Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSA
Scrimmage unveils problems
Coach Mark Francis said the team needs more time to prepare. SOCCER | 3B
Big 12 North teams reviewed
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
The five other teams in Kansas' division are broken down. FOOTBALL 17B
FOOTBALL
Briscoe returns to the field
Junior receiver Dezmon Briscoe makes a leaping catch in a game last year. Briscoe was suspended for part of the season last year for academic reasons, but returned this year.
Weston White/KANSAN
Receiver returns to team after being dismissed for academics
BY JAYSON JENKS jjenks@kansan.com
There's a completion for 25 yards, then 40 and then a 69-yard touchdown dash. In total, the receiver catches 12 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. And with top-level athletes roaming the field, the toughest player to catch is wearing crimson and blue.
NORMAN, Okla. — It's a sunny day at the biggest football venue in the state of Oklahoma, and the most electric player on the field is too quick and elusive for the defense to truly contain.
"It was a big game for me," junior wide receiver Dezmion Briscoe said. "Todd (Reesing) came to me before the game and told me, 'run hard and I'm going to find a way to get you the ball.' I was like, 'Alright, just throw it my way and I'm going to make a play for you."
Yet throughout the spring, Briscoe's athletic ability was sidelined for disciplinary reasons. He didn't practice with the team and his status remained murky leading up to the start of fall practices.
Oct. 8, 2008 is the best receiving day in the history of Kansas football.
"I did some things that coach Mangino didn't really approve of, so he had to dismiss me from the team," Briscoe said, declining to elaborate. "But I feel like I learned from it and coach Mangino let me back on the team."
First comes the explanation - the reason why the No. 80 jersey hung in a locker instead of strapped to Briscoe. Faced with off-field issues involving academics, coach Mark Mangino suspended one of his team's biggest playmakers for the entirety of spring practice, including the annual spring game.
Mangino reinstated Briscoe in time for the start of fall practices on Aug. 7. Now, after the waiting and uncertainty, it's time to move forward.
With Briscoe back, the Jayhawks once again possess one of the most talented receiving corps in the
Big 12. Serving as Kansas' primary big-play threat a season ago, Briscoe caught 92 passes for 1,407 yards and 15 touchdowns.
"He feels good and realizes that it is behind him now," Mangino said. "His attitude has been good, and he has been having a really good camp. He learned a valuable lesson like everyone does in life every once in a while."
One of those lessons - the one that many athletes may take for granted - hit Briscoe in his time away from the team. Unable to practice with teammates and without the ability to use Kansas' facilities, Briscoe was relegated to life without the perks.
Briscoe was forced to adapt to life as a normal, sport-less student.
"Throughout that break that I wasn't with the team it made me feel like I wasn't a student athlete," Briscoe said. "I felt like I was just a student. Just the privilege of being a student athlete is something most people would love to do. I mean, I really appreciate it a
SEE BRISCOE ON PAGE 5B
LOOK INSIDE
LOOK INSIDE For more coverage on football players, the KU offense and the Big 12 North, turn to
4B,6B,7B
Henry brothers adjusting to life in Lawrence
BASKETBALL
Weston White/KANSAN
Freshman guard Victor Kavier laughs after answering a question during an interview outside of Hadi Auditorium. Henry arrived on campus Monday afternoon and began workouts with the team on Tuesday.
Xavier Henry striving to meet high expectations
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
PAGE 1B
The smile on Xavier Henry's face says it all. He's right where he belongs.
Despite the questions raised during the summer about freshman guards Xavier and C.J. Henry's commitment to Kansas, their presence and effort dispel those doubts.
"I had my mind set after I made my decision on Kansas. It has to be the place," Xavier said. "Even if it's not the place, this is the place so it has to be the place. I love it so far. There's nothing that's happened to tell me it's not the place."
C.J. Henry leaving brother's shadow
BY TIM DWYER
SEE XAVIER ON PAGE 5B
tdwyer@kansan.com
C. J. Henry was originally a Kansas commit in the class of 2005 — along with national title winners Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush — but he wouldn't suit up for the layhawks until four long years later.
After opting for a professional baseball career instead of attending Kansas straight out of high school, Henry spent four injury-plagued years split between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Though he hasn't played in a competitive basketball game since his senior year of high school, he said he isn't worried
SEE C.J. ON PAGE 5B
COMMENTARY
Coaches' quirks come out
I won't be making such a case though. Nor will I concern myself with which conference is better at all. Too often lost in the Big 12 and SEC debate is an interesting study in methodological contrast.
College football season brings the promise of entertainment. Unfortunately, it also heralds the return of certain tired stories.
Certain tired stories such as last season's biggest: the dominance of the Southeastern Conference. This being Big 12 country, it's only a matter of time before cases for Midwestern superiority begin.
That is, few debate the fact that the two conferences represent the elite in college football, yet head coaches responsible for that success achieve it through starkly different means.
The SEC is home to coaches with cults of personality, and varying levels of potential insanity. Steve Spurrier, a character almost taken for granted, returned briefly to national prominence for placing Jevan Snead ahead of Sir Tim Tebow on his preseason all SEC ballot. After letting the story percolate for several days, he lay the blame at the feet of a lackey. If Spurrier's quirks are generally overlooked now, then the arrival of Lane Kiffin probably has something to do with it. Kiffin, in his short stint in Knoxville, has already managed the impossible: He has made Al Davis look sane for firing him.
But even they might pass for charismatic in the Big 12. Here, the model for coaching success seems to be bookish introversion and an "aww shucks" attitude. Lawrence's local coach certainly fits the bill, as do all but two of his contemporaries: Dan Hawkins and Mike Leach.
There are exceptions. Rich Brooks, Bobby Johnson, and Houston Nutt all seem normal enough. But Brooks and Johnson coach Kentucky and Vanderbilt, so they don't count. And Nutt's name is Nutt. That's gotta count for something.
Leach's coaching quirks are so numerous and well-documented that they almost overshadow his success. Sound dating advice? Check. Frequently noted affinity for pirates? Yup. Quoting historical figures in press conferences? I think Winston Churchill counts. The man even picked his kicker from a halftime contest.
Les Miles, like Spurrier, is an over-the-top character who happens to be nicknamed after a piece of headgear. Mark Richt has his players dance on the sideline and in the end zone, all while dripping with the kind of arrogance that comes from Capitol One Bowl glory.
But, in doing so, he's pushed some of the SEC's other notable personalities out of public consciousness.
And then there's Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban. If Dante wrote "The Inferno" now, they might be in Satan's mouth next to Judas.
Sadly, Leach is but one man. And one man cannot save the Big 12 in this confrontation. If only we could get coach Mangino to adopt a hat ... fedora, anyone?
Edited by Anna Kathagnarath