. "He would make a chart on a piece of paper and draw the field. In my defensive half he would draw all these players running around and the ball. He would
say I couldn't stop until the ball was past the half. That's when I could rest."
Now, almost three years into her career at Kansas, the junior defender is one of the most experienced defenders in the Big 12 Conference. But she hasn't forgotten those early lessons, and she certainly isn't doing much resting on the field.
Johnson, Fort Collins, Colo., native,
leads Kansas in minutes played with 1,930
and has played two full games more than the next closest player. Not that she isn't used to logging minutes. Johnson has started 60 of 61 possible games for coach Mark Francis since arriving on campus in the fall of 2006.
"I think I was just born with that innate defensive ability," she said.
PAGE 1B
Francis deployed the athletic Johnson at left back during her first two years, where
her attacking ability and speed would have more of an effect on the game. But with captain and four-year starter Afton Sauer graduating after last season and senior defender Jenny Murtaugh still recovering from a knee injury, Johnson was forced to move inside during practice this spring.
By the time the team had returned from its May trip to Brazil, Francis knew he had found Sauer's replacement.
"She did so well that we kept her there when we went to Brazil." Francis said of Johnson's play in the spring. "She was
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 5B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
D.C. forward first to sign with Kansas
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer.kansan.com
It's fitting that Thomas Robinson, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Washington, D.C., became the first recruit to sign a letter of intent with Kansas Wednesday on national signing day.
Robinson, whom Rivals.com ranks as the No. 18 player in the country, was eager to sign with Kansas from the beginning. Kansas coach Bill Self realized it during a conversation he shared
Robinson
with Robinson while the recruit was on his official visit to Kansas during the national championship ring ceremony.
Self explained Kansas' scholarship situation to the three recruits in town that weekend. Kansas only has three available scholarships for the upcoming class. Self told Robinson he planned only to sign one big man in the class.
"One of his responses to me was, well, I don't have to commit by Sunday, do I,"? Self said.
"No." Self responded with a laugh.
"You don't have to commit by Sunday."
But he was ready to. Self said the only reason Robinson didn't orally commit immediately after the trip was because his mother wanted him to take some time to think his decision over. Self was fine with that idea.
Robinson took one extra trip to Memphis and then decided. He wanted to be a Jayhawk. It felt like home. The togetherness of the team stood out to Robinson.
"Anything you do with one of them," Robinson said after he verbally committed, "you're with the rest of them."
SEE ROBINSON ON PAGE 5B
FOOTBALL
Coach Mangino celebrates his special teams kick coverage during the first half of the game against Kansas State two weeks ago. Mangino is preparing his team for Saturday's contest against le克斯.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Memories of 2004 rant still resonate with team
The scene was one of the more memorable moments in the Mark Mangino era at Kansas.
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@kansan.com
It was 2004 — the Texas Longhorns last trip to Lawrence — and the Jayhawks were on the verge of pulling off the unthinkable upset. A questionable offensive pass interference call late in the game robbed Kansas of the victory, but what
Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed tries to poke the ball away during Tuesday's game against Emmaona State.
"You know what this is all about, don't you?" Mangino said after the game. "That's right — BCS. That's what made a difference in this game. That's what made a difference in the call in front of their bench — dollar signs."
happened during the postgame press conference will be remembered long past Mangino's career at Kansas.
Mangino implied that the Big 12
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 5B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Self expects great defense from team
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Bill Self has coached some of the nation's finest defensive teams over the past few years at Kansas.
And he's not going to lower the standard for this year's Jayhawks. Forget the youth. Forget the inexperience. Defensive expectations will not be lowered.
"My goal for this team is to be one of the 10 best defensive teams in the country by the year's end," Self said.
Kansas looked more like a team that isn't even in the top 100 defensively in its first exhibition game against Washburn last week. In the 98-79 victory, the Jayhawks committed 28 fouls and the young players seemed lost on defense.
A week later, the Jayhawks already played much improved. The offense starred in the 103-58 victory against Emporia State Tuesday night, but the defense was more than solid.
Self said he saw slight improvements. The freshmen only finished with six combined fouls as opposed to 13. The Hornets only shot 36 percent from the field against the Jayhawks. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich contributed three of his trademark blocks. Five players finished with multiple steals.
Junior guard Sherron Collins, known as a steady defender, said the difference was Kansas focusing for the whole 40 minutes.
"I think we played better defensively," Collins said. "I just think getting ahead by a lot and going to the locker room thinking you have the game won, you come out flat. But I think we did a good job coming out with more energy."
And perhaps, a little more concentration. One statistic that stood out in Self's mind was that freshman forwards Marcus and Markie Morris only combined for one foul in the game against Emporia State.
Against Washburn, they committed eight. The Morris twins began playing less with their hands in the second game and didn't play with excessive physicality.
"My first game I wasn't really looking to be a defender," Marcus said. "I was just
more trying to get in the flow of the game and see how it was to play my first college game."
He must have learned something. Marcus Morris contributed six rebounds, two steals and a block in the game against Emporia State.
Self said by the end of the year, Marcus could be the best defender on the team because of his unlikely combination of 6-foot-8 size and quick feet.
Not only are the defensive schemes more complex in college than they are in
But it's going to continue to be a work in progress for all five of the freshmen. They are, of course, only one year out of high school, where the defensive demands are significantly less.
college, but Self said some of the elite players aren't taught how to guard.
Self said this was because high school coaches just play zone defense with their big men and tell them not to foul.
"That's not bad coaching. That's maybe smart because you're keeping your best players in the game, which gives you a better chance to win." Self said. "Here, we don't care about that."
Self cares about guarding. It's his job to teach the freshmen how to do it correctly. It doesn't come overnight.
When Self coached at Illinois, he once had a motto that stated "youth is not an excuse." Especially on defense.
Edited by Scott R. Toland
4.