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THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009
Rvan Wannner/KANSAN
Freshman guard Angel Goodrich will play for the Jayhawks this year after missing all of last season with an ACL injury. Goodrich's teammates have praised her ability to pass the ball. Goodrich is also a talented scored.
Offense to rely on Goodrich
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY JAYSON JENKS
jienks@kansan.com
jjenks@kansan.com
Sometimes during pickup games this offseason, Kansas' players will catch the ball and only then realize that they're open.
luckily for the jayhawks, freshman point guard Angel Goodrich has an indescribable knack for hitting
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season.
committates in the exact time and spot necessary for an easy basket.
The most talented point guards have an uncanny ability for seeing plays quicker than most. Goodrich is no different.
"That's the thing about a good point guard: They make plays and make things happen."
"We've talked about it for the last couple of years and how close we
DANIELLE MCCRAY Kansas guard
Now that she's fully recovered, Goodrich provides a missing piece from a Kansas team that barely missed the NCAA Tournament last
"Angel's the kind of point guard that hits you right when you're open," senior guard Sade Morris said. "You might not even know that you're open but she's going to hit you. And she's going to give you that perfect timing when you can just catch and shoot."
"I really don't know to be honest. I just see it and... I really don't know. There are times that I've almost hit someone and they didn't know."
Just don't ask Goodrich to explain how she does it.
So begins the second go-around of Goodrich's highly anticipated debut in a Kansas uniform. After arriving on campus with plenty of hype, and after impressing at Late Night a year ago, Goodrich suffered a season-ending ACL injury before the start of last season.
been from finishing eighth in the league to finishing fourth in the league," assistant coach Karen Lange said. "And it's always been a couple games where we lose by a couple points here and there. I think a good point guard gives you that."
The book on
Goodrich is rather simple. She's an ultra-talented playmaker who can createplenty of scoringopportunities for those around her.
Even with Kansas' late-season success last year, much of the offensive workload rested with Morris and fellow senior Danielle McCray. And while the duo usually produced, the situation certainly wasn't the most effective situation for an offense to function in.
"What happens is Angel's ability to create out of an offense is going to help Danielle and 'De,' Lange said. "I think it will help get them easier shots and they won't have to create one-on-one all the time."
McCray, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, returns to anchor an offense that connected on 46 percent of its field goals last season.
But the Jayhawks struggled with
turnovers, losing a handful of games simply because of an inability to take care of the ball.
"It's great when you just have a point guard that gives you the ball whenever you need it and just makes plays," McCray said. "That's the thing about a good point guard: They make plays and make things happen."
Coach Bonnie Henrickson walked into an impromptu press conference before last season with an unusually grim expression on her face. Henrickson revealed that Goodrich would miss the year because of her injury.
It was a crushing blow for Henrickson and the Jayhawks, who spent much of the offseason praising Goodrich's ability.
"It's the much-awaited and anticipated impact of her on the program," Henrickson said. "I think for her, every day there is more confidence, more of an attack mode and more aggressiveness."
At Kansas' media day, Lange said that Goodrich is more prepared mentally and physically to handle the workload this season. But she also said that in terms of on-court improvements, "Angel was already pretty good."
And there's little argument that she should help improve Kansas' offense. After all, life on the offensive end becomes a little easier with a play-making point guard.
"If you watch any really good point guard, the game slows for them," Henrickson said. "They see things before things actually happen because they can see it developing. And she has that ability."
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Carroll, Trojans know defense must improve
Edited by Tim Burgess
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Southern California's defense has been among the nation's most dominant, except in the second half of its last two games — and for coach Pete Carroll, that's not dominant enough.
That formidable unit became
ordinary after halftime against Notre Dame and Oregon State, leaving Carroll a bit concerned about his defense's finishing skills heading into the No. 4 Trojans' showdown with No.10 Oregon on Halloween night
Southern California coach pete Carroll runs on to the field with his team before their game against Ohio State on Sept. 12 in Columbus, Ohio. USC and Oregon will meet this week in a pivotal P-10 game. USC has lost its past three games in the state of Oregon.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"We know we have a good defense here, and we just need to play 60 minutes."
whose quest for a seventh consecutive Pac-10 title would be all but ended by a loss to the Ducks (6-1, 4-0).
ARMOND ARMSTEAD USC defensive tackle
"We haven't done very well." Carroll said Tuesday. "We have been really susceptible to them throwing out the football. Being out ahead didn't help us any. We didn't play well with the lead when the teams threw the football a bunch."
Indeed, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Oregon State's Sean Canfield excelled while attempting to lead comebacks against USC (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10).
Carroll is well aware defenses are at a disadvantage when a trailing team abandons the run during a comeback attempt. He knows yardage can get chewed up during come-from-behind surges — but
he still doesn't like it.
showed that.
"When the teams decided they needed to throw the football to win, they did very well, and I think a lot has to do with the quarterbacks," Carroll said. "The quarterbacks that we just played were fantastic."
Oregon State followed up Notre Dame's 285-yard passing game with 329 yards last weekend in USC's 42-36 victory. The Trojans hadn't given up more than 237 yards all season before those comebacks, which also led to the most first downs and the two biggest total offensive games by USC's opponents this season.
Carroll's players aren't worried about their second-half struggles.
Linebacker Chris Galippo described the defense's mistakes against Oregon State as "rinky-dink things" that can easily be corrected before facing the Ducks.
"It wasn't like they were
www.ContinuingEd.ku.edu (keyword: testprep) · 785-864-5823
constantly moving down the field and scoring on us,” defensive tackle Armond Armstead said, “The mistakes that were made can definitely be corrected. We know we have a good defense here, and we just need to play 60 minutes.”
Oregon's multifaceted offense is built around quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who doesn't much resemble Clausen or Canfield — two standout dropback passers with ample experience picking apart a defense. Masoli excels at running, and his pocket skills haven't appeared to match the Trojans' previous two opponents.
need to play 60 minutes.
Yet USC is traditionally outstanding in its biggest games, both on the road and at the Coliseum. During Carroll's tenure, the Trojans have lost more trap games against mediocre opponents than showdowns on the way to seven straight Pac-10 titles, although the coach can't explain exactly why.
So Carroll is making sure his
"The crowd is a factor when they are doing well," Carroll said. "When the other team is doing really well, the crowd goes nuts."
defense focuses primarily on stopping the run against the Ducks, who will have the full backing of their frenzied fans and the possibility of a steady rain in Eugene on Saturday night.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Nittany Lions get reward for big victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu didn't know what to do after coach Joe Paterno gave the team a day off.
They got a breather after a 25-point road victory against Michigan gave No.12 Penn State its fourth straight victory.
While not a direct reward for defeating the Wolverines, the confident Nittany Lions (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) got a break Monday to rest up for the final four games of the regular season.
"The funny thing is, this happens once a year, and every year the same thing happens — we don't know what to do. We don't know whether to relax, do extra work," Ogbu said Tuesday.
Win out and the Nittany Lions likely will land another BCS bowl game.
He ended up catching up on sleep after class.
The break was brief — the stretch run starts Saturday with a trip to Northwestern, followed by a visit Nov. 7 from Ohio State.
Not that any of the Nittany Lions say they are thinking about the annual grudge match with the Buckeyes. Paterno, head coach for a record 44 years, knows better than to look that far ahead.
"Well, you bring up a scenario that I don't think it's going to be relevant," Paterno said after a reporter mentioned the Buckeyes. "We've got to play Northwestern. I haven't even thought about the game after that one."
Penn State must avoid another slip-up to have any chance at winning a second straight Big Ten title. Their only loss came to unbeaten Iowa, so the Hawkeyes need to lose twice in their last four games for the Nittany Lions to get back in the Rose Bowl picture.
Still, the team's confidence level is at a season high after overwhelming the Wolverines last week at the Big House. Penn State has won its last four games by an average of four touchdowns.
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