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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, FEB. 2, 2017
Bill Self on Josh Jackson: 'He's beyond his years'
▶ JORDAN WOLF
@JordanWolfKU
Kansas coach Bill Self is grateful to have a player like freshman guard Josh Jackson. The freshman continues to turn in high-level performances, and after his 23-point, he returned playing in the
game harden than what it should be because he's not a good free throw shooter yet — he will be," Self said.
According to Jackson, there's no better time to improve your game than against tough opponents. Such opportunities come frequently in the Big 12, and
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
ELIZABETH FENTRESS Chinese Language Study, China, Summer 2015
My palms were sweating as I strode up to the vendor's stall. I glanced at the menu, took a deep breath, and said, in halting Chinese, that I wanted beef and rice. The vendor nodded curtly and started scrambling the eggs for my meal. I breathed an inward sigh of relief. Good. My accent must not have been that bad. Since I stepped off the plane at the Beijing International Airport, my mind was perpetually racing trying desperately to retrieve the vocabulary that would allow me to communicate in this city Even the simplest grammar structures seemed challenging, and every well-formed sentence that passed my lips felt like a hard-fought victory.
Total immersion programs are the most difficult hurdle for anyone acquiring a new language. My particular study abroad program, located in Beijing, China, was an eightweek tour de force. In those two months, we poured our time, love, dedication, and tears into learning Chinese. As the ultimate challenge of the program, we were not allowed to speak any English. I only thought I understood what "awkward" meant until I was
completely unable to express basic ideas to a shop owner at a night market. Communication was sink or swim, and there were times when I sunk like a stone. It was only when I was rendered mute, unable to express my opinions and observations to the people around me, that I completely grasped the importance of learning foreign languages.
In China, I was a外国人,a foreigner through-and-through from the clothes in my suitcase to my mangled Chinese tones. However, as I waded through two months of the most fastpaced Chinese classes I had ever taken, I found myself falling into
a rhythm. Instead of pausing every few words to think, my sentences began to flow more smoothly. At the beginning, I would stand paralyzed on the curb of a busy intersection, wondering how I was ever going to make it across alive. As time passed, I began plowing into the fray, dodging taxis like a pro. One day, as I stood in line for my ticket at the subway, I had a surprising realization. When I looked around, I felt like the station had a warm familiarity about it. The milling people didn't make me nervous.In fact, I felt like I fit there, like I could belong in that place.I felt like I could blend into the crowd. I
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The local - and national perception of the team is not good.
Miranda Anaya/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Lagerald Vick plays defense against Baylor. Kansas defeated Baylor 73-68.
"I know we all want to win," said Justin Zellers, a 1999 University graduate from Overland Park. "But it's not at all costs."
When the news came out, fans had mixed responses.
On Jan. 24, reports came out that an alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl had been reported at McCarthy Hall — the residence hall in which the basketball team resides. The following morning, five basketball players — senior guard Frank Mason III, freshman guard Josh Jackson, sophomore guard Lagerald Vick, freshman forward Mitch Lightfoot and junior guard Tucker Vang — were listed among the witnesses by KU Police in the Dec. 17 incident.
"I was kinda
tape. Brogg was granted diversion on Feb.1 for the charge.
"He's been suspended twice," said Scott Wellhausen, a senior from Brocton, Illinois. "Regardless of how serious you think it is, two suspensions is detrimental."
Bragg's first suspension back in December followed an arrest and a battery charge that was eventually dropped. After the charge against Bragg was dropped, a battery charge was filed against Saleeha Soofi.
"The original Carlton
"I think Carlton gets a bad rep," said Bryce Dieker, a junior from Westphalia. "He was accused of an assault that got dismissed."
Several students, including Wellhausen, cited that first incident with Bragg as something to learn from.
Bragg issue shows just how problematic it can be to leap to conclusions early," Wellhausen said.
But the off-the-court news wasn't over.
On. Jan. 30, the Kansas City Star reported that a University investigation found that Vick had likely committed domestic violence and that the recommended punishment for said offense was two years of probation. In the Star's report, Vick allegedly hit a female student multiple times and kicked her in the face.
All of it together has snowballed, and some fans don't know what to think.
"The news comes out and
with the environment that's around domestic abuse, honestly those are some serious issues," Wellhausen said. "We need more first. ... As far as the stuff off the court, I think you gotta wait until you hear more to make a decision. That shouldn't downplay Lagerald Vick's problems or Carlton's problems. I hate to leap to judgement before I know stuff."
When asked about the Vick report after the game, coach Bill Self delivered a prepared statement in front of members of the media, various Kansas Athletics officials, the Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Tim Caboni and
the University's Director of Strategic Communications, Joe Monaco.
"I have been told that I cannot comment on a University investigation or whether one is or is not taking place or has ever taken place," Self read. "And due to previous practice by the University and by the athletic department, I would not be giving any details of such investigation. What was reported was reported. I haven't been made aware of anything. That's where that is and that's the last time and the only thing I will say concerning that because I am basically been told that's all that can be said."
Regardless of fans waiting for all the facts, some of the damage has already been done. Perception isn't necessarily rooted in fact. It's rooted in belief.
Kansas fans may have checked their feelings of their Jayhawks at the door, but there's doubt in their minds, albeit a small amount.
"I am a stickler for rules," Zellers said. "I think they should be followed. [The] University needs to come down on them, but they need the evidence to prove it."
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