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sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 2017
Obama grants clemency to Jamari Traylor's father
> AMIE JUST
@Amie_Just
Former Kansas basketball player Jamari Traylor points to his mom during his speech on senior night in 2016.
Just days before leaving office, President Barack Obama released commutations and pardons for more than 200 people.
Jessie Traylor, the father of former Kansas basketball player and University alumnus Jamari Traylor, was one of the 209 people granted a sentence commutation.
Jessie's life sentence was commuted to 240 months or 20 years. The commutation is conditioned upon his needing to enroll in a residential drug treatment program.
Jessie was serving a life sentence for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; use of a telephone in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was found guilty on all four counts in Sept. 2009 and was
sentenced to life in prison in June 2010.
Baxter Schanze/KANSAN
The life sentence came in accordance with the threestrike rule for drug offenders.
According to documents obtained by ESPN, Jessie was the middle man in a drug ring and transported cocaine and money on a bus between Chicago and Decatur, Illinois.
Jessie Traylor was one of the 209 people granted a sentence commutation."
He applied for clemency through the Clemency Project upon Jamari's graduation from the University in May 2016.
Jessie was denied an appeal in 2011. He is currently incarcerated at the Yazoo City Penitentiary in Yazoo County, Mississippi.
Andrea Ringgenberg/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Mackenzie Calvert attempts to score during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on January 18. Kansas lost 62-51.
Kansas shows hustle but falls to No.24 West Virginia, stays winless in Big 12 play
▶ SEAN COLLINS
@Seanzie UDK
Looking to drive into the lane, redshirt-junior guard Jessica Washington gathered momentum and dribbed toward the basket. Leading both teams in scoring with 24 points, Washington attracted a lot of attention. The Jayhawks were down by seven at halftime to No. 24 West Virginia. After getting into a rhythm in the third quarter, Washington made a game-changing play.
As the Mountaineers swarmed her in the paint, Washington kicked the ball out to redshirt-sophomore guard McKenzie Calvert, who nailed a three-pointer to give the Jayhawks their first lead of 2017.
Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they held the lead for less than a minute in their 62-51 loss Wednesday night. Coach Brandon Schneider saw something he
hadn't seen his whole career at Kansas.
"That's the hardest our team has played since I've been the coach here," Schneider said. "I thought they played their tails off."
That's the hardest our team has played since I've been the coach here. I thought they played their tails off."
Brandon Schneider Women's basketball coach
The game remained within Kansas' grasp the entire fourth quarter, but foul trouble and rebounding plagued Schneider's four-guard lineup. The Jayhawks were out-rebounded by 20, marking the second week in
a row the Jayhawks lost the battle on the boards by that margin.
"I'm not really thinking about having a lead in the third quarter," Schneider said. "We're trying to have a lead where we can ice the game. I thought our team really trusted the message the last couple of days that if we gave tremendous effort then we would have a chance to beat a really good West Virginia team."
What kept the Jayhawks in the game was their tenacious hustle. Every time there was a loose ball, a Jayhawk hit the floor. Washington caused multiple turnovers in passing lanes and that led to easy buckets. The short lead Kansas held was fun for the team, but Schneider sees much more for his Jayhawks.
The hustle Schneider talks about doesn't show up in the stat sheet. The Jayhawks lost the rebound battle and shot 27.6 percent on the night, both recipes for a Baylor-like blowout. What the Jayhawks succeeded with was forcing the Mountaineers to play their game. All night long, Washington and the guards pressured the ball, and that proved to be to their advantage.
"They get up in the passing lanes, they hustle and they play hard," West Virginia coach Mike Carey said. "When you do that you're going to get rewarded with turnovers and good play."
After two straight games against top-25 opponents, the Jayhawks showed they can make adjustments week-by-week and force opponents to play their game.
On Sunday, Kansas heads to TCU, the only Big 12 opponent Kansas has defeated in the past two seasons.
George: KU rivals stop vulgar chants
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Missy Minear/KANSAN Former Kansas basketball player Brannen Greene gets booed as he comes on the court at Bramlage Coliseum.
It's Jan. 14 at Fred Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. The Kansas State Wildcats are locked in a tight battle with the Baylor Bears—an important conference matchup between two teams in the upper half of the Big 12. The players on the court are focused on their opponents, the fans watching from home are glued to the television as they watch every play unfold, but what is the K-State student section doing? They are chanting dissenting obscenities towards the University of Kansas.
As it turns out, K-State is not the only school in the Big 12 where its students stoop to chant profanity to disrespect their opponent. In Kansas's recent game at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, the Iowa State student section produced vulgar language throughout the entirety of the game. The students chanted "F— KU" seven times and "F— Bill Self" one time, according to Ryan Young of the Iowa State Daily.
MITCH GEORGE @MitchLGeorge
"We chant 'F—KU' because [Kansas] is a huge rivalry for us," Iowa State sophomore Jordan Oxley said. "I, along with other Iowa State students, believe that Kansas is overrated. The fact that an unranked team only lost by four to the number two ranked team speaks volumes."
Foul-mouthing Kansas has become commonplace at K-State and Iowa State to the point where it could be considered tradition. As constituents of the university where it all began, Kansas students proceed to protect the integrity of the game of basketball.
"As a true blue blood program and the true birthplace of basketball, the University of Kansas understands and appreciates our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the game by being positive ambassadors for basketball," Kansas sophomore Tate Shumard said. "Such chants poison the integrity of the game as well as those who are in attendance, including all of the families and children."
When other student sections take part in such behavior, they are personally excusing their own legitimacy. As K-State and Iowa State students attempt to aggravate opponents with petty, repugnant chanting, Kansas students can rest easy knowing that their basketball program is among the elites of the NCAA.
Kansas will play K-State and Iowa State back-to-back on Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.
Edited by Casey Brown
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