+
KANSAN.COM
SPORTS
9
+
Kansas relying on Montell Cozart under center
> SEAN COLLINS
@seanzie_UDK
n the first seven games of the season, football coach David Beaty has flip-flipped between his two quarterbacks, redshirt junior Montell Cozart and sophomore Ryan Willis. That doesn't seem to be much of a debate anymore, after Beaty stated that Cozart would be the starter against Oklahoma (5-2) on Saturday after starting against Oklahoma State last week.
While the Jayhawks lost to the Cowboys last Saturday, Beaty was glowing in his postgame talk about Cozart. Even when he was splitting reps with Willis during practices, Cozart continued to impress Beaty, and it appears to have paid off.
"Number one, [Cozart is] one of the finest character kids I've ever been around in
my life," Beaty said. "So the way he handled the last two weeks, I mean, you would expect nothing different out of Montell Cozart."
The Sooners will be a tough test for the Jayhawks, and playing in Norman will not help. In 2015, the Jayhawks were throttled by the Sooners 62-7 in Lawrence, not providing much insight into how to beat one of the Big 12's toughest opponents.
The Sooners are currently on a four-game winning streak after a shootout against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. While the Sooners have averaged around 44 points per game this season, they have also given up 37 points on average to opponents.
Scoring has been the issue for the Jayhawks, and Beaty knows it. Despite Cozart having a strong showing against the Cowboys, passing for 250 yards and a touchdown,
Beaty was upset with points put on the board.
"The only stat that matters at the end of the day is the points on the board. We scored 20 points," Beaty said.
Number one, [Cozart is] one of the finest character kids I've ever been around in my life."
David Beaty Coach
"Yeah, we moved the ball quite a bit up-and-down the field. But we put 20 points on the board."
In order for Beaty and the Jayhawks to have a chance against the Sooners, they are going to need to score points,
and a lot of them. Turnovers have been a consistent problem for the offense, and that can't happen against the Sooners.
Cozart has proved that he can play with the top teams in the Big 12 — like he did for a half against Oklahoma State. But Beaty's been clear about this: If costly turnovers ruin good throws, there's no chance for Kansas to recover.
If the turnovers improve, Beaty thinks the team can as well.
"Those are the types of things that we've got to grow up, because when we don't, you're going to have a hard time winning in one of the finest leagues on the face of the planet," Beaty said. "So we've got a long way to go, but we're getting better. I love the way our guys fight and they stay together. But we've still got a long way to go."
Gracie Williams/KANSAN Redshirt junior quarterback Montell Cozart prepares to throw against Oklahoma State on Oct. 22.
Officials to focus on traveling, restricted area fouls
Gracie Williams/KANSAN
A referee discusses a play with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Kansas coach Bill Self.
▶ SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
Changing the way college basketball players approach different facets of the game won't be easy, but Big 12 Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials Curtis Shaw said it's on the players.
"In order to clean the game up, we're going to enforce things we hadn't before so everybody learns how to adjust," Shaw said during a presentation on officiating at Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Day at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Shaw emphasized two things officials will enforce more in the upcoming season: traveling and restricted area play.
The goal of these rules changes is to change college basketball in the long term. A year ago, the NCAA introduced key areas for officials to improve upon, along with the change from a 35-second shot clock to 30 seconds.
Kansas coach Bill Self acknowledged the rule interpretations when he spoke at media day and said they've made his team play differently in the long run. He later expressed some support for college basketball becoming a more translatable game to the NBA.
"I think there's going to be ample talk and studies done to see what we need to tweak
to make our game better," Self said. "I think there's a lot of nervousness right now."
"As you guys remember a couple years back, all the touch fouls out front. But we actually adjusted to that and got better at that. But I think the incidental contact plays that could be called as fouls can totally, totally not only disrupt rhythm but totally cost some good teams games or put teams playing defensively on defense a lot. I think that needs to be watched and studied."
In Shaw's presentation, he showed referees will enforce traveling much more in the backcourt.
"If we're not going to allow the defense to come out, put hands on, do the other things we used to do, we cannot let the offensive player get away with steps," Shaw said. "The Rules Committee foundation for this is it's our job, coaches and players, to play fundamentally correct."
As for the restricted area, the arc below the basket, Shaw said referees will enforce a foul if a player doesn't jump when an offensive player with the ball approaches the basket. This is to make sure the defensive player doesn't illegally impede the movement of the offensive player.
Kansas forward Landen Lucas stayed open to adjusting to new interpretations of rules.
just go up, stay vertical and that's probably the best bet as a big."
"It works out for me," Lucas said. "[Referees] said
Lucas added: "I usually adjust fine to it. I try to pay attention to the adjustments and find ways that I can play my game and still fit into the rule."
I think there's going to be ample talk and studies done to see what we need to tweak to make our game better."
Bill Self Coach
down, Shaw said the opposite has happened. Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated included the numbers on the matter in his blog in Nov. 2015.
"We have to change the way we play the game," Shaw said. "Basketball was meant to score in the 70, 80, 90 points, not this 55-50 game we had a couple years ago. In order to do that, we'll have growing pains. But last year we averaged an hour and 59 minutes. We were inside the two-hour window, even though everybody panicked about all the calls. It didn't happen."
Although these rules have been said to slow the game
Edited by Lexanna Sims
BIG 12 FROM PAGE 10
As media swarmed the four Kansas players at Big 12 media day — Josh Jackson, Landen Lucas, Frank Mason III and Devonte' Graham — Freeman's sentiment of a true one through 10 battle was echoed through the other nine teams in attendance.
For Kansas State forward Wesley Iwundu, it's frustrating when coaches called it a two through 10 competition. And while he sees Allen Fieldhouse as a tough place to play,it's not necessarily the apex of a different team taking a Big 12 championship from Kansas.
"If you ask me, I think the league is pretty much wide open this year. From
one to 10, I think it's competitive," Iwundu said. "There ain't going to be no easy games or anything. Every game is going to be challenging and tough ... Whatever teams end up at the end of the year, we'll see."
In some ways, Wainright is with his teammates, and the rest of the players in the Big 12 who think this season — when Kansas will chase its 13th straight Big 12 title — is unpredictable.
But maybe Wainright is more realistic with his expectations. He's seen this Kansas team for years — Self's dominance, Mario Chalmers' shot. He played with Landen Lucas on a club team before he chose Kansas and has fond memories of watching Brandon Rush play at Kansas. Yet
still, even after watching years of Kansas basketball and going to games at Allen Fieldhouse, he thinks his team - and any other team in the conference - has a chance at Kansas.
"Everybody wants to be on top." Wainright said. "Everybody wants to beat Rocky. Everybody wants to beat Muhammad Ali. Everybody wants to beat (Floyd) Mayweather. And it's possible."
In any case, the Jayhawks, the head honchos of Big 12 basketball, certainly have a target on their back.
- Edited by Chandler Boese
IMPROVE LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITY
United Way LIVE UNITED
United Way of Douglas County
GIVE TODAY
Your 1 gift to United Way supports over 40 vital programs provided by 28 community partners, and helps build a stronger, more thriving community for all of us.
DONATE ONLINE:
UnitedWayDgCo.org
TEXT TO GIVE:
united4dgco to 41444
VOLUNTEER:
VolunteerDouglasCounty.org
-