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Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU knocks off Emporia State Jayhawks use size to wear down Hornets. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 3B
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11,2009
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PAGE 1B
Young, strong and prepared
Freshmen and sophomores show potential
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
The future looks bright for the Jayhawks - both in the immediate and long-term.
In their final exhibition game, the youth of the Jayhawks showed its potential with a 103-45 rout of Pittsburg State Tuesday night.
Cole, Aldrich and Sherron Collins were an afterthought. Collins had 13 points in 20 minutes, including three from behind the arc, and Aldrich had 10 points in 19 minutes but just one rebound.
The young guys proved they could hold their own without big games from their two stars, albeit a preseason game. Sophomores Tyshawn Taylor, Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 38 points while freshmen Thomas Robinson, Xavier Henry and Elijah Johnson combined for 30.
They stole the highlight reel from the veterans as well.
COMMENTARY
Men's basketball coach Bill Self was as shocked as anybody at how well the freshmen played.
"They're better than I thought they'd be," he said. "I think everybody thought Xavier would be a great prospect, and he is without question. I don't know if everybody thought that Thomas and Elijah would be the players they are this early in their career."
"Everybody is looking at him like 'What's wrong with this guy?' Take a chill pill, you know what I
Robinson dominated the paint on both ends, leading the team with 17 points and three blocks while chipping in seven rebounds. He also had a number of dunks showing the athleticism and hustle he uses on his teammates in practice.
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris lets out a scream after a dunk Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Morris scored 14 points in the Jayhawks 103-45 victory against Pittsburgh State.
SEE RECAP ON PAGE 4B
Be sure to enjoy this season's Jayhawks
Tyshawn Taylor streaked down the court followed by three red jerseys, and I
yawned. Just 18 minutes into the game, it seemed like Kansas had more fast breaks than Pittsburg State had points. Looks like another easy layup. I thought.
But then, without looking, Taylor flipped the ball backwards and over his shoulder to an onrushing Marcus Morris, who leaped over two bewildered defenders and finished with an emphatic two-handed dunk
Morris screamed into the baseline camera. Pittsburgh State players stared at their shoelaces. I froze mid-yawn. And Allen Fieldhouse erupted with decibels usually reserved for Missouri games.
A minute later, Thomas Robinson plucked the ball away from the Gorillas, then cleared the majority of the free-throw lane on his ensuing dunk at the other end. The fieldhouse reached near delirium.
Wed better get used to it. This team is good — the big "1" by its name on every major pre-season poll proves that much. But Tuesday's game showed that this team could easily be the most entertaining that Kansas has seen in years.
This exhibition game certainly lived up to its title. Sure, it means
SEE COLUMN ON PAGE 5B
FOOTBALL
Nebraska defense big challenge for struggling Jayhawks
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior running back Jake Sharp cuts outside and prepares to stiff arm a Nebraska cornerback in a game Nov. 8, 2008. Nebraska's defense, led by senior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, is one of the best in the Big 12 this season.
jjenks@kansan.com
BY JAYSON JENKS jienks@kansan.com
Kansas' offense has struggled the last four games.
The layhawks have committed turnovers. They haven't rushed for more than 81 yards in a game and they haven't consistently capitalized on drives with touchdowns.
The road sure doesn't get any easier at this point, either.
In three days Kansas plays host to Nebraska — a school with a rich tradition of hard-nosed, tough-to-score on defenses. And for the first time in recent years, Nebraska's current unit is living up to defenses of the past.
The Cornhuskers sit atop the Big 12 in nearly every major defensive category this season. They rank first in scoring defense, second in pass defense, third in total defense and fourth in rushing defense.
"Defensively," coach Mark Mangino said, "they are outstanding."
They've surrendered more than 20 points once this season and that was to Texas Tech's potent offense.
And Nebraska has only tightened the straps on opposing offenses the last three games, allowing just 7.3 points per games.
In that same three-game stretch, Kansas' offense has averaged just 12.3 points per game and a handful of those scores were set up by a turnover from the defense.
The Jayhawks, then, certainly understand the uphill slope that awaits the offense on Saturday.
"They are big, strong and athletic," Mangino said. "If they get into a rhythm, they can really halt the run game, so you really cannot allow that to happen. But it does quite a bit."
Kansas' players and coaches spent much of Tuesday's press conference acknowledging the impressive numbers put up by Nebraska's defense.
And without a doubt Nebraskas line is anchored by ndamukong Suh, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior who passed up millions of NFL dollars to remain at Nebraska.
When asked for the root of the Cornhuskers' success, the lajhayws didn't hesitate with their answers: Nebraska's lockdown defense starts
with its ultra-talented defensive line.
Last season against Kansas, Suh noticeably dominated the line of scrimmage. He recorded 12 tackles, made four stops for losses and dropped senior quarterback Todd Reesing for 2.5 sacks.
ED WARRINER Kansas offensive coordinator
"He's a pretty relentless player," senior running back Jake Sharp said.
"We don't have one of those guys just walking around right now that we can throw against them."
He has 53 tackles, five sacks, eight pass break ups and he has blocked three kicks. Suh is simply a handful for any offensive line.
With Suh lining up almost solely across from opposing teams' right guards, the responsibility for containing him could fall onto the shoulders of freshman right guard
"He's pretty disruptive in most
games", offensive coordinator Ed Warriner said. "He is a great effort guy along with a great talent. He makes effort plays and then he makes plays just off of his talent."
Suh, who many pegged as a preseason All-American, has continued that disruptive play this season.
"If you don't have an awareness of him and if you don't have a couple guys surrounding him," Warriner said, "you can be in trouble."
Warriner was also quick to note that
Trevor Marrongelli who made his first career start for Kansas on Saturday.
there is little a lineman can do in order to prepare for a player of Suh's caliber.
"We don't have one of those guys just walking around right now that we can throw against them," Warriner said.
Nebraska's defense also poses another possibly large road block.
Kansas has struggled mightily to
run the ball during the last four games and that trend continued in a 17-10 loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
If the Jawhays are going to crack the Cornhuskers' stingy defense — if Kansas is going to defeat a Nebraska team that held Oklahoma to three points last weekend — they
must be able to run the ball.
"That's the idea of it," Warriner said. "If you're going to play man coverage, those guys in the secondary aren't really looking to help come up and stop the run. They have to stop the run with those guys up front."
Warriner said that Nebraska plays almost solely man coverage, meaning the responsibility of stopping the run rests with the defensive line and the linebackers.
Follow Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/JaysonJenks
Edited by Tim Burgess