Volume 125 Issue 71
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
kansan.com
COMMENTARY Kansas is back? The Jayhawks never left
That's not to say there wasn't reason for concern, but it's also why many analysts who commented on Kansas' recent play said its problems were correctable.
There were signs all around Allen Fieldhouse pointing out the return of Kansas basketball. Some were more audible than others.
"Losing three in a row is a terrible deal." Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But what we're going through is what 99 percent of all teams in America go through. We've been so spoiled here because for a long time, we haven't had these stretches."
Of course, that assumes Kansas must have been missing, and that means it's time to point out the difference between a slump and a failure. Because if there's one thing that yesterday's 83-62 victory over Kansas State proved, it's that the Jayhawks never went anywhere.
After Saturday's loss at Oklahoma, ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla pointed out that the Jayhawks needed to work the ball inside and that Ben McLemore needed to stop passing up perimeter looks. Against K-State, McLemore shot 9-13 for 30 points, and Kansas scored 34 in the paint.
It was only halftime when Jayhawks fans were walking around the concourse exclaiming how "Kansas was back!"
The system was never broken. Self hadn't lost the team and if confidence was an issue, well, a 21-point victory will usually do the trick.
"It's been a rough week," Self said. "But there's reasons why it's been a rough week. I think we created a lot ourselves. We really didn't do the things we needed to do to get out of it."
But that's the thing about team sports. Energy, even when it's negative, has a powerful effect. Once one player starts sagging, it can make the whole team can look lost.
And in reality, it was a sleepwalking performance on offense against TCU and subpar defensive performance against the Sooners that caused the jayhawks slipup.
There's also no reason to start printing Big 12 championship t-shirts now that the Jayhawks are back in a tie for first place in the conference. This victory was only one in a season that has a long way to go, which is exactly what K-State's Shane Southwell was telling his teammates on the bench as time expired.
There was never a reason to say Kansas is back or that the Jayhawks had vanished. There was just a down spell — something this program didn't seen in a long time.
Edited by Taylor Lewis
"Keep your head up" Southwell repeated over and over. "It's just one game."
Kansas would be wise to take the same advice.
"I never realized how big of an effect it is," senior guard Elijah Johnson said. "When Ben saw me smiling, he smiles harder. When Travis sees me feeling confident, he feels more confident. That domino effect is something that people should really pay attention to. It shouldn't be underestimated."
Sophomore progresses with help from senior mentor
Photo Illustration by Ashleigh Lee
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
The socks of 6-foot-3 senior forward Carolyn Davis slide across the smooth linoleum surface as she strides out of the women's basketball locker room.
Today, she talks basketball as she stands in the hallway about an hour before practice. As usual,
she's the first player to arrive.
She wears a blue practice jersey and her right knee is currently free of the
Davis
brace that's always affixed when she is on the court — the result
Gardner
of a year-old injury that left Davis with a greater love and appreciation of the game she plays.
The next
day, Saturday, the Jayhawks would lose a frustrating game, 72-56, to a West Virginia team they defeated a month earlier at WVU Coliseum. Davis, ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 15.2 points per game and tenth in the nation in field goal percentage at 56.6 percent, scored 14 points in the first half, but was then held scoreless in the second
Henrickson doesn't have to question whether her team has toughness — she knows it's there. She's seen this team's resiliency at least once before. But after the loss, she said it would be fair for a fan to leave the Fieldhouse wondering if the Jayhawks had their heads in the game.
"I thought we were soft," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We didn't win the toughness areas."
The Jayhawks have been through peaks and valleys since that earlier victory against West Virginia.
Two weeks ago, sophomore guard Natalie Knight tore her ACL after starting 19 games and averaging the second most minutes per game on the team.
The injury was difficult for Davis, seeing her teammate and friend experience the same pain she felt a year ago.
"It was devastating," Davis said at practice a week ago. "You never want to see somebody go down, especially someone who's young and never been through that, but at the same time it gives everyone strength. We're playing for her."
Last time, it was Davis that the Jayhawks were playing for.
MISSING PIECE
One year ago today, as Davis was carried off the Bramlage Coliseum court at Kansas State with a torn ACL and dislocated knee, her teammates stood watching, possibly wondering if their season had just gone down with their teammate.
"I'm sorry," Davis screamed as they took her away on a stretcher.
"It was a lot for a freshman to take on," Davis said. "Honestly, she just looked so much like me. She plays a lot like me. Just the way she got better so fast and seeing how she grew, it reminded me a lot of myself."
Gardner averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament and filled the void left by Davis beautifully.
But Kansas' season didn't end with that injury. Instead, a 6-foot-3 freshman named Chelsea Gardner emerged dominant as the Jayhawks made their first run to a Sweet 16 in school history.
Gardner said she wasn't nervous; she was just focused on filling the team's missing piece.
"I just wanted to do what she did, and step in her shoes," Gardner said.
As this season approached, there was a question as to whether the newly emerged Gardner and returning Davis would be used together on the court by coach Henrickson, who typically did not play two post players on the court together.
SHARING THE COURT
Gardner played alongside Davis occasionally during non-conference games, but was mostly used to, give Davis some rest as she regained the stamina to play her normal minutes.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Roles have changed since then. Davis is back to regular minutes. Natalie Knight is out for the season, and junior forward Tania Jackson has left the team. Davis and Gardner have to spend most of their minutes on the court together.
On Saturday, as West Virginia coach Mike Carrey told his team to sag off of Gardner and put more pressure on Davis in the second half. Gardner went 4-for-5 from the field and 1-for-5 from the free throw line.
Gardner ended the game with 11 points and three blocked shots, but collected just two rebounds.
Rebounding and running in transition, that's toughness. Gardner showed that toughness just a week earlier against Kansas State as she chased 5-foot-10 freshman guard Brianna Craig and held her to 5-for-20 from the field. She showed it last season in averaging 11 rebounds in the tournament.
"Chelsea is standing at the free throw line every time there's a shot up." Henrickson said on Saturday. "And I'm screaming at her to get in transition."
Senior forward Carolyn Davis and Senior guard Monica Engelman defend Baylor senior Brittney Griner during the second half of the match against Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 13, Kansas was defeated by the Lady Bears 82-60.
That was the first game at Bramlage Coliseum for Davis since leaving the same court on a stretcher. In the days leading up to the game, Davis preferred not to talk about her injury. She was nervous about going back to Bramlage, but this time, she left the coliseum victorious, with 29 points and nine rebounds. Gardner scored 19 points with five rebounds.
Kansas won the game in double overtime. Davis and Gardner combined for 15 of the 27 points that the Jayhawks scored in overtime play. Coach Henrickson called it one of the coolest things she has seen in her time at Kansas.
"I was just happy to get out of there," Davis said.
Davis and Gardner have already shown their toughness.
SIMILAR CHALLENGES
However, in the aftermath of another season-ending knee injury, Davis and Gardner will have to prove their toughness yet again, as will Knight. All of the Jayhawks do, but on the court it's clear that it
begins inside, in the paint.
Gardner said she and her teammates can draw from the lessons and experience of overcoming Davis' knee injury last season. She says the challenges are similar.
"Just keep your head up and stay focused," Gardner said. "Stay strong."
For Davis, as she stands here in her socks, nothing sounds better than being on the court for a run in this season's NCAA tournament, but in order for that to happen, she will once again be asked to prove her toughness, just as she
did in the long hours of lifting weights alone.
This time, Davis has the opportunity to do it on the court, and she has help. The Jayhawks will be playing for Knight, just as they played for Davis last season.
Edited by Madison Schultz
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